Falling into the Abyss

Ethan returned to his apartment in a daze. He felt that the event from ten minutes ago was too illusory and surreal.

This was completely illogical, right? An Eve priest was the least likely person to appear in the Forbidden City, and he couldn’t think of any reason why Tanisiel would come to the Forbidden City.

In any case, it was impossible that he came here to see him.

Ethan let out a self-deprecating laugh and did not notice when Samuel entered the room. His dejected look was reflected in Samuel’s frosty gaze, who had arrived earlier. When Samuel heard Ethan’s self-deprecating laugh, the look in his eyes became as sharp as a knife.

“Look at you,” Samuel said poisonously. Ethan turned and saw Samuel squinting at him as he polished his shoes. Ethan asked, “Did you see Tanisiel, too?”

“With such an uproar, who wouldn’t notice it.”

“What do you think he’s here for?”

“It’s none of my business.”

After being rebuked by Samuel, Ethan felt the flames of his anger ignite. “Hey, can’t you talk normally? Don’t act like a gun barrel all day long.”

Samuel threw away his boots and felt around for his cigarette before pulling it out and lighting it. “If you’re not used to it, then stop listening to me.”

Ethan tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. “I say, you act this way every time I mention Tanisiel. The last time, you even hit me. You don’t like him, do you?”

Samuel had smoked for nearly ten years, but he nearly choked for the first time due to his comment. He coughed in confusion before looking at Ethan threateningly. “Stop fucking making random guesses.”

However, the fierce look in his eyes did not affect Ethan. The Beta began to talk to himself, “Yeah, that explains why you were so ill-tempered before. I thought it was due to your hormonal disorder, but your estrus had just arrived, so you should not have symptoms that early.”

Samuel could not stand his words. He picked up his boots and threw them at Ethan.

It had been a week since Tanisiel appeared in the Forbidden City, and every day Ethan would walk down the streets while inexplicably hoping that he might meet the blond man at the next forked road. This small hope made his daily strenuous and filthy work more bearable. When he walked, he even felt that his legs were lighter.

Ethan could deduce that Chen Zeng spread these rumors, but he didn’t know what the Beta who looked affable and scholarly wanted to do. What was the point of speculating their doomsday in the Forbidden City?

As for Tanisiel……he must have gotten permission from the government to appear in the Forbidden City. Ethan didn’t know if it had something to do with the delay in their punishment.

Samuel’s estrus was approaching. Initially, he had planned to use inhibitors. However, considering that long-term use of inhibitors might impact a human’s health, Ethan consulted with him, and they decided to pretend that it was Ethan who was having his estrus. As his Alpha, Samuel had the duty to take care of him, and so he could ask for three to four days off. The two began to save their daily rations weeks in advance, storing food and water under their beds so they could shut themselves in for three days, and no one would know who was the one having their estrus.

However, plans are unable to keep up with changes.

Ethan and several other nonhumans’ numbers were called out at breakfast one day. At the time, he was sitting with Samuel. All the numbers that were called out began with 240 or 250, and Ethan was the only one whose number was not read. On the contrary, his name was called instead.

The expression on Samuel’s face changed. Ethan simply stood up, but Samuel grabbed him by his wrist and said, “Something’s wrong. They usually only call us by our numbers, unless it’s someone designated by the top or the chief security officer.”

Ethan laughed bitterly and replied, “Do you think I haven’t already thought of it. In the end, I can’t avoid it, right? Besides, they might not choose me. Don’t worry.” He took two steps forward before turning his head to look at Samuel and saying seriously, “If I don’t come back, then take care of yourself. If you can’t think of any other solution, then you can pretend to be ill and go to the clinic.”

Samuel’s thick brows were tightly knit together, but still could only watch the calm Beta’s back gradually getting further away. This secretary’s adaptability was shockingly large. In the beginning, he would still tremble in trepidation, but now, he could still smile after getting beaten up. Although he knew that he was walking into a trap, he could still remain very calm. He even patiently comforted himself and instructed him on what to do.

Perhaps Ethan had acted this way when he used to work in the government.

A truck was not sent to pick them up from the canteen this time, probably because the mission being assigned was not particularly urgent. The nonhumans were asked to walk to an area near the high walls. Dozens of nonhumans lined up in front of and behind the silent robot policemen that were slowly sliding about. Ethan grew anxious when he noticed the person in front of him that was as tall and strong as Samuel. It was Cavin, Samuel’s greatest enemy. He had been pretending to be Samuel’s Omega, so if he was unfortunate enough to go on a mission alongside him, he was afraid that Cavin would probably make things difficult for him.

He could only pray that the one who mentioned his name was Tanisiel.

However, when he saw Vasilev sitting comfortably in a chair while drinking coffee, he knew that his hope had completely been obliterated. It turned out that those times when he had been beaten by the guards and assigned to work in the smelly drainage pipes were just considered minor lessons by the second in command who held grudges.

He was afraid that this mission would probably be the highlight……

Gray Fur’s snake-like and gloomy gaze swept over all the orderly nonhumans in front of him. He didn’t look at Ethan directly, but Ethan could still smell his malice.

However, he still held onto hope that Tanisiel would appear soon…… Although Ethan didn’t know how his presence would help, and knew that the possibility of him appearing was close to zero.

A harsh noise suddenly came from the huge speaker mounted on the steel wall. A man’s robotic and metallic voice said, “Atonement mission code: Longhorn. Points: five.”

Ethan was rather relieved to hear that it was a five point mission. However, the nonhumans around him didn’t seem very happy, muttering, “It’s a motherfucking five-point task again. They are giving so few points for a mission that’s going to be tough. It’s not a good bargain.”

“Mission content: Participate in the military test at the Tenth Space Station. Departure Time: Immediate.”

The Tenth Space Station was located near Neptune’s orbit and was a military fortress. Most of the civilians living in the station were family members of the military and office workers stationed there. There were many examples of military experiments using nonhumans as subjects, so it was difficult to tell how high the risk is. Simple three-point missions existed, but there were also three-point missions that required them to risk their lives.

They were given a pitiable amount of information, so Ethan couldn’t begin to guess what the so-called experiment would be.

After the broadcast, Gray Fur picked up his baton and stood up. He drawled, “We need 20 people. Who wants to volunteer?”

Cavin and three or four other people stepped out. The others looked at each other before bowing their heads in silence. Gray Fur then twirled the baton in his hand and began to walk before the nonhumans, row by row. He would poke a man in the chest with his baton every few steps, and the person who was jabbed would have to walk out with a tearful face.

In fact, Ethan was a little surprised. He could understand that not many people would want to volunteer for a ten-point mission, but there were even less people volunteering for a five-point mission now?

Just as he thought about it, Gray Fur had approached him, and his footsteps paused slightly. Gray Fur tugged on the brim of the police cap and said in a flat, hair-raising voice, “I told you, don’t let me find out you lied to me.” Then, he stabbed him in the chest with his baton.

Ethan swallowed his saliva, and his heart sank to the bottom of his feet. His back was stiff, but he could only walk out of the line. He saw that Cavin was looking at him, and his rough face even carried hints of malice and provocation as one side of his mouth arched up.

There were wolves to his front and tigers behind him. This is obviously a five-point mission, so why does it seem more dangerous than a ten-point mission? Ethan thought slowly.

Maybe he should also follow what Chen Zeng’s followers do—pray and worship to a god when he has nothing left to turn his luck around……

It was the same as the last time. Everyone wore electric shock collars, and a crude spaceship carried the nonhumans using warp drive. They arrived near the space station early in the morning on the next day. In the dark universe that seemed to stretch on endlessly, a huge ice-blue planet occupied their entire field of vision, with three light blue rings appearing like heaven’s river as they slowly revolved around the planet 17 times the mass of Earth.

Because they were very far away from the sun, only a small portion of sunlight reached the planet, causing everything to appear bleak and cold. However, a brilliant and majestic planet shone in the darkness, an artificial ‘planet’ formed by many huge steel rings interspersed with each other. Although it wasn’t spherical in appearance, it had a livable area comparable to about a quarter of Earth’s.

Numerous starships slowly cruised through the dark sea of stars around the Tenth Space Station, appearing to move relatively slow. But in fact, they were all moving close to the speed of light. Under the illumination of the blue light, the nonhumans’ spacecraft slowly entered a docking gate. The door lifted, revealing an extremely tall and wide behind. Many small spaceships shuttled back and forth, like flowing warblers and flying birds.

The ship was moored in a harbor suspended in midair, with a long bridge leading to a huge gate located on the tall wall. As soon as Ethan got off the ship, a biting chill suddenly crept up on all the nonhumans, and they shrunk down and swore. This chill was different from those on Earth; it was a kind of coldness reminiscent of a desolate and barren place. It instantly penetrated through every pore on their bodies, and they even felt that their hearts had been frozen in place.

Ethan found that his breaths quickly formed small snowflakes and flew away. He curled his body into a ball and huddled together with other nonhumans. He put on the heat tech clothes along with the rest of the nonhumans and followed Gray Fur as they crossed the long bridge and entered the towering ferry gates. There were many soldiers in thick spacesuits coming and going. Although their faces were hidden by scarves, masks, sunglasses, and hats, the nonhumans could feel their curious gazes. In particular, when some people passed by their group, they would gesture viciously towards them, making a swiping action by their necks. If a timid nonhuman revealed a frightened expression, they would laugh.

Ethan lowered his head. He had already been in the Forbidden City for a long time, and he knew that many people liked to publicly express their disgust in hopes that their condemnation of the criminals would be seen by the prevalent cameras, seeking to improve their moral values a little. However, every time he met this kind of undisguised disgust, he would still feel very ashamed and even think that he should be hanged. However, another voice in his heart was indignant and thought, Would the so-called legitimate citizens torture Omegas like Typhoeus as brutally as the guards in the Forbidden City if they were given the right opportunity?

A corner of the space station had slowly enlarged within their line of sight while they were unaware. The space station was clearly in the shape of a ring, but they felt like they were walking on the ground under its gravitational force. The ground slowly lifted in the distance and turned upside down in the distant sky. Buildings and trees hung upside down, with misty clouds in the middle.

A transport ship took them to a military base, and all the nonhumans were driven into an empty military dormitory. Although there was no bedding on the upper and lower beds, at least there was a mattress. Ethan, who had slept on the hardwood floors for a month, was moved to tears.

Gray Fur leaned against the doorframe, chewing gum and tapping the metallic parts of the wall with his baton. All of the nonhumans quieted down within moments.

“Listen up. The experiment will be carried out tomorrow. Your task is very simple, just to stay in an isolated mini space station, reporting back when necessary until they let you out. Don’t make trouble for me. I’m not Schneider, so I don’t have as much patience.”

Ethan knew he shouldn’t say anything, but he couldn’t help it. He needed to know what sort of revenge Gray Fur had prepared for him. “If I may ask, what kind of experiment is it?”

Gray Fur’s gaze slowly and leisurely turned to him and his lips gradually spread open, a creepy smile hanging on his face.

“We’re sending all of you to an experiment in hell.”

The author has something to say:

This atonement mission was inspired by Project Rainbow.

T/N: Please buckle onto your seatbelts everyone! The roller coaster ride is about to begin (yet again)!