CH 12

Second Floor (5)

Translated by boilpoil

Edited by boilpoil

“I Do Not Have Living Enemies”

Time flies like an arrow.

Jiang Yiyi already knows the second floor well now. Or, rather, the second floor has come to know him first.

Even small animals with primitive intelligence will realise danger when the lesson is taught in blood.

Jiang Yiyi has reached a status quo with the second floor.

A comfortable environment easily chips away at willpower, or may annoy some. Jiang Yiyi, though, finds this all quite acceptable.

As it were——Asking to go to the third floor voluntarily is highly unorthodox.

Therefore, Jiang Yiyi, the very normal person, quickly casts the ‘abnormal’ ideas aside to continue his days of saving lives.

In the Han Federation Stargaol, serenity is a valuable thing, for it is fleeting.

Meal time.

In the rowdy canteen, there is a clear distinction between busy tables and empty tables.

Jiang Yiyi and Lunatic are sitting on the table in the middle of the canteen, with a whole empty plot of land around them. Not far from them, the crowd is uproarious, with arguments and laughter, which are absent around Jiang Yiyi.

Lin Yi, being the Outstanding Supervisor, follows Jiang Yiyi closely——Right now, he’s standing at a corner of the canteen, observing any possible escalations. His eyes do not even stop for a moment when sweeping past Jiang Yiyi.

Chaos can happen anywhere, except around Jiang Yiyi——The prisoner in question would be jeopardising their own safety, after all.

All is the same. Another ordinary day.

The door to the canteen is pushed in.

The noises pause for a mere moment.

Jiang Yiyi appears to sense it and looks behind him.

Led by Butcher is an unfamiliar prisoner in prisoner’s clothes. They hang their head low, as if fearful of the environment. He follows behind Butcher, cowering.

Jiang Yiyi’s gaze stops on him momentarily.

That is when the prisoner behind Butcher suddenly looks up at Jiang Yiyi.

Their eyes meet. There is something unknown, but oddly familiar in his eyes. It feels cold, and damp.

Jiang Yiyi stops spinning the chopsticks in his hand, and narrows his eyes to check him out——Scarred, a large amount of tattoos on what is exposed of his arms…

The dissection diagram emerges, and dutifully marks out Vulnerabilities for him——Unlike the diagrams he often sees, this dissection diagram has most of the Vulnerabilities without a corresponding ‘best solution’ to take advantage of it.

What would that mean?

A silvery glint slips past Jiang Yiyi’s fingers as he continues staring at the prisoner, who has stopped looking at this point.

This can only mean, that the dissection diagram judges that these Vulnerabilities cannot be summarily neutralised——As established, a ‘Vulnerability’ is a location that instantly incapacitates or kills the victim.

Therefore, we are able to conclude, that Vulnerabilities without solutions attached, are areas to avoid when attacking.

In essence, the cowardly, casual way the man is walking, is actually defending all his own vulnerable points with impregnable precision.

Butcher is at the counter now, telling the prisoner something as he hands the tray over.

Jiang Yiyi is still staring. There are a large amount of Vulnerabilities immune to attacks, sure, but there are still ones that cannot be blocked remaining——Right now, Jiang Yiyi’s eyes are glancing at them.

The canteen has fallen silent before anyone knew.

The prisoners are closely observing the actions of the newcomer and Jiang Yiyi.

The new prisoner, with his tray, looks about the canteen, stopping his gaze at Jiang Yiyi’s empty desk for a moment, before walking for another empty desk.

“Lunatic.” Jiang Yiyi puts his chopstick down, “do you know him?”

Lunatic stops eating, and looks up at the new prisoner.

He seems to have noticed, as he slows down to turn in their direction.

They see each other, and the next second, Lunatic suddenly shoots up and towards him.

“Move, move! Lunatic is off his meds again!”

A chorus of sudden shouts grows as the crowd hurriedly rises from their seats, to allow Lunatic a direct route to the new prisoner.

That prisoner puts his tray down and lowers his body a little in an odd posture, with eyes locked on Lunatic.

There is an audible sound from the wind Lunatic’s dash generates. There is the smell of blood.

The distance shrinks. Lunatic has a fearsome look in his eyes as he lunges without delay. It seems a fight to the death is inevitable the next second.

Jiang Yiyi furrows his brows. He glances at his biography, and the ‘Psychology’ skill which has been stuck at Elite this whole time.

He raises his voice, “Lunatic, come back.”

The wind dies down.

Lunatic’s fist stops by the prisoner’s face, which is slightly tilted to avoid the fist. His hand is raised a little in retaliation, but stops as Lunatic did.

The scene is frozen.

Lunatic stays like this for two seconds before whatever mental processes in his mind ends, and he slowly retracts his hand to return to Jiang Yiyi.

There is a light murmur surrounding the canteen.

“Holy, did the Doctor just?”

“Is Doctor actually a surgeon or a psychologist?”

“I’d say, Doctor’s taming skills are no less amazing than his knife-wielding skills.”

The new prisoner stares at Lunatic’s retreating silhouette for a few seconds before looking at Jiang Yiyi again.

Jiang Yiyi smiles and turns to leave.

Lunatic follows.

“It’s not really your style to put a damper on things.” Lin Yi leads Jiang Yiyi towards the cell while pondering the reason for the intervention, “do you know him, by any chance?”

Jiang Yiyi is playing with his blade on his fingertips. He replies, “I do not. Who is he?”

“He was well-behaved enough to have his danger re-evaluated, and transferred from the third floor to the second.” Lin Yi, the prison officer, naturally has such information at hand, “his nickname is Lone Wolf. He is serving five years for manslaughter. He’ll be out in a year.”

“They say he was solitary on the third floor the whole time. He has no connection to any factions on the surface.”

“And beneath that?”

“Beneath that… Who knows?” Lin Yi stops to scan his card and open the cell door, “he’s probably another member of the underworld, but we have no contact.”

Jiang Yiyi glances at Lin Yi for a moment, “I almost forgot, you’re a member of Nianluo yourself. The behaviour I’ve seen so far almost made me think…” He winks at Lin Yi, “you’re a good policeman.”

Lin Yi shrugs, “I’m a prison officer, not exactly a policeman.”

Then he turns to Lunatic, and changes the topic back, “so what did you find out that you stopped Lunatic?”

Jiang Yiyi looks at the blade in his hand, “nothing. It’s simply… to be a good Samaritan.”

It’s somehow less believable for Jiang Yiyi to be a good Samaritan than Lin Yi being a good policeman.

Which he indicates openly with his raised brow in disbelief.

Jiang Yiyi can see it, and seemingly implies something, “he will die.”

Before Lin Yi can express his shock, he suddenly realises the true referent in the sentence, “he’s better than Lunatic?”

Jiang Yiyi looks back at Lunatic, until the dissection diagram quietly emerges to show him the many solutions to his Vulnerabilities.

“They’re about equals normally, but given Lunatic’s state…” Jiang Yiyi’s blade flashes as it suddenly stops next to Lunatic’s neck.

Lunatic is watching him, unreactive as always. He does not seem to sense the doom upon him at all.

Jiang Yiyi applies a little force, and the sharp blade enters the skin deep enough to cause blood to seep down from the wound.

Lunatic casts his dark pupils downward to watch his own blood.

A beast that knows neither pain nor death. How much chance does he have against a sly and cunning human?

Jiang Yiyi removes the blade, and throws Lunatic some bandage.

Lunatic takes the bandage, his eyes shifting to the new object in hand, and he stares, dumbfounded once again.

Lin Yi gasps a little too forcefully, “does that mean… he is here for Lunatic?”

“Not me, in any case.” Jiang Yiyi says confidently.

Lin Yi appears doubtful, “you are entirely certain you have no enemies?”

Jiang Yiyi looks at him for a few seconds, before suddenly smiling to say, “of course I am. I do not have living enemies.”

Lin Yi puts on quite a memorable display.

“You really bought that?” Jiang Yiyi is cackling, “what do you actually see me as? You seriously believed that?”

Lin Yi continues giving him a complicated look on his face, “how are you sure he is not here for you, then?”

“Because I am a good person.” The laughter stops, and Jiang Yiyi repeats, slightly irritated.

“That only makes the possibility that you have disposed of all of your enemies more believable.”

“Believe what you want, then.” Jiang Yiyi’s happiness fades as suddenly as it came. He is indifferent once more.

“But if he is really here for Lunatic, I advise caution.” Lin Yi sees Lunatic still holding the bandages blankly, “an enemy that even the Starfleet finds troubling enough to have to send Lunatic to the Stargaol for his protection, is beyond what you can imagine.”

Lin Yi really is quite torn. He both believes that Jiang Yiyi is terrifying, and is also cautioning him to be on the guard for terrifying enemies. This naturally leads to a question from Jiang Yiyi, “who is more scary, then, to you?”

Lin Yi gulps, and stares at Jiang Yiyi for a few moments, before turning to leave without a word.

Jiang Yiyi adds, slowly and casually, “I thought this would be an easy answer.”

Lin Yi walks with a hasty pace, and soon leaves Jiang Yiyi’s field of vision.

The fact that he is not answering, is itself an answer.