Chapter 10: High-Risk Experimental Subject  

“I was piecing together your mental fragments at the time and couldn’t find a suitable container. Once opened, it melted into me. When the time is right, I’ll return it to you.”  

Jing Rong spoke.  

Jue lowered his gaze to look at him.  

His current physical state couldn’t sustain another release of Mental Power to probe Jing Rong’s mind. Jing Rong was an Adjudicator without Mental Power—placing his mental fragment with him meant it wouldn’t be contaminated or damaged. It was the safest option.  

But he needed it desperately.  

It was something far more important than his own life.  

Jue stood completely naked, his voice hoarse as he gripped Jing Rong’s collar, the unwavering intensity in his azure eyes unyielding. “Return it to me now.”  

Jue said, “Please.”  

Jing Rong looked at him. The blue in his eyes was like a windless lake.  

Beneath that lake lay the storms of this world.  

Even though his hand still clutched Jing Rong’s collar tightly.  

Jing Rong reached out, his hand moving toward Jue’s waist.  

Jue’s expression flickered slightly, but he didn’t move.  

Perhaps this Adjudicator was drawn to his appearance and body—after all, back in the laboratory, many had harbored such thoughts. But the notion vanished as quickly as it had surfaced.  

Jing Rong didn’t touch him. Instead, he adjusted the coat that was slipping off Jue’s shoulders, then hovered a protective hand near his waist.  

Once his movements stilled, Jue continued, “This is a personal request, unrelated to my identity as the leader of the rebels. You should know my followers have already fled to the borders—and beyond.”  

“This mental fragment is tied to something I need to uncover,” Jue said. “No one else will investigate it, and there’s no other way to verify it. This is my own matter, so I’m asking you.”  

He paused briefly, then smiled faintly. “Return it to me now, and later, whatever you want—as long as it’s within my power—I’ll give it to you.”  

Jing Rong’s voice was steady. “Tell me what you have to offer.”  

The blue in Jue’s eyes shimmered like rippling lake light. “Classified materials on the military’s laboratories, the core principles of their weapons, hidden mining tunnels in the war zones, the world’s strongest Mental Power Substance… No? None of that interests you?”  

As he spoke, he searched Jing Rong’s gaze.  

Even battered and trapped in this small outpost, Jue wore that same unrestrained, faintly mocking smile. “You captured me alone—that means your status is special. I once saw a record in the royal archives about them exiling a child without Mental Power.”  

Jing Rong nodded. “That was me.”  

“You hold a high, unique position, yet you don’t seek power or secrets.”  

Jue studied him like a wolf sniffing out traces in the depths of his dark eyes. “You have no interest in worldly affairs… but you saved me because you’re driven by an uncontrollable curiosity about what intrigues you.”  

Jing Rong also curved a faint smile. “You’re very perceptive.”  

Jue said, “Then I have nothing left to offer you. All that remains is a plea.”  

He looked at him calmly.  

Jing Rong asked, “Why do you want to investigate this?”

The smile in Jue’s eyes deepened, the azure depths shimmering with fragmented light: “I am the leader, and also an SSS-class High-Risk Experimental Subject.”

“I’ve killed people, and I’ve also been entrusted with genuine hearts.”

The Sin Island People spent their entire lives paying for their lords’ rebellion. Soldiers and Adjudicators from the capital boarded the trains, carrying away the dreams of youth in billowing dust, never to return.

This war had lasted far, far too long.

From a certain point onward, he stopped killing when he struck.

He needed to uncover the reason behind this war—it was something he had to understand in this world he was born into.

Jing Rong looked at him and slowly said, “There’s something I want.”

Jue replied, “Speak.”

Jing Rong asked, “I want to know—after you retrieve this Spirit Shard, what do you plan to do with it?”

Finally straightening up, one hand supporting Jue’s waist, he leaned close to Jue’s eyes and asked calmly, “To die?”

Caught off guard by the sudden movement, Jue leaned back but was firmly caught by Jing Rong’s hand through his coat, held securely in his arms.

The action happened abruptly, lasting only an instant, but the flicker of surprise and hesitation in Jue’s eyes was captured by Jing Rong.

Jue met his gaze, his thoughts laid bare. Choosing silence, he said nothing more.

That contemplative expression returned—he would take his secrets to the grave.

There was no other purpose. The goal of an SSS-class High-Risk Experimental Subject obtaining this Mental Fragment was to die.

Watching Jue’s expression, Jing Rong grew even more certain of his judgment.

He would die in the square of the Olke Empire—not because of its historical significance from the empire’s founding, but simply because everyone would pass through that square.

When the Adjudicators killed him, shattering his Mental Power, the fragments would scatter. People would walk past those shards, and this ink-blue fragment would seep into their memories.

Nobles, commoners, generals, soldiers, men, women, red-haired, black-haired…

All would see.

The people of the capital would see this hidden dream. One day, someone would decipher the secret Jue sought to convey.

Jing Rong murmured, “How do you know they’ll care about this dream?”

Jue’s expression remained calm. “My subordinates will care. All Sin Island People will care. The contents of this Spirit Shard will endure until the last of us falls to the Adjudicators.”

“They will follow my footsteps and investigate.”

Jing Rong said, “But I still don’t understand—what’s so special about this dream?”

Jue gave a soft laugh.

“You don’t understand?”

He whispered, “Truthfully, neither do I… I just feel it’s wrong. Even though it’s my memory, it feels wrong… I think this memory has been altered.”

He had spent too, too long in the lab. His memories had been separated and rewritten countless times, yet this one fragment stood out starkly in his consciousness, leaving a vivid impression.

For this, he had even stolen royal authority, yet still failed to uncover the secret behind it.

Jing Rong recalled the dream’s contents in his mind.

Even he could find nothing unusual about it.

It was a memory from Jue’s childhood—a moment on the battlefield, an ordinary instant.

Jing Rong called out to 626 in his mind, “Can you find out anything?”

626 had expended too much energy recently and had been in standby mode. Only now did it emerge to say, “I can’t find anything. Although this world’s settings are open to us, the matter Jue wants to investigate is part of the world’s will. Even I can’t access that information.”

Jing Rong replied, “Understood.”

He shifted his gaze back to Jue.

Jue looked at him calmly.

He had already told him everything he could say. Moreover, the other had seen through all his intentions.

Without obtaining this Mental Fragment, he might as well be dead.

And once he obtained the fragment, he would go to his death.

This Adjudicator, who had impulsively saved his life, was not his enemy—but their paths would never cross.

He was grateful for everything this Adjudicator had done for him. In fact, everything he was experiencing now was already an excellent form of end-of-life care.

Jing Rong lowered his eyes as if in thought, but the contemplation didn’t last long.

He tightened his hold on the person in his arms, wrapping him securely in the Adjudicator’s coat, then stood and placed Jue on the bed. “The water’s gone cold. I’ll fetch a fresh pot.”

It was the first time in Jue’s life that a man had carried him bridal-style.

He didn’t make a sound.

Both clean towels were already stained red with blood. Jing Rong took them to wash, then handed them back to Jue.

Jue accepted them quietly.

He could tell Jing Rong was someone who valued cleanliness. Cleaning himself properly was the least he could do to honor the life that had been saved.

A second pot of hot water was brought over.

Jue soaked the clean towel and wiped it over his scar-riddled legs.

There were old wounds, but most were marks left by the cruel experiments with Mental Power.

Jue noticed Jing Rong’s gaze lingering on his legs.

He guessed Jing Rong would either let him go or send him back to the Olke Empire’s military.

Either way, without obtaining the Spirit Shard in Jing Rong’s possession, the result would be death—or, more likely, being sent back to that laboratory.

Just like the past thirteen years.

As an SSS-class, he could endure more destructive experiments than other Sin Island People. Every Mental Weapon developed by the military had to be tested on him first.

Of course, none of that mattered anymore.

Once he had cleaned himself, Jue thanked Jing Rong and lay back on the bed.

The bath and conversation had drained the last of his strength.

He could hear Jing Rong carrying the water jug outside, washing and hanging the towels to dry alongside his white cloak, then returning to the sofa and opening that book.

As before, Jue closed his eyes, expecting Jing Rong to read the entries aloud.

But this time, Jing Rong didn’t.

He was absorbed in the pages, momentarily forgetting the task of reading to him.

Jue glanced at him a few more times before withdrawing his gaze, tucking the coat draped over him tighter. Without further thought, he fell asleep alone.

This time, Jue slept for a long while.

When he woke again, Jing Rong was no longer in the room.

The wall clock showed ten in the morning—an early hour. He had even slept through the entire night.

Jue slowly sat up.

The fire in the hearth still burned brightly, but the room’s personal belongings were gone. Jing Rong’s aluminum cup and books had been packed away, and his white cloak had been taken down and hung at the foot of the bed.

The outpost was so clean it seemed as if no one had ever been there, save for the Adjudicator’s coat in front of Jue, a reminder that he had indeed encountered such an odd person.

Jue placed the coat by the bed and got up to dress himself.

Though his external wounds hadn’t fully healed, the larger ones had closed and stopped bleeding. The dry winter of the Olco Empire also reduced the risk of infection somewhat.

Jue took a few tentative steps and found his body unresponsive to pain.

He glanced around and confirmed that Adjudicator No. 11 had taken the fragments of his Spirit Body.

It seemed the other party had made the choice befitting an Adjudicator.

Jue fastened his cloak and adjusted his collar.

The wind howled fiercely outside the outpost. When Jue pushed open the door, a blast of snow rushed in, bringing with it a familiar biting chill.

Amid the thick snowfall, a cargo wagon stood by the roadside.

Jing Rong, draped in a lead-gray coat, directed the wagon’s parking through the dusty haze.

He had been out all morning, and the laborers he’d found moved slowly due to the heavy cargo they were transporting.

One of them was negotiating with him: “Officer, the farthest we can go is Bividock. Beyond that to the west is the warzone—only the War Train passes through there.”

“That’s fine. Just take it there.”

Jing Rong checked the inventory list and noticed several items had been crossed out. “Couldn’t get the rest?” he asked.

The laborer replied, “We only managed some very old maps. The other items were impossible—they’re high-value military supplies. Even the army might not have them all.”

“No matter. You’ve done well.”

He took the tattered parchment map the laborer handed him, its edges fluttering in the wind.

After a brief look, Jing Rong tucked the map away and turned back toward the outpost.

As he turned, he spotted Jue standing at the doorway.

“You’re awake. How do you feel today?” Jing Rong asked.

Jue stared at him, his gaze slightly dazed.

Jing Rong continued, “Things are moving quickly, but we need to prepare as soon as possible. The weather’s harsh this year—we must cross the western warzone before the heavy snow seals the mountains.”

Snowflakes settled slowly on his shoulders.

Finally, Jue grasped what he was saying. “Go where? You and me?”

“You and me. I made you a promise.”

Jing Rong looked at him, the corners of his lips lifting in a faint smile. “We’re going to Oakvilleke.”