Chapter 49: Poison
Tang Yu’an, looking at Iron Hand’s mechanical arms, had no doubt he would carry out his threat.
However, Iron Hand wasn’t entirely unreasonable. Since he needed him, he agreed to have a doctor examine his injury.
The doctor was a woman in her twenties, half her face replaced with a metal exoskeleton, her hair braided into cornrows, chewing gum.
She examined Tang Yu’an’s leg, then said: “No big deal, we’ll just amputate it.”
Tang Yu’an: “!”
What? It was just a gunshot wound, why amputate?!
“Wait, I… I don’t need an amputation!”
The doctor looked at him: “You don’t want it?”
“Of course not!”
The doctor poked his wound, and he cried out in pain.
“We’ll replace it with a mechanical one, no pain, more powerful than your original leg. Isn’t that better?”
Tang Yu’an now understood their obsession with cybernetics.
If he was staying here permanently, adding some weapons to his body wasn’t a bad idea, but he had to go back, he didn’t want to lose a leg.
“No, thank you, I prefer my own leg…”
The doctor didn’t press further, helping him up: “Fine, let’s clean it up… But you missed the latest batch, don’t come crying to me later if you change your mind.”
As he climbed the steps with the doctor’s help, he heard a thud.
He turned to see Jinshan lying on the ground, Iron Hand’s foot on his arm.
“You still want money? After losing our shipment last time, and getting your eye slashed wasn’t enough of a lesson? You’re lucky I’m not killing you. Get lost!”
He spat on him, then kicked him away.
Jinshan, unfazed, looked up with a cheerful smile, wiping the blood from his face, shouting at Iron Hand’s retreating back: “Brother, as agreed, we’re even after this!”
Iron Hand, without turning around, fired a volley of shots in his direction, a tacit agreement.
Jinshan quickly shielded himself with some nearby scrap metal, even calling out politely: “Thank you, boss! Take care!”
Tang Yu’an was shocked by their interaction, yet it somehow made sense.
He now understood why the blond man said he wouldn’t be treated kindly down here.
Compared to these people, the blond man was a gentleman.
Jinshan was a liar, his heroic tale a fabrication.
That scar was likely from Iron Hand, the story a way to boost his ego.
Tang Yu’an took one last look at him, then followed the doctor inside the steel fortress.
It resembled a spaceship, but less organized, the corners filled with wires and discarded robots.
The people inside were also… visually striking—
Most of them had black paint around their eyes, their hair dyed in various colors. One bald man had even dyed his scalp blue.
Following Iron Hand’s instructions, the doctor led him to the treatment room.
The examination table was covered in junk. The doctor swept it all onto the floor with one arm, then opened a pack of cookies, ate half, and handed the rest to Tang Yu’an.
Although she had eaten some, suggesting they weren’t poisoned, he was still reluctant to eat.
“Thank you, but I’m not hungry…”
“Just eat. Patients don’t talk back. Do as the doctor says!”
She shoved a cookie into his mouth, and he had no choice but to chew.
She spoke as she prepared the anesthetic: “I’m F, the medic here. As long as you’re not blown to bits, I can fix you…”
The names here were certainly unique. He felt a sense of gratitude towards this doctor who gave him food, asking: “Does F stand for ‘Friend’?”
F, holding a syringe in her teeth, lifted her shirt, revealing a large black tattoo on her stomach that read “FUCK.”
Tang Yu’an: “…”
He had been naive.
F asked in return: “You said your name is Little Knife. Where’s your knife?”
He showed her the switchblade.
F glanced at it, offering a succinct assessment: “Piece of crap.”
“…”
He didn’t know how to respond. Before he could, a sharp pain shot through his leg, making him gasp, his hands gripping the armrests.
F examined the bullet she extracted with tweezers, then casually tossed it aside.
“There, all done.”
She sprayed his wound with antiseptic, bandaged it quickly, even tying it with a bow.
Suddenly, the entire fortress shook violently, almost throwing him off the table.
F cursed, rushing into the hallway: “Which idiot did that?! Can’t you see the ground is uneven? I have a patient here! What if I accidentally stabbed him in the head?!”
She hadn’t expected an answer, returning to the treatment room after venting her frustration.
The tremor had shaken dust from the ceiling. Tang Yu’an wondered if they even cared about hygiene in this place.
F, however, was considerate, covering his head with a clean towel and wiping the dust off.
Tears welled up in his eyes: “I thought you gave me anesthetic! Why does it still hurt so much…?”
F chuckled dryly: “It expired a few years ago. Might not be as effective.”
Tang Yu’an: “…”
He didn’t say anything more, his expression pained. F pinched his cheek: “Poor thing. I apologize. I’ll try to use recently expired ones next time.”
He didn’t bother arguing, simply saying his leg still hurt and he couldn’t walk.
Iron Hand was waiting for his initiation ritual. He didn’t know what it entailed, but he couldn’t do it in this state.
“Easy,” F took out a pack of gum, offering him a piece. “This is special. It’ll make the pain go away.”
Tang Yu’an looked at the white gum, apprehensive: “I’ve had so many injections today, will I die if I eat this?”
F shrugged: “Better to die happy than in pain.”
Tang Yu’an: “…”
Should he even expect a normal answer here?
He chewed the gum, and the pain indeed subsided, but his legs felt light and floaty.
F assigned him a small cabin as his room, telling him to wait for Iron Hand.
He paced around the cabin, surprisingly well-equipped and comfortable.
He stumbled over something, realizing it was the black cat.
He picked it up happily: “Kitty, how did you sneak in here?”
The cat, unable to answer, simply rubbed against his hand.
Not having anything to absorb its electricity, he took it to F, afraid it might accidentally electrocute someone.
F, hearing it was electrified, was intrigued. After examining it, she asked if she could keep it, promising to feed it and make it a bed.
Tang Yu’an, seeing her fondness for the animal, agreed, thinking the cat would be safer with her.
But before leaving, he asked: “How are you going to deal with the electricity problem?”
F was already petting the cat enthusiastically, its struggles futile.
“Why would I deal with it? It can recharge my broken rice cooker!”
She even offered the cat a piece of dried meat.
“Eat up, then you can get to work!”
Seeing that she had food for the cat, he left, returning to his cabin to find someone waiting for him.
It was a tall man with a cybernetic eye, his expressionless face instructing him to follow.
He led him to the top floor in an elevator. Unlike the chaotic areas below, this floor was surprisingly peaceful.
Iron Hand was lounging in a recliner, soaking his feet, two people tending to his mechanical arms.
Seeing Tang Yu’an arrive, he dismissed the others.
The tall man lingered by the door. Iron Hand looked at him: “One-Eye, why aren’t you leaving?”
One-Eye looked surprised, assuming he was an exception.
But he couldn’t disobey a direct order. He glanced at Tang Yu’an, then left reluctantly.
Iron Hand activated a projector, a holographic image of a bald, muscular man appearing before Tang Yu’an.
“This is Six. He deals in cybernetic enhancements. I’ve met him a few times. He has some good stuff.”
Iron Hand stood behind Tang Yu’an, placing a mechanical arm on his shoulder, acting chummy.
He whispered in his ear: “He’s making a deal tomorrow. I’ll send you in. I want you to steal the shipment. What do you say?”
Tang Yu’an didn’t understand why he even bothered asking. Did he have a choice?
So, he nodded: “I won’t disappoint you.”
“Good.” Iron Hand smiled, then suddenly grabbed his chin, forcing his mouth open, and tossed something inside.
Tang Yu’an coughed violently, his face turning red, but he had already swallowed it, unable to spit it out.
“What… what did you give me?”
Iron Hand helpfully patted his back: “Don’t worry, just a little poison to prevent you from running away. If you don’t come back for the antidote, your blood vessels will explode.”
Tang Yu’an exhaled, unafraid, his eyes even showing a hint of anticipation: “So, poison is my punishment for failure. What’s my reward for success?”
Iron Hand, clearly pleased by his composure, promised: “If you succeed, you’ll be my third-in-command.”
Tang Yu’an smiled, like a fox who had just achieved its goal.
