by Hao Yang
After the dinner, Mark and others gathered in the cramped room which served as both their dining room and dorm. They stared at the screen, waiting for the fight to start. The drones were providing the live feed.
As the crowd surrounding the watch tower started to boil, a Sulan called Iteynoin slowly walked into the area. He was tall and muscular, his skin brown, with no hair or eyebrows.
Suddenly, the crowd slumped into a dead quiet and quickly cleared a path for Jason.
Mark was shocked. He squeezed his eyes several times and it was his son Jason. He wasn’t happy to see him at all.
Iteynoin stared at Jason angrily, his hands shaking, his legs shivering. Jason, on the other hand, strolled leisurely.
Hwoei, standing on top of an airborne platform, entered the area in a graceful way.
“OK. You all know the rules. Let’s fight!” Hwoei shouted.
Iteynoin darted to Jason, his right fist swinging at Jason’s head. Jason slid to the left and grabbed Iteynoin’s right forearm, throwing him forward and kicking his knee. Iteynoin’s heavy body fell over like a stone. Jason leaped into the air, thrusting his fingers at Iteynoin’s nape. Iteynoin rolled over, dodged Jason’s attack and stumbled back to his feet. They dashed to each other and started wrestling. Soon they were rolling all over the place. Iteynoin locked Jason’s knee and Jason was straining Iteynoin’s arms to ease the pain on the knee. Iteynoin was taller and bigger. As he slowly wore out stamina, Jason began to have the upper hand. He slowly broke the knee lock and hit Iteynoin’s face with his forehead. Soon Iteynoin was bleeding all over the face and he started to let his hands loose. Jason caught this chance and punched Iteynoin’s head with a heavy blow. Iteynoin fainted. Jason swiftly cycled behind Iteynoin’s back and choke held his head.
“Clank.” Jason broke Iteynoin’s neck and then he stepped on Iteynoin’s neck and pulled his head off the body. Iteynoin’s eyes were still blinking, his body lifeless.
“Damn!”
“Fuck!”
“This is shit!” The crowd shouted loudly.
Nobody cheered for Jason, even though many of them did bet on him.
Mark watched Jason leave the area. He wasn’t sure he knew his son any more.
Chapter 145
Even after fighting the Sulan, Jason still didn’t deal with Shopper, Eiteuoo and Luee. Shopper and Eiteuoo let the guard down after a while, then one day Jason killed both of them after dinner. He struck Shopper first, but he didn’t kill Shopper until Eiteuoo came to save him. Then Jason ran after Eiteuoo and quickly caught up with him and pulled his spine out of his back. Guards watched all these, but none of them came to stop Jason. Luee was so scared that he hung himself in the cell. Since then no prisoner dared to cross Jason.
Jason didn’t use his reputation to take advantage of other prisoners. His principle was simple: You stay out of my way and I stay out of your way. Things stayed quiet and Jason kept fighting and winning.
One day he was having dinner alone. Yawon walked to him and acknowledged him.
Jason looked up and smiled reluctantly at Yawon. What they went through last time did pull them closer, but Jason wasn’t really interested in making friends.
“You are Yawon, right?” Jason said.
“Oh, you remember. How nice of you.” Gloria said happily.
“Why are you in here?” Jason asked.
“Murder. I am not as lucky as you. I can’t hook up with the Hylocan queen.” Gloria said ironically.
“Why you always bring this up?” Jason whined. He recalled the several recent conversations and Yawon always found a way to irritate him by linking something to the Hylocan queen.
“Because you never give a straight answer.”
“Answer what? Whether we are in love or not? What the fuck is your problem?” Jason said angrily.
“I can tell you two are going through some hard time. Is that the reason she didn’t come to save you?”
“Fuck off!” Jason snarled.
“I guess she doesn’t love you that much. At least not as much as Gloria does.” Gloria said easily.
Jason looked at Yawon in surprise, his mouth opened and his eyes bulging. He was quite sure that he never mentioned this name to anyone since he got here.
“How the fuck do you know this name?” Jason asked hastily.
“Surprise? Huh? What do you think?” Gloria said happily.
Jason thought for several seconds and whispered, “Gloria sent you? How is she? Is she alright?”
“She is fine. She sent me here get you out.” Gloria said in a low voice.
Jason heaved a sigh of relief, reclining against the back of the chair.
“She wants me to tell you that she loves you.” Gloria said emotionally.
“I love her too.” Jason said immediately.
Gloria smiled quietly. She wanted to hold Jason’s hand, but she realized that she was still Yawon.
“So what is the plan?” Gloria asked.
“You came here and asked me for a plan? Really?” Jason said in surprise.
“She told me you always came up with plans when you were in the situation.” Gloria said innocently.
“But not like this. Hey, did Gloria contact my other friends in training center?” Jason asked curiously.
“Yes, she did and I get in here with the help of Titainein. They have a vessel ready as we speak now. If we can get out of here, we just need to call it in.”
“It is easier said than done. Except the asteroid field, the surrounding area is filled with mobile mines disguised as rocks.” Jason sighed.
“Come on! Jason! This is not like you.” Gloria said as she poked him on the shoulder.
“Don’t act like you know me. I am just telling you the truth.” Jason said quietly.
“Gloria knows you and she says you are a man who will fight to the last drop of your blood.” Gloria said emotionally.
“Oh, by the way, you must bring some kind of communicator here right? Can I use it?” Jason said in a begging voice.
“You want to call Gloria?”
“Yes.”
“No. You can’t. It’s meant to be used as the very critical moment. Not for you to show your love. You understand?”
“Come on! Man! Just one minute. Or maybe 30 seconds?” Jason said in a begging voice.
Gloria showed Jason an ice cold face.
“Alright, it’s your call.” Jason sighed.
They further talked about the prison security details and routines. Later they both concluded that it was impossible to break free from Listan even if there was help from outside. They decided to seek the opportunity when Jason fought in another prison. Jason was happy and motivated. He knew Gloria was waiting for him now.
Chapter 146
It was a little more than three months since Jason arrived at Listan. Now it would be his first time or only time to leave Listan. The fight would be held at a Dolanz prison Azacaliz on planet Weithei. The warden moved the fight date ahead a little bit, because he was concerned that the war between Oepttese and Dolanz might undermine the fight. The war unlike previous ones had escalated to a full-scale bloodshed with battlefields at all fronts. Backed by Human, Oepttese was determined to fight to the end of whatever. The prison was right on the edge of a battlefield. Dolanz was still holding the ground, but the warden just wanted to be on the safe side.
Right now, Jason and Gloria were on a cargo vessel, accompanied by Hwoei and 10 guards. They just left the asteroid belt and were on their way to planet Weithei. Jason made a request to the warden to take Yawon as a company. The warden wasn’t happy about it, but it was too late to find another fighter, so he granted it and doubled the guards.
Gloria contacted Titainein when she went for restroom. When she told Jason that his friends were on the way, Jason was both thrilled and worried. Gloria was confused at Jason’s reaction and she asked, “What is your problem?”
“I don’t want to drag my friends into this.” Jason said quietly.
>
“Then how are we going to do this? Even though Dolanz’s prison was not as bad as Listan, we can’t make it by ourselves.”
“I know.”
“So what are you whining for?”
“You probably don’t have many friends. That is why you can say something like this.” Jason said calmly.
Gloria fell into silence for several second and suddenly whispered, “What is the first thing you will do if you actually see Gloria?”
“I will have sex with Gloria.” Jason said quietly.
Gloria smiled happily and said, “I am quite sure she wants that too.”
“You know her that well?” Jason asked unhappily.
“Oh, are you jealous?”
“I never asked before, but what is your relation with Gloria?”
“What are you talking about?” Gloria put up a straight face.
“You know what I am talking about.” Jason said firmly.
“Man, you think I am Gloria’s ex-boyfriend?” Gloria said ironically.
“If that is the case, I am really worried about her taste.” Jason said with a bitter smile.
“You will know their relationship once you met her. Now stop thinking things like this. You need to put yourself together and we will stick to our plan. We will make it!” Gloria said confidently.
“I hope you put yourself together, you will see her. I have called Gloria and they know where we are going. They will help us from outside, but we need to break from inside.”
Jason nodded and said, “By the way, you called Gloria and you couldn’t give me like ten second to talk to her? Man! That is just mean.”
“You will have all the time you need. But right now, you need to focus.” Gloria said seriously.
“I am not a five year old kid. You don’t need to tell me again and again.” Jason said unhappily.
“You know, if you don’t love Gloria, you probably won’t get into all these troubles.”
“The best thing in my life is Gloria. I never regret any decision I made for her.” Jason said decisively.
After five hours, the vessel touched down at prison Azacaliz which was in the middle of a desert. Azacaliz was Dolanz’s main prison and had around 50000 inmates. Because of the sandstorm, most of its structures were underground.
Hwoei walked to Jason and shouted, “Get up! Move your ass!”
Jason and Gloria stood up and guards cuffed them in chains. They walked out of the vessel slowly.
It was late afternoon on planet Weithei, warm and dry, stiff breeze blowing in from time to time. Dozens of hemispherical buildings scattered around the area. Jason and Gloria walked into a nearby building. The fight would be at night, so they still had some time.
Chapter 147
Erikon and Lucis were asleep when Titainein called them. They shot out of beds and headed to the hangar right away. When they got there, Sayilin and Titainein just finished preparing the vessel. Orizy and Idi arrived two minutes later. They swiftly took off, heading to planet Weithei.
Titainein told them that Jason and Gloria would be on Weithei for several hours and it would be their only window to save Jason. They were aware that the planet was right on the edge of the battlefield between Dolanz and Oepttese, so anything could happen. They planned to cut the power supply to the prison, free prisoners and save Jason in the chaos.
Two hours later, they saw Weithei from the bridge. Its dayside was sunny but its nightside was ravaged by sandstorm. Since Idi was a Dolanz, they quickly passed the security check and flew to the prison which was now at the nightside of the planet. The vessel shook left and right like an old man stumbling down a steep alley. Orizy threw up everything on the dashboard; Erikon broke his nose; Sayilin twisted his arm and others were doing just fine.
After a bumpy ride, the vessel landed near the prison perimeter. Titainein looked around at everyone and said, “Guys, this is it. Jason is counting on us. Orizy, you stay on the vessel and keep it ready. We need distraction. Orizy, send a robot with charge to the other side of the prison and wait our call.”
“Got you.” Orizy said.
“Once we get in, prison security will find us pretty quick.” Sayilin said in a worried tone.
“We will free prisoners and it will buy us some time.” Titainein said calmly.
“Alright, let’s do this. After this, Jason owe us a big dinner.” Erikon shouted as he loaded his rifle.
Under the cover of night and sandstorm, Titainein, Erikon, Lucis, Idi and Sayilin quickly reached the exterior wall of the prison. Two guards and a few robots were standing on top of the wall.
“Orizy, you ready?” Titainein said to the communicator.
“Yes, the robot is in position.”
“Light it up.” Titainein said.
“Boom!” The sound of explosion alerted the guards and they left the wall.
Just at this moment, Sayilin stuck a plate like device on the wall. Within three seconds, the device gnawed a hole through the wall. They crawled through the hole and dashed to the closest building.
“Where is the power plant? We gotta hurry.” Sayilin said hastily.
Titainein looked around and caught a huge vent on one of the hemispherical buildings.
“That is the one.” Titainein said confidently as she pointed at the building.
“How do you know?” Lucis asked.
“We will find out, won’t we?” Titainein said.
They crept into that building. It was indeed the power plant. Dozens of industrial robots were running the facility.
“Titainein, Titainein, this is Gloria. Do you copy?” Gloria called in on the family badge she gave to Titainein.
“Gloria, this is Titainein. What is your status?”
“Jason will start the fight in about 20 minutes. Right now, we are at the north of the prison, but I think we will move to underground very soon.”
“We are not ready yet. We can’t do it now. We need about 15 minutes. I will track down the communicator and locate your position.” Titainein said.
“Got you.” Gloria hung up.
Titainein and others quickly set the explosives on the main power line and the auxiliary power system. Then they headed to Jason’s location.
Chapter 148
When Jason and Yawon left for planet Weithei, Mark was also on the way to Weithei. He couldn’t find the opportunity to save Jason when he was in Listan, but he did dig out when Jason would be travelling to Weithei for the fight. He knew this was the perfect time to save Jason. After he arrived at Weithei, he put on the face transformer and looked just like a guard. Jason arrived an hour later and Mark followed Jason into the build.
The fight was about to begin and Mark watched Jason and Gloria walk into a room in chains. Hwoei and 10 guards were right behind them. Mark caught up with those guards and followed them into the room. Hwoei saw Mark and gave him a blank stare, but he didn’t say anything.
It was a small room with a big window on one side. Hwoei motioned guards to unhook Jason and said, “You better win this one. If you lost and were still alive, you will be mine.”
“I will keep that in mind.” Jason said calmly as he glanced over at Yawon.
Hwoei pressed a button on the wall and the door slowly opened.
Jason walked into a big room the size of a basketball field. There was no audience but only several flying drones. As he looked around cautiously, he smelled something like bad shrimp. Then he saw a creature with a shark head, six limbs and a long tail. It smelled so bad that Jason suddenly understood why there was no audience.
The thing walked to Jason leisurely and stopped about three meter away from him, flashing its white triangle teeth.
Jason could imagine that this thing must come from some lab. Two of its four arms looked like sickles attached to rotating cranks. The other two looked just like Human arms. Its feet were big and webbed.
Jason slowly backed off and kept a distance. Suddenly it shot its tongue out and grasped Jason’s right arm. It pulled
Jason closer and then leaped in the air, swinging two sickles at Jason’s neck. Jason dashed forward and barely missed the sickles. But it grabbed Jason with the other two arms, its tongue pulling Jason to its mouth and its two sickles swinging around.
Just at this moment, lights went out. Jason knew it was the time. He jumped up and kicked the thing with both feet. He got off the tongue and ran away. At the same time, Mark was blasting his rifle in the room.
Gloria was hit and dropped on the floor, but she struggled to stand up and pressed the button on the wall. Jason followed the sound of gunshots and found the door. He rushed into the room and locked the door behind him.
“Jason. Jason!” Mark shouted excitedly.
“Dad?” Shocked and thrilled, Jason couldn’t believe his ears.
Mark turned on a flashlight and pointed it at Jason.
“Dad!” Jason shouted and jumped into Mark’s arms.
“Boy, I miss you.” These two hugged each other tightly.
“I miss you, too. Dad.” Jason shouted.
“Gloria, Gloria, do you copy?” Titainein called in.
Jason recognized the voice right away. He took over the flashlight and found out the voice was coming from Yawon’s body.
“You are Gloria?” Jason asked in surprise.
Gloria slowly sat up and removed the device from her chest. Her appearance changed back to the gorgeous Glycan girl.
“Gloria!” Jason shouted as he hugged Gloria.
“Jason.” Gloria said emotionally and broke into tears.
“I love you.” Jason said as he kissed Gloria on her lips. Gloria kissed back passionately.
“Boy, can we do this sometime later?” Mark said in a joking tone.
After several seconds, Jason and Gloria finally let each other go. Right at this moment, somebody bursted through the door. Jason pointed the flashlight at the doorway. It was Erikon and Titainein.
“Sorry, we are a little late.” Titainein said quickly.
“Oh, man, it seems you don’t need us.” Erikon joked.
Lucis, Idi and Sayilin came into the room right after Erikon and Titainein.
