Chapter 80#

In the thick darkness, Fu Yucheng only felt a needle-like pain in his mind… In the out-of-control and violent struggle, his mental power had been torn almost into shreds… It was so noisy… it hurt…

He used nearly every ounce of strength he had just to slowly open his eyes.

The scene before him gradually went from blurred to clear.

This was a small square metal room, containing a bed, a table, a chair, and a simple toilet and washbasin. This cramped room didn’t even have a window; there was only a small wall lamp at the head of the bed, emitting a faint yellow glow.

Fu Yucheng stared blankly for a long time, then suddenly let out a laugh.

After circling around for over ten years, he had actually returned here, to this initial place.

He was all too familiar with this room.

Over ten years ago, he had stayed here for a full nine months—Cell 1 of the Central Empire’s Royal Prison, a place where legends said even light could not escape. For all these years, only Fu Yucheng had ever been imprisoned here.

Last time, at the cost of undergoing a transplant surgery, he had abandoned his identity and mental power to leave this place and go to the desolate Earth…

During these ten or so years, he had encountered many troubles, exhausted all his schemes, and accomplished many things. Every time, he had been able to win narrowly, which had almost given him an illusion that he could control every situation.

He had been too arrogant.

No matter how much you calculate, the Goddess of Fate only watches you toil away, smiling without a word… then she gives you a painful blow when you least expect it, making you clearly realize that you are actually nothing.

Small, weak, and powerless.

Fu Yucheng lay on the narrow single bed, looking at the dim ceiling, and self-deprecatingly remembered an ancient proverb—Man proposes, God disposes. (Note: The Chinese text uses a variant of “Man plans, God laughs”).

He lay for a while, then forced himself up to sit against the headboard, feeling his neck.

The cold mental power suppressor around his neck was the same as before—the S-class mental power suppressor specifically forged for him. Thinking about it, since things had happened so suddenly, Bai Mo hadn’t had time to make a new suppressor and could only put this old one on him.

Thinking of Bai Mo, Fu Yucheng felt somewhat dazed.

As things stood, he knew very well that many of his methods of handling things had been terribly wrong. From Bai Mo’s perspective, he had cruelly deceived him, heartlessly failed him, treated him as a pawn to be used and discarded, and abandoned him without hesitation.

However, he truly had no choice.

Fu Yucheng had always been a confident and proud person, feeling he could settle anything and not fearing even if the sky fell. It wasn’t until he entered the Tower of Light and met his mother Rong Xu that he suddenly discovered he was also just an ant toyed with by fate, and that was all.

Later, he made a series of mistakes, leading to this outcome where both sides were wounded. Ultimately, his so-called reluctance and the things he let Bai Mo do to him were just a form of cowardly, self-indulgent escape—a cruel joke of self-deception.

But he was just too tired; he couldn’t stay perfect forever… he just weakened for a second, indulged for a moment, and everything became irremediable.

Fu Yucheng leaned blankly against the headboard, feeling the waves of piercing pain brought by the suppressor. That distant and familiar strange pain could drive an ordinary controller to the brink of collapse, but he had long since grown used to it.

After staring blankly for a long time, he suddenly heard a faint “swish—” as the prison door silently opened.

Then, someone walked in.

The sound of knight’s boots stepping on the metal floor was crisp and cold.

Fu Yucheng didn’t turn his head, but he knew who it was.

The other person stood before the bed, watching him in silence for a long time, then reached out and threw something in front of him.

Fu Yucheng froze slightly and looked down.

On the pure white, thin bedding, a tiny chip was flickering with a faint silver light. On the sharp edges of the chip, there were some mottled, dried bloodstains.

“You took it out?” he asked hoarsely.

Bai Mo looked down at him and said slowly, “I took it out myself.”

Fu Yucheng was silent for a moment: “The chip is very close to the nerves; it’s dangerous to do that…”

Before he could finish, the other person, as if unable to bear it, interrupted him directly: “…Fine, stop acting.”

Fu Yucheng looked at the other somewhat helplessly: “Xiao Mo, I…”

Bai Mo closed his eyes forcefully, his chest heaving heavily twice, and repeated word for word: “Stop acting.”

Fu Yucheng stared at him blankly, not knowing what to say.

Bai Mo looked down at him, his dark eyes devoid of any light. Fu Yucheng had never seen him like this, and he couldn’t help a wringing pain in his heart.

He could explain; he could tell the other the heavy truth…

But as his mother Rong Xu had said, even to the person he trusted most, he couldn’t reveal the truth… furthermore, Bai Mo’s nature was very simple; it was impossible to guarantee that no clues would be seen in his words and actions.

This matter was simply too important, and too many people had already paid too heavy a price… he couldn’t take risks for his personal feelings; he simply didn’t have the right to be willful.

However, in this current situation, although he couldn’t reveal the whole truth, he could at least try to explain a part of it.

Fu Yucheng hesitated for a long time before finally speaking: “Xiao Mo, I lied to you before. Actually, toward you…”

Bai Mo interrupted him, saying softly: “I know, you’ve always been lying to me.”

The youth paused, seemingly needing to gather some courage to face the heartbreaking facts: “From the day you picked me up, you’ve been lying to me. You are an S-class omnipotent controller, so naturally you could see my potential, and I was so foolish, practically a pawn that delivered itself to your door.”

Fu Yucheng could only remain silent.

Bai Mo looked at him and suddenly let out a low, miserable laugh: “When I was useful, you were always very good to me… but once you sat in that position, I was no longer of much use and would even hinder you from marrying and having children, so it was time to throw me away. Perhaps I should thank you; at least you still thought to ‘reward’ me. Just as you said, you really are… clear about rewards and punishments.”

Fu Yucheng suddenly found that he had blocked all his own paths of retreat. He was usually silver-tongued, but now he could only weakly deny: “It wasn’t like that…”

Bai Mo gave a low laugh: “Not like that? I once asked you if you actually liked me or not, and you couldn’t even answer. Since you don’t like me, yet you let me do that kind of thing to you… if it wasn’t to reward me, was it to keep me stable? After all, even the news of your wedding was something I was the last to know.”

Fu Yucheng murmured: “I just…”

I just didn’t know how to start the conversation.

“Have you forgotten what you said?” Bai Mo said with difficulty, “You said… you’ve always been clear about rewards and punishments, that I wasn’t the first and there was nothing special about me.”

Fu Yucheng said urgently: “It’s not like that! Xiao Mo, you are different to me, different from anyone else… I just had no choice, I…”

He couldn’t continue. He himself felt that these words sounded contradictory, extremely hypocritical, and completely unconvincing.

Bai Mo looked down at him, his dark eyes very calm: “In the span of just a few days, what you said when you were in power and what you said after falling from power are completely contradictory… You’re so smart, haven’t you realized that this sounds very ridiculous?”

Fu Yucheng was speechless.

“Fortunately, I had some reservations,” Bai Mo said softly. “When I was young, I once worshipped you very much, trusted you completely, and worked my life out to help you. But later, too many things happened that made me not dare to trust you without reservation again… You’re too powerful, your mind is too complex, I simply didn’t know what you were thinking or what you would do next… I had to leave myself a path of retreat.”

Speaking of this, the youth forced a curl of his lips, but there was no smile in his eyes: “If you had known I advanced to Super-S class, you’re so smart, you would have definitely thought of a hundred ways to deal with me, right?”

Fu Yucheng felt extremely miserable in his heart and didn’t want to continue entangling with him on this, so he changed the subject: “How is it outside?”

Bai Mo looked down at him: “You still care about the outside? Don’t worry, it’s perfectly fine outside. Even without you as the Regent Crown Prince, the Dyson Cloud won’t stop functioning, and humanity will still live on. Besides, I am a Super-S class Special-type controller… in this world, other than you, what person or thing is there that I can’t settle?”

Fu Yucheng stared at him and said solemnly: “Xiao Mo, don’t act recklessly.”

Bai Mo shook his head: “Don’t worry, I won’t act recklessly. Although those cabinet elders and nobles are a bit troublesome, I have no emotions toward them; those who should be imprisoned are imprisoned, and those who should be dismissed are dismissed. Even that Elder Ouyang, who cursed me for being a favorite who usurped the throne and said I’d be struck by lightning, I only drove him back to his hometown.”

“Instead of worrying about them,” he looked at Fu Yucheng and suddenly smiled: “You might as well worry about yourself.”

Knowing that the other hadn’t killed anyone indiscriminately to vent his anger, Fu Yucheng felt a weight lift from his heart, and his tone eased slightly: “Worry about myself? It’s not like I haven’t lived in this place before; it’s no big deal.”

Bai Mo stared at him and said softly: “But this time, you will never get out.”

“What, you want to lock me up for a lifetime?” Fu Yucheng frowned.

“What do you think?” Bai Mo gritted his teeth, his voice involuntarily rising, “Should I release you and let you go seduce others to deal with me?”

Fu Yucheng couldn’t help but become angry, but thinking of the words he had said, he lost his nerve again and could only lower his voice spinelessly, almost awkwardly forcing a weak explanation: “I’ve never done that kind of thing, I… I only have you.”

Bai Mo let out a sneer, sat down beside him, and pulled back the blanket from the other’s legs.

“Lu Xing told me that you have a mole here… it’s dark red and very beautiful.” He slowly stroked the position of that small mole through the thin fabric of the trousers, “He also said you are very sensitive here and that I should try it when I have the chance.”

Fu Yucheng simply wanted to curse out loud. He and Lu Xing had known each other since their teens. Water was scarce in the industrial zone, and there were almost no private bathrooms, only public baths. Everyone was a man, and no one thought about avoiding each other… besides, in a place like the inner thigh, eight out of ten people are sensitive, okay!

And before, because he wanted to make Bai Mo give up, his mind had gone dizzy and he had muddledly admitted to everything.

At this moment, Fu Yucheng simply wanted to strangle that nonsense-talking self of his, and even his voice in explanation was weak: “He was talking nonsense; nothing ever happened between us. Before, I only admitted it because I wanted you to give up…”

Bai Mo ignored him. After stroking for a while, he suddenly leaned over and pressed down.

Fu Yucheng’s mind was a mess. Before he could react, he was pinned to the bed: “What do you want to do?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt he had said something completely redundant.

“What do I want to do? What do you think?” Bai Mo said coldly, “From now on, the only thing you need to do is to make me happy.”

Fu Yucheng instinctively struggled, but was easily pinned down. The other’s strength was terrifyingly great, simply a different person from before.

“Yu-ge, I used to be afraid of hurting you, and I was always trying to please you. In this kind of matter, I was always trying hard to restrain myself. But by now, I have nothing to fake anymore,” Bai Mo said softly.

“Don’t go crazy!” Fu Yucheng paused slightly, then struggled forcefully again. Bai Mo pinned him down firmly with one hand while haphazardly tearing at his clothes with the other… The two struggled in a mess. In the chaos, without knowing how it happened, Fu Yucheng suddenly gave the other a fierce slap.

“Clap!” A crisp sound echoed in the small cell.

Bai Mo’s head was turned by the slap, and he was stunned.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the cell almost solidified.

“Xiao Mo, don’t be like this… I’m begging you,” Fu Yucheng said hoarsely.

“You’re begging me?” Bai Mo slowly turned his head back; on his pale face were five bright red finger marks.

Then, he suddenly seemed to break down, letting out a low, hoarse roar: “I’ve begged you too! I begged you not to leave me! I begged you not to treat me like that! I could do anything for you! And the result? The result? You said you wanted to marry and have children, you said you were clear about rewards and punishments, you said I wasn’t special, and you even wanted to use a chip to control me! How could you… how could you treat me like this… how could you…”

As Bai Mo spoke, his voice became so choked up it was unrecognizable. Then, almost frantically, he grabbed Fu Yucheng’s arm fiercely and flipped him over, pinning him onto the bedding!

Fu Yucheng was both pained and confused, having no strength to fight back at all; his head was spinning terribly. Amidst the world turning upside down, he could only feel the other pinning him down firmly, biting haphazardly into the back of his neck and shoulders… After an unknown amount of time, the dim scene before his eyes kept shaking. He felt a lot of pain. He could clearly endure pain above level ten, yet at this moment he was in so much pain he couldn’t even speak… The other person was completely treating him as a tool for venting, not caring about his feelings at all, almost cruelly tormenting him, even intentionally humiliating him…

After an unknown amount of time, this inhuman torment finally stopped.

Bai Mo stared blankly at the person beneath him who had completely lost consciousness. In his dark eyes, tears suddenly fell.

Those transparent, scalding tears, like pearls with a broken string, fell onto the other’s bloodless face, onto those densely lowered eyelashes, onto those broken and battered corners of the lips, onto those blue and purple intertwined bruises… He knew very well that after the other put on the suppressor, he was just an ordinary person and simply couldn’t withstand the abusive treatment of a Super-S class controller.

Bai Mo lowered his head tremblingly, continuously pecking at those cold, thin lips covered in tears: “I didn’t want it to be like this… Why, why treat me like this… I hate you…”