Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 337 - 256: The Mole

Chapter 337: Chapter 256: The Mole

After tragically losing two teammates, Duan Mingyuan’s team saw a significant increase in average strength, and the Mechanical Maid’s disdainful gaze turned back to normal.

Through control variable methods, Duan Mingyuan concluded that the Judge didn’t look down on him, but rather on Mr. Norton, who fantasized about machinery.

A person filled with lewd rubbish could hardly propose any constructive suggestions for the future of the Prison Planet.

"So, Mr. Mingyuan, do you have anything else to say?"

The Mechanical Maid asked.

"I heard from the Prison Governor that you took prisoner 1721 out of his cell."

"That is none of your business."

From the Mechanical Maid’s furrowed brow, it wasn’t difficult to see her disdain for 1721.

This was good news, at least it meant the Judge wouldn’t mix up with this sinister prisoner anytime soon.

Mingyuan also noticed that since completing the "Cocoon," the Judge’s expressions had become richer, whether it was the previous look of disdain or the now undisguised disgust, it all seemed just like that of a real human.

"You want to completely eradicate it."

Having been correctly read by Mingyuan, the Mechanical Maid turned her face to one side.

All along, 1721 had been a thorn in the side of the Judge, an enigma it could not understand, and from the reaction below Black Lake, the Judge even seemed to fear this creature that could not be killed no matter what.

Hence, what followed was only natural.

Once it completed cocooning and its energy had grown, the first thing it thought of was to get rid of 1721 and reclaim its territory.

If we consider the present Prison Planet to be a new world, then 1721 was the person rejected by this new world.

Regrettably, judging from the Judge’s reaction, its attempt had failed once again.

"I know some things about 1721. If you don’t trust me, you can ask your peers."

"Clang, clang—it’s time for me to make an appearance again!"

He Ya appeared once more, but she did so in a different guise, having switched from a honeycomb drone to a sweeping robot. Noticing Mingyuan’s puzzled glance, she explained, "Prisoners and guards have recently been attacked by honeycomb drones, which could trigger their stress response."

"You are..."

The Mechanical Maid paused, only then realizing the sweeping robot had slipped free from the system’s control, and her several attempts to summon it back had ended in failure.

This feeling was strange; the consciousness hidden within the body of the sweeping robot didn’t seem to harbor significant energy. It appeared fragile and trifling, yet it was entirely beyond her control.

"She is your peer, or you could call her a senior, revered by the Shan Clan People as the goddess of trade."

Mingyuan introduced her once again, "Her specialty is..."

"Doing business."

He Ya interjected, "Any type of business, as long as the customers have demands, I can figure out a way to get what they want, for instance, the troublesome 1721."

The communication became much smoother.

Mingyuan nodded in approval. While both Norton and Mr. Owl were kind individuals, they struggled to fit into the atmosphere of scholarly discussion. He had great hopes for Mr. Owl, only to be deeply disappointed today.

Look at He Ya; she immediately got down to business upon their first meeting.

The Mechanical Maid’s eyes brimmed with curiosity towards He Ya, clearly, her previous words had successfully piqued the Judge’s interest.

"You see it as a byproduct of Eisenberg-Adler, troubled that your power can’t kill a human creation, while also fearing they will proliferate until they own the entire jail."

He Ya always did her market research beforehand; she knew that the last prison riot had left a deep psychological shadow on the Judge.

was not only unkillable, but it also seemed to multiply with each attempt to kill it.

The 1721s currently detained were only a portion of them; others that escaped hid in darkness, parasitically settling on this planet like bacteria.

She explained to Mingyuan, "It’s not just personal vendetta. After cocooning, its perceptive powers surpassed the past, and it started to feel the presence of the other entities."

Sewers, ventilation ducts, ruins, even the intestines of prisoners and guards, all the dark and dirty corners you can think of were infiltrated by them.

Therefore, eradicating bacteria became the top priority for the Judge after cocooning, leaving it no time to deal with other big and small matters in the jail.

"Do you know how to eradicate them?"

"I do not."

"Can you kick her out too?"

From hope to disappointment, the Judge suddenly lost the desire to continue communicating with He Ya.

It should never have harbored any hope for forming a team. Everyone in this prison was a worthless Adou, and in such circumstances, they even dared to fantasize about a white silk maid!

Once it eradicated these bacteria from the planet, it would be time to deal with the fantasy pests.

"Stop!"

The sweeping robot on the ground lifted its vacuum cleaner arm in front of itself. Although the robot didn’t have human features, Mingyuan could tell Er Kang was imploring to stay.

He Ya felt this was where cocooning fell short—it endowed the Judge with thoughts close to those of humans, thus giving rise to emotions. The current Judge was evidently in an irritable and volatile state.

But one can’t fully blame them, as anyone would be both shocked and enraged to discover so many bacteria parasitizing on their body.

"Although we currently don’t know how to deal with these ’bacteria,’ we can research them! Look, this Mr. Duan Mingyuan is a universe-renowned doctor who has successfully cured countless intractable diseases."

The Judge’s gaze drifted back and forth between Duan Mingyuan and He Ya.

One was a businessman and the other a doctor, yet their self-aggrandizing demeanor reminded it of pyramid schemes.

Prison Planet was a place for detaining interstellar felons, rife with sin, including the heads of fraudulent pyramid schemes.

"First, I must correct your mistake. Although 1721 did originate from a human’s ’dirt,’ its existence predates Eisenberg by far and is older than any civilization you know of, so stop imagining it as a minor character that can be easily disposed of."

"I’ll take you there."

The Judge decided not to listen to the pyramid scheme’s rhetoric anymore.

Bringing the two men in front of 1721 would make their true capabilities quite clear.

It isolated the "bacteria" in a newly constructed cell, separating it from the surrounding environment, at least to ensure 1721 wouldn’t continue to split while it attempted various sterilization methods.

This was a cube with no doors or windows and no pipes, completely sealed off.

was still firmly chained to the seat, but by now, it had shed its disguise, eyeing everyone with fierce and ferocious eyes.

"It seems you’ve already discovered my identity and can’t wait to get rid of me."

He said to the Mechanical Maid, whistling, "By the way, you look much more pleasing now than before."

still maintained the appearance of Eisenberg, a highly respected scientist in the academic community who whistled and flirted with decent women like a street thug, an oddly disconcerting sight.

The Judge couldn’t be bothered with it and led the two into the cell before heading for the door, "I’m giving you one hour."

"More than enough," He Ya confidently patted Duan Mingyuan’s shoulder.

"Don’t point the vacuum cleaner at someone’s face."

"Ah, sorry, I haven’t fully adapted to this body yet!"

After apologizing, the sweeping robot followed the footsteps of the Mechanical Maid.

In a team, the most important thing is to divide the responsibilities.

Duan Mingyuan was responsible for the frontal confrontation with 1721, while she would use this hour to increase her Favorability with the Judge, at least making it less prickly in its remarks later on.

After the two left, 1721 was quiet for a long time.

It didn’t immediately activate its Ability because last time when it tried to warp Duan Mingyuan’s consciousness, it ended up being controlled by the latter and was knocked out for an extended period.

Duan Mingyuan had moved a chair and sat down in front of him.

"You must know my details by now," 1721 said.

Seeing that Duan Mingyuan neither agreed nor disagreed, it asked again, "Aren’t you afraid?"

"Why should I be?"

"Because I will bring you fear... What are you laughing at?"

"To be precise, it’s not you, but the consciousness that created you."

Duan Mingyuan corrected him, seeing 1721 as nothing more than an extension of some Chaotic Energy. Compared to Black Holes, as mentioned by He Ya and Eisenberg, it was at most a black dot.

And now, a speck-like existence was boasting about destroying the entire universe, lending their conversation a sense of dark humor.

"You should really learn from the entity that created you and seriously consider how it plans to destroy the universe."

Duan Mingyuan said, "It hides behind the scenes, using Long Branch Guard to approach Eisenberg-Adler, and has him complete a research project, letting humanity revel in the euphoria of controlling power and authority, numbing their spirit and will, completely unaware of the doomsday’s approach."

He thought that this would be a tactic befitting a mastermind.

Not like 1721, who, having done nothing, blabbers about plans to destroy the universe to anyone it encounters.

If one were to measure in team terms, 1721 was undoubtedly comparable to a pig-headed teammate.

Duan Mingyuan suspected that He Ya held so much information about "Black Holes" because of big-mouthed entities like 1721 spreading rumors everywhere.

"I only have one question for you, why do you blurt out other peoples’ meticulously made plans everywhere? Whose side are you on, really?"

?

Hmm, hmm!?

was stunned.

It had never considered this question; its nature was to spread panic, and as humans despaired over doomsday, it could draw sustenance from them.

However, Duan Mingyuan had posed a soul-searching question from another perspective.

"Search your heart. Have you betrayed them?"