Chapter 22: First Trial
1696 Words
Chapter 22: First Trial
"I should choose to be eliminated!"
After some thought, Jiang Yue Sheng made his decision.
Being eliminated might result in a quick death, but he wouldn't be forced to help these evil people with their immoral deeds. Being selected would mean a slow death, but he would still have to write malicious code for these bad people. In the end, it was the same—death was inevitable. So, why worry about whether it comes a day earlier or later?
After a month of painful suffering, the time finally came to submit the results.
Jiang Yue Sheng handed in a flashy, hollow design document. On the surface, it looked impressive, full of words and discussions. The structure and details of the program were mentioned, but it was just empty, formulaic content. He didn’t submit a blank document because he didn’t want to provoke them, fearing they might do something extreme.
He hoped the project manager would be dissatisfied with his work, frustrated, and then fulfill his promise to eliminate him. As for what would happen after being eliminated—he would leave that to fate.
On the fourth morning after submitting his work to the project manager, he heard a knock on the door. The door opened, and two masked men appeared.
"Mr. Jiang, your program did not pass the test. As per the rules, we are sending you back to the mainland. The project manager would like you to sign a receipt for your reward. Please come with us!"
Jiang Yue Sheng thought to himself: "They’re not sending me back to the mainland; they’re sending me to my death."
He followed the two masked men down the hallway towards the elevator. They first took an elevator down to the basement, where they switched to another one. The further they descended, the more it felt like descending into the depths of hell.
After exiting the second elevator, they arrived at a gloomy, small platform, surrounded by floating foam-like material, similar to the materials used in the floating island factory where he was once imprisoned. Below the platform, the sound of churning seawater echoed.
It looked like this was another artificial floating island.
Jiang Yue Sheng realized that they were not there to pay him his reward—they were going to execute him and silence him forever.
He had suspected this outcome for a while, so he had already made preparations.
Hidden inside the left-hand prosthetic his mother had designed for him were two devices: one was a rapid-fire high-pressure air gun, and the other was an encrypted satellite terminal that allowed direct communication with his mother.
Five days prior, Jiang Yue Sheng had already fully charged the air gun. His mother had chosen this simple weapon, ensuring it would pass security checks. It was a smart choice—on the outside, it looked like a normal prosthetic, and no one could tell there was a weapon hidden inside, even with x-ray scans. He could carry it on planes and trains without issue.
As one of the masked men signaled him to walk towards the water, Jiang Yue Sheng pretended to hesitate, then began walking, while quietly unlocking the safety on the air gun.
He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly crouched, rolling to the side, and fired at the masked man who had drawn his gun.
"Pop, pop, pop, pop!"—a four-shot burst.
The bullets were specially made from carbon fiber to avoid detection by security checks. They were lightweight and had a very short range, only effective at close distances.
Jiang Yue Sheng didn’t check if the first man was hit. He quickly turned and fired at the second masked man, aiming at his chest and abdomen.
"Pop, pop, pop, pop!"—another four-shot burst.
By the time he finished firing, the first masked man had collapsed, and the second man, who had tried to draw his weapon, was also hit.
Fearing he hadn’t hit the second man enough, Jiang Yue Sheng fired a few more shots, knocking the second man down as well.
He knew the air gun’s power wasn’t lethal, but both men were definitely down. He rushed over, using his prosthetic arm to strike the first man’s head several times and then repeated the action on the second man.
His prosthetic arm, made of carbon fiber and titanium alloy, was much harder than a human fist. A few strikes were enough to knock the two men into a state of shock.
To be sure, he picked up a laser gun from the ground, pushed both masked men into the sea, and watched them sink before feeling a bit of relief.
At that moment, a wave of fatigue washed over him, and he collapsed to the ground, surprised at himself for killing two people in one breath.
What should he do next?
It seemed like he had no choice but to fight back—there was no escape on this vast sea. If not for the good people from the Free Island who had rescued him during his last escape, he would have never survived.
Resolved, Jiang Yue Sheng decided to fight, since death was inevitable either way.
He looked at the laser gun in his hand but didn’t know how to use it. He pulled the trigger towards the wall—nothing happened.
After several tries, he finally found the safety lock and, when he triggered it, a white light shot out from the gun’s barrel, burning a hole in the wall.
He quickly fixed his clothes and entered the elevator.
When he exited the elevator, he saw a masked man holding a laser gun just exiting from the opposite elevator.
Without hesitation, Jiang Yue Sheng raised the laser gun and fired.
"Pop, pop, pop."
The man’s abdomen was hit, and he collapsed, twitching on the ground. It looked like the shot hadn’t hit any vital organs. Jiang Yue Sheng quickly rushed forward and shot him in the back, creating a large hole.
He entered the elevator going up, planning to reach the top floor—the same one where the project manager had held their meeting. He wanted to find the project manager and take control of him. As long as he controlled the project manager, there was a chance to return to the mainland.
On the top floor, he saw many doors along the hallway and didn’t know which one led to the project manager’s office.
Instead of searching every room, he decided to lie in wait in the hallway.
Just as he was thinking, one door opened, and two masked men emerged. He didn’t hesitate, aiming his laser gun and firing.
The white light flashed, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. One masked man had a large hole burned in his chest, and the other lost his jaw.
Both bodies collapsed in front of the door.
Jiang Yue Sheng figured the enemies had discovered him, so he dashed toward the door, which led to the meeting room.
Inside, only one person was seated. Although wearing a mask, Jiang Yue Sheng recognized from the white outfit that this person was the project manager.
He aimed the laser gun at the project manager and shouted, trembling, “Don’t move!”
The project manager hesitated for a moment, then raised both hands.
Jiang Yue Sheng took a few steps forward and shouted again, “Lie down!”
Reluctantly, the project manager stood up and moved two steps aside before lying down on the ground.
Jiang Yue Sheng scanned the room for ropes but couldn’t find any.
Looking down, he noticed the project manager’s shoes had laces. He quickly crouched down, untied them, and then commanded, “Put your hands behind your back!”
He pressed his knee into the project manager’s back and used the shoelaces to tightly bind the manager’s hands.
As he tied the project manager, he remembered how he had been bound during his previous k********g, and the feeling of helplessness that came when he was freed. He tightened the knots even more.
Pulling off the project manager’s mask, he was taken aback—the man’s face seemed vaguely familiar. Had he seen him before?
No wonder the project manager used an elimination process in the software development—they might be from the Hong Zhi Yuan Research Center. Jiang Yue Sheng realized he had probably seen him there.
To avoid being ambushed, Jiang Yue Sheng leaned against the wall, two meters away from the project manager, and sat down.
"Can you take me back?" Jiang Yue Sheng asked.
“I can, as long as you don’t kill me, I will take you back,” the project manager replied.
“How many people do you have here?”
“There are eight bodyguards and twelve maintenance staff.”
Jiang Yue Sheng thought to himself, he’d already taken out five bodyguards. He wondered where the remaining three were.
“Where are the bodyguards?”
Before the project manager could answer, Jiang Yue Sheng heard footsteps approaching the meeting room door. Realizing someone was coming, he quickly hid behind the project manager, using his body as cover.
The door opened, and two bodyguards rushed in.
Jiang Yue Sheng immediately fired his laser gun.
The first bodyguard was hit in the abdomen and collapsed on the spot. The second, turning to run, was hit in the back and fell in the lounge area.
Calming himself, Jiang Yue Sheng thought, he had to find a way to deal with the last bodyguard. He turned to the project manager and ordered, “Call all the bodyguards here!”
The project manager hesitated but finally said, “The walkie-talkie is in my pocket. You can take it.”
Jiang Yue Sheng reached into the project manager’s pocket and grabbed the walkie-talkie, pressing it to his mouth.
Taking a few breaths to steady himself, the project manager spoke into the device, “All security, please report to the meeting room immediately!”
“Roger that, project manager!” came the voice from the walkie-talkie.
Jiang Yue Sheng quickly thought, with four bodies already in
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