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Chapter 21: How Are You Going to Fight Me?
The detention zone was located in the northwest corner of the base. Tang Fang and his five companions were roughly shoved along by Wei Haitao's subordinates, stumbling as they were led into their cells.
Zhou Ai and Eva shared one room, while Arroz, Byron, and Housen shared another. As for Tang Fang, he was placed in a separate room all by himself—no doubt a deliberate decision from Wei Haitao.
After the soldiers completed their task and left, Byron sat down on the cold, silver-reflecting floor, hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't hold back any longer. "What the hell is going on? Does that guy have a grudge against you? And what exactly is your plan?"
Tang Fang glanced at him through the bars but didn't speak. He walked over to the single bed, lay down, and closed his eyes to rest.
Byron’s question was met with silence, and his expression darkened. Arroz, leaning forward, pulled out a cigar box from his pocket, tossed one to Housen, then another to him, and lit his own with a match. He inhaled deeply, making a popping sound as the smoke curled out of his nostrils.
"Just wait and see."
Byron looked at him for a moment, took the flame, and lit his own cigar. He took a few puffs, and his brow furrowed slightly—it was way too hard to smoke!
Zhou Ai leaned against the iron bars, lost in thought, while Eva lay in her bed, already asleep. The atmosphere in the cell was heavy. The only sounds were the occasional crisp noise of a poker card hitting the table from two guards nearby and Tang Fang's rhythmic snoring.
He actually fell asleep!
As time passed and night settled in, dark thunderclouds gathered. The base’s lightning protection systems and electromagnetic force fields effectively shielded the area, keeping the storm at bay.
At the sound of the guard's shout, Tang Fang slowly opened his eyes. Looking up, he saw Old Burke from the kitchen, half-squatting as he slid a stainless steel tray through the narrow door crack. The tray held pumpkin porridge, cheese, three carrots, and a salted egg.
Old Burke waved at him, forcing a smile that seemed a bit strained, perhaps worried about his safety or anxious about the external alien threat.
Zhou Ai finished the pumpkin porridge in one go but didn’t touch the cheese. Housen, on the other hand, grabbed a carrot and chewed it noisily, making crunchy sounds with every bite.
A few minutes later, after Tang Fang finished eating and pushed the tray back through the door, he was about to lie back down when he heard footsteps coming from the hallway.
Before he could even process this, several people appeared in front of him, with Wei Haitao leading the group.
"It’s you. What do you want?"
Wei Haitao didn’t respond but instead signalled to the guards behind him. "Open the door."
The guards stepped forward, disabled the alarm system, and opened the door.
"Alright, you can leave now." After dismissing the guards, Wei Haitao walked into the cell with two of his trusted subordinates.
Arroz, Zhou Ai, and the others noticed the change and all turned their attention to them.
"Thomas and Conda are dead, but you’re still alive. Out of more than thirty death row inmates, only five survived. You’re still here, Tang Yan. You sure have a tough life."
Before Tang Fang could respond, Wei Haitao spoke in a tone filled with hidden meaning.
Tang Fang narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him for a moment, then coldly smiled. "Commander Wei, it sounds like you're implying something." With that, he turned and sat back down on the bed, closing his eyes again. “And you’re not here just to say that, are you?” He added.
Wei Haitao frowned. He hadn’t expected Tang Fang to be so difficult to deal with.
Before coming to Planet 5, Wei Haitao had thoroughly read through Tang Fang’s file—a dull, steady person. But for some reason, based on his actions now, it seemed as though he had become a completely different person, speaking and acting with a precision that left no room for error.
"Tell me, did you kill Thomas and Conda?"
Tang Fang smiled faintly. "Commander Wei, I’m sure you've gone through their autopsy reports countless times. Do you think someone with such precise fatal wounds could be killed by an ordinary person?"
"Then explain why every time the aliens show up, you’re always nearby, and you somehow manage to walk away unharmed?"
Wei Haitao clearly wasn’t an easy person to deal with. Tang Fang snorted, "Commander Wei, what are you trying to imply? Am I some kind of alien acquaintance? Are you suggesting I’m working with them? Do you really believe that yourself?"
Wei Haitao’s face darkened. He had come here to try and provoke Tang Fang, hoping to make him slip up, to find some way to get him to reveal something. But Tang Fang’s responses were so precise, every word calculated. It was as though he had anticipated everything.
The resources Tang Fang’s group had brought back showed that the underground contained very rare Element Zero, and if that information were reported, it would surely catch the Empire’s attention. At that point, they would send large numbers of soldiers to clear the aliens lurking underground.
When that time came, Wei Haitao would lose control over the situation. The various factions would make it difficult to take Tang Fang’s life.
"Tang Yan, do you know why you fell in that cave the first time?"
Tang Fang’s face changed slightly. He couldn’t understand why Wei Haitao was asking that.
"Because I ordered them to do it!" Wei Haitao’s voice was cold as he delivered the revelation. He had originally thought Tang Fang would fly into a rage, or at the very least, ask why. But to his surprise, Tang Fang remained calm, as if he had already known all along.
"Commander Wei, is my life that valuable? Why are you so intent on killing me? What’s your real reason?"
"You know?" Wei Haitao’s eyes hardened. He had hoped to push Tang Fang into a corner, provoke a reaction that would give him leverage. But to his surprise, Tang Fang had already anticipated it.
"Humph, so Thomas and Conda really were killed by you."
Tang Fang smiled coldly and shook his head. "That’s what you say, but I didn’t admit it."
"You..." Wei Haitao was nearly choked by those words. As a commanding officer, it was unimaginable that he, a leader, would be repeatedly outmaneuvered by a lowly cannon fodder soldier. He couldn't swallow this insult, no matter what.
After taking a deep breath to steady himself, he regained his noble demeanor and slowly said, "Tang Yan, if I’m not mistaken, you must have a younger brother and sister in Rector, right?"
Hearing those words, Tang Fang's heart skipped a beat, and a flash of memory crossed his mind— a little girl with pigtails, always craving cream cakes and strawberry ice cream. Of course, there was also his stubborn younger brother, who was dead set on becoming a general.
Even though he was Tang Fang and not Tang Yan, the warm memories of his family felt incredibly real in his mind.
Frustration, anxiety, and anger began to boil inside him.
"Your younger brother, Tang Lin, is 17 this year, right? I hear Marquis Nason’s Iron Raven fleet in the Gampna warzone is recruiting soldiers.
"And your sister, Tang Yun—she’s not bad looking from the photos. I hear young girls like her, especially virgins, are highly valued in the Omega Space Station in the Sullo star region."
Wei Haitao’s words pierced through Tang Fang like poisoned daggers, each one more painful than the last.
The Gampna warzone was one of the deadliest, with fierce battles between the Empire and the Charles Federation. At just 17, Tang Lin still had a long life ahead of him. If he were sent to the Iron Raven fleet, his death would be inevitable.
As for the Omega Space Station in the Sullo star region, in Tang Fang’s understanding, it was like a brothel in a place where desperate souls, miners, mercenaries, thieves, and scavengers clung to survival. It was a place where no one cared for anyone else, where only prostitutes and their clients remained.
And Tang Yun—she was only 15.
Tang Fang’s face twitched, his clenched fists cracking as he fought to suppress the boiling rage within.
"Why haven’t you made a move, Tang Yan?" Wei Haitao laughed, uncaring. "You’re smart, you know how to endure. But one thing you forgot: I’m Wei Haitao, a noble, and you—Tang Yan—are just a commoner. Killing you is as easy as crushing an ant.
"I’ll make you watch your brother die, listen to your sister’s screams as she’s violated by those filthy clients.
"Refuse? Feel humiliated? Then what are you waiting for? Do it—come at me, I’m standing right here."
Tang Fang’s eyes burned with fury, his body coiled with tension, ready to explode.
But before he could unleash his rage, a cold snort came from the adjacent cell.
"Humph, Wei Haitao, you really are despicable! Looks like the rumors are true—your family is full of treacherous scumbags." The voice came from Zhou Ai.
Wei Haitao froze for a moment, taken aback by the unexpected insult. Tang Fang, however, furrowed his brows, his anger slightly fading, and the tension in his muscles loosened.
Wei Haitao hadn’t expected someone to interrupt his confrontation, making his strategy of provoking Tang Fang fall flat. In his view, the lives of these prisoners were already hanging by a thread, barely able to fend for themselves, let alone care about the life and death of others. Yet, who would have thought there were always those busybodies who insisted on meddling in others' affairs?
"Zhou Ai, it's you!" Wei Haitao's teeth ground together audibly. When he turned back to look again, he saw Tang Fang had already calmed his anger and was now sitting back against the head of the bed.
Realising that Tang Yan likely wouldn't be so easily fooled again after this interruption, Wei Haitao paused for a moment with a cold face, then turned and walked out of the cell. Facing Zhou Ai, he said indifferently, "With the state you're in now, even if you die, Zhou Hongzu wouldn't say much."
"Heh." Zhou Ai sneered disdainfully. Ever since she was locked up in the Abyss One Space Station, she hadn't entertained the thought of leaving alive.
Nearby, Arroz, holding a cigar between his teeth, sauntered to the door, his gaze sweeping across Wei Haitao and his two companions. His expression was indifferent, as if he were staring at three corpses.
Behind Wei Haitao, a gaunt-faced soldier stepped forward and, with a loud "thud," punched Arroz square in the chest. "What are you looking at, old fart? Tomorrow, you're all done for!"
The cigar fell to the ground, scattering of the ash around.
Arroz looked up at the retreating backs of Wei Haitao and his men, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
Silently, he picked up the half-burned cigar, shoved it back into his mouth, took a couple of hard drags, and exhaled a cloud of thick smoke. "Byron, your 'Headless Horseman' is mine now."
On the other side, Tang Fang lay on the bed, staring unblinkingly at the ceiling.
In the system interface, the crystal and gas values had decreased to 490 and 540, respectively.
Next to the hatchery, the spawning pool churned with green waves, bubbling and gurgling.
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