Chapter 635 - The Final Bait (1/2)

Washing basin, small dining table, urinal, air vent.

That made up the cell of a typical Ri Nation prison. If not passing through the enormous steel gate, one would not have realized that it was a prison cell. The cell had wood flooring covered in mats. Although the area was less than 10 square meters, it looked more like a room in a rented house.

Sitting in a corner was a man garbed in prison uniform who was roughly forty to fifty years old. He was unshaven and had grown a beard. His hair had been shaven off and his bald pate looked shiny. He wore a pair of round glasses and was reading a book.

It was Kuroda Kiyotaka.

Suddenly, the prison cell door opened and Anbei walked into the cell. He was wearing a suit, accompanied by Oshima Jun. Anbei seemed displeased and wore a grim face.

Kuroda Kiyotaka glanced at them and then continued to read his book as if he had seen nothing.

“You look pretty carefree. You’re reading Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis.’ Are you trying to escape by turning into a beetle? Wasn’t that what the principal character did? Are you trying to figure out how to turn into a beetle?” Anbei said sarcastically as he seated himself opposite the prisoner.

Kuroda Kiyotaka did not respond. Instead, he read out the synopsis of the book loudly: “Gregor realized that he had turned into a gigantic beetle. He panicked, and he also felt miserable. His father was exceedingly angry when he had found out and locked him in his bedroom. Gregor had changed. He was living the life of a beetle but still had the consciousness of a human being.”

He had lost his job and was still worried about how he should pay off his father’s debt. He had wanted to send his younger sister to a music academy. But a month later, he became his family’s burden. His father, mother, and younger sister changed their attitude toward him. To survive, his family had to work hard to earn money. They could barely tolerate Gregor, who was now a burden to them.”

Eventually, his younger sister suggested that they chase her brother out. Gregor was sick and hungry. He fell into despair and often thought about his family with love and affection. His head then landed on the floor, and he took his last breath before dying just like that. His father, mother, and younger sister then lived a life where they had to rely on themselves.”

“Are you trying to say that you are just like Gregor?” Anbei laughed coldly.

Kuroda Kiyotaka put the book down and lifted his head to look at Anbei. “My heart is with this country. I will do everything I can and I’m even willing to die for it. I knew that I would not be laid to rest in a burial ground if the genetic engineering experimentations were ever exposed. But someone like me had to step out and be the harbinger to bring this country into the future, to become stronger and better,” he said.

“Harbinger?” Anbei scoffed.

He found what he had just heard funny and laughed aloud. Anbei then grabbed the book from Kuroda Kiyotaka’s hands and threw it on the floor. Then he stood up and stepped on the book until it tore apart.

He pointed at Kuroda Kiyotaka and shouted, “Why don’t you look at yourself? Do you deserve to call yourself a harbinger?”

“It is pointless to continue this conversation. We oppose each other on our political views. But I want to ask you one last thing. If the Mei national had looked for you instead, would you not have agreed to build the research base?” Kuroda Kiyotaka asked.

Anbei squinted his eyes and glared at him with a somber-looking face, saying nothing.

“You would have agreed. Otherwise, I would not be the only one receiving the punishment, while the others are safe and well,” Kuroda Kiyotaka answered his own question.

Anbei eyes were filled with hostility.”You seem to know me so well. It looks like you have been thinking a lot about me while you were idle in here,” he said.

Kuroda Kiyotaka laughed and replied, “The one who knows you best will always be your opponent.”

“But you have lost the right to be my opponent.”

Like a victor, Anbei stood up and glared at Kuroda Kiyotaka. “By the way, I need to correct one of your statements. You are not the only one who has received punishment. Everyone else involved with the research base is already dead.”

What? Already dead?

The color on Kuroda Kiyotaka’s tranquil-looking face suddenly changed. He could no longer maintain his composure and asked, “You… You were the one who did it?”

“If you use that pig-brain of yours to think, you can tell that I am not the one who did that,” Anbei sneered.