Four Split Personalities

Chapter 2600: Chapter 1229: Deadly Game · Continuation (V) - The Path to Survival

[Torture, huh...]

Staring at Fourteen’s not-all-that-tall back, Motan frowned slightly. He wasn’t completely unfamiliar with this word. Although Haru Kuttata’s intel never mentioned it, his quest did have a line that said "do not board the [Massacre Ship]". Obviously, there must be some connection between the two.

Not only that, in Motan’s view, since this warrior named Fourteen chose to say this kind of thing at this moment, then combined with the "story outline" Haru left behind, it was very likely that "he" at this very moment should not know about this matter at all, whether it was [Torture] or the [Massacre Ship].

So to be safe, Motan didn’t pick up Fourteen’s words, just let the story develop on its own and quietly waited for what came next.

It had to be said, if Motan knew this chunk of history, he would have endless options at this moment, and barring accidents, he could steer the story’s direction toward some HE (Happy End, i.e. "good ending"), just like he did in the previous story.

But reality was, Motan had never dabbled in this kind of story. Whether it was the Sea Tribe’s [Fourteen] in front of him, the somewhat mentally unsound Female Priest Mei Fu behind him, or the [King of Medicine’s Poison] Haru Kuttata he himself was playing, he didn’t recognize any of these names. Terms like [Bloody Maiden Arena] and [Torture] were things he was hearing for the first time.

Add to that the fact that while acting as "Haru Kuttata" he also had this identity "Frank Hughes", so at least at this stage, Let it be and not going against the story’s development was his only choice.

The lack of key intel was the true core difficulty of the quest [Road to Survival: Poison’s Demise], and this "difficult" was definitely not "difficult" in the conventional sense. Judging from the increasingly absurd rewards starting at 125%, it could basically be summarized as: one misstep and you’re doomed forever.

The so‑called reward wasn’t a reward at all. Given The Realm of Innocence system’s nasty habits, those rewards that looked obviously absurd as hell were things Motan wouldn’t get even if he worked himself to death. The only function of those few lines of text was actually to hammer home a single thing over and over again: this quest is very, very, very dangerous!

And this danger, if nothing unexpected happened, its core source was probably this pillar of the [Bloody Maiden Arena] standing right in front of him, the Sea Tribe’s Fourteen, reputed to be the strongest Gladiator.

[Observe for now. That’s all I can do, anyway.]

Motan quietly let out a breath in his heart, abandoning the plan of raising his arm and putting one of the poison bolts from his wristguard into Fourteen’s back—the man was facing away from him and seemingly completely defenseless—and lowered his head even further.

As for Mei Fu standing behind him, who looked like she might plop down on her butt at any time, her face was deathly pale, her pretty features drained of color. Having seen Fourteen’s heroic form in battle, the terror in her eyes was probably a lot clearer than Motan’s.

"[Torture] is a fairly famous pirate group along the coastal regions. At the same time, it’s also going to be our destination for quite a long while."

Fourteen seemed very satisfied with the two’s reactions. He turned and blinked his rather terrifying eyes at Motan and Mei Fu. "Its predecessor was a bunch of Gladiators from all over the world who, for various reasons, all ended up in the [Bloody Mary Arena]. Aside from the captain, whether it’s the first mate, second mate, helmsman, or Common crew, they were all Strong who, in certain periods of time, laughed till the end in this arena and successfully bought their way out. In fact, they’re far stronger than outsiders imagine."

"Oh?"

Motan didn’t stay silent this time, merely asked calmly, "Why is that?"

"On one hand, it’s because very few people attacked by [Torture] are left alive, so there actually isn’t that much information about them. And in front of Caravans that pay them ’toll’ on a regular basis, they won’t show their full strength either, or they might run into a siege that’s too strong and end up capsized."

Fourteen shrugged and chuckled lightly. "On the other hand, their ’captain’ hasn’t come back yet, so they still have to hold back a little."

"The captain?"

Motan frowned, asking while fully knowing the answer.

"I’m their captain."

Fourteen grinned. While stroking the brand on his shoulder, he said softly, "Even though I’ve been stuck in this place for a very long time, and had never met companions as outstanding as you two, over these decades I’ve secretly helped many people with great Potential and similar ideals. For example, giving a push to those who had a chance to leave here, letting them leave this place of exile and regain their freedom."

[Our temporary leader Fourteen says that as long as we break through the first few layers of blockade, his friends will come to help us. Although I know I shouldn’t trust him so easily, I really can’t find a reason for him to lie to us. Besides... I must regain my freedom and make that despicable traitor pay!]

Hearing this, Motan immediately recalled a later passage in Haru Kuttata’s notebook.

"So that means..."

Since this was intel Haru already knew, Motan had no burden asking about it. "Fourteen‑sir, those friends of yours are actually the [Torture] pirate crew?"

"Obviously."