My Cell Prison - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Chapter 6 – Parade Square

Translator: Exodus Tales

Editor: Exodus Tales

“Big brother, where did you go? Why aren’t you back home?”

Just as Han Dong was quickly walking out of the dark alley and was about to inquire passing pedestrians about everything happening… The sweet and soft voice of a little girl came from beside him.

Han Dong’s brain reacted very quickly.

In his mind, the image of a cute little girl wearing a lace tutu skirt with her blonde hair appeared to him… And from what he just heard, he obviously made the connection that this voice belonged to Nicholas’ sister.

Just as Han Dong turned his head round, what greeted him was completely different from what he had imagined.

Girls would look comparatively healthier when they are as skinny as he was… But due to her lack of vitamins, her skin was yellow.

She should be around 15 years of age, and her hair was not blonde and wavy as he had imagined, but she had the same brown short hair like Nicholas, as well as a matching pair of ocean blue eyes.

The teenage girl wore a pair of crude copper wrought goggles, denim overalls with a tool bag slung on her side, looking like a young craftsman.

Furthermore, she was hugging a bag of fragrant smelling food… She was holding it in her arms like she was clutching precious treasure, afraid that people would come and steal it away from her.

“I just came out to take a breath of fresh air… Because there’s not a lot of time left.”

Han Dong was an associate professor at a local Italian university, so he spoke fluent English on a daily basis. Furthermore, how Han Dong had phrased his reply was very meaningful; he had intentionally raised the issue of time, even waving his black bracelet in front of the girl.

But who would have guessed that this act immediately caused the girl’s eyes to water and made her give Han Dong a hug from the side.

“Big brother would definitely not die… Nina believes big brother would definitely become a ‘returnee’ and come back home alive.”

Nina. He learned his sister’s name.

However, compared to knowing her name, Han Dong was even more interested in knowing this business regarding the countdown timer, as well as how it prompted the term ‘returnee’.

The reason this weak and feeble youth had chosen to end his own life most likely had something to do with this countdown.

Just what exactly could force such despair in someone that led to him giving up his life? Han Dong was very curious.

“Yup, I’ll come back alive… But of course, I’m still a little nervous, which was why I came out to get some fresh air. Relax, Nina. I’ll be fine.”

Han Dong tried his best to show confidence and optimism. After all, having a girl crying was a very distressing matter.

Nina lifted her goggles up and rubbed her wet eyes, before taking out the food she had long prepared.

“Yeah! This is the fish and chips, and cabbage sandwich that mother has made for you. Big brother, eat it as you head over to the Parade Square. It’s best if you arrive 15 minutes before the timer’s up.”

“Got it…” Han Dong made a mental note that there was a place called Parade Square. It seemed like he needed to arrive before his clockwork timer finished its countdown, otherwise, something terrifying might happen.

As he got on his way to the plaza, because Han Dong was too hungry, he did not really care for his image. Each bite he took was relatively luxurious, containing both the fish and chips as he ate.

Whenever he felt that it was getting too oily, he would take a bite of the vegetable sandwich to manage it.

Because of the state of the nation as well as the family financial situation, the Valen household would hardly be able to eat such food even once a year… That was the reason why Nina had held onto the food so tightly to her chest like it was a treasure.

However…

Nina was following beside him, and she was pretty much on the verge of tears seeing how ravenously Han Dong was devouring the food, which complemented the fragrant aroma that the fish and chips was giving off.

Han Dong was helpless. He had not eaten a bit of human food for seven years. Honestly speaking, he was not willing to share.

Only upon thinking that this brother and sister relation that they had could be useful in the future, as well as his need to learn more information regarding the Holy City from Nina, did Han Dong break off a small piece of the battered fish and offer it to her.

“I’m not hungry.”

When Han Dong lifted the piece of fish to Nina, she was licking her saliva from the corner of her mouth as she protested unconvincingly.

After all, this could be Han Dong’s last meal… Nina knew very well just how dangerous it would be for her big brother.

“Take it. I’m full.”

“… Okay. Thank you, big brother.”

Nina took the piece of fish and looked as if she wanted to mimic what Han Dong did and put the whole piece in her mouth… But she felt that doing so was too much of a luxury, and instead opted to slowly munch on the food bit by bit, feeling somewhat embarrassed as she kept sneaking glances to Han Dong with every bite.

—————————–

After spending almost half an hour brisk walking, they finally reached the Parade Square.

The place was huge. Han Dong had never seen such a huge plaza in his life, big enough for tens of thousands of people to gather in here.

One look and Han Dong could see that at least half of the people here were wearing a similar clockwork bracelet like him… Furthermore, most of them were teenagers.

This also explained why Han Dong did not see a lot of youths in the civilian buildings before.

“There’s still 20 minutes… Why do I have this ominous feeling that this is a scene of a large scale sacrifice?!”

Han Dong’s first thought was that this was a sacrificial ceremony.

However, upon careful thought, he found that it was not too possible… Sacrificing thousands of youth that represent a nation’s future strength in one go like this was foolish unless the nation had no intention of continuing on any longer.

Plus, what his sister Nina had said meant it was not a guarantee that he would die, though it was true that the likelihood of death was very high.

“Nina, you can drop me off here! Don’t worry, I’ll be coming back alive.”

“Yes. Whether you’re my big brother or otherwise, I’ll be waiting for you here.”

This sentence that Nina said made Han Dong feel somewhat puzzled.

Nina had already run off and was now standing beyond the plaza. She stuck her tongue out to him, waving goodbye.

At the same time, a familiar burst of metal horses galloping could be heard in the distance.

However, this time it was not just a carriage, but a whole company of black cavaliers riding on mechanical horses, coming up to a total of 30 cavaliers.

Han Dong could vaguely sense the air that these 30 men were giving off was enough to overwhelm the tens of thousands of civilians that had gathered in this plaza.

“The Black Rose Cavalry Brigade!!”

The citizens in the plaza could not help but yell this noble and awe-inspiring name.

They were the backbone of this nation, bearing the real hope that mankind would survive. 

The Black Rose emblem was their symbol of identity.

The black armor they were wearing looked heavy, but it was actually lightweight and fitted them perfectly.

These cavaliers did not wear a matching helmet but had instead donned a black mask made out of metal that had goggles welded into it.

Han Dong was curious about this as well. Those people in the horse carriage before had also been wearing similar goggles.

It seemed like the goggles hold a very special meaning in this world… It was not just simply used for work, it was also needed when dealing with those mutants.

As for their mounts, they were riding on the highest quality of black steeds. Unlike the horses that he had seen that were driving the carriage before, these black steeds retained their strong muscular horse legs, utilizing advanced modifications that were augmented to strengthen the horse mobility.

“These cavaliers should not be considered as normal people, so it’s best if I keep a low profile.”

Han Dong tried his best to mingle in the crowd where the density was the highest, thereby minimizing his presence as best as he could.

The 30 black cavaliers surrounded the plaza evenly spaced out from one another, completely locking down the plaza. 

The black cavalier heading this procession pulled out an exquisite saber from his waist, and Han Dong could see that there was some sort of frosty white chill that covered the surface of the blade.

The tip of the saber was pointed up toward the night sky.

The majestic sounding voice that came from beneath the mask reverberated across the entire plaza.

“The ceremony is about to begin… Those who had not been selected are now required to leave the plaza as soon as possible!”