Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 226: Volume 4, Chapter 16: Rewards in Prison

”Fatty, you new here?” A guard in his forties stood next to Tian Xingjian, watching for a full half hour as Tian’s deliberate, wild performance left him dizzy. The guard finally couldn’t help but ask.

Fatty quickly stopped what he was doing, nodding and bowing, ”Reporting, sir, I’m new here, first day on the job today.”

The guard waved his hand, indicating for Fatty to continue working. ”Not bad skills, did you do this before?”

Fatty restarted the mechanical assist arm, skillfully grabbing two drive shafts and joining them together, saying, ”Yes sir, I’m a mechanic.”

The guard grew interested, curious, ”It’s rare to see mechanics committing crimes and ending up here these days. Did you kill someone, Fatty?”

Tian Xingjian looked like an innocent man wronged, pitifully saying, ”Sir, I was framed. They said I was a spy.” The jerk shook his flabby body, asking miserably, ”Sir, look at me, can I really be a spy?”

The guard chuckled, not commenting, and asked, ”So where did you work before you ended up here?”

Fatty’s honest face showed a bit of pride, ”I used to be a researcher at the Mythical Army’s Mecha Research Lab. I even led a small team!”

The guard was taken aback, ”Mythical Army?”

Fatty boasted, ”Yeah, the Mythical Army. Our commander is Reinhardt.” The jerk glanced at the guard, who was struck dumb, and fawned, ”Our commander is really imposing... Really, he looks just like you, maybe even a bit more impressive.”

The flattery was perfect in its intensity and angle. Even though the guard knew Fatty was sucking up, he couldn’t help but be amused. Who was Reinhardt? For someone like him, a mere guard, to be compared to such a figure? And to say Reinhardt was only a bit more impressive than himself? It was ridiculous. This Fatty seemed simple and quite endearing.

Fatty sighed and continued, ”It’s a shame our commander isn’t around lately. Otherwise, he wouldn’t let anyone wrongly accuse me. Our commander likes me a lot. I’m in charge of all mecha modifications and new mecha designs in our unit.”

The guard was curious, ”Are you saying your commander doesn’t know you’re here?”

Fatty nodded dumbly, ”Yeah, our commander wouldn’t let anyone just grab someone from the Mythical Army.”

The guard nodded in agreement. It was well-known that Reinhardt fiercely protected his subordinates. Since Reinhardt became the Legion Commander, not a single person from the Mythical Army had been imprisoned in Abnosk. Even if someone from the army committed a serious crime, they would be punished by the army itself, with any unavoidable trial under Mythical Army’s full supervision.

This guard was named Davis, the chief guard of the prison factory. He had always had a special interest in mechanical things like mechanical flying cars. Seeing Fatty’s superb skills, he had a good impression of him initially. Now, hearing what Fatty had to say, his expression softened even more. Whether Fatty was telling the truth or not, it was better to be respectful to members of the Mythical Army. Even as criminals, they were different from the rest.

”So, you’re saying when your commander returns, you’ll be able to get out of here?” Davis simply sat down next to Fatty, chatting casually. The monotonous assembly work, under Fatty’s deft hands, had a performative flair. Davis found himself rather captivated.

Fatty sighed plaintively, ”Who knows when the commander will be back? Personally, I don’t mind so much. What’s crucial is the mecha development work I’m heading. It’s at a critical stage. Without me...” The jerk shook his head dramatically, looking like someone who thinks the world can’t function without him.

Davis chuckled, ”Experts invited to the Mythical Army are the best in the Empire. Without you, they can’t finish their development work?”

Fatty replied with honest sincerity, ”Yeah, I’m worried for the Empire. Personal gains and losses mean little; it’s the Empire suffering losses that really hurts.”

Just as Davis was holding his teacup, he nearly spat it out, choking on water and coughing violently, turning bright red in the face. He finally managed to catch his breath, only to look up and see Fatty’s genuinely innocent and loyal face, staring at him with pure and naive eyes. Davis almost fainted. Was this Fatty really just stupid, or was he deliberately amusing? People this patriotic these days were rare indeed.

Davis laughed and caught his breath, saying to Fatty, ”I didn’t expect you to be such a patriot. It’s a bit unfair to send you here as a spy.” He stood up and leaned closer to Fatty, asking, ”Since you say your mechanical skills are so good, tell me, I have a [Kadis] mecha. Recently, I’ve noticed the controls aren’t as responsive as they used to be. Sometimes the system lags by a second or two before executing commands. What’s the problem?”

Fatty asked, ”Is it an occasional issue, where the balance system is fine, but the bottom left drive indicator on the mechanical computer stays lit for half an hour before turning off?”

Davis was surprised, ”You know?”

Fatty curled his lips and said, ”This problem is simple. The temperature controller in the Mecha Computer’s sensor is faulty. Just replace it, or take it apart and randomly find a 0.1 data line to connect the temperature detection system with the Mecha’s balance system’s temperature detection system to share. It just won’t look as good.”

Upon hearing this, Davis turned around and ran, shouting while running, ”Fatty, wait right here for me. You are not allowed to finish work until I come back.” He ran to the supervising prison foreman ”Third Brother” and specifically instructed, ”Beilu, I have to go out now for something. Keep Fatty here waiting for me. You stay with him. You can’t leave until I come back!”

”Third Brother” Beilu respectfully nodded. After watching Davis running out of the workshop like his butt was on fire, he turned and walked up to Tian Xingjian and said coldly, ”It seems you still don’t understand the rules. Causing trouble for me on your first day of work, do you know what consequences you’ll face?”

Fatty was utterly terrified, ”No, I didn’t. The officer just asked me a mechanical question, I gave him the solution and he ran off. I didn’t do anything.”

Beilu stared coldly at Fatty until he was sure the sneaky guy didn’t appear to be lying, then his expression softened, and he walked off with a snort.

Tian Xingjian looked at Beilu’s departing back, feeling a bit silent. From the moment he first saw Beilu today, he noticed that this guy was definitely not an ordinary prisoner. In Beilu, there was a kind of calm detachment, a temperament that wasn’t innate but honed through life-and-death struggles on the battlefield, a killing aura based on his own strength, not the arrogance of borrowing power.

From the time he stepped into the prison until now, if he had to choose an enemy, this Beilu called ”Third Brother” by Tou’er was the last one Fatty would want to pick. Although they had only spoken no more than three sentences and their close encounters only included the kick in the morning and a few face-to-face moments during work, Fatty could clearly feel Beilu’s powerful strength, hidden beneath his cold exterior, ready to erupt like a volcano at any moment.

Abnosk Prison, in Tian Xingjian’s eyes, was becoming more mysterious. He didn’t know how many more people like Beilu he would encounter here. Describing this prison as a place full of hidden talents was not an exaggeration. Even the most meticulous plans could fear unexpected developments. Fatty almost immediately decided that in the future, he should try to avoid provoking Beilu in the prison and stay out of his way if possible. Judging by Beilu’s demeanor, as long as you don’t cause trouble for him, he’s not the type to meddle in others’ affairs.

Everyone living in peace and not interfering with each other might be the best choice.

The off-duty bell finally rang just before Fatty collapsed from exhaustion. The assembly work wasn’t complicated, with mechanical arms providing assistance. If the workstation weren’t designed so low, this would have been a relatively easy job. But now, for Fatty, bending over without straightening up for a full six hours was indeed a form of torture.

Damn it, Fatty viciously kicked the workstation. The guy who designed this workstation must be a pervert. Looking around at other prisoners’ workstations, Fatty felt disheartened. How come only he encountered such a low workstation?

Prisoners gradually walked towards the door, lining up to hand over tools and pass through the detection gate. After a day’s toil, the two hours of free time before dinner was the happiest time of the day for these prisoners. Seeing Beilu’s dark face made Fatty feel a little guilty, like he was holding back a groom anxiously trying to enter the bridal chamber.

Ten minutes later, Davis finally strolled back in. Seeing the old man in his forties grinning from ear to ear, Fatty knew the Mecha’s malfunction had been resolved.

”Wonder what reward I’ll get,” Fatty thought eagerly.

Sure enough, Davis walked up to Fatty, excitedly patting his shoulder, ”Good guy, it was just like you said. I had the repair shop mechanic change the temperature controller, and the Mecha issue was resolved. I tested it for two hours, and it was working perfectly. The sensitivity has improved significantly, you can tell just from the handling, much smoother than usual!”

Fatty humbly replied, ”A small issue. If you have any more problems in the future that I can help with, please don’t hesitate to ask, Officer!”

Davis was a Mecha enthusiast who had an inexplicable fondness for skilled mechanics. Seeing Fatty so considerate, he generously said, ”Alright, since you helped me with such a big favor, I have to return it. Today I’ll make an exception!” While saying this, he fumbled in his pants pocket.

Fatty’s eyes turned green with envy, only to see Davis pull out a card from his pocket.

”Damn, that doesn’t look like a bank card,” Fatty was puzzled, watching Davis walk to the workstation and swipe the card through a slot underneath. With the command input, the workstation was raised to a height more comfortable for the average person.

Tears welled up in Fatty’s eyes. He finally realized he was indeed in a prison.

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