A is in StarCraft, just disembarked from the Zerg Prince spaceship.

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......

Unknown areas of the Empire, Blackwater Star, Blackstone Island, Cliff Prison.

The cold remains, the dampness remains, and the chains are still icy.

Gao Tian was fully awake.

Alas, what a disastrous start.

He was suspended for half a day while he was unconscious, and now his wrists are in excruciating pain, and his shoulders are also sore and numb.

"Hiss..." He took a deep breath, trying to move his stiff fingers.

The wound on my lower back hurts so much.

The shackles rubbed against the skin of my wrists, bringing a sharp, new pain.

With his hands suspended, he was forced to stand upright.

The wound on my waist still hurts a lot, but it has started to heal on its own, at least it has stopped bleeding.

That's the advantage of high-level alphas' physique: as long as they don't die, no matter how serious their injuries are, they can always heal themselves.

Lu Jianan became excited again when she saw that he had regained consciousness.

"Gao Tian! You're awake! How are you? Does your wound hurt? Those lunatics didn't do anything to you, did they?" He cried out, and his body rattled the chains.

Gao Tian looked up at Lu Jianan: "Stop making noise, I just woke up and you're going to make me dizzy again."

Lu Jianan was angry.

Gao Tian is such a ungrateful wretch, biting the hand that feeds him!

"I won't!"

"It's good that you're alright," Bishen said.

"Sigh." Gao Tian sighed again.

The Crown Princess, the Regent Prince, and the Regent Princess are all here. You know what, this might be a case of things stabilizing naturally after collapsing to a deep state, because their lives are too bitter and they can't just die directly.

Then they reviewed how they got in.

Lu Jianan was very confused: "Big brother, do you know what's going on? How did we end up in this godforsaken place?" He shook his arm hard, and the chains rattled.

Bishon said, "You're sleeping like you're dead, what good are you?"

"Brother, why are you scolding me again! I woke up here, isn't it normal to be confused?"

"The manor servants have collectively rebelled, drugged us, and opened the manor gates."

"What? They've gone mad! They're usually so nice, they couldn't possibly be Orion's moles, could they?"

"That's definitely not it." Bishen's tone was very certain. "When we used them, we checked their backgrounds. They were all commoners with clean families and had nothing to do with Orion."

Gao Tian nodded: "But this time it really is Orion."

He recounted, "Orian somehow managed to turn them against me. I was brought in by Bambo."

"Bambo?" Bishen frowned immediately.

The manor servants are one thing, but Bambo grew up with them. What did Orion do to be able to turn Bambo?

"right."

"What?!" Lu Jianan's eyes widened in shock. "How could he... How could Orion have turned them against us?!"

"They probably have something in Orion's possession that's attracting them. Servants might be some kind of benefit, but Bamboo can't say for sure."

Bi Shen frowned deeply.

"Aaaaaah, what do I do now?!" Lu Jianan started struggling again.

"Stop yelling, you're killing my ears all day long," Gao Tian said.

Lu Jianan wilted slightly, stopped moving, and looked at Gao Tian with a wronged expression.

"What are you saying about him?" Bishen asked.

"There's not much we can do right now. Calm down and figure out the situation first." Gao Tian was someone we couldn't afford to offend. "Lu Jianan, getting agitated won't help. Save your energy."

The older brother nodded.

We don't know what's going on outside, so let's see and figure out what's happening first.

Lu Jianan looked at Gao Tian, ​​then at her older brother, half-believing, half-doubting: "Really?"

Gao Tian: "Then you should rush out now."

Lu Jianan immediately backed down and mumbled, "...Okay."

He hung his head.

"Does your hand hurt?" Bi Shen asked him.

Lu Jianan's eyes turned into fried eggs again: "It hurts."

He was like a little dog soaked in the rain, occasionally twitching in pain.

Bishen sighed and comforted him, "Just bear with it a little longer."

"Oh QAQ."

Time passed slowly in the cold, dampness, and the chill of the chains.

Gao Tian and the others were imprisoned in the cliffside prison for two days.

They haven't eaten or drunk anything for the past two days, but they're not afraid that the people will starve to death while hanging on the cliff.

Gao Tian closed his eyes to rest, adjusted his breathing, and tried his best to heal himself.

Bishen was like a statue, conserving his energy to the maximum extent.

Lu Jianan had learned her lesson and tried to stay still as much as possible to conserve her energy. However, she was still filled with unease and paranoia, constantly listening to any sounds outside the cave.

Inside the cave, the passage of time outside cannot be seen; the only way to roughly determine the time is by observing the guards' shift schedule.

There are four shifts during the day and two shifts at night.

There are surveillance cameras in the cell, and alarms on the chains and shackles that will automatically trigger if someone is missing.

The guards don't stay here all the time; they just patrol regularly.

The main method relies on system monitoring. Guards patrol every half hour to confirm that the three prisoners are still hanging on the stone wall, have not broken free, and are not dead. Then they will return to the outside.

They would sometimes whisper and chat casually outside, and even in the empty and quiet cave, fragments of conversation could still be faintly heard.

I heard that the Imperial Research Institute, through its research on the captured rebel lieutenant Bambo, discovered the true side effect of the power-enhancing drug: it depletes one's life force, meaning that taking one pill reduces one's lifespan by about a year.

Most of the weaker Zerg who had defected to Orion's side then defected back to Orion.

Oh, so that's what Orion probably used to turn his servants and Bambo against him.

Those family members who surrendered themselves were either arrested or sentenced for wrongdoing, while those who did nothing wrong received criticism and education.

Orion lost the support of the commoners he had lured away and retreated back to Blackwater with the private armies of the nobles and his men.

Now that he has the heavens above him, he no longer cares about the common people.

I heard that Lan is leading his troops in a standoff outside, but he doesn't dare to make a move.

The legions and the nobles' private armies were roughly equal in strength, making it a battle that couldn't be won quickly. If it dragged on for too long, Orion might harbor malicious intentions and kill Bitchenmantis and the Crown Princess on the spot.

I heard that Orion threatened Blue to surrender or he would chop Gao Tian and Bishen into pieces and send them back to him.

Footsteps sounded, the guards changed shifts again, the old guards left the cave entrance, and the sounds of conversation faded into the distance.

The prison cave was deathly silent.

Lu Jianan suddenly raised her head.

He looked at Gao Tian, ​​then at Bi Shen, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

A disastrous start, a truly disastrous start.

Is there any other way now?

The high sky's downcast eyes lifted.

He didn't show any extreme emotions; he simply exhaled softly.

Once the perspective broadens, the ignorance of the people is not their fault; rather, it is essentially the dereliction of duty by the leaders.

No one is to blame but themselves for not spreading anti-fraud education among the Zerg, and for being too slow to provide a bright future for both sides, one that is free from the temptations of bad people.

Bishen showed no surprise; the corners of his mouth twitched upwards in a mocking manner.

The Mantis species may not have a clear understanding of the origin of their power, but they have the clearest understanding of the nature of Orion.

Any shortcut is a trap, especially one offered by Orion.

How could power appear out of thin air? You might as well believe I am the Insect God instead of him.

"Damn it." Lu Jianan finally managed to utter a single word.

"No swearing," Gao Tian and Bi Shen said at the same time.

"I'll say it, I'll say it."

"You wait, I'll beat you to death when I get out of here," Gao Tian said succinctly.

"Big brother!" Lu Jianan complained.

"A tattletale."

Bishen looked at the two of them.

In this godforsaken place, being hung on a stone wall waiting to be chopped up, they still managed to be funny. In a way, how can they not be considered strong people?

"But how are we going to get out..." Lu Jianan uttered a meaningless syllable, completely deflated, like a frostbitten eggplant hanging on a heavy chain.

He used to be the big brother's leg accessory, but now he's actually being used as an accessory by Orion.

Gao Tian sighed: "It's alright, don't panic. After all, we have the Legion outside to deter us. As long as our baby keeps refusing to surrender, Orion won't be able to cut us down in a short time. Let's think of another way."