Sir! Don't close the net!

Like aliens, the prisoners gathered opposite the towering stone tablet of the King in Yellow at the call of the jailers. A platform, like an award stage, was erected, and all the prisoners sat obediently on the grass, gazing at the platform like pilgrims.

Their eyes burned with passion, but had nothing to do with piety.

Utterly murky, containing only the thirst for desire.

August, who appeared under such intense gazes, exuded an eerie aura from head to toe, though he himself seemed completely unaware of it.

Simon and Gajek stood on either side of Augusert. At Sher's prompting, Gajek knelt down in front of Augusert, bowing his head. Jeff, who was being pulled by Walter to hide behind a stone tablet, couldn't help but frown.

Although Walter had said he would hold a grand injection ceremony, it looked more like a religious event. Who would have people kneeling to receive injections?

"I see your repentance—"

Jeff was stunned when Augus spoke.

What do you mean by saying that I see your repentance?

"I forgive you."

Augusert raised his hand and gently patted Simon and Gajek on the head.

This time, not only Jeff, but all the other prisoners were stunned.

But what happened in that instant made many prisoners jump up.

Beams of light flowed down from Augus's palm, crisscrossing across Simon and Gajek's bodies.

As the light flowed, the strange skin stretched open like a torn cocoon, revealing an ordinary human skin tone.

August calmly withdrew his hand, and Sher, who had been waiting on the side, immediately stepped forward and draped the white robe over Simon of Gajek, who was still shocked by the changes in his body.

"Amazing..." Simon murmured to himself, looking at his hands.

Gajek lowered his head, looking at his hands with a somewhat solemn expression.

Just now, when August touched his head, he felt a very slight pain, like being bitten by a mosquito. The lawyer's intuition immediately made him think that August was covering up or pretending to be doing something, but this change was on a completely different level from the slow changes that occurred when he was injected with the drug in the past.

It's almost like...

Gajek swallowed hard and looked up at Augus.

The dazzling starlight blurred Augus's face, and the strange pressure and the miracle it had triggered made Gajek's scalp tingle, and he involuntarily lowered his head.

Jeff's face twitched and he turned sharply to look at Walter. "I saw the effects of the improved potion, but I've never heard of such a process."

Although we don't know how Auguste hid it, how he hid it is no longer important; what matters is why he hid it in the first place!

“Dr. Jeff, what are you worried about? As long as it’s proven that the medicine works, that’s enough,” Walter reached out and patted Jeff on the shoulder, then turned and waved his hand. “Dr. Jeff, you should arrange for these two lucky ones to leave Theresa Prison now.”

Jeff's face tightened, his eyes flickered, and then he scratched his hair in frustration, put his hands in his pockets, and strode towards Simon and Gajek, who were wearing white robes and walking down the platform.

As Jeff approached Simon and Gajek, he immediately noticed the prisoners' restless gazes.

"Come with me quickly."

Jeff lowered his voice.

“Huh? I also want to say goodbye to everyone,” Simon said, scratching the back of his head.

Saying goodbye? Didn't you see the expressions on these prisoners' faces, like they wanted to devour you?!

Jeff and Gajek simultaneously thought to themselves.

“It’s alright, we’ll meet again,” Gajek raised his hand and placed it on Simon’s back to stop Simon from saying goodbye, while also blocking the prisoners’ view with his back.

Simon wanted to say something, but with Gajek and Jeff blocking his way from the front and back, he could only grab his hair and move forward along the riverbank of Theresa's Path. Soon they arrived at the exit, and a calm breeze rushed towards them. Even Gajek subconsciously increased his breathing.

"I thought... we had to cross the Teresa Road to get out..."

Simon held back for a while before complaining.

"Wasn't it said that the Theresa's Path was the only way to leave Theresa's Prison?"

“It doesn’t matter how this happens,” Jeff said, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and putting it in his mouth. He then tossed a package to Gajek. “Get lost, go back to society and live a good life. Don’t waste this rare second chance. I’m having a smoke here.”

Gajek reached out and took the package, opened it, glanced at it, then looked at Jeff, turned around, raised his hand and waved to Simon, and walked towards the carriage not far away.

"Let's go, Simon. Let's go back to my hometown first. Even though I'm in jail, I should still have my assets. Let's buy some clothes, a flock of sheep, and then go to your hometown."

"Thank you, Gajek!"

Simon appeared behind Gajek, suddenly opened his arms and hugged Gajek tightly, his muscles gradually bulging.

"Don't hug me! Ha—fine, hug me if you want—"

"Gala—"

Gajek stared wide-eyed, opened his mouth, and spat out a mouthful of foul blood.

Jeff's mouth was slightly open, and the unlit cigarette fell heavily to the ground.

Chapter Fifty-Four: Only for that one moment did he gain freedom.

The unimaginable stinging pain left Gajek's mind blank, but his body did not attempt to resist immediately.

Because it was too sudden.

Because the person holding him was Simon.

Because his body was made of mud.

"Gara gara—"

Simon's muscles continued to swell and bulge, and his height reached a terrifying four meters in the blink of an eye. He was like a giant starfish that gradually enveloped Gajek. The sound of bones being crushed in an extremely fine way and the excruciating pain caused Gajek's limbs to twitch, his eyes to become bloodshot, and blood to gush out. Only then did Gajek realize what was happening and began to twist his body forcefully.

"Simon... cough quickly—"

Unable to make a sound!?

breathe……

Gajek's face puffed out as he vomited another mouthful of foul blood.

No, I absolutely cannot lose consciousness. I must think.

Gajek moved with incredible difficulty, his bulging eyeballs appearing as if they were about to explode at any moment.

The unusually bulging muscles, crowding in from all directions, gradually entered Gajek's field of vision, and countless images appeared in Gajek's vision like a revolving lantern.

Simon is a good boy; words can lie, but subconscious actions don't.

The sheep were brutally slaughtered...

If Simon had a body like that, coupled with this joyful hug, it would indeed create a scene of torture. But that must have been triggered by the results of some experiment, causing changes in Simon's body that led to the accident. Simon's body should have been cured, and Simon's hug should have been just an ordinary hug.

But these old stories are no longer important; what matters is...

Simon's current appearance is exactly the same as theirs! They've just put on a human skin!

Gajek vomited another mouthful of blood, this time mixed with strange chunks of meat.

Gajek knew that those were his internal organs.

If this continues, he will definitely be tortured like those sheep in the records. But he is not without a way to escape. Since Simon has made his muscles bulge like before, he should also be able to turn his body into mud. As long as he returns to that state, he will be safe and sound.

He deduced the method from Simon's experience, suggesting it was mostly related to strong emotions, just like Simon's gratitude.

Gajek's expression gradually turned ferocious and gloomy. Some mud oozed from the blood beads seeping from the corners of his eyes. Gajek could feel the pain gradually easing, and his bones were softening, ready to turn into a puddle of mud at any moment. However, just as Gajek was about to turn his body into mud, he felt some liquid drip onto his neck, which had not yet turned into mud.

"Thank you, thank you so much..."

Gajek opened his mouth, then lowered his head.

What...?

"puff--"

Blood splattered from the meat grinder-like muscles, and Gajek, now only a chest and a head remaining, crashed heavily to the ground.

Jeff then realized what was happening and was about to step forward when he heard Gajek's voice.

“You bastard…you’ve gotten all those clothes dirty,” Gajek, who was now just a chest and a head, complained as if nothing had happened.

Simon snapped out of the embrace, raised his hand to touch his face, and looked at his hands covered in blood.

Just as Simon was about to open his mouth, his eyes slowly widened, but Gajek rudely interrupted him.

"Now you know! Your body has become very powerful. An ordinary person might be crushed to death by you, although not as strong as me," Gajek raised his voice, but it quickly weakened again. "There is no one in this world who deserves your gratitude. You should be the one being thanked."

"No, Ga Zi, you..."

“That’s enough, Simon. Get in the carriage first. I have things to do at Theresa Prison,” Gajek winked at Gajek. “Your good friends need a defense lawyer, and I need you to help us find a place to stay. Go to the Chalk Circle in the wasteland and find a man named Tammy. Tell him that Gajek sent you, and he will help you.”

Simon, who was just about to say he wanted to stay too, quickly nodded and said, "Leave it to me!"

"If you understand, then hurry up and get going. I still have some business to attend to with Dr. Jeff, and... before entering the millennium, I need to take a shower."

Under Gajek's somewhat stern reprimand, Simon nodded, turned around, and quickly boarded the carriage, wrapped in a blood-stained white robe. He opened the window and waved vigorously at Gajek, who was still lying on the ground.

"I'll wait for you!"

As the carriage gradually drove away, Simon's shouts were slowly drowned out by the lonely wind. Jeff walked quickly to Gajek, who was still lying on the ground, and put his hand on Gajek's neck.

Although very faint, Gajek was still alive, but that was all; the parts that had been crushed into mincemeat showed no signs of coming together.

"Doctor, I only have a few minutes left. Please don't interrupt me."

"Stop joking!" Jeff yelled, his left hand on Gajek's neck and his right hand fumbling in his pocket for first-aid medication, but he was just a psychiatrist.

As if he had expected Jeff to interrupt him, Gajek calmly continued his analysis as if he hadn't heard anything at all.

“When Simon hugged me just now, I had a chance to stop him and a chance to break free, but I didn’t. I didn’t even feel any danger because I instinctively felt that I was still in my previous body, and instinctively felt that this kind of physical harm had no effect on me. And then it was just like what you saw.”

Jeff's eyes widened slightly, and he grabbed Gajek's shoulder.

And that's not all! As a psychologist, he also has other first-aid techniques he can perform!

"There must be some kind of switch! Just like Simon! You should be able to do it! You just need to turn back into your mud body!"

“Unlike someone as rotten as me, Simon… is a good guy,” Gajekt’s gaze shifted upwards. “That was just his way of expressing gratitude. I’m not… so rotten as to scheme against someone like that…”

Gajek paused and then grinned.

"Don't let my appearance fool you, I still have my own backbone, haha... I've always wanted to stand up for myself for a while."

"Then you plotted against me! I've been injecting you with drugs all this time, so I have nothing to offer you with respect!"

“Doctor… I told you,” Gajek’s gaze fell on Jeff’s face, “You may see me as nothing but mud, but I have bones and internal organs, each one is unique. If I’m gone, I’m gone; if I’m broken, I’m broken. These are the words of the patients.”