Chapter 232: Inside Shadow Fort

Even though Nie Yiyi and Hook had perished in the director's game, the director was not to be blamed for their deaths.

This game had only given them an opportunity to clear their names, and the rules were completely transparent and open to everyone, so they could've chosen not to participate.

The enemy wasn't the one who had provided them with this opportunity. Instead, it was the ones who had forced them to flee to this hellhole in the first place.

After the bodies were taken away, the 3D projection overhead was switched off, but the celebrations were only just beginning.

This was the Super Bowl of Shadow City, and the festivities were already in full swing.

The psychic mutant trio had been ushered away as only the winners deserved the adulation of the spectators. All of the glory and praise belonged to Adam and King Arthur.

"What should I call you now? Diana?"

Adam was attempting to communicate with the woman beside him. She had been completely silent ever since she had awakened, and it was clear that she was still seething with rage.

In response to Adam's question, Diana continued to remain silent as she focused her gaze on the ground beneath her feet.

"Are you unsure of what to do now because all of our enemies are dead?" Adam asked.

He had a very good understanding of psychic mutants, and he knew that these people possessed extreme emotions as they had been completely controlled by their emotional anomalies.

Fury was the emotion that had taken over Diana, yet she had no outlet to vent her fury. In contrast with Adam, those that she sought vengeance against were already dead, so she was completely lost and without direction.

"Do you remember why King Arthur chose to participate in the battle royale in the first place? He wanted to investigate Carlin Asylum, and I just so happen to know some things about Carlin Asylum. There are some people who are using psychic mutants like yourself.

“Of course, in a sense, I'm currently also a psychic mutant. If you want to complete King Arthur's final wish, or you simply want to uncover the secrets behind your own past and help all of the other psychic mutants, I can show you the way."

Diana finally raised her head upon hearing this, but she continued to remain silent.

After that, no matter what Adam said, Diana displayed no reaction.

Amid the frenzied excitement and wild celebrations, Adam received his award for winning the battle royale. The presenter of the award was the current most sought-after and popular celebrity from the outside world. Adam had no idea what he was famous for. He hadn't seen any movies, nor did he listen to any music, he had only seen the celebrity on countless billboards in Sandrise City.

"Congratulations!" After presenting Adam with his award, the celebrity tucked a business card into Adam's pocket in secret. "I've heard about you before. If you can return to Sandrise City, feel free to pay me a visit."

Adam pulled the business card out of his pocket before taking a look.

"Aspen Ronnie... So that's his name..." Adam mused to himself as he tossed the business card away.

……

The battle royale was the Super Bowl of Shadow City, but even the most rambunctious of celebrations had to eventually come to an end.

As the artificial sky of Shadow City gradually brightened, Adam knew that new day had arrived in the outside world.

The celebrations were slowly petering out, and even though there were still people drinking, singing, brawling, and even killing each other, Adam and the director no longer needed to be present.

Adam's mind was entirely consumed with his desire for vengeance, and he brushed aside Hailey, who was approaching him for an emotional embrace, before immediately traveling to Shadow Fort.

This was a place that no one in Shadow City liked to visit.

On one hand, everyone was trying to respect the director's privacy, and on the other hand, it was a truly terrifying place.

As soon as Adam arrived, all of the fine hairs all over his entire body immediately stood up on end as he sensed an unnatural psychic pressure.

Having completely fused with Clown, his telegnosis had been enhanced to unprecedented heights, allowing him to clearly sense an aura of death, chaos, and pain in the area.

This aura could've been stemming from the torture victims inside, or it could also have arisen from the director himself.

Before Adam had a chance to do anything following his arrival, the gates of the fort swung open from the inside, and an electronic butler emerged from within.

"You must be Mr. Lean Mean Killing Machine. My master is waiting for you inside."

Adam nodded in response before following the electronic butler into the fort.

Beyond the entrance of the fort was a long corridor that was lined with all types of strange, abstract artworks, and only after passing through the corridor did one official enter the fort. On the first floor were some battle robots, and each ascending level from there presented a different hellscape.

Countless victims were being tortured in the form, presenting a series of extremely horrific sights to behold.

Adam knew that this was the process through which artificial anomalies were created, and he couldn't help but take a few extra glances.

In the past, he would've felt an instinctive sense of discomfort in response to what he was seeing, but now that he had already fused as one with an anomaly that was as cunning and cruel as Clown, the only thing that he felt as he witnessed these horrific scenes was a sense of excitement.

"Where did these people come from?"

"Most of them are people who have attempted to bring order to Shadow City," the electronic butler replied.

Adam and the butler continued to scale the fort, and upon reaching the top floor, Adam discovered that it wasn't the lavish and grandiose area that he had expected. Instead, it was filled with all types of laboratories and research personnel.

Above the laboratories was an observatory, which seemed to be the tallest construction in Shadow City. From there, one could see the entire city in its full glory.

There was a telescope on the observatory, at the foot of which was a chair, and the director was seated on that chair, awaiting Adam's arrival.

"Welcome!"

The director took a moment to greet Adam, then made a gesture toward the electronic butler. A short while later, another automaton arrived on the scene, carrying a small box.

Following its arrival, the automaton opened the box, then inserted the videotape inside into its own chest, following which a projection emerged out of its mouth.

This was the footage that Hook had captured on that day.

……

"Prince, you motherfucker! I can't believe you'd actually do something like this!"

"What are you talking about?" Prince asked with an innocent expression. "What am I doing? I'm just helping everyone in battle, am I not?"

"You're still gonna play dumb even now? I should've known a southern congress bitch like you can't be trusted! Why don't you just kill us all? We've already lost most of our comrades and you're still playing dumb? Are you afraid that the footage of what you're doing here is going to be released to the public?"

……

"I really was an idiot back then," Adam chuckled as he watched the footage. "If I could go back to that time, I definitely wouldn't have let things spiral out of control like that. Looks like I only have myself to blame for my current situation..."

Adam made his way over to the automaton as he spoke, then pressed the eject button so that he could examine the videotape itself.

"Looks like this really is the original copy. I believe you owe me another secret, Mr. Director..."