I Start with a Mysterious Island

Chapter 297 - 242: Overwhelming Hatred

Su Yue quickly glanced at the note her mother had left for her. She learned that her mom had already left, following her dad to the Capital City.

"Looks like I’ll be living alone again..." After reading the little note from her mom, Su Yue turned and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

"There’s still half of that free-range chicken Lin Li brought over in the fridge. I’ll stew it later and invite Lin Li over for lunch.

I went to the wet market with Mom yesterday and bought a lot of groceries, so that saves me a trip today.

I promised I’d make him a big meal as a thank you. I can kill two birds with one stone by having him over for chicken soup."

Su Yue’s muttering could be heard from the bathroom, but after a moment, the sound was drowned out by the SPLASH of running water.

***

「Ping’an Garden District.」

Lin Li had just washed his hair in the bathroom and was drying it with a towel when he glanced at the laundry basket in the corner. He saw several pieces of unwashed clothing inside.

"These clothes have been piling up in the basket for over two days. I should do the laundry. If I leave them any longer in this heat, they’re going to start to smell..."

After drying his hair, Lin Li took all the dirty clothes out of the basket, walked out to the balcony, and started putting them into the washing machine one by one.

"Huh...?"

As Lin Li was about to put a pair of pants into the washing machine, he suddenly felt something in the pocket.

He reached in, pulled it out, and took a look. He realized it was the unknown drug called a Spirit Burst Pill that he had taken from that Canglan Society member yesterday.

"Uh, I stuffed it in my pocket yesterday and forgot to give it to Liu Jialin."

Lin Li looked at the Spirit Burst Pill in his hand and scratched his head. He felt that whether he went to the Superpower Administration Bureau to hand the pill over to an Investigator, or called Liu Jialin to come get it, it all seemed like too much trouble.

’Forget it, I’ll just hang onto it for now. I’ll find some time to give it to Liu Jialin later.’

Finding it too much of a hassle, Lin Li thought for a moment. After making his decision, a thought crossed his mind, and he retrieved a plastic Ziploc bag from the Mysterious Small Island. He put the Spirit Burst Pill into the bag and then placed it back on the Mysterious Small Island.

After putting all the clothes in the washing machine, he poured in the detergent, pressed the start button, and now all he had to do was wait for the machine to finish.

He returned to the living room from the balcony, and the phone he’d left on the sofa suddenly started to ring.

RING RING RING...

Lin Li picked up his phone, glanced at the screen, then answered. "What’s up?"

"Lin Li, remember how I promised to cook you a big meal? I was thinking today would be a good day... Are you free to come over for lunch?" Su Yue’s soft, pleasant voice came through the receiver.

"Come over to your place for lunch?!!!" Upon hearing this, Lin Li was overjoyed. He was just about to accept when he suddenly remembered Su Yue’s mother was still at her house, and he hesitated.

"You should spend time with your mom! There’s no rush to treat me to a meal."

Hearing this, Su Yue laughed and explained, "My mom already left Rongcheng for some business."

As soon as Lin Li heard that Su Yue’s mother had left Rongcheng, his worries vanished, and he readily accepted her invitation for lunch.

After hanging up, Su Yue, who was wearing an apron, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and then put the half a free-range chicken in the pot.

Then, she started to prepare the other ingredients.

For lunch today, she was going to make Lin Li a lavish meal.

On Lin Li’s end, the thought of scrounging a delicious feast at Su Yue’s place made his stomach feel a little hungry again, even though he had just finished breakfast not long ago.

***

「South District Prison.」

Wrapped in bandages, Tie Qiu Heng slowly opened his eyes. When he saw the ceiling—unfamiliar yet somehow familiar—his once-dazed expression instantly sharpened.

He sat up on the wooden plank bed and looked around.

The layout of the small, cramped space was seared into his memory.

He thought this unbearable memory would never surface again, but now, he was back here once more.

"I’m back. I’m back again... Dammit! I was so close, so close to succeeding! Why did it turn out like this?"

Locked up in prison again, his freedom lost once more, Tie Qiu Heng frantically slapped his own bald head, letting out roars filled with bitter indignation.

It was no wonder he had such a violent reaction. After all, no one who has spent time in a place like prison, a place that robs you of your freedom, would ever want to come back and live that life again.

Now that Tie Qiu Heng was sent back to prison to serve his sentence, and with one escape attempt on his record, the prison staff would surely keep him under strict supervision.

Another escape attempt would be virtually impossible.

In the years to come, he would spend many long years in prison, completely devoid of freedom, until his sentence was served.

A patrolling prison guard heard roaring coming from a cell in the distance.

He took a look and saw that it was the high-priority inmate his superior had told him to watch. He frowned and quickened his pace toward the cell.

"What’s all the shouting for? Quiet down!" the patrolling guard barked, banging his baton on the iron bars of the cell, reprimanding the despairing and highly agitated Tie Qiu Heng.

"..." When you’re under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head. After being reprimanded, Tie Qiu Heng shut his mouth.

After the patrolling guard left, the inmate in the cell opposite Tie Qiu Heng’s walked up to his iron bars and called out with a chuckle.

"Brother, you’ve got some serious guts, trying to escape."

The inmate who called out to Tie Qiu Heng was a young man of about twenty-six or twenty-seven.

This man was serving a four-month sentence for theft. After Tie Qiu Heng’s escape, as the inmate in the cell directly across from his, he had been questioned many times about the events of that day.

Unfortunately, the man had been dead to the world at the time and hadn’t noticed a thing about Tie Qiu Heng’s escape.

"..." Hearing someone strike up a conversation, Tie Qiu Heng just glanced up at the man and said coldly, "Piss off."

"Tch, quite the temper you’ve got. I was in here before you, which makes me your senior, you know. An attitude like that won’t get you far.

You’ve got a long time to serve in here. Keep up that attitude, and you’ll be in for a rough time... As your senior, let me give you a piece of advice.

Your escape attempt really pissed off the Prison Director. You’d better keep that temper in check and don’t stir up any trouble. Otherwise, you’re going to have a hard time..." The young man had a good temper, reminding Tie Qiu Heng with a chuckle.

"..." Tie Qiu Heng didn’t say anything. He lay back down and stared at the ceiling. Though his mind was a chaotic mess, his hatred for a certain someone had grown even more intense.

’It’s all because of that guy. If it weren’t for him, according to the plan, I’d be long gone from this city by now...’

***

At the Superpower Administration Bureau, Liu Jialin walked out of her superior’s office, her face beaming with delight.

She had just been praised by her superior. As for why, it was, of course, because she had brought Tie Qiu Heng and his accomplices back to the bureau yesterday, performing a great service.

’I have Lin Li to thank for this great achievement... I’ll have to treat him to a meal later to thank him properly.’

The high-spirited Liu Jialin thought to herself as she walked toward her department’s office.

"Liu Jialin, congratulations!" A tall, heroic-looking woman walking toward her greeted her with a smile.

"Wang Jing, you heard!" Liu Jialin said with a beaming smile.

Wang Jing nodded. "Of course! You brought back four members of the Canglan Society last night. Practically everyone in the bureau knows by now."

...