Free Web NovelChapter 12: Chapter 12: The Eldest Prince is Also Very Formidable
Better to strike first than wait for death.
This was just like Ye Ming.
Leo passed the potion through the small slot in the door. Hearing the Eldest Prince’s choice, he wasn’t too surprised.
The first lesson for a subordinate was obedience. Even if he was reluctant to let the Eldest Prince take this risk, there was nothing Leo could do.
’Maybe this gamble will create a turning point.’
He could only pray for the best.
Ye Ming couldn’t shift into his human form, so he held the potion directly in his mouth.
Their conversation was clearly audible throughout the entire prison. Jiang Xia looked at Ye Ming worriedly. "Eldest Prince, are you really going to drink it?"
Mu Tangfeng was just as concerned. "Eldest Prince, this potion has a 20% chance of triggering a spiritual power collapse. Please be careful!"
He Hanshi’s massive white form stood before the reinforced door. "Your Highness, let me try it. My spiritual power collapse is already at a high level anyway. Even if drinking the potion causes a relapse, it would just mean dying a little sooner."
"No! I’ll drink it if I have to," Mu Tangfeng loudly retorted.
Hearing this, the corners of Yan Huoshui’s lips curled up. "Instead of all of you arguing, why not let me try? He Hanshi, your spiritual power collapse is the most severe. Ye Ming’s is a bit more severe than mine, while mine is worse than Jiang Xia’s and Mu Tangfeng’s. I’m right in the middle. Even if the collapse value really increases, it won’t be enough to kill me."
"And if I’m lucky, I might even lower my collapse value by ten points. Either way, I don’t lose."
He chuckled, his low, magnetic, and charming voice carrying a hint of detached indifference toward his own life.
"That’s enough. It’s best if I drink it."
A flicker of warmth passed through Ye Ming’s eyes. He knew they were trying to help him, but this was the result of his own careful consideration.
He knew a bit about Dr. Ai. Since he had Leo deliver the potion, it proved that the potion was precious and hard to come by. It might be difficult to produce another one anytime soon.
In that case, the one to drink it definitely couldn’t be He Hanshi. If a spiritual power collapse was triggered, it would only hasten his death.
He himself had a year left to live, at most. That year might not be enough time for Dr. Ai to develop a cure. It was better to take a gamble on his own survival. freewebnoveℓ.com
If it was truly effective, he could find a way to delay He Hanshi’s death. If it wasn’t, the three with lower spiritual power than him would still have time to wait for Dr. Ai to continue his research.
With this thought, Ye Ming bit open the potion’s cap and downed it in one gulp.
"Eldest Prince!"
Leo couldn’t help but cry out in worry. The potion had just entered his mouth, and Ye Ming didn’t feel anything unusual in his body yet.
He looked at Leo, not wanting his subordinate to see the wretched state he might be in later. Withdrawing into the darkness, he commanded in a deep voice, "Leo, go back first. I’ll contact you with the results."
"I... I want to..."
Leo nervously started to say he’d stay a little longer, but Ye Ming interrupted him again. "Leave now."
"What? Are you defying my orders now?"
"I..."
Leo sensed the anger in Ye Ming’s voice and didn’t dare say more. He could only compromise. "Alright, I’ll leave now. I’ll send people to capture more Chao Si for Dr. Ai."
"Mn."
Ye Ming’s body was already starting to heat up. He could feel the blood in his veins boiling, coursing faster through his body. He endured the strangeness in his voice, and only after Leo had left did an uncontrollable grunt echo through the quiet prison.
"Eldest Prince?"
Jiang Xia, in the cell opposite him, heard it first. Then, the others all looked toward cell number three with concern.
Mu Tangfeng looked nervous. "What’s wrong? Is it working?"
Concern showed in He Hanshi’s eyes. "That sound... It doesn’t seem like it..."
Yan Huoshui whispered, "I’m afraid the spiritual power collapse has been triggered..."
They hadn’t expected Ye Ming to hit the 20% probability. Or perhaps the risks of an untested potion were even greater than the doctor had predicted.
Inside cell number three, Ye Ming’s voice could be heard, transitioning from muffled groans to clear moans of pain. Following that, a relentless series of crashes, shatters, and violent thuds erupted from the dark room.
It was almost identical to the scene of He Hanshi’s last episode.
When a spiritual power collapse is triggered, a Beastman loses all reason, but they retain memories of what happened afterward.
On a normal day, spiritual power collapse didn’t cause much discomfort aside from slight headaches.
But during an episode, they would lose their sanity completely. Their blood would feel like boiling water surging through their limbs, forcing them to run about endlessly to vent the pressure. At the same time, a buzzing like ten thousand insects would ring in their brains, causing splitting headaches, and the flesh all over their bodies would tighten and swell.
He Hanshi understood that when the situation became severe, only self-harm could bring a moment of relief.
Sure enough, before long, the Black Panther began to violently slam against the reinforced door, not stopping even as his head started to bleed.
"Eldest Prince! Eldest Prince, wake up!"
Jiang Xia tried to rouse him, but everyone knew that a beast that had truly lost its mind was difficult to wake unless it collapsed from exhaustion. Faced with this, even He Hanshi, once invincible on the battlefield, was helpless.
The prison once again fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the vibrations of the Black Panther ramming against the cell door.
「Meanwhile」
Shi Lan was seeing Leo off. The journey from Black Star to Capital Star took seven or eight hours even with a space warp, so she had thoughtfully packed a meal for him from the cafeteria.
Leo said gratefully, "Thank you, miss. A beautiful female choosing to work on such a remote planet... that’s truly admirable."
Shi Lan was a little embarrassed by his praise. She pursed her rosy lips. "You’re too kind. Life forced my hand."
Leo remembered her mentioning being an ’orphan’ and tactfully didn’t ask further. Just before leaving, he couldn’t help but say, "The Eldest Prince is a bit reserved and doesn’t get close to strangers easily. Please, I ask that you take extra care of him."
"Oh, and although he might seem ill-tempered, he’s not a bad person. He’s a Prince who truly thinks about the people."
"For example, proposals like renovating the Garbage Stars, settling homeless Beastmen, and severely punishing the secret trafficking of females were all put forward by him."
Hearing this, confusion appeared in Shi Lan’s eyes. She didn’t know much about the other things, but she knew a little about the last point regarding the secret trafficking of females. This secret trade referred to females being trafficked to special venues. After all, with few females and many males, such a trade chain had inevitably formed.
In the novel, the female lead was tricked and sent to such a place. Then, the male lead, the Second Prince, flew into a rage and directly annihilated the organization behind it.
’How is it that listening to Leo now, it’s become the Eldest Prince’s achievement?’
This was a very important plot point in the novel. After all, the male lead both nurtured his relationship with the female lead and boosted his public prestige. It was impossible for Shi Lan to remember it wrong.
’Maybe Leo is talking about something else...’
"So, what was the follow-up on that secret trade incident?" Shi Lan set aside her thoughts and asked curiously.
"That..."
Although Leo looked young, a proud, fatherly smile appeared on his face. "The Eldest Prince was only seventeen at the time. He investigated and found the biggest mastermind behind it all, then led troops directly to their den and rescued over two hundred trafficked females."
"After that incident, the Eldest Prince’s reputation was established. The boss was killed, and the remaining factions fell apart. The ones who needed to be arrested were arrested. In short, the military is still paying close attention to this issue."
"However, when the Eldest Prince was still on Capital Star, things like this rarely happened. But over the past two years... some people are starting to get restless again." freeweɓnovel.cѳm
The past two years—the two years since the Eldest Prince’s spiritual power collapsed and he was sent here.
Thinking of this, Leo sighed heavily again, then composed himself. "Miss, you can see me off here. I’ll be going now. Please look after the Eldest Prince and the others."
Shi Lan stopped at the entrance. Looking at Leo, she nodded seriously. "Okay. I will."
’So it wasn’t just He Hanshi,’ she thought. ’Ye Ming is also incredible. Maybe the others have also made many extraordinary contributions.’
However, as she pondered Leo’s words, a chill ran down her spine. The plotlines for both Ye Ming and the male lead had likely both happened. It was just that... perhaps only after Ye Ming died could the organization resurface, allowing the male lead to destroy it all over again.
