Thomas’s pointing gesture brought an immediate silence to the previously noisy exercise area. The crowd， initially mocking， now retracted their smiles， and the expressions of the two martial artists blocking Thomas also softened considerably.

“Simon... is this kid with you?“ One of them asked the bald man， their complexion paling instantly. If Thomas was indeed associated with Simon， then they had truly kicked an iron plate– one that could break their legs.

“No， he's not.“ Under everyone's gaze， Simon decisively shook his head， denying any connection. His voice， clear and distinct， reached everyone's ears despite the distance. Sitting beside the mech， he coldly addressed Thomas，“Kid， I don’t care what tricks you’re trying to pull. What you need to know is that I’m not in a good mood today， so it’s best not to provoke me.“

So， this kid was just buying time... Realizing this， the two assailants’ sinister smiles returned. They slowly closed in on Thomas， front and back， like villains finding a lone girl in the middle of the night.

Just another prisoner without backup or abilities， his death would mean little. The Ninth Prison， covering fifteen zones and over one-third of the planet’s surface， witnessed deaths almost every day. In a few days， this incident would be forgotten， and the Ninth Prison would remain as it always was.

“I never said I was one of your guys， nor did I intend to play any tricks.“ Facing the encirclement of the two martial artists， Thomas remained calm， tilting his head towards Simon in the distance.“I said I could survive because of you， as I can be of help to you. You need me.“

With these words， the two assailants stopped in their tracks， glaring at Thomas before turning to Simon as if seeking approval from a superior. Although they suspected Thomas was likely bluffing， the matter involved Simon， so they preferred to err on the side of caution. If they recklessly killed Thomas and hindered something important to Simon， they would have nowhere to turn.

In T Section， to some extent， Simon held more sway than the warden!

“You say I need you?“ Simon stood up and walked towards Thomas. The martial artist blocking Thomas's path stepped aside like a hyena yielding to a lion， allowing Simon unobstructed access. His nearly two-meter stature made the slightly over one-eighty Thomas look rather small.“Then you’d better clarify what you mean by that... You should know that fooling me would be worse than death.“

How could I fool you? I'm trying to cling onto a lifeline here... Thomas looked up， making eye contact with Simon for a few seconds before tilting his head slightly and pointing to the field mech behind Simon.“I can fix that. Is that enough?“

Fix it? Simon glanced skeptically at the mech behind him， then back at Thomas， his expression finally changing. After scrutinizing Thomas for a while， he slowly turned and gestured for Thomas to follow， walking towards the mech. Thomas followed， relieved to see that the two assailants didn’t dare to stop him.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

In any case， he had gambled correctly!

***

“Damn it!“ In an office in T Section， Jenna looked at Thomas， who remained unscathed， with increasingly venomous eyes.

As the largest and most advanced prison in the Carl Star Nation， the Ninth Prison's security and surveillance covered every angle， leaving nothing unseen by Jenna. This only fueled her anger.

How could someone seemingly without any background， who was almost killed， survive just like that? How could this man， who had just offended her， so easily gain Simon's protection?

“Who exactly is this Thomas?“ Jenna turned， walked briskly to her desk， pulled out a communicator from a drawer， and dialed out. After a few short tones， a man's voice answered，“Ms. Jenna， is the matter taken care of?“

“Before that... answer me one question，“ Jenna ignored the question and asked her own，“Is that Thomas a mechanic?“

After her question， there was a brief silence on the other end of the communicator， followed by a serious reply，“Ms. Jenna， I believe I had instructed you not to try to investigate Thomas's past. It seems you did not heed my advice.“

“I didn't investigate him...“ Jenna's face changed color， but she insisted on explaining and described the situation involving Thomas and Simon，“You know what kind of person Simon is， sir. If Thomas truly has the ability to repair a mech and gains Simon's protection， I won't have any opportunity to act，“ she added after explaining the situation.

There was another pause on the other end of the communicator.

This silence lasted even longer. The office was filled with soft lighting， and there was a small greenhouse on one side， cultivating various plants. What should have been a relaxing environment felt oppressively heavy under the weight of this silence.

“Foolish... You're even more foolish than I thought， Ms. Jenna.“

After a long while， the voice on the other end finally spoke， but the tone was now harsh and icy.“It's just killing an ordinary person， and yet you've managed to complicate the matter so much. I'm quite curious about what you've been thinking.“

“Sir， please let me explain...“

“I don't need explanations; I want results，“ the man on the other side forcefully interrupted Jenna.

“But he's now with Simon， what should I do?“ Jenna furrowed her brows. Although the man on the phone did not explicitly confirm， his response implied that Thomas was indeed a mechanic. This raised a dilemma: How could she kill a mechanic protected by Simon?

“That's your problem，“ the voice grew impatient.“I don’t care about Simon; that's irrelevant to me. I just want that Thomas dead. Everything else is none of my concern.“

“Not my concern?“ Jenna's eyebrows shot up， her tone turning cold with anger.“Sir， please don’t forget， it's because of politicians like you， always considering so-called 'balance of interests' and afraid to judge people like Simon， that they end up in my prison. The Ninth Prison has become what it is now because of that. Are you sure none of this has anything to do with you?“

“Watch your tone， Warden!“ Suddenly， a reprimanding reminder came from the other side， cutting off all of Jenna's retorts.

Jenna， seemingly calmed by this admonition， stared coldly at the communicator， her words halted.

“Very well， it seems you now know what to do.“

A moment later， a satisfied voice came from the other end of the communicator before abruptly ending the call， the 'beep beep' of the busy tone echoing again.

Bang!

The next second，Jenna， in a fit of rage， grabbed the communicator and hurled it against the wall. The device shattered into pieces upon impact. Leaning on her desk with both hands， she breathed heavily， her anger making her breaths short and rapid. Her eyes grew colder and darker.

“Thomas Lane...“