Counterfeit Hero

Abnosk Prison never cares about the lives of its prisoners, especially these heavy crime offenders. Only the lives of political prisoners and nobles are treated with some caution by the guards. Commoners? They can be tormented however they want! In prison, there are prison rules. The guards here are the kings! They only conduct routine headcounts before breakfast and dinner. Whether alive or dead, there must be that many people in the cells! If any prisoner is beaten to death in a fight, as long as the leaders among the prisoners provide a sufficient reason, the guards will easily take care of it. For them, it only requires filling out a report. Human life is the least valuable thing here!

At this time, Rex, who was beaten all over and tightly held, began to feel fear. There were only him and Fatty left in the cell, and this Fatty was a completely unreasonable madman who might go wild at any moment. Watching Fatty cry his heart out while holding him, twitching, and occasionally wiping tears and snot on his clothes, Rex felt cold all over. At this moment, he was on the brink of collapse.

Fatty kept crying, crying earnestly. He raised his tear-filled eyes to look at Rex and wailed, "Big Brother, I really didn’t do it on purpose. You have to believe me... boohooo..." Rex opened his mouth but hadn’t had a chance to reply when this bastard squeezed his hand, making Rex scream in pain. Fatty panicked, "Big Brother, what’s wrong? Where do you hurt? Let me massage it for you!" As he spoke, he started rubbing the bruised places hard, making Rex gasp in cold air and shiver all over.

Fatty wailed, "Big Brother... Big Brother, are you okay?" Rex couldn’t speak anymore; he was desperately struggling to break free from Fatty’s embrace. Fatty suddenly seemed to remember something, exclaiming in surprise, "Big Brother, I have a way to make you not hurt. Try it... it’s very effective!" Rex, wishing he could say that as long as Fatty stayed away, he wouldn’t hurt anymore, could only gasp in pain, unable to form a complete sentence due to the stabs at his painful spots.

"You... go... away..." Rex struggled to call out each word. Although he finally managed to say it, his situation became even more pitiful. Fatty, with a twisted expression, continued squeezing and crying, "Big Brother, what are you saying? I can’t hear you... Don’t speak, let me massage you properly..."

"Big Brother, listen to me. Look at the digital clock on the wall. If you count the numbers, you won’t hurt anymore. You don’t even need to massage, and you won’t hurt. Really, believe me, count, quickly start counting." Fatty began to lay down the bait.

Seeing that Rex got a bit of relief by looking at the clock, he threw himself wholly into watching the digital clock on the wall. Sure enough, his pain lessened a lot. Fatty secretly laughed, his hands gradually stopped, and he loosened his grip a lot, making Rex feel much better compared to the unbearable torment earlier!

Rex wanted to cry out of grievance. This was the first time he endured such suffering, and he didn’t even wish to recall such an experience. Now, he felt like someone who had been through torture, thinking that just living peacefully without suffering such pain was the greatest happiness in life!

Rex counted the clock while Fatty stared at Rex. If Rex got even slightly distracted, Fatty would use some underhanded trick until Rex refocused on fighting with the digital clock, only giving him some relief then.

Seeing Rex counting enthusiastically, Fatty whispered almost hypnotically into his ear, "Big Brother... you must believe me, I didn’t do it on purpose, I am your brother, closer than a blood brother..." He repeated these words, and at first, Rex paid no attention to what Fatty was actually saying. In his mind, it was just the same pleading words over and over, which he intended to deal with later on.

But Rex didn’t notice that Fatty’s voice was entirely different, containing an indescribable tone that subtly imprinted on his mind. He began to accept Fatty’s voice slowly, as if it had always existed in Abnosk Prison since he arrived in this room. Thereafter, in Rex’s subconscious, it seemed as if this voice had accompanied him from birth. Like breathing, it was easy to ignore but never stopped.