Chapter 232: The Controller

When Gideon and Jade returned to the military containment camp, the place had already descended into complete chaos.

Freebound’s members were running from one containment tent to another while nurses and doctors dragged the wounded behind the defensive line.

Several infected civilians had already broken free from their restraints and were throwing themselves at the guards, forcing them to use their shields and batons just to keep the situation under control.

Violet and Azul were shouting orders to the medical staff, their faces filled with exhaustion and panic after hours of nonstop work.

Patrick, however, remained standing near the center of the camp. He looked exactly the same as before, calm and composed.

Only the sharpness in his eyes betrayed that his brain hadn’t stopped analyzing everything happening before him.

The moment he noticed Gideon and Jade approaching, he walked toward them.

"Chief, Miss Jade. As you can see" He adjusted his glasses. "...our hypothesis was incomplete."

Gideon’s eyes immediately swept across the camp.

The infected weren’t acting randomly.

Those still trapped inside the containment tents repeatedly rammed themselves against the barriers at exactly the same moment while the ones who had escaped worked together to overwhelm the guards instead of attacking individually.

It looked less like panic and more like coordinated assault.

"You didn’t separate the man that was clearly able to control the other infected people?" Gideon asked immediately.

"We did." Patrick pointed toward a lone containment tent built far behind the others. "The man Aaron and Kilian captured is still isolated there."

Gideon’s brows are knitted together. "Then why are they still coordinated?"

Patrick answered almost instantly. "I underestimated the parasite. The influence extends much farther than expected, roughly one hundred meters."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "But that’s not the interesting part."

Jade frowned. "Professor, now isn’t really the—"

Patrick calmly continued as if he hadn’t heard her. "The sedative only weakened his body. It didn’t weaken the parasite."

Gideon immediately understood what he meant.

"...He fooled us."

Patrick nodded. "He deliberately slowed his movements and answered our questions normally."

"He wanted us to believe the sedative was suppressing the parasite."

Another loud crash echoed from one of the containment tents as several infected civilians slammed themselves against the reinforced wall simultaneously.

Patrick didn’t even look away. "I believe the parasite has already differentiated. Like social insects, every host appears to serve a different purpose. Some spread the infection while others coordinate the colony."

"And that man is one of the coordinators."

Jade finally clicked her tongue in annoyance. "You can finish your hypothesis later."

She pointed toward the containment line where another group of guards was slowly being pushed back.

"All of you listen! Use your rifle, you can shoot anyone that is able to pass the safe threshold and it means get through me. Our men’s safety is a priority!"

The men listened and the sounds of open fire started to echo throughout the containment area. The white snow below turned red slowly as if mocking them for their incompetence.

Her eyes immediately found Gideon. "Knock that bastard unconscious and move him somewhere far away from the others. Your territory if necessary."

Gideon nodded once. "Sure and Patrick, when I return, I want every theory you’ve got."

"I’ll prepare them." He pointed toward the isolated tent. "Kilian and Aaron are already inside. They should still be able to hold him for now."

Without another word, Gideon broke into a run.

The freezing wind whipped across his face as he crossed the camp, weaving between struggling guards and frightened medical staff before finally reaching the solitary containment tent.

Even before he pulled open the entrance, he could already hear furniture breaking and Aaron cursing loudly from inside.

Gideon didn’t hesitate. He yanked the tent flap aside in one swift motion.

Aaron was the first person Gideon saw after pulling the tent flap open.

The man had been forced all the way to the back of the tent, one hand gripping the controller’s wrist while the other struggled to keep the knife pointed away from his own neck.

Their boots scraped violently across the frozen ground as the controller continued pushing forward with strength that shouldn’t have belonged to an ordinary human.

On the opposite side, Kilian had already circled behind him. His baton came down hard toward the man’s shoulder.

The controller ducked. The baton smashed into Aaron’s forearm instead, forcing him to curse as his grip loosened for a split second.

That was all the opening the controller needed.

He twisted away from Aaron, seized the folding chair beside him and swung it toward Kilian.

"Kilian!"

The warning came too late.

The chair exploded against Kilian’s raised forearm, forcing him back several steps before his body slammed into one of the support poles.

Blood trickled from the corner of his lips.

"Damn..." Kilian spat. "This bastard actually thinks."

The controller slowly turned around. His bloodshot eyes immediately locked onto Gideon.

A smile spread across his face.

"...Chief."

His voice sounded strangely layered, as though several people whispered through the same throat.

"You finally came. I’ve been waiting for you. No, my colony has been waiting and talking about you all day. They said you will be a nice addition to ours."

Gideon quietly closed the entrance behind him.

"Oh, so you are smart enough to discuss something like this. Interesting, though I don’t have time for that now. We will meet again in the meantime." He smiled.

"But now? My woman wanted me to get rid of you and I will before she killed all of her civilians."

The controller grinned wider, "Really? What a shame we aren’t in position for that."

Without another word, Gideon walked forward. The controller suddenly lunged. His speed surprised even Aaron.

In an instant he had crossed half the tent, fingers reaching straight for Gideon’s throat.

Gideon simply tilted his head. The hand brushed past his neck. His own fist had already buried itself into the man’s ribs making a dull crack echo inside the tent.

The controller folded slightly but immediately threw another punch.

Gideon caught the wrist and twisted it. The man’s body spun with the momentum before Gideon’s elbow crashed directly into his face.

Blood sprayed across the canvas. Before the controller could recover, Gideon stepped behind him, hooked one leg behind his ankle and slammed him flat onto the frozen ground.

The moment the controller tried to roll onto his stomach, Gideon drove his right knee into the man’s shoulder blade, forcing his chest back against the frozen ground.

His left hand seized the controller’s wrist while the other locked around his elbow.

The controller immediately realized what he was about to do.

He struggled violently, twisting his waist and kicking his legs in an attempt to escape, but Gideon’s body barely moved.

"No..." the man growled, his voice overlapping with another. "No!"

Gideon ignored him. He pulled the arm backward until it reached its natural limit before giving it one sharp jerk upward.

Crack!

The shoulder popped out of its socket.

The controller screamed as his entire right arm instantly went limp, hanging at an unnatural angle.

Before he could even react, Gideon shifted his weight onto the opposite side, trapped the left shoulder beneath his knee and repeated the same movement.

Another sickening crack echoed inside the tent.

The second shoulder dislocated just as easily.

Now both of the man’s arms lay uselessly beneath him, but Gideon wasn’t finished.

Aaron stared for a second. "You know, sometimes I forget you’re actually terrifying."

"He is smart enough to manipulate both of you even in a fight." Gideon looked down at the writhing man. "I’m not giving him another chance."

The controller still laughed despite the pain.

"...Doesn’t... matter..." His eyes never left Gideon. "...The colony... already heard..."

Gideon frowned slightly but ignored him. He couldn’t hear the shoots outside anymore, meaning that the man lost control of his influence, for now.

"Kilian, get chains. The sedative didn’t work well with him."

"Already have them."

Kilian immediately grabbed a bundle of heavy steel restraints from the corner of the tent.

Together, the three of them chained the controller’s wrists behind his back, bound both legs separately, then wrapped another chain around his chest and waist until he could barely move.

Only then did Gideon nod. "Take him back to Cinders of Dusk."

Aaron blinked. "You think moving him outside Climber Rift will stop the others?"

"I don’t know." Gideon shook his head. "But Patrick’s hypothesis deserves to be tested."

He looked directly at both of them. "Don’t stop anywhere on the way. If he starts talking, ignore him. If he tries to manipulate either of you again..."

His eyes fell to the man’s legs. "Break them too. I think the pain temporarily made him lose his power."

Aaron scratched the back of his head before letting out a tired sigh.

"Fuck, I miss escorting merchants."

Kilian laughed while lifting one end of the chains. "I miss changing Oliver’s diapers."

Aaron looked at him in disbelief. "That’s how bad this mission is?"

Kilian nodded without hesitation. "I’d rather listen to him crying all night than babysit this creepy bastard."

Even Gideon couldn’t help smiling faintly. "Go now, before Jade comes here with her gun ready to drill a bullet inside his head or both of your heads."

The two men nodded before dragging the controller out of the tent toward the military truck waiting outside.

If Patrick’s theory was correct, they wouldn’t need to wait long to see whether removing the controller was enough to break the colony’s coordination.