Act.19 Rocket Queen: Spark Empress

[Part 1: Feigning Death]

December 25, 2025.

All the playful banter came to an end when the warden revealed his true identity to female prisoner G117, and everything changed.

This is an extremely difficult double trolley problem to solve.

--Let alone whether she has the ability to defeat this cunning and treacherous Red Flash Butterfly.

If the Cult Leader is killed, the entire Eleventh District will Heaven and Earth Turning. Among the more than 3,000 serious criminals, at least 500 are psionicists. We will need to deploy the forces of Guangling Zhixi to suppress the bandit rebels, and many, many people will die.

If the mission is abandoned now, the drug trafficking groups lurking in Forty-Eight District will continue to wreak havoc on humanity, and nearly 400,000 people in the three trading hubs and satellite towns will continue to live in the shadow of drug traffickers.

It was a hell filled with violent crime, human trafficking, and children who could lose their parents at any moment, and parents who could lose their children at any moment.

This isn't something Xue Ming can decide on her own; she can't make a decision right away.

This message must be conveyed to Ming De, and other VIPs and soldiers must be invited to deal with the riot in Hedland.

The Cult Leader of the Little Brotherhood has turned Hedland into his private resort. He is so confident that, apart from the Soul Power effect of [Heaven's Gate], the prison has only 122 armed officers, and there are more cooks than soldiers.

It seems this man had planned from the beginning that if the governor of Eleventh District dared to lay a hand on him, the nearby towns of Yellow Bull Town and Sweet Lake City would be met with the wrath of the Madness Butterfly Cult and its warbands. Even if he died, he would take thousands of people with him.

The second trolley problem was solved by Hasben Madison and Claudia Ars Duran.

The Cult Leader seemed to be asking her to choose one to kill.

--Did Xue Ming actually have a choice?

If Duran is killed, Flavia is likely to betray him or even commit suicide.

This Little Brotherhood, and it was something that absolutely could not be allowed to happen.

Rather than a multiple-choice question, it was more accurate to describe this as the Cult Leader testing Xue Ming.

Hasben Madison was not only the Cult Leader's biological son, but also a soldier of Guangling Zhixi. He was a member of the Rangers promoted by the governor of Eleventh District. He was previously a squad leader of a battle group platoon, but has now been promoted to the local jurisdiction of Yellow Bull Town, from a rapid reaction force to a centurion of the district government's defense forces.

Killing Hasben is tantamount to killing the leader of the bullfighters, killing the governor's personal guard, and going against the entire Eleventh District.

These are the conditions set by the Cult Leader. If G117 can meet them, then she will have passed the test. The person capable of killing the soldiers of Guangling Zhixi could not possibly be a subordinate of Ming De.

The Cult Leader made it very clear--

--We must bring Hasben's head back.

If this head can earn his trust, this human flesh deal might buy him the chance to assassinate the drug lord.

But Xue Ming was never one to do the human flesh business, and she would never compromise with cannibals.

After leaving room 1183, she drank a lot of water because she was sweating profusely. Her brain was working overtime, trying to find a solution to the two trolley problems.

The planned Prison Break would begin when the appointed time arrived, the day of Jello and Jielina's wedding.

Xue Ming put on his combat boots and finally woke up from his dozing.

She was almost bursting with rage, her whole being radiating a chilling aura.

"A Xing."

Meteor sat beside her, hunching over and resting his chin on his hand in a serious manner, abandoning all playful intentions.

"Um."

Xue Ming: "I have something very important to entrust to you."

Meteor: "Go ahead and say it."

Xue Ming cradled A Xing's face and commanded Fragrant Dream to convey the coded message transmitted through bone, "This concerns Hasben Madison's life or death, and also whether we can escape this prison."

With a thought, the meteor summoned a crimson spirit to entwine with it.

"According to you, this young man is the Cult Leader's son, and he should be killed."

"Yes, but I can't bring myself to do it."

"Ming Ge, you're not a soft-hearted person, I understand what you mean."

Just how evil must that guy be to harm his own flesh and blood?!

Even tigers don't eat their cubs; he probably doesn't even qualify as a beast.

"A Xing, you have to help me find '<The Starry Night>' —help me find this painting. Duran will help you. If you can find it, perhaps Hasben can still survive."

"Oh! You want to use a Canaanite life form to die in place of Hasben?"

"We must find him, or this kid is doomed. Even if I don't make a move, the Cult Leader will."

"Actually, I've always wondered, since he's so afraid of the power of bloodline, so afraid of this child, why doesn't he do it himself? Hasben goes through the gate every day; the moment he crosses it, he can slice through this kid's flesh."

"He pretended to tell me he couldn't bear to harm his own flesh and blood. Actually, this guy is hypocritical and arrogant. Hasben's death will definitely cost Hedland a fortune in insurance money—the characteristics of Heaven's Gate are too obvious; there are surveillance cameras everywhere. If the warden can't provide an explanation and can't produce video evidence, he'll soon be exposed to Ming De."

"He's using someone else to do his dirty work! Ming Ge!"

"Even if we manage to Prison Break, he will kill Hasben —by someone else or by some other means. The mercenaries in this hotel are ruthless killers; Hasben won't live to see tomorrow. If we don't leave with Hasben's head, things won't be so easy when we get to Zero Platform in Forty-Eight District."

Things have gone bad! Terribly bad!

"No, A Xing —there's at least one thing he doesn't understand, he's unclear about."

"He doesn't know our true identities?"

"I'm not sure, because during the harvest season ceremony, all high-ranking officials and VIPs must return to the Nine Realms to observe—if he were hiding among those thousand-plus guests, we should have met long ago. It's just that he hasn't seen my face. He hasn't seen my soul power."

"So what good thing are you talking about?"

"He has a fatal weakness, and that is Hasben Madison himself."

"Ming Ge, I don't understand."

"A painting titled 'Saturn Devours His Son' hangs in the dressing room. The Cult Leader seems to be very superstitious. Like Duran, the members of the Little Brotherhood believe in fate and a mysterious force of gravity. He firmly believes that Hasben's power comes from his lifeblood—this young man was able to metamorphose before he was even twenty years old, about to become a butterfly. He is constantly terrified, afraid of being killed by his son."

"Hasben do this?"

"I don't want to guess, I don't want to speculate, and I don't want any fatalism—I only know that when a person has fear, they will expose their Gate of Death."

At this point, Xue Ming spoke with utmost seriousness and certainty.

"Being afraid of death is useless, A Xing. We've been through so many life-or-death moments, and the thing on our minds is never the fear of death. It's always about how to survive. When a person is afraid of death, it means they've given up the struggle, given up the will to live."

"In other words," Meteor finally understood Ming Ge's meaning, "As long as I can retrieve <<The Starry Night>>, save this kid, and get him to appear before the Cult Leader at the crucial moment, even if he's alive and well, the Cult Leader! He'll make a wrong move and lose his mind!"

"Yes, we can't find his weakness at all right now," Xue Ming continued. "His spiritual power is like a gate separating the human world from heaven, insurmountable, inaccessible, and inviolable—it can allow him to escape hundreds or thousands of kilometers in an instant. He is the most difficult criminal to capture in the world."

Meteor: "But as long as Hasben is alive."

Xue Ming: "We will have a chance to defeat him. He will inevitably believe that this is the guidance of fate, the standard ending that a son must kill his father. He will try to struggle, he will resist frantically, and he will become more ferocious and ruthless. But one thing will never change: his will to survive will fall below the line between life and death."

Meteor: "What do we do next, Ming Ge? If the warden dies, what will happen to this prison?"

"There's no time, A Xing." Xue Ming gripped A Xing's spirit arm tightly. "There's no time. I've thought about it for a long, long time, but I can't find a foolproof way to deal with the criminals in Hedland. If we move forward, go to Forty-Eight District, outwit the Cult Leader, and find an opportunity to get this message out, maybe we can buy some time until Guangling Zhixi and the Lapis Lazuli Guards take over Hedland. But if we stay put, we can't do anything."

Noon --

--Little A Xing embarked on a journey to find the painting all by himself.

Xue Ming, Duran, and Flavia need to find Hasben Madison beforehand, subdue him, and inform this key figure of their plans for the anti-drug operation targeting Forty-Eight District. Duran's Soul Power ability allows him to predict future events, so finding him in the center of the club shouldn't be difficult.

Meteor, on the other hand, cautiously and furtively made its way to the Treasure Pavilion in the public area on the 21st floor.

Last time, Xue Ming used medical bottles to capture Canaan Life and handed it over to Hasben Madison as evidence. Evidence had to be sent to the laboratory, so it was impossible to steal anything from the heavily guarded military and police.

However, there should still be some Canaanite life in "<The Starry Night>". If we can get our hands on this painting, we might be able to save Hasben's life.

Ms. Jacqueline sold the painting to Hedland. Most of the convicts' art collections were used as tokens for money laundering and thus became Hedland's property. As the Cult Leader's private museum, the Treasure Pavilion was naturally open to all VIPs to showcase the warden's wealth and power.

When the A Xing entered the Treasure Pavilion, she saw a square pavilion and a spiral staircase that led to the sky.

Located in the atrium at the southeast corner of the podium building, the collection spans eight floors from bottom to top. Among them are countless priceless works of art, jewelry, and precious metals.

It was the first time A Xing had ever seen so many treasures. She was almost blinded by the magnificent paintings and reliefs. She had to crane her neck to see them clearly, and her neck was aching.

She clicked her tongue in amazement—thinking to herself.

If we consider the bank cards in room 1184 as liquid assets, then the artwork here is probably the Cult Leader's entire treasury. If he were to sell everything in it, he could probably buy the whole of Alaska.

But strangely, there's no door here.

--Only two double doors on the east and west sides, allowing straight in and out.

Go up the spiral staircase, and you can see everything in one room.

The security personnel and VIPs had all gone to attend the wedding of the Jello couple, leaving only one caretaker in the Treasure Pavilion.

"Little girl, what are you doing here?"

A Xing looked over at the sound and saw a burly man standing next to the registration desk.

He was strong and tall, with a square face and a very upright posture. His eyes were slightly narrowed, as if he had his eyes fixed on his prey.

This is the curator of the Treasure Pavilion, whose full name Francis Ferdinand.

The name of this administrator is written on the roster and employee introduction plaque in front of the registration desk.

The A Xing greeted him cheerfully.

"Francis! I've come here to look at the paintings!"

Like Superintendent Edward, Francis is an employee of Blackland Prison and also has bright red hair.

He stared at the petite and adorable girl, his eyes wide, as if he had seen too many ugly criminals and finally seen an innocent child after a long time, and he was very happy.

"Today is Jello's big day, why aren't you attending the wedding banquet?"

Without hesitation, A Xing replied, "I love art!"

Francis looked suspicious, glancing deliberately at the east gate before asking A Xing.

"Didn't anyone else come with you?"

A Xing said very honestly, "Yes! My older sister went to a wedding! I'm all alone! Don't worry! I'm not here to steal anything!"

"Criminals always like to emphasize that they won't do anything." Francis turned somber, but instantly changed to a beaming smile, "But a lovely girl like you can't be a thief, right?"

A Xing: "Yes! Yes!"

The adults and children clapped their hands.

This was a gentleman's agreement.

Francis is almost two meters tall, and he has to bend down slightly to grab A Xing's hand as a sign of respect.

"So what would you like to see?" Francis stepped away from the registration desk, ready to lead the way.

A Xing immediately exclaimed, "<The Starry Night>! I've seen it at my neighbor's house before!"

"The painting is on the sixth floor, it'll be a very long climb up the stairs," Francis, his eyes subtly scanning A Xing's arms and legs. "It's a long journey, let's play a quiz game instead."

A Xing: "What is a quiz game?"

Francis explained gently and slowly, "It means you ask a question, I answer, then it's my turn to ask, and you answer. You can't lie."

A Xing: "Okay! I have a lot of questions waiting to be answered!"

[Part ②: The Awakening of the Soul]

The building has a floor height of six meters, so climbing the spiral staircase to the sixth floor would require at least 180 steps.

Francis asked, "I haven't seen such a beautiful child as you in this prison for a long time. There were some other very good-looking children in [Iranian Child] before, but they didn't know how to cherish them and liked to ruin girls. You said you have an older sister. I'm curious, how old are you this year?"

Without hesitation, A Xing answered, "Nineteen!"

"Oh," Francis some disappointment. The girl didn't seem to be nineteen; she should be younger.

When it was A Xing's turn to ask, "Francis! Have you always been the warden here? There are so many treasures here! The warden must trust you a lot, right?"

Francis burst into laughter upon hearing this question.

"It's all God's private property. I've always been here as the warden's caretaker; I'm the warden's most trusted person."

A Xing wanted to ask more questions--

--Francis immediately added a bet.

"You asked two questions, and I'd like to ask two too."

Immediately afterwards, Francis paused for a moment, leaning on the railing, and finally spoke.

"What crime did you commit? Do your family and boyfriend know about it?"

A Xing immediately burst into laughter. "I don't have a boyfriend! I only have a girlfriend, hehehe! As for what crime we committed—my older sister and I robbed a bank, but we didn't get anything. Someone beat us to it, and the bullfighter just happened to arrest us."

Francis was overjoyed upon hearing this. "So that's how it is?"

A Xing: "Is this considered a formal question?"

Francis: "No, no. Ask away."

"Um," A Xing pondered for a moment, then said, "Why aren't there any individual rooms here? It's all one big room. As far as I know, different artworks require different humidity and temperature conditions. And if there aren't any small rooms, wouldn't the warden be unable to use the Heaven's Gate?"

"Hehehe," Francis chuckled, "Little girl, if there really were a thief, it wouldn't be the warden's place to arrest him personally. Heaven's Gate would kill the thief and damage the artwork; he wouldn't dare."

A Xing quickly asked, "Are there security cameras here?"

"Yes," Francis gestured for silence, "It's my turn."

"Okay, go ahead and ask." A Xing, holding his head, leisurely followed Uncle Francis, when suddenly he felt a chill.

The chill was like the stench expelled from maggots as they wriggled, utterly repulsive.

--A strange spiritual pressure began to emanate from the once empty venue, emanating from the kind-faced, burly man beside him!

Upon reaching the electrical distribution box on the fifth floor, Francis tore away his facade of kindness.

He could barely suppress his desire, wanting to devour the little cutie in front of him alive.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his mind was preoccupied with the order of killing, lust, and eating.

She was still speaking the gentlest words.

"Looks like you're a virgin? Young and inexperienced."

Meteor, wary, moved with a light step, moving away from Francis. She stood at the top of the stairs, looking directly at the strange caretaker.

What do you want to do?

Francis spread his arms and grinned, "This is my territory, little girl—when I turn off the cameras, you'll become a thief! If I say you're a thief, you're a thief!"

A Xing looked bewildered, not quite understanding the meaning of the sentence: "What the heck?"

Click--

--The circuit in the distribution box immediately tripped.

The moment the camera stopped working, Francis's body began to slowly change.

"You lewd, shameless thief! Trying to steal the treasures of the Treasure Pavilion! I, Francis Ferdinand, God's faithful guardian of the Francis, will defile you! I will crush your beautiful thighs!"

A Xing finally came to her senses and heard the madman's howl. The intense spiritual pressure fluctuations caught her off guard.

Her expression changed drastically, and she instinctively reached into her collar for something.

"That's the expression! Hehehehehe! That's the look!" Francis's body split open, emanating a strong stench. This fleshy shell was merely his outer armor, from which emerged a frail, emaciated half-body—an old man. "You're seducing me! You must be seducing me! Seeing my imposing figure, with its bear-like body and tiger-like eyes! I can already smell your stench. Are you going to throw yourself into my arms, you little bitch! I'm going to punish you!"

This grotesque creature of flesh and blood is the guardian of the treasure left behind by the Cult Leader in the Treasure Pavilion!

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh! Ooh ooh ooh ooh!" A Xing screamed in alarm, "You're disgusting!"

Francis spread his arms, and the two fleshy membranes beside the cockpit immediately swelled up, like Madness Butterfly flapping their wings, rushing towards A Xing.

A Xing was very nimble; she climbed up the beams beside the ladder and quickly reached a distance of over ten meters.

"Don't go! Look at my collection! Just one look! Just one look!" Francis roared, flapping his wings. "You'll be captivated by them! They're even more beautiful than '<The Starry Night>'! You wretch! I want you to see clearly!"

At that moment, the A Xing turned around in response.

When the fleshy monster fully spread its wings, it was almost three meters wide.

Sixteen mummies hung on the fleshy skeleton, their true appearances now unrecognizable.

"These things!" In the center of the grotesque, fleshy figure, the little old man waved his thin, twisted hands, which resembled long beards, and gently stroked his collection. He was almost as thin as a monkey, his lower body glued to his strong outer armor. "I painstakingly collected all of these. These shameless female prisoners, the oldest is only twenty-one years old. I couldn't bear to eat them, so I'm hanging them here."

In a mere instant, Francis reverted to his original form, transforming back into a robust and valiant man. He opened his arms slightly, gazing at the A Xing with great interest.

"You pervert! I'll kill you a thousand times over!" Meteor finally pulled out the wolf mask and the Iron Knight from his collar, jumped back down the stairs from the beam, and was so angry that his hair stood on end.

"Oh ho!" Francis stared intently at the brilliance stone and stick in A Xing's hand. "You're going to assault a police officer?! You dare to assault a police officer?!"

"Bullshit! You scum, you dare call yourself a prison guard?!" A Xing drew her light sword and put on the wolf mask, but she couldn't even hold the sword steady, and the mask was about to slip off her chin. With a little excitement, her jeweled jewelry and club were about to leave her hands.

At that very moment--

--Right now.

A figure leaped up from the beams of the fourth-floor walkway.

Hasben Madison covered A Xing's mouth, put his arm around her waist, and pulled her under his armpit.

"I was worried about you, S272—although I don't know why you acted alone and came to the Treasure Pavilion, there have been several disappearances in this room before. It was definitely the right thing to follow you."

A Xing: "Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh!"

Translate the star language.

[Get out of my way! Let me go! I'm telling you! This guy's dead today! Even God can't save him!]

Little Star: "Ugh ugh ...

[He murdered sixteen women! And framed them for theft! It was rape followed by murder! This despicable old man, relying on his flesh and blood, has committed countless evils! Hasben Madison! Let me handle this.]

Before A Xing could finish crying--

--Hasben Madison points to Francis.

"You bastard, you reek of a corpse."

When Francis saw Mr. Hasben's face clearly, he was utterly shocked. "You... you can't be..."

These words became his last words.

At that moment--

--A thick cloud of smoke billowed through the entire Treasure Pavilion.

A Nulei, as thick as a fist, shot out from the electrical box, piercing the grotesque, fleshy body straight through!

"[Rocket Queen]! Pierce him!"

The immense noise and intense light almost immobilized Meteor. She could feel the sudden drop in air humidity, and the dry, eerie environment gave her lungs a tingling, itchy sensation.

She soon began to cough, and it wasn't until she struggled to her feet from Hasben's arms, picked up the sapphire and the stick, and realized that the enemy was already dead.

The lightning strike caused horrific damage, piercing the serial killer from the top of his head to his perineum.

The corpse turned into loose chunks of flesh, becoming limp and sprawling on the ground as four large patties of meat.

Francis and his horrific and pathetic collection were already emitting a burnt smell.

Hasben Madison remained motionless, his blood-red eyes flashing with golden lightning. He glared angrily at the dead corpse, as if he had just gained the power of the soul and could not believe that he had killed a Blood-giving Monster so easily.

"My goodness!" After a while, A Xing finally came to her senses. "You've done a Mega Evolution and turned into Pikachu?"

"What are you saying?! S272?" Hasben kicked Francis's corpse aside, intending to collect the cannibal's mummified remains as evidence.

If Xue Ming were present, he should have been able to recognize these corpses, as they were treated in the same way as the plaster statues in room 1184.

A Xing squatted beside Hasben, repeatedly asking, "How did you obtain Soul Might? Can you teach me? I want it too! I want it!"

Hasben paused for a moment, then continued.

"I'm frustrated, frustrated by my own powerlessness. I'm so weak."

After a long time, Hasben took off his outer garment and put the mummified corpse into the white wolf cloak. Underneath was a simple, tight-fitting, quick-drying suit. He said to A Xing.

"Whether it's meeting you all or what's happened in this prison, I feel nothing but resentment and helplessness! The governor is obsessed with the Big Sister's shoes! Morian wants to kill innocent people and claim credit for it! Criminals live a more comfortable and carefree life than ordinary people thanks to their ill-gotten gains! And I can only watch helplessly! I can't even get a chance to clear the name of two women!"

Hasben gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"There are good people and bad people in this world! Good people do good deeds, and bad people do bad deeds! Cause and effect are cyclical, and retribution is inevitable! It's that simple! It's just that simple! I am a soldier of the Rangers, and I should fight!"

"These intense emotions transformed you?" A Xing suddenly realized.

"No." Hasben turned his head away, his eyes filled with intense determination. "That's not right."

What followed left A Xing speechless.

Hasben said with absolute certainty.

"S272, you seem naive. Don't say these things to G117."

"When I was a child, I had lofty ambitions but little ability; I wanted to change the world."

"But as I grew up, I realized I couldn't do such great things. I just wanted to change Eleventh District and protect my mother and other vulnerable people like her."

"Later I realized that I couldn't even do that. I settled for second best, wanting to change myself, and just when I was about to give up completely— Glory appeared."

"She saved my life. She is so strong and so wonderful."

"I felt a lot of resentment, but I didn't want to lose to her and wanted to repay her kindness."

"I hope to protect her forever, and perhaps even take her out of prison and to my hometown."

Hasben's face softened with a gentle smile as he spoke of these things.

"Take her to meet my mother; they'll definitely have a lot to talk about."

"At that time, I could propose to her, and even if I was rejected, I would have no regrets even if I died on the spot."

"Thinking about these things, my soul power revealed its true name to me."

"Rocket Queen, that's its name."

Regardless of how many flags were planted in this passage, Meteor really wanted to check Hasben's mental state. In the end, after thinking about it, she slapped herself in the face.

"OMG!"