If I Am Free, You Will Die!

Ba Di's face stiffened. His heart turned cold, and rage surged within him like an erupting volcano.

He had agreed to help them research technology for Jenny's sake, and also so he could leave this room and gain a little freedom—but not at the cost of becoming crippled.

The price was too high!

They had no need for his ability to act at all. They wanted to squeeze every last bit of knowledge from his mind and leave no room for any accidents.

Cruel. Heartless.

But it had to be said that it was an excellent method.

The "hand and foot tendons" were the tendons in the human body, located beneath the muscles of the lower legs and arms, connected to the heel bones and vital for walking. If they were damaged or severed, a person would be unable to walk or use their hands.

Tendons allowed muscles to attach to and be fixed upon bones. A muscle's tendons were distributed across two or more different bones, and only through the pulling action of tendons could muscular contraction drive the movement of different bones.

Once the hand and foot tendons had been severed for too long, the ligaments would retract, and the muscles could no longer contract to drive the movement of the bones. The muscles would then completely atrophy. Even exposure to the sun would not be enough to regenerate the hand and foot tendons, because the wounds would already have healed into place.

At that point, he would still have lost his ability to move and would be in even greater danger.

Ba Di could already imagine the precautions Slade had prepared to sever his hand and foot tendons.

As his body gradually developed resistance to various anesthetics, the Muscle Relaxant was also gradually losing its effect. Even if his physique, ten times stronger than that of an Earth human, had weakened, he still possessed strength beyond that of humans.

Once Ba Di was fitted with restraints that allowed him to walk, even with only the small range of motion his body had, a shoulder charge carrying several thousand kilograms of force could dent the base's facilities. Not every part of the base was made of steel. A humanoid tyrannosaur like him was simply too dangerous.

Even mobile restraints would not be safe.

Slade did not believe the explanation Ba Di had used on Jenny.

When he had been building the story to deceive Jenny, Ba Di had described himself as Krypton's last remaining prince. Krypton had exploded amid internal strife, and he had fled to Earth, only to be captured by them.

Clearly, Slade's sharp instincts did not believe him. Would a prince have such strong muscles? Such fierce sharpness, like an elite soldier hardened by countless battles? The chaotic scars across his body and the deep knife scar on his face could not have appeared without real life-and-death combat.

Would a prince of an entire planet have experienced so many moments between life and death? On a technologically advanced planet capable of interstellar travel, that was simply unimaginable.

Even after Ba Di added that personal valor was a Kryptonian tradition and honor, that as a prince he led by example, Slade still remained extremely wary. He intended to sever Ba Di's hand and foot tendons before allowing him out of this prison room.

After all, General Vick had repeatedly instructed him that no matter what happened to the alien, as long as he did not die, he still had research value.

Therefore, Slade felt no burden in guarding against Ba Di so severely.

Ba Di had focused on seducing Jenny and neglected the scrutiny of outsiders, allowing him to sense a fatal threat.

My situation is even more severe and dangerous than I imagined, or than anything portrayed in movies.

Ba Di suppressed the most violent rage in his heart, tilted his head slightly, and said with a gentle smile, "Jenny, I know you are wary of outsiders. As long as you are by my side, I am willing to endure it."

Ba Di spared no effort in speaking those deeply moving words, revealing a sorrowful smile. He deliberately said he was willing to endure it, increasing the burden in Jenny's heart and making her blame herself.

"How can they do this..."

Jenny gripped Ba Di's hand tightly, her heart twisting in unbearable pain. Ba Di had sacrificed too much for her. He was willing to offer scientific technology for her, willing to abandon everything from his past—even his identity as the prince of Krypton—just to live peacefully with her on Earth.

She could foresee that once Ba Di's hand and foot tendons were severed, after the wounds healed over time and the ligaments retracted and fused, he would never be able to move again, because the growth would have become fixed.

They could not possibly sever them for a while, reconnect them, sever them again, then reconnect them again. Sooner or later, that would cripple him as well.

Ba Di would need a long time—perhaps even five or ten years—to demonstrate obedience, cooperation, harmlessness, and a willingness to integrate with humanity before he could live among humans.

After five years, combined with Ba Di's powerful healing speed, he would basically be crippled by then, permanently disabled in both hands and feet.

Jenny absolutely did not want Ba Di to suffer such pain and torment.

Why did they have to treat Ba Di like this!

All he wanted was to survive peacefully on this planet. She still wanted to walk hand in hand with him beneath the moon and bask in the warmth of the sun.

He had once said that on Krypton, two people truly in love would make a lifelong marriage vow beneath the sunlight.

Under the sun, he would kneel before her and propose, his blazing heart laid bare.

Jenny's heart felt as though it were being cut by knives. The first alien she had ever loved caused her pain she could barely endure.

She had always imagined that she and Ba Di would have a wonderful future together. How could she have expected him to endure a life of disability, suffering, and imprisonment for the rest of his days?

It was too despairing.

Ba Di sighed softly and helplessly. "I also want to walk the streets with you, visit the academic library at Harvard University where you studied, walk through the Museum of Comparative Zoology with you, see those stadiums you hate, the biological specimens you like..."

"Perhaps we could even bring our children... and keep walking..."

Ba Di's soft sighs and words of love under such circumstances were especially devastating.

Jenny bit down hard, tears streaming from her eyes.

She even began to think that she would sacrifice herself if it meant Ba Di could remain safe and unharmed.

Once that thought took root, it completely filled her mind, making her grit her teeth and sob even more bitterly.

People in love had their intelligence overtaken by a surge of phenylethylamine in the brain, while endorphins decreased and dopamine increased, allowing love to dominate their thoughts and drive them increasingly mad. Jenny's thoughts were entirely consumed by Ba Di.

Like a devil, Ba Di guided her step by step, using words to build the future Jenny longed for. It was as though the two of them truly would soon walk hand in hand, tour Harvard University, travel the roads Jenny had known since childhood, and finally build a little nest of love beside a lake, with an infinitely beautiful future ahead of them.

That beautiful future seemed to be right before her eyes, making Jenny even more determined to give anything for Ba Di. Her teeth clenched tighter, and her sobbing made her body tremble.

Seeing that the timing was about right and the emotions had sufficiently built up, Ba Di finally sighed with a trace of gloom and regret. "If only you had a way to block the Spinal Nerves..."

Spinal Nerves extended from the spinal cord and primarily controlled sensation, movement, and reflexes throughout the body and limbs.

As long as pulses were used to maintain microwave pulse fluctuations along the cervical spine at the back of the neck, affecting the motor fibers in the nerve bundles, a person with fully functional limbs could be paralyzed.

At that point, Ba Di would be paralyzed. His limbs would be unable to move, and he would pose no threat. Only his head and neck would remain able to speak. He would be completely incapable of posing a danger.

His other cranial nerves and autonomic nerves would remain intact. Only the transmission of movement impulses to his limbs would be blocked. This way, even if Ba Di could not move for a long time, he would not be crippled by severed hand and foot tendons. In the future, once the neural block was removed and he had some time to recover, he could return to normal.

Simply put, it would temporarily cut off the brain's signals to the limbs.

But it was dangerous. One small mistake could result in true paralysis.

Ba Di had put great effort into studying genetic biology on Krypton and had gained a deep understanding of his own body. As long as he had the chance to be exposed to the sun, the instantaneous evolution and transformation triggered by his genes, along with powerful nerve impulses and Action Potentials, would break through that slight pulse restriction.

Therefore, this method was far better than severing his hand and foot tendons. It was also necessary to use this method. The risk of paralysis was nothing; lowering their guard was what mattered most.

Did such a method exist?

Yes! They had a newly developed, half-finished magnetic pulse device. It could be used to reduce and focus pulse fluctuations, making it the perfect tool to control Ba Di.

When Jenny heard Ba Di's sigh, her clever mind immediately realized that they possessed every condition necessary to do this to him. She herself was an expert in biology, so of course she understood the benefits. It was far better than severing his hand and foot tendons and turning him into a cripple. But one mistake could also make Ba Di truly paralyzed.

Jenny covered her mouth in shock, unable to accept it. Neither method was acceptable.

She did not know that even temporary paralysis, under Kryptonian genes and the light of a yellow sun, would be overcome by the powerful transmission of neural signals, enough to restore Ba Di's control over his body.

Ba Di spoke softly and seductively, once again building an alluring blueprint beside Jenny's ear.

If his hand and foot tendons were severed, he would be a cripple. If he risked paralysis, he would also be a cripple. Jenny's expression changed, tear tracks staining her face with grief.

"Darling, wait for me. I won't let you become crippled." She stopped sobbing, bit down on her pearly teeth, and spoke resolutely.

Her high heels clicked rapidly as she hurried out of the stark white room.

Ba Di watched her leave tenderly, then lowered his head again in a more comfortable posture, his heart icy cold.

If I am free, you will die!