Transmigrated into a Redemption Novel as a Disciplinary Bug - Chapter 3

The moment he opened his eyes, the female insect regained full clarity of mind.

He stared calmly at Carlos, then lowered his gaze again, as if a haze had settled in his eyes, pooling into a stagnant, lifeless pond.

The female insect remained silent and motionless.

Like a stray cat crouching in a ditch, waiting for death to arrive, nothing could spark even the slightest interest in him.

Carlos maintained an ambiguous smile on his face, but inwardly, his heart was pounding.

This was not what he had imagined, and it was even more different from what the warden had described.

How did it suddenly become so awkward?

To prepare for what might happen today, Carlos had spent last night like the most devout student cramming for an exam.

He had anticipated various possibilities and mentally drafted lines suitable for each scenario.

Before coming to the black market, he had silently rehearsed them several times, ensuring everything would go smoothly, only then beginning this performance.

But now, suddenly being ignored with “cold violence,” Carlos found himself at a loss, unsure where to start with all the lines he had prepared.

He adjusted his emotions and said nonchalantly, “Why aren’t you speaking? Do you think this will help you escape punishment?”

The response was still a deathly silence.

System: [Host, um, the protagonist seems to have had his jaw dislocated. He can’t speak.]

Carlos: …

“Mm, I know. The warden mentioned it earlier. I’m just creating an imposing presence, making him feel psychologically pressured.”

[Oh, I see. I’ve learned something new. As expected of the host, you really know everything!]

Praise from the system made Carlos cough lightly, masking his earlier minor mistake.

He gently lifted the female insect’s chin, his thumb subtly nearing the pale lips.

Logically, due to blood loss, the female insect’s body should have been cold, but Carlos felt as if his fingertips were being scorched by fire, burning hot.

The female insect, now suspended, appeared even taller. With Carlos’s movement, he was forced to lower his head slightly.

With his jaw dislocated, his chin hung limply, unable to close his mouth.

Stimulated by the air, the female insect’s mouth uncontrollably produced saliva. His slightly parted lips faintly revealed a crimson tongue.

Silver-white hair, dampened by sweat and blood, clung softly to his temples, with a few strands stuck to the corner of his mouth by uncontainable saliva.

Blood seeping from his lips and teeth added a touch of gore.

In the brief moment Carlos touched the area near his lips, translucent moisture had already half-soaked his fingertips.

In a daze, Carlos felt a warm sensation on his hand whether from trembling or something else, his fingertip had brushed against the female insect’s tongue.

The sensation startled Carlos, his heart leaping as if thunder had struck beside his ears.

But thanks to his seasoned acting skills, he remained outwardly composed.

Provided one ignored his gradually reddening earlobes hidden beneath his hair.

Carlos steadied his emotions, lifted the female insect’s face, and scrutinized him with a brazen, impudent gaze, as if casually picking through trinkets at a market.

Dislocating a jaw was excruciating. The piercing pain enough to contort anyone’s face.

He recalled the force he had used earlier to grip the female insect’s jaw. He didn’t know how it felt for an insectoid, but it would have been enough to make a human cry out in pain.

Yet the female insect before him showed no change in expression aside from a few tears secreted due to physiological factors, as if unaware of what pain even meant.

For some inexplicable reason, he wanted to hear this female insect’s voice.

He was always impulsive, acting on whims without hesitation.

Carlos traced along the female insect’s jawline, moving up to the base of his ear, then circling and kneading that area.

Because of this action, the distance between them was pushed to the extreme, and Carlos could almost count the female insect’s snow-white eyelashes.

Marked by scars, half of the female insect’s face resembled a fierce ghost from the depths of hell, while the other half, still intact, appeared angelic beneath clear gray eyes—an extreme contrast.

Faced with such a face, Carlos felt somewhat uneasy and accelerated his movements, steadily increasing the pressure.

The female insect calmly closed his eyes, turned his head away, adopting a “see no evil” stance, seemingly fearless of whatever might happen next.

Did the female insect mistakenly think he was about to break his jaw outright? Or perhaps employ some new method? Carlos pondered silently, feeling both amused and inexplicably saddened.

Taking advantage of the moment, he suddenly exerted force.

A “crack” sound echoed.

The jaw perfectly returned to its original position. Due to the suddenness of the event, the female insect involuntarily let out a muffled groan.

His expression finally changed; his eyes, originally calm like stagnant water, remained icy cold, but now conveyed a hint of confusion.

“I don’t like mute insect slaves who are like wooden dolls. You’d better scream louder—that would surely be the most beautiful melody.”

Carlos deliberately infused his tone with full malice.

He watched the female insect before him, even after regaining his voice, only panting heavily. His scar-covered chest weakly rose and fell, and the raised hairs made him seem less like an insect race member and more like some dying small animal.

Oh, no—the word “small” wasn’t quite appropriate.

Yet, he was so weak that it was hard to see how he had once fiercely injured two disciplinary insects.

The wound piercing through the female insect’s chest had begun to ooze pus and blood, and a faint odor of rotting flesh drifted in the air. The scent of flesh decaying, heading toward death.

According to the insect race’s recovery ability, this wouldn’t actually threaten life, so Sweet Home tacitly allowed this treatment method.

Using the era’s repair fluid for treatment could restore appearance to its original state, perhaps leaving hidden dangers or disabilities internally, but it wouldn’t affect sales.

Yet no insect would consider this for a prEthaner.

Carlos gazed at the panting female insect before him, but his hand uncontrollably reached toward the chains.

As long as the final goal was met, some pain the female insect could have avoided enduring.

Early upon entering the room, Carlos had secretly checked the surveillance in every corner; his current position perfectly blocked the female insect. Just loosening the chains, a bit wouldn’t affect anything.

The hooks were barbed, firmly embedded in the body; pulling them even slightly felt like carving bone and scraping flesh. As Carlos’s hand covered them, the female insect instinctively struggled.

“Uh… ah.” The female insect emitted a hoarse whimper, but due to the weakness of his voice, it sounded more like a moan escaping his lips.

With heavy gasps, the female insect’s muscles began to involuntarily convulse, the iron claw-like hooks automatically extending and retracting, the iron spikes biting into flesh and bone.

The penetrating wound on its back was close to the wing sac, the most fragile and sensitive part of the female insect.

Under intense pain, it trembled all over, the shaking further causing the iron spikes to automatically clamp down, repeatedly grinding against the wound.

Seeing this, Carlos wanted to try again to help the female insect loosen the iron claw chains, but whenever he approached, the female insect would use its last strength to evade him. With each struggle, the injuries worsened, blood gushing from its chest, smearing Carlos’s hand.

“Get away…”

The female insect barely managed to utter two words.

Carlos steeled his heart, disregarding everything, one hand holding the iron spikes on the female insect’s chest, the other stabilizing the iron chain behind it, forcefully securing the chain.

This posture looked as if he were embracing a treasure, but the words he spoke were completely opposite.

“If you don’t want to die, don’t move.”

Carlos’s voice fell into the female insect’s ear, and indeed, it stopped struggling, quietly gazing at Carlos, its silver-gray pupils narrowing into a line under the light.

Carlos couldn’t discern what the female insect was thinking or how it viewed him at that moment. But opportunity was fleeting, and he seized the key card intending to loosen the mechanism.

Ten centimeters.

Five centimeters.

One centimeter.

Just as the key card was about to successfully swipe, something exploded in Carlos’s mind.

A thunderous sound.

Carlos felt as if a bomb had been dropped into his brain, the sound of bones cracking seeming to echo beside his ears.

The system also triggered an alarm in Carlos’s mind at that moment, the piercing, high-pitched alarm sound like a blunt saw repeatedly cutting through Carlos’s brain.

【Warning! Warning! Warning! Host detected for ooc, automatic activation of third-level punishment measures!】

If pain could be visualized, his head would surely have been crushed into a flattened sheet of paper in an instant, everything crushed to nothing, even the white brain matter nearly spewing from his mouth and nose.

In the last second before losing consciousness, he saw a trace of helplessness on the female insect’s cold face, then endless darkness completely engulfed him.

–

“Mr. Astley, can you hear me? Mr. Astley…”

Faintly, Carlos felt his eyelids being lifted, along with the piercing sensation of cold instruments penetrating his brain.

Something stirred inside his mind, the strange sensation of his brain being pierced gradually overpowering the previous intense pain.

After some struggle, Carlos’s eyelids trembled slightly, and he awoke.

Before him was a snow-white ceiling and a narrow single-patient bed; he seemed to be in a treatment room.

【Host, what were you doing earlier? Identity compatibility dropped to 58%.】 The system’s tone was filled with panic.

Carlos, like a dead pig unfazed by boiling water, casually said, “This thing also follows a 60% passing system? Are you guys also conducting exams here?”

【Host, I forgot to remind you earlier, ooc will forcibly trigger three levels of punishment. Below 60%…】

Carlos: “What happens if it gets even lower?”

【Minor cases result in mental electric shocks, severe cases lead to paralysis, and when it reaches 0%, the task fails, essentially ascending to heaven instantly.】

…That wasn’t what they said when they recruited me for the task.

“According to the main system’s prediction, your recent behavior was inappropriate for your identity. Consider this unsolicited advice, but you should be more careful in the future. If the mission fails, your soul will…”

“Do you think I’m the kind of person who isn’t cautious? The word ‘failure’ doesn’t exist in my dictionary,” Carlos said calmly.

He had come to this world within the book solely to return home. The characters here were nothing but fictional constructs. He couldn’t afford to waste time on meaningless acts of useless pity.

He had to go home.

Lost in thought, Carlos absentmindedly ran his hand along the edge of the hospital bed. The shaky, creaking sound of the bed frame echoed noticeably in the room.

“Mr. Astley, you’re finally awake!” A female insect, hearing the noise, hurried over.

The insect before him wore a white lab coat and held a long, needle-like instrument that appeared to be at least ten centimeters long.

“I’m the medical insect here. You can call me Ethan.”

“You really should get more rest. You just fainted and were brought here by the supervising insect. It was all so rushed, I didn’t have time to examine you properly.”

He continued, speaking almost to himself, “But these are classic symptoms of an impending mental disturbance. I suggest you apply for a matching male insect as soon as possible.”

After saying this, Ethan gave Carlos a once-over. He truly had a handsome, model-like appearance, even lying in bed.

“With looks like yours, winning the favor of a male insect shouldn’t be a problem. Even if you can’t get comfort from a high-ranking one, it’s still better than enduring it alone,” he remarked, clicking his tongue and nodding.

Carlos had learned about this during his preparations. The period of mental disturbance was a struggle every female insect faced—ranging from headaches and irritability to complete mental breakdown. Only through the comfort of a male insect of matching rank could a female insect avoid the suffering.

And here he was, worried about his identity as a male insect being exposed. He had overthought it.

“Oh, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going,” Carlos said, turning to get off the bed and leave.

Nothing else?! Wait, nothing else? What else could possibly be wrong? This is unbelievable. Ethan wore an expression of utter disbelief.

His sources were always the fastest. He had just heard that a tough insect had arrived at Sweet Home. He knew this one was tough, but he never expected him to be this harsh—not just to others, but to himself as well.

The supervising insect named Carlos leaned halfway against the hospital bed, dark circles under his eyes and a pale complexion, every detail revealing his weakness. Yet, his face showed no sign of the impending sorrow of mental disturbance. Anyone unaware might think he was just exhausted from a long night.

Ethan seriously doubted that even if the world were ending tomorrow, this insect could still manage an elegant smile right now.

“Fine, suit yourself! But I must emphasize, there’s no need to work yourself to death. We’re all just doing our jobs. Dying in a place like Sweet Home—your mother would want to slap you silly if she saw it!

Today, when you fainted, the AI detected the abnormal activity of the insect slaves and dealt with it promptly. Hmph, next time you might not be so lucky.”

Carlos suddenly snapped to attention. “What did you say? Dealt with it promptly?”

“Yeah, they’re being electrocuted right now. Or maybe they’ve just finished.”