Transmigrated into a Redemption Novel as a Disciplinary Bug - Chapter 4

“Otherwise, how do you think the first two disciplinary officers were saved? The AI automatically initiates emergency measures when it detects abnormal vital signs in a life form. Just now, when you fainted on the ground, that insect slave tried to ambush you. Fortunately, the AI stopped it in time. It was a close call.”

Images from before his unconsciousness surfaced in Carlos’s mind. Although the female insect was cold, there wasn’t a hint of killing intent in its eyes.

That female insect was clearly innocent.

With a sharp creak, Carlos increased the force of his grip, tearing the metal sheet right off.

Ignoring the lingering throbbing pain in his head, he pushed aside Ethan’s hand and staggered toward the door of the treatment room.

“Why are you in such a hurry about this? Where are you going? Didn’t I just tell you to rest properly?”

He reached out from a distance, calling to his patient, trying to summon the insect back.

“Hey! I’m talking to you! Don’t ignore the doctor’s orders!” But it clearly had no effect.

Ethan didn’t even have time to put down the instrument in his hand. He strode forward, intending to drag the patient back.

After all, in his treatment room, no insect had ever dared to disobey him. Now, this rebellious insect was just walking away—where would that leave his pride?

“Astley, I told you work isn’t important. I know you’re angry about that lowly slave. He’s already being punished. You can relax completely. The AI will surely make him wish he were dead. Ugh! Why won’t you listen? Are you out of your mind? Why are you still going to the works?”

Ethan rambled on, his words firing out like a machine gun. Before he could finish the long string of thoughts in his mind, he abruptly collided with Taning’s back.

“Damn! What’s wrong with you…” Ethan’s words instantly died in his throat.

Carlos stopped in his tracks, quietly staring at him. His eyes, as dark as night, were unfathomably deep.

It inexplicably reminded Ethan of the black hole he saw during his first interstellar voyage—endless, leading to who knows where, going to what destination, impossible to discern.

It also made him recall the star beasts he witnessed as a military medic. Their vertical pupils held not a trace of warmth, filled with hostility toward the besiegers, poised and ready to tear every enemy in sight to shreds in the next second.

“2757 is the insect slave under my responsibility. Even if it’s punishment, only I can administer it.”

After saying this, Carlos turned and left, swift as the wind, not leaving even a trace of his clothing behind.

What a strange insect! Utterly bizarre! Ethan stared in the direction Carlos had left, cursing and muttering to himself on the spot.

–

Carlos struggled out of the treatment room before gradually slowing his pace.

It was just a book, and that female insect was merely a character in it.

Letting the AI punish the female insect would further destroy its spirit and body, perfectly setting the stage for the subsequent physical and emotional torment.

This development couldn’t be better. It was as if even the heavens were helping him.

All he needed to do was find a place to rest, have some tea, and wait for good news.

But the medic’s words suddenly echoed in his ears again.

He would just take a look.

Just to verify the AI’s work results. If something really went wrong, he could adapt accordingly.

As he drew closer to the cell, Carlos’s steps grew slower and slower.

After enduring the system’s mental assault, half of his body remained stiff, and his brain still throbbed with a dull ache like a blunt axe chopping wood. Each step forward was exceptionally laborious.

Even before entering, the sounds from the cell had already seeped through the walls.

The crackling sound of electric current release was enough to make one’s tongue instinctively sour, even conjuring the bitter taste of scorched flesh.

The clattering of chains tightening also echoed, their wind-splitting speed capable of tearing through anything.

Beyond that, there was nothing else.

Isn’t this good? Without even dirtying his hands, he could pave the way for the protagonist’s redemption of the main character. A task that achieved twice the result with half the effort. Why not indulge in such convenience?

Carlos slowly released his hand from the door handle.

He should leave.

Give in. There’s no need to save him.

Do what he must, just complete the task properly and return home.

“Cough cough…”

It was a sound of coughing up blood, suppressed to the extreme, so faint that it was nearly imperceptible to the ear, yet it still halted Carlos’s departing steps.

When passing other cells, he always heard screams that shattered the roof, continuous cries of agony enough to stop any insect from proceeding.

But the insect in this cell swallowed all its wounds and pain, enduring everything deep within its bones.

Carlos could imagine that the female insect must have bitten its lips and teeth until they bled to remain nearly silent at such a moment.

Or perhaps, it had reached the pinnacle of pain, lacking even the strength to utter a single sound from its throat.

Carlos paused briefly. Reason kept him from opening the door; instead, he activated the cell’s observation window.

After inserting the key card into the slot, the mechanical-feeling wall gradually became semi-transparent, revealing a massive glass pane before him.

This observation window could intelligently select a one-way viewing mode. Carlos could see the scene inside the cell, but the female insect inside remained unaware.

The sight within the observation window disrupted his breathing for a moment.

The female insect inside was injured even more severely.

Several electrode patches adhered to the female insect’s body—two suctioned onto either side of its chest, and others attached to its neck and back.

Several newly added mechanical tentacles connected to the female insect, firmly gripping its arm bends and knee bends. Dark machinery restrained the most vulnerable parts of its body, like a giant beast playing with its dying prey.

Even under electric stimulation, as the female insect struggled violently, it ensured the patches wouldn’t detach, preventing the punishment from accidentally ending.

As the current flashed, the female insect’s body uncontrollably convulsed and twitched, veins bulging, blood vessels surfacing, presenting a beauty of torment.

Carlos’s hand unconsciously rubbed the control panel, fingers brushing over buttons yet hesitating to press any.

【Host, do you wish to halt the punishment?】

Seeing the host standing there dumbly, the system was somewhat puzzled.

“How could that be? Those overflowing with compassion are fools. I never engage in high-risk, low-reward transactions.”

Carlos’s face showed no pity. He gazed at the female insect’s half-drooping face, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

Give in. There’s no need to save him.

This is the predetermined fate of the character in the book. Suffering before sweetness is a common trope in novels. He only needs to follow the steps, complete the task, and then return home.

It’s time to leave.

“Let’s go. There’s nothing worth seeing here.”

“Alright, Host! As expected of the one I chose! You’re truly ruthless, rational, and decisive. This time, we’re definitely going to complete the mission! Victory is right…”

“Keep it down. Your noise is giving me a headache.”

Carlos’s head was buzzing from the system’s chatter, the pain so intense that his brows furrowed.

As he turned, his gaze met a pair of silver eyes.

They were… very much like a winter lake, a frozen silver-gray lake.

At some point, the female insect seemed to have regained some strength. Even though her eyes were nearly glazed over, she was still stubbornly staring ahead.

It was impossible for her to see him, yet an absurd thought arose in Carlos’s mind—

The female insect was looking at him through the glass.

[What’s wrong, Host? What are you looking at?]

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

It must have been his dizziness playing tricks on him. With one-way glass activated, there was no way the female insect could make eye contact with him.

He sighed, pressing his temples in an attempt to clear his mind and stop jumping at shadows.

Then, pulling up his hood without hesitation, he turned and left the cell.

He never looked back.

[Um, Host, the auction house’s dormitory is in the opposite direction.]

“Ahem…” Carlos paused mid-step, coughing awkwardly a few times.

“Of course, I know that. There’s still time. I’m just taking a look around the area, scouting out the exchange’s layout before heading to the dormitory.”

[As expected of the Host! So forward-thinking!]

It was currently the insect race’s official off-duty hours. Although the exchange specialized in shady dealings, it surprisingly adhered to legal working hours—a touch of conscience in a certain sense. This came as quite a surprise to Carlos, who had crossed over from 21st-century Earth.

Guard insects typically stayed in the exchange’s attached dormitories, not only as an employee benefit but also to keep them closer to the insect slaves under their jurisdiction, making it easier to manage them at any time.

Judging by the distance from the insect slave cells, Carlos felt like he wasn’t staying in a dormitory but a VIP-style nanny room.

It was essentially the interstellar version of “evening overtime shuttles” and “housing subsidies within a 1-kilometer radius”—seemingly a perk, but actually a way to exploit employee labor.

As a newcomer, he was naturally assigned a room as well.

[By the way, Host, there’s something I’m not sure if I should mention.]

“Then don’t. Keep it to yourself.”

[It seems like you activated two-way glass earlier.]

The system, driven by curiosity, quickly followed up, [But isn’t one-way glass used for visiting prEthaners or interrogating criminals? That’s how it’s always shown in TV dramas.]

“Hmm…” Carlos squeezed out a single word from the corner of his lips, keeping his head down as he walked toward the dormitory without breaking stride.

[Oh! I get it now! The Host did it on purpose! You deliberately let the protagonist see you coldly walking away, showing no concern for the insect slave’s life. That way, he can feel the Host’s ruthlessness and cruelty, destroying any hope in his heart and deepening his psychological trauma! The Host is truly amazi—]

“Stop. Enough.”

Carlos’s face warmed slightly, and his hand paused as he pushed open the dormitory door, immediately cutting off the system before it could say anything even more outrageous.

He was finally realizing the system’s chatterbox tendencies. Even with his thick skin, he couldn’t withstand the system’s “eloquent remarks.”

[But, Host, I haven’t finished yet.]

“If you keep talking, I’ll go back and release the protagonist right now.”

The system immediately covered its mouth, not daring to utter another unnecessary word.

Finally enjoying a moment of peace and quiet, Carlos began to carefully examine the small dormitory in front of him.

Though called a dormitory, it was purely prEthan-style. The room could be taken in at a glance. A bed barely large enough to fit a male insect, a set of desk and chair, a wardrobe, and nothing else.

The doorknob was coated with a sticky, unknown substance, and the wooden desk shook so violently when the door closed that it shed debris. Even the bedsheet had been washed to a pale, unrecognizable color, making it impossible to guess its original hue.

The insectoid story in the book was clearly set in a futuristic interstellar era, yet the dormitory in the exchange maintained the simple, outdated style of Earth’s last century. He was almost too exhausted to complain.

But having slept under bridges before, this minimalist industrial-style, battle-damaged room was nothing to him.

Carlos removed the hooded jacket he used to disguise his figure and casually draped it over the back of the chair. Turning around, he collapsed onto the bed like a boneless heap.

The bed had no legs—one end was firmly nailed to the wall, while the other was suspended by chains. Lying on it not only caused the bed to sway but also made the chains rattle and clatter.

Leaning against the wall, the clattering of the chains beside his ears jolted his mind awake.

Wait, hadn’t his bed stopped swaying? Where was the sound of chains coming from?

Carlos abruptly sat up, and the sound vanished.

As soon as he leaned back against the wall, the clattering of chains resumed, accompanied by faint, intermittent crackling sounds.

Carlos immediately began performing “sit-ups” in place.

After several repeated attempts, he finally confirmed that the sound was coming from the other side of the wall.

It couldn’t be what he was thinking, could it…

Carlos leaned against the wall once more, pressing his ear against it.

“Ah…”

A faint, almost inaudible gasp drifted over from the other side of the wall.