death of hope

Chapter 992 "Psionic Storm" (66) Traitor

After several maneuvers using warp space, the small, red-painted ship named "Guerrilla" finally escaped the pursuit of the Federation and the Corporation and began its return journey to its home port.

The crew members proudly referred to it as their 'base'.
This hidden planet is located on the edge of the human federation's territory. As soon as he stepped off the ship, Drizzt was deeply shocked.

A land lacking resources and impoverished, yet full of hope.
There are no nobles, no landowners, no federal congressmen, no corporate tycoons, and no serfs here.

Only those pioneers who are poor and have nothing, are enthusiastic and kind, unconventional and full of energy.

It was the utopia he sought, the pastoral idyll, the paradise on earth.

Drizzt settled down, joined the organization, received a piece of land, and married Fantine amidst blessings.

A member of the high-caste Darkmoon royal family married a Dalit serf of the lowest caste.
If his noble relatives knew, they would be furious. Whenever he thought of this, Drizzt would laugh out loud.

Years later, their son Osmar Darkmoon and daughter Evelyn Darkmoon were born.
Drizzt was overjoyed. The Eldar had a much lower reproductive rate than other intelligent races, and they cherished and loved their children dearly…

·
However, this good fortune did not last long.

The base was discovered by the company's unmanned exploration vessel.

Soon, the warships began orbital bombardment, corporate warriors fell from the sky, missiles, shells, and heat rays flew everywhere, turning the idyllic paradise into an inferno…

Despite being outnumbered and outequipped, the guerrillas remained steadfast in their beliefs, refusing to surrender and fighting valiantly to defend their homeland.

Three days after the start of the war, Drizzt poured oil on the trenches and cremated the bodies of his beloved wife Fantine and son Osmar. His daughter Evelyn disappeared in the chaos of battle.
The father broke down.
Desperate to die, he charged towards the corporate warriors' position, but was severely wounded and fell to the ground. He was rescued by his comrades and escaped to another planet, another base...

·
Although this planet is also an idyllic pastoral paradise, a place of unparalleled beauty...
People helped him, providing land and food, material subsidies and psychological counseling, but Trist still couldn't get out of it and fell into severe depression;

When I close my eyes, all I see are bombed-out homes, the faces of my fallen comrades, and the burning bodies of my wife and son…

One afternoon, feeling utterly hopeless, Drizzt removed the blades from the harvester, held them to his neck, and prepared to end his suffering.
With a "beep," the communicator received a voice message from an old comrade-in-arms:

"Old Cui! Old Cui! Good news! Your daughter is alive! Evelyn Darkmoon is alive!"

It was this message that rekindled the father's hope and gave his weary body the strength to keep going.
After years of waiting, no good news arrived; instead, devastating news came: the investigator, his old comrade-in-arms, had been killed in action. Drizzt resolutely took his place.
After enduring countless hardships and battles, he finally learned of his daughter's plight, but was powerless to rescue her from the clutches of evil.

·
In that dark and sunless research institute, the survival rate of psionic talents was no different from that of laboratory mice; death was inevitable, the only difference being the speed.

For a father, there is no more agonizing torment than this.

His anxiety gradually escalated into madness, and his ideals were shattered in the face of family ties.

A devastated Drizzt begins to contact his former nemesis, the company responsible for the deaths of his wife and children—Sakura Corporation.
He betrayed his organization and comrades to save his daughter's life...

·
As expected, these ruthless company lackeys... have never been trustworthy. They paid the ransom, but refused to release the hostages.

Tristan handed over the list of personnel from the new Sapporo branch as requested, but the institute director still refused to release him, only allowing him one meeting.
They continued to blackmail this desperate father so that they could use him for their own purposes…

Drizzt didn't care anymore; he had lost everything.
(It's better to see each other than never to see each other at all...)
·
"We're here,"

Anti-psychic expert Leon Vilnius stopped and inserted his fingers into the smart lock of the massive metal door:
“Our director said you’re only allowed to peek through the fence. Don’t make any unnecessary movements, otherwise…” Li Ang said coldly to the Eldar. The Enterprise warrior pointed his gun at the back of Trist’s head:
"Don't worry, Manager Li Ang. If that pointy-eared creature dares to make a move, I'll smash its head in and see what color the Spirit Clan's brains are!"

Twisted Fate seemed completely unconcerned about the dark muzzle of the gun; after all, he had lost everything and was no longer human.
He betrayed the organization, betrayed his comrades, and strayed from his ideals and beliefs; all he has left is a worthless life…

What is there to fear? A sorrowful soul, clinging to its last breath, longs to reunite with its blood relatives.

·
The heavy security door rose, making this more like a zoo cage than a living room.
The slender and frail Elven girl, Evelyn Darkmoon, leaned against the sink and slumped on the toilet. Her nose, ears, and mouth resembled her mother's, while her eyes and chin resembled her father's.

Half of his hair had been shaved off with electric clippers, revealing a pair of pointed ears and a sutured incision on the side of his skull, clearly a mark of craniotomy.

"Eve! Daddy's here!"

Drizzt gripped the fence tightly with both hands, screaming at the top of his lungs, but his daughter did not respond.
Evelyn Darkmoon had a blank stare and was drooling. She was only slightly better than a person in a vegetative state with severe brain damage, but she looked like a child with Down syndrome.

"What...what did you do to my daughter?!" Drizzt roared.

"Uh, just routine psionic research..."

Anti-psym expert Leon Vilnius's tone was no longer as cold and ruthless as it had been at first; he seemed to have some sympathy for his Eldar father:

"Removing part of the brain tissue and implanting a chip will have a negligible impact on intelligence. The current state is due to anesthesia, and it will be fine after a while."

"The Eldar are stupid, curing them would be a waste of medicine," a corporate warrior chuckled. "They're quite pretty, though, better sold to slave traders for some money for drinks."

"Bastard!"

Trist was enraged and threw a punch, but the Corporate Warrior was prepared, just waiting for him to lash out so he could beat him up. Trist struck him in the stomach with the butt of his rifle, knocking him down, and then kicked him hard in the back, taunting him.

"Get up, pointy ears! Come and have a go at your human grandpa! I'll beat you to a pulp!"

Drizzt was originally a powerful war spirit sorcerer, but he was forced to wear specially made handcuffs, shackles, and a heavy collar.
These human-made anti-psychic devices weakened him to the point of weakness; glory was no longer just endless humiliation, and he could only respond with hatred.

·
"What's with that look?! You're not happy?"

A vicious soccer ball was aimed at his head, but Li Ang, with his exceptional skills, managed to catch the corporate soldier's boot in time and warned him:

"Stop hitting him. Director Joseph has a deal with this man and needs him to provide intelligence. Besides, it's not easy for this father and daughter to see each other, so it's normal for them to be a little excited."

"Hmph, if it weren't for our kind-hearted supervisor Li Ang, he would have beaten you to death today!"

“Come on, give him a hand,” Li Ang waved.
Two corporate warriors roughly lifted Drizzt up by his armpits.
At this moment, the spirit girl in the cage stopped being dazed, her expression turned sad, tears streamed down her cheeks, and she made a faint "hmm" sound.

"Eve! You...recognized Dad?!"

Drizzt shed tears:
(Dad will rescue you...)

Even if it means selling one's soul...

At any cost...