The Mechanic [BL]

[13]

Chapter 13 – Adam (8)

There was a dark green lake in the outback of Lost Paradise called Lost Lake. A nearby giant water pump continuously pumped out the lake water to send it to the water treatment centre. The distilling machine, which rumbles day and night, continuously filters and processes the excessively acidic water here and then transports the water to the surrounding urban areas through complicated pipelines.

About a kilometre from the Lost Lake, there was a circular building. Cast from wood and steel like the rest of Lost Paradise, it was surrounded by intricate plumbing and fortifications. The double-opening front doors were cast in heavy bulletproof alloy and dozens of large and small gears drive them to open and close. Above the gate hung the flag of Lost Paradise, with a crimson bottom and a white Leonardo Vitruvian printed on it, but bleeding from the ribs.

This rotunda was the seat of the Round Table Parliament.

There were a total of thirty seats in the council and there were ten Chief Councillors on the chair, from ten Lost Paradise districts. Each Chief Councillor was the highest-ranking officer in their respective district. Any decision must be supported by two-thirds of the Chief Councillors and a majority of Council Members in order to be implemented. Most of these members came from a few specific elite families, almost all of them had served in the garrison and had been formally commended by the Round Table at least once.

Zhang Xun didn't come here very often because he wasn't a soldier and he was addicted to technology so he wasn't much involved in the politics and decision-making of Lost Paradise. But he came from an elite class after all and his father was a Commander, so he had already met several members of the Round Table council. He didn't like the atmosphere of the Round Table and the repressed, indistinct, menacing greetings and the peaceful but deep smiles terrified him. And now, he had brought Adam and was stood in front of the door, waiting. Several guards were standing in front of the door with guns, staring at Adam behind him with curious looks.

This morning, Zhang Xun had put a metal ring around Adam's neck. Adam raised his head slightly to facilitate his movements and asked in a serious tone, "What is this?"

Zhang Xun paused for a while, feeling inexplicable guilt, "This is a remote controlled electric shock collar, used to control threatening people or animals. The remote is housed in my watch and has five settings. It ranges from a reminder-like sting to an amount of electricity that can cause temporary paralysis."

Adam didn't show any sadness or disappointment in his expression, just nodded understandingly, like a submissive golden retriever.

In fact, Zhang Xun didn't intend to use such a thing at all. He didn't think that Adam, in the current situation, would make out of control actions, because Adam knew that it was meaningless and would only accelerate his demise. Putting this on Adam was only to show those councillors that Adam was under his control and posed no threat.

The door opened with the screeching of gears, calling him on behalf of the Chiefs. Zhang Xun looked back at Adam and said to him, "Remember what I told you." Then he stepped in.

In the half-circle of seats in front and above them were ten Chief Councillors. The oldest of the ten people was seventy-eight years old and the youngest was only two years older than Zhang Xun. Everyone was dressed in suits and ties. Pairs of eyes of different colours were slightly downcast with no emotion. The semi-circular seats that were colder than machines were mostly empty, with only a few military and Lab observers sitting sporadically. Zhang Xun noticed that his father wasn't present, presumably to avoid suspicion.

Instead, James sat on the side seat next to the Senator's seat, looking at him with concern. Then he looked at Adam next to him curiously.

It was probably his father who sent him to sit on his behalf.