Chapter 15: Incarceration

Zi Liang squinted his eyes; it had to be said that this kind of opening speech was indeed quite intimidating. If it weren’t for the last escapee being fed to Joira, it would have been even more effective.

After finishing his speech, the warden seemed quite pleased with himself and waved his hand, signaling that the prisoner could be taken inside. Immediately, a guard pulled out a prepared hood and placed it over Zi Liang’s head, causing him to lose his sight. He could only hear the loud sound of steel bars rotating and being removed nearby, followed by the gurney he was on being pushed forward.

During this time, he could only rely on sounds to judge what was happening, but it wasn’t hard to guess; after all, there were always several steps to go through when entering a prison.

However, the intake process at Arkham Asylum was clearly much more sophisticated than other places.

For example, a comprehensive blood test: this was necessary; the facility had to confirm whether you had any infectious diseases, not just for your sake but also to prevent you from transmitting anything to those inmates who liked to take advantage of you.

A ten-minute full-body spray disinfection: this was also necessary because a criminal with extensive knowledge of chemistry once sprayed a toxic substance on his skin beforehand. This agent wouldn’t wash off with regular water, so on the third day after entering prison, everyone in the block started experiencing severe diarrhea, leading to overcrowded toilets. You can imagine what the scene was like; for those few days, the entire block was practically uninhabitable. However, this guy still failed to escape, but since then, all “washing” procedures had been changed to “continuous spray disinfection.”

Full-body X-ray scan: to be honest, in other prisons, this step might involve a simple oral check or a thorough examination of areas where things could be hidden, but at Arkham Asylum, such a simple check wouldn’t suffice. You could never predict where people might hide weapons. Once, on the very day a person was incarcerated, he managed to dislocate his pinky finger and used the hidden nail to brutally kill a kind inmate.

Handcuffs and leg shackles: these weren’t just simple “chains with cuffs,” but a special type resembling bracelets. They could instantly release magnetic force, locking your hands and feet together, and could send signals to report your location, as well as deliver high-voltage shocks to incapacitate inmates. In short, once you wore them, you essentially transformed from a formidable criminal into a floundering fish on a cutting board.

In addition to these, there were some simple identity verifications, record-keeping, and basic checks. Although none of these took long, they were incredibly tedious. By the time Zi Liang was finally taken to his cell, roughly three hours had passed.

...

...

“Get in!” a rough voice barked, followed by a shove, and the hood over his head was yanked off.

Zi Liang adjusted his eyes and found himself in a small cell with only a bed, indicating it was a single occupancy... which made sense; in Arkham Asylum, if you dared to let two people stay in one cell for long, you’d have to be quite brave.

Zi Liang turned around and noticed that the person behind him was no longer the one who had put the hood on him.

“What are you staring at?” the guard shouted, waving his electric baton threateningly.

Zi Liang ignored him and sat down on the bed, his eyes half-closed.

The guard probably thought Zi Liang had backed down, so he cursed and slammed the cell door shut. The electronic sound echoed as the door was securely locked.

At that moment, the magnetic handcuffs that had been clamped together were also unlocked...

Zi Liang looked down at the cuffs. They were white, appearing to be two iron white rings that fit together seamlessly; you couldn’t even find the seam unless you looked closely. He also had a matching pair on his feet, and if he wanted to get them off, it was absolutely impossible.

He raised his head again and began to survey his surroundings. To be honest, there was nothing much to see here; the space was less than four or five square meters. He could kick the opposite wall with his legs, and next to the bed was a squat toilet. When he squatted down, the bed’s edge would block part of him, but if he stood up, he would be completely exposed. The cell door was the oldest “barred” type, made of steel bars, economical and practical, cool and ventilated, without obstructing the view; everything inside the cell was clearly visible.

At that moment, it seemed the guard had walked away, and some commotion started to arise from the surroundings.

“Hey! New guy!” a hoarse, high-pitched voice called out. Zi Liang turned his head and saw a prisoner with a sharp, monkey-like face leaning against the bars of the cell directly across from him. “I think the warden has already told you that we have a welcoming ceremony prepared for you after dinner.”

“Uh-huh~” Zi Liang yawned. “So what gift are you giving me? Your half a tongue?”

“Hahaha—” Laughter erupted from the side. “Look at you, even a rookie can provoke you.”

The prisoner seemed to feel a bit embarrassed. “Shut up, you bunch of bastards!” he shouted, then glared fiercely at Zi Liang. “Very well, the first meal you’ll have here will also be your last!”

Zi Liang didn’t even respond, resting his hands behind his head and reclining on the bed, ignoring the commotion around him.

“Hmm... there’s no traffic noise here; I guess I can sleep well at night, but I need to get these fools to quiet down first,” he muttered to himself.

...

Zi Liang was brought in late, so it wasn’t long before dinner time arrived.

With a crisp electronic sound, all the cell doors swung open, and everyone walked out of their cells, lining up obediently to head toward the cafeteria. Along the way, the sharp-faced prisoner kept staring at Zi Liang, maintaining an extremely cruel expression... Of course, Zi Liang couldn’t be bothered to look back at him.

Since he had been hooded when he first arrived, it was only now that he had time to survey the entire prison. It was a rectangular space with an open area in the middle, surrounded by steel mesh bridges, divided into three levels—upper, middle, and lower. Each level had six guards. They weren’t armed with guns but carried electric batons. As Zi Liang passed by one of the guards, he noticed several different buttons on the handle of the baton, presumably for controlling the handcuffs or delivering shocks.

“Form two lines.”

“Behave yourselves.”

Several guards shouted, continuously gesturing with their electric batons. Once everyone was gathered in the open area below, a large door swung open, and the inmates lined up to walk toward the cafeteria.

Chapter 16: Stab

The cafeteria at Arkham Asylum was just like any ordinary public cafeteria. Prisoners lined up in rows to get their meals from the serving window, then found a table to eat at.

Zi Liang quietly stood in line, quietly received his meal, and during this entire time, nothing happened. Everything was eerily quiet, but Zi Liang knew that all the prisoners were watching him with ill intentions.

Since the current warden took over Arkham Asylum, the management style within the prison had become extremely brutal. No matter the issue, big or small, if you found yourself in a bad situation, you would definitely be punished. To be honest, this was what a prison was supposed to be like... Fighting, of course, was the most severe of all prohibited behaviors. Almost anyone who threw a punch, whether they were the attacker or the victim, would definitely be sent to the infirmary.

Of course, the infirmary here wasn’t a place to treat wounds from fights. Remember that doctor who loved "electroshock therapy" that the warden mentioned? That's right, the infirmary was their execution ground. How effective this person's methods were is another story, but generally speaking, no matter how unruly a criminal was, after going through their hands, they would almost all become as docile as a submissive pet.

Thus, fights were a rare occurrence here, happening only a few times a year.

The only fighting incident that was tacitly allowed was the "welcome ceremony" on the first day for every newcomer. For a group of insane criminals, this was the most anticipated form of entertainment, so now they looked at Zi Liang with lustful eyes, as if he were a woman.

As for Zi Liang, he continued to ignore these blatant stares.

...

The target given by the "Compass" was very clear: [Arkham Asylum] [Death Row Inmate No. 21].

This was the only reason Zi Liang had come to this city. Although he didn’t yet know who [Death Row Inmate No. 21] was, he had to rescue him and recruit him to his hospital.

As for these prisoners... he couldn’t be bothered to deal with them.

...

The food in the prison wasn’t great, but it wasn’t too bad either. After getting his meal, Zi Liang walked over to an empty table with his tray.

At that moment, a leg suddenly stretched out... and it belonged to the sharp-faced inmate.

The welcome ceremony usually started like this: taking advantage of the newcomer’s inattention, someone would suddenly stick out a leg to trip him. Then, with that as the excuse, a fight would break out. Of course, the final outcome was usually that the newcomer would be beaten to a pulp, and only then would the guards come over, seemingly just realizing what was happening, to stop everyone.

However, today’s welcome ceremony didn’t go as smoothly because this newcomer... he actually stepped right on the outstretched leg and walked past it without a care.

Uh, it was a rather indescribable feeling. Everyone was watching Zi Liang, waiting for him to embarrass himself, but what they saw was this person walking forward with incredible calmness. Then, suddenly, he seemed to grow two centimeters taller, as if he had stepped on a protruding wooden stump while walking, before continuing to walk steadily forward.

In that instant, everyone was a bit stunned... especially the person who had stuck out his leg. Although being stepped on didn’t hurt much, it felt like that foot had landed right on his face.

What a disgrace...

“Damn it, stop right there!” He slammed his hand on the table and jumped up angrily.

But Zi Liang acted as if he hadn’t heard, slowly walking to the empty table, setting down his tray, and starting to eat.

The man’s face turned red with embarrassment, his anger making him tremble all over. In a fit of rage, he kicked a nearby chair aside and marched straight towards Zi Liang.

Kicking a chair like that would normally earn you a shock treatment, but today was a special day, so the guards didn’t intervene. In fact, they seemed quite interested in seeing how today’s welcome ceremony would unfold.

“Bastard, you stepped on me!” The man leaned in close to Zi Liang, his sharp, hoarse voice filled with malice. It was clear that this guy had taken many lives.

Zi Liang slowly looked up, his eyes appearing perpetually on the verge of sleep...

“Do you have a cigarette?” he asked.

The man was taken aback. He never expected such a response, and it took him two full seconds to react: “Damn it, are you messing with me?”

He shouted loudly, flipping Zi Liang’s tray over and swinging his arm to strike Zi Liang in the face, while also not forgetting to express his hostility.

“Today you’re dead, you little...”

Before he could finish his grand proclamation, his bravado suddenly turned into a strange gurgling sound. At that moment, Zi Liang had somehow grabbed a spoon and shoved it directly into the man’s throat.

Although all the utensils here were made of plastic, they still had some hardness. The spoon jabbed into the soft flesh of the throat—something that an ordinary person couldn’t withstand. Moreover, the speed and precision of the jab were so quick that it seemed like this guy had practiced this skill. The sharp-faced inmate instantly lost his fighting ability, desperately grabbing Zi Liang’s wrist with both hands, trying to pull it out, but Zi Liang’s other hand had already grabbed the man’s collar, viciously twisting the spoon inside his throat...

The onlookers were a bit dumbfounded. Although they were all violent individuals who had licked blood from knives, this scene was just painful to watch. It was like no matter how tough a guy might be, he wouldn’t be able to withstand the pain of having his zipper caught in his flesh. So, people instinctively covered their own necks, unsure if they should step in to help.

In the few seconds of hesitation, the poor inmate had already started rolling his eyes, his body convulsing, and blood began to spurt from his throat with a “pfft” sound.

At this point, the guards panicked. Although they were not supposed to intervene in fights during the "welcome ceremony," if they didn’t act now, this guy might become the first person to be literally killed by having his throat stabbed. So several guards who had been watching the show hurriedly rushed in.

“Damn it, let go!” one guard shouted in a fluster.

Another guard was quicker, pressing a button on his stun baton.

In an instant, Zi Liang felt a massive current surge through his wrist. The electric shock was so great that it could incapacitate a person in just one second.

As mentioned before, once Zi Liang stepped out of his hospital, he was just an ordinary person, so he inevitably collapsed to the ground, his head buzzing.

In his dazed state, he heard the guards' frantic conversation.

“What happened... Oh my God, he’s not dead, is he?”

“What are you standing around for? Hurry up and call for help!”

“What about this newcomer?”

“Damn it, causing such a big ruckus right after coming in, send him to Professor Yang!”