After the blood draw, Lin Cheng was escorted by Solar Corona into a prison van and taken to the Alliance Special Prison.
In recent years, crimes committed by ability users had become all too common, but not every offense warranted the death penalty—or a straightforward execution that might not even serve much purpose.
Fifty years ago, the Alliance’s previous leader had extracted the technique for crafting alchemy arrays from the Abyss Priest’s memories. As long as the materials were sufficient, one could create an anti-magic array within a designated area. All energy within such an array would be suppressed, and the Alliance Prison had been built on exactly that foundation.
There was another crucial reason for sending prisoners there: within a day of arrival, the energy in their blood would be fully suppressed. A second blood draw at that point would allow for a precise technical comparison, eliminating any chance of errors or misjudgments.
Of course, only those ranked A-rank or higher qualified for incarceration here.
An hour later, the prison van arrived. Solar Corona handled Lin Cheng’s intake procedures. It was Lin Cheng’s first time donning a prison uniform, which was numbered according to the inmate count—his was 226, meaning there were 226 criminals in this facility.
Thanks to advance notice, the paperwork went smoothly. Lin Cheng was assigned his own cell: a tiny five-square-meter room where he settled in temporarily.
This was a novel life experience for him.
Curiosity piqued, Lin Cheng peered at the neighboring cells. Each one housed inmates who eyed him back with equal curiosity. Most cells held two people, making his solo arrangement a rare perk.
Not bad at all.
Solar Corona left after seeing Lin Cheng settled, promising that books would arrive soon. Lin Cheng leaned against the wall, but his expectations were quickly upended. An hour later, a man in uniform number 227 entered.
The newcomer appeared to be in his early twenties, sporting gold-rimmed glasses and a head of green curly hair. His features were refined, his eyes deep and not at all sinister.
Lin Cheng met his gaze for a second. The man smiled lightly. “Hello.”
“Hello,” Lin Cheng replied politely.
“If I’m unfamiliar with any rules as a newcomer, please bear with me,” the man said, his tone impeccably courteous.
Lin Cheng responded, “I’m a newbie too—just beat you here by an hour.”
Once inside the prison, their handcuffs had been removed, but the alchemy array in the cell suppressed all energy within their bodies. The guards bore special marks that exempted them from the suppression, making oversight of the facility a breeze.
Lin Cheng leaned against the wall by his bed and suddenly asked, “What are you in for?”
“A minor mishap during alchemy tech research caused an explosion. You?” Green Hair adjusted his glasses. “Just call me Green Hair.”
“Me? A little misunderstanding. I’m just cooling my heels here for a couple of days.” Lin Cheng paused. “I’ll be out soon.”
Green Hair glanced at him and nodded lightly before reclining on his bed, eyes closed in rest.
He seemed utterly calm, but Lin Cheng’s gaze lingered on his collarbone—not out of any odd notion, but because he spotted a glimpse of a black tattoo peeking out from beneath it.
Neither spoke further. Lin Cheng’s eyes roamed the prison, taking in several neighboring cells and even a couple of familiar faces.
…Faces he had personally apprehended in the past.
An hour later, a guard delivered the books Lin Cheng had requested: two mystery novels. He cracked one open and read by the cell’s light, perfectly content to lose himself in a book for hours. From the opposite bunk, Green Hair spoke up. “Excuse me… mind if I borrow one?”
Lin Cheng tossed him the other book. Green Hair smiled warmly, opened it, and began reading. A clock on the wall ticked toward six in the evening when the cell door swung open—dinnertime.
Snapping out of their reading trance, Lin Cheng and Green Hair joined the stream of inmates heading to the cafeteria.
These prisoners were all old acquaintances, chatting amiably along the way. They cast curious glances at Lin Cheng and Green Hair but soon looked away. The cafeteria was nearby, and the inmates formed an orderly line—though a few stragglers cut straight to the front without protest.
Lin Cheng and Green Hair brought up the rear. Cutters kept slipping ahead of them, and one even yanked Lin Cheng’s shoulder to shove past. Lin Cheng just grinned; Green Hair did the same.
Ten minutes later, Lin Cheng received his dinner: white rice, poached chicken, stir-fried greens, and a lion’s head meatball. Not bad at all. Soup was available self-serve. Spotting Green Hair with his tray, Lin Cheng noted his friendly smile as he scanned for a seat.
Lin Cheng politely shook his head and carried his tray to a corner table, sitting across from a massively built man who resembled a bear.
He truly looked like one—over seven feet tall, his broad prison uniform doing nothing to hide the slabs of muscle. Two whole poached chickens sat on the tray before him.
“Bro, how’d you get that massive build? Badass,” Lin Cheng greeted him.
The man slowly raised his head. Despite his intimidating frame, his eyes were mild. “It’s from my ability, not training.”
“Oh yeah? Mind if I snag a drumstick? Haven’t eaten all day—kinda hungry.” Lin Cheng’s tone was brazenly chummy.
The man blinked, hesitated, then slid a plate of chicken toward him. “Eat up, then.”
He rose, fetched another full poached chicken and a bowl of lion’s head meatballs from the serving counter, and sat back down. Between bites, he said, “Name’s Big Bear. New guy?”
“Yeah, bit of a mix-up. They’re testing my blood to see if I’m that physical-system ability user from two years back. Should be out in a couple days. Thanks, Big Bear bro.”
“No problem. If anyone gives you trouble, come find me,” Big Bear said softly.
“How’d you end up in here, Big Bear bro?” Lin Cheng asked curiously.
“My ability goes haywire when I’m angry, so I’m staying here to train control over it.”
“Makes sense! You look like the upright type, not a criminal. I remember now—I saw you on the news a few years ago. Took down two SS-rank predators single-handedly.”
Big Bear shook his head. “Nah, the captain crippled them first. I just finished them off.”
“Right, right. Your captain’s that guy… Si Ming, yeah?”
“Yeah, my captain’s incredible. He’s saved my life more times than I can count.” Mentioning the man brought a smile to Big Bear’s face, softening his rugged features.
“Don’t you get bored stuck here every day, Big Bear bro?” Lin Cheng asked lightly.
Big Bear thought it over seriously. “The catastrophes are over. My brain’s not the sharpest, and the Alliance’s gotten complicated—I can’t keep up. Before the boss retired, he told me to read more. Been here over a year now; reading every day isn’t bad. I’ll step up if the Alliance needs me someday.”
Lin Cheng gave him a thumbs-up. He wanted to say more but sensed eyes on him from behind, so he just smiled, naturally plucked another lion’s head meatball from Big Bear’s bowl, and ate it with relish.
After dinner, Lin Cheng returned to his cell. He and Green Hair lay on separate bunks, reading until lights-out. They retired to their beds, Lin Cheng drifting off quickly. Green Hair, on the other bunk, slowly opened his eyes in the darkness.
His hand slipped quietly to his abdomen, fingertips brushing the tattoo there. Only after a long while did he withdraw it and sink into deep sleep.
Alliance, Lab No. 1.
A white-coated researcher silently wrote a line in the report.
“Gene comparison using all current technology: failed. Subject is not the 【Person Slaughter】 from the major crime two years ago.”
“Post-second comparison: no genetic links to evolution blood whatsoever, nor any activation or effects thereof.”
The next morning.
Lin Cheng hadn’t expected morning exercises at six-thirty sharp. He and Green Hair shuffled along listlessly. Lin Cheng managed, but Green Hair’s dark bags made him look like he’d taken two punches to the face.
“This is killing me,” Green Hair muttered.
Running alongside, Lin Cheng chuckled helplessly and asked out of curiosity, “How long’s your sentence, bro?”
“Life. Might get reduced if I use my alchemy tech skills to atone for the Alliance?” Green Hair sounded utterly nonchalant, without a trace of worry.
“You don’t seem too fussed about it.”
“One day at a time. The Alliance… they won’t waste a tech talent like me rotting in here forever. Give it a few days—they’ll be begging me to solve their alchemy tech roadblocks.”
“From the way you talk, sounds like you don’t think much of the Alliance.”
“A bunch of wine sacks and rice bags, occupying posts without doing a lick of work.” Green Hair laughed indifferently.
