Chapter 75 – Sin City (9)
◎ Welcome Ceremony ◎
In the swiftly descending elevator, three prisoners in prison uniforms looked at each other quietly.
“Pfft~” After a while, Song Ke couldn’t help but laugh, “You’re really wicked.”
“Jorik, would you like some coffee from the Jade Estate~?” Song Ke elongated her tone, imitating Zhuang Qingyan’s tone, and repeated slowly.
Zhuang Qingyan raised an eyebrow, letting her joke, after all, it was his idea to incite Jorik to escape.
“Let Su Cha go deceive people,” Song Ke said, a shallow dimple appearing on her cheek as she laughed joyfully.
Su Cha was suddenly reminded of a dark history and stiffened, silently looking at the elevator wall.
A hint of a smile appeared in Zhuang Qingyan’s eyes. “No choice, he’s on the same level as Jorik.”
He adjusted his expression and changed the subject, “I checked the files of all the prisoners from the 1st to the 6th floors. Lu Xiaoyu is not in there.”
“No wonder we couldn’t find him,” Song Ke sighed. “Alright, let’s temporarily leave She Liang aside. Th-the focus now is on floors 7 to 12, under William White’s jurisdiction.”
William White, the second warden in charge of the Death Prison. From the confrontation in the cafe, it was evident that he was cruel and ruthless, completely different from the cold and greedy She Liang. One could only wonder what the conditions were like on the cell block he managed.
The elevator ride from the 6th to the 7th floor took longer than expected.
After exactly ten minutes of descending, a “ding” signaled their arrival at the destination, and the elevator doors slid open slowly.
Just as the three were about to exit the elevator, their steps came to a halt.
White had actually come in person!
A dozen sturdy prison guards lined up, and White stood boldly in the center, a cigar in his mouth, the choking smoke rising. He stared at Song Ke and the others with a smirk.
“Welcome! Poor ghosts!” White clapped slowly, the sound echoing sharply in the current environment.
Song Ke looked at him warily. Weren’t they just a few prisoners who had been demoted? Did it warrant the warden personally welcoming them?
“I heard you made She Liang lose ten billion?” White laughed heartily, cigar ash falling.
He took a deep drag, blew out a thick smoke ring, and pointed his whip at the three. “Good, very good. I admire your arrogance. As a reward, tonight I’ll allow you to sleep well.”
Song Ke furrowed her brow slightly. What did White mean by this? What did “sleep well tonight” mean?
White’s smile hid a deeply malicious intent. “My territory is not like She Liang’s gentle play house. Are you ready?”
“Take them to the cells.”
Three people were forcibly separated and taken in different directions by prison guards.
On the 7th floor of the prison, the number of cells significantly decreased, conservatively estimated to be less than 1000, and the environment became even darker.
The depth here had already reached the standard of the Alliance’s “ultra-abyssal zone” (below 6000 meters). When Song Ke passed by, she glanced out the transparent porthole. The seawater flowed slowly, dark and lightless, with almost no plants or animals present, only sediment like mud and clay could be seen.
The cells were as cramped as ever, without even a bed. The walls bore many deep and shallow scratch marks. Song Ke curled up on the floor, holding her knees tightly and fell into a deep sleep.
A few hours later, around four in the morning, the prison guard banged on the cell door with a baton.
“Get out! Don’t dawdle, everyone out!!”
From the next cell came the rustling sounds, and the prisoners were all awakened by the harsh noise. Song Ke rubbed her eyes and sat up.
She hesitated for a moment, then regained her senses, left the cell, and went with the silent crowd in the darkness, encountering Zhuang Qingyan, who was also being driven out. She pushed his wheelchair as they moved along.
None of the surrounding prisoners spoke, giving the impression of walking corpses, their eyes filled with profound despair.
“They…” Song Ke hesitated.
“Conscious,” Zhuang Qingyan explained quietly, knowing what she was going to ask.
The two followed the rest of the group to an open area.
Bright spotlights illuminated the scene, and in the center of the ground was a huge octagonal cage fight arena!
The pure black mesh was stained with blood, and the base exuded an indelible dark red. The stench of rust could be smelled from afar.
In the center of the arena, two shirtless prisoners were fighting. One of them seized an opening in the opponent’s defense and delivered a heavy hook punch, sending the other person and their head flying, “crack” – the inmate suffered a fatal blow, and blood mixed with shattered teeth sprayed out. In the strong light of the spotlights, it seemed like an outpouring of flying insects.
The bloody scene made Song Ke physically uncomfortable.
“Ahh!!!”
The prisoners gathered outside the octagonal cage were excited, their faces flushed, fingers grasping the mesh and desperately reaching inside, cheering, mocking, pushing – various voices echoed incessantly, as if they couldn’t wait to rush in themselves the next moment. However, such people were only a small part. More of those who came in with Song Ke and the others were silent, avoiding eye contact.
The scene was distinctly divided into two extremes: on one side was a cruel celebration where the vibrant life disappeared before their eyes; on the other side was a numb wait, waiting for death to descend upon them at any moment.
Su Cha spotted Song Ke and Zhuang Qingyan and silently approached, standing beside them.
“White is over there,” he discreetly pointed in a direction.
Song Ke raised her eyes and looked. On the platform directly opposite the octagonal cage, White was dressed in black leather, the collar open, sitting confidently, holding a highball glass with bright red liquor matching the color of blood.
“Poor little Jack, look at you. When you first arrived on the 7th floor, you were so full of life, like a little colt. Who would have thought you wouldn’t even last a week. Technically, I should’ve sent you down to the 8th floor, but out of pity, since your head is already smashed, I’ll spare you,” White mocked.
The man named “Jack” lay on the ground, white brain matter mixed with fresh blood flowing out, life long gone.
White’s red nose twitched a couple of times as he joyfully took a sip of the liquor, scanning the crowd and noticing Song Ke and her group.
“Oh! Our newbies are here!”
He put down the glass and stood up, raising his voice, “To welcome you to our ‘welcome ceremony,’ I’ve specially invited all the prisoners from the 7th floor. How about that? Looking forward to it, aren’t you?”
The entire 7th floor…
Song Ke looked around, a sea of people, almost a thousand, a stroke of luck as they didn’t have to search through each cell.
But what did White mean by the “welcome ceremony”? Were they going to step into the arena and fight?
“Look at those bewildered expressions. It seems you’re not yet clear on my rules,” White laughed heartily.
“This is the place where we do ‘morning exercises’ every day. All prisoners must attend, no exceptions. The winners can stay on the 7th floor, exempt from a day’s labor. As for the losers… well, I’ll just have to throw them down.”
“After all, there’s a bunch of hungry lunatics down there. I have to prepare some snacks for them, right?”
White grinned sinisterly. “Now that we’ve laid out the rules, it’s time for the newbies to step up. Which one of you will go first?”
Song Ke was pushed to the outskirts of the octagonal cage by unfriendly inmates, who were eyeing the trio intently.
These prisoners were just ordinary people. What made White so confident…
Song Ke touched the iron mesh, her palm forming a gathering of blue light, ready to transform it into a spiritual weapon. However, the light dimmed and vanished.
She was taken aback, trying again to release her awakened energy, but it dissipated as soon as it appeared.
Song Ke quickly turned her head and looked at Su Cha, who had a grave expression. He had also realized that their abilities were being suppressed.
They couldn’t use their powers on the 7th floor!
“I’ve checked your prison records. You possess special abilities, truly remarkable,” White taunted, waving the rolled-up file in his hand, then crumpling it and tossing it into the wine glass. “Unfortunately, I have to disappoint you. The entire 7th to 12th floors are ‘zero radiation’ zones where using abilities is prohibited.”
No radiation meant no available energy to utilize. Awakened abilities couldn’t resonate, and their existence couldn’t be sustained.
For an ordinary person suddenly finding their abilities nullified, they would likely be distraught, anxious, and unable to summon the courage to deal with the situation.
Unfortunately, White had miscalculated one thing—Song Ke and Su Cha. Even without their abilities, neither of them would easily lose.
Su Cha was known for his exceptional solo combat skills, honed in the rainforest famous for devilish training. Song Ke, on the other hand, had been practicing martial arts for years. Before the apocalypse, the Yue Mountain Martial Arts School held monthly competitions of all sizes, and she had never lost.
Even without their powers, they were more than capable of fighting!
White had just talked about the “rules” – whoever won on the arena would be exempt from a day’s labor. But that conflicted with their goal. They were here to find someone, and staying on the 7th floor would be pointless.
Song Ke wasn’t sure how to handle the current situation and felt anxious. She lightly tapped Zhuang Qingyan’s lower back. He subtly moved aside, extending his right hand and pressing down on Song Ke’s wandering fingers.
“Warden, we can participate in this ‘welcome ceremony,’ but can we change the reward?” Zhuang Qingyan spoke to White from a distance.
“How do you want to change it?” White stared intently at him.
“A swap. If we win, let us go to the next floor.”
The surrounding inmates fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“Did I hear that correctly? He’s tired of living and wants to go to his death?”
“You’ll regret this, boy. When you’re lucky enough to go down, you’ll find that the 7th floor is a paradise!” White looked at him with a mocking expression as if he were looking at a fool. “Alright, I’ll grant your wish.”
Su Cha leaped onto the combat arena.
His opponent was Orson, who was said to have already achieved 10 consecutive victories before today. Orson was a massive man, muscles like hills, standing over 2.5 meters tall, with a width twice that of Su Cha.
Su Cha attacked swiftly, delivering a spinning kick to Orson’s abdomen. Orson had a sturdy lower body and stood firm like a mountain. Su Cha then retracted his leg and threw hooks from both sides at Orson’s face. Orson smirked, grabbing his arms and violently yanking, lifting Su Cha off the ground. He was then slammed and hit the iron mesh, causing the octagonal cage to shudder, emitting a buzzing sound.
Orson clenched his fists, roaring like a wild ape, spitting around the person lying on the ground. The inmates around shook the mesh, making a clanging noise.
Su Cha got up from the ground, still maintaining a calm demeanor.
His previous move was just a test. The more Orson underestimated him, the worse he would lose.
Su Cha, like a hidden black snake in the shadows, stopped initiating attacks and instead became elusive. He constantly moved, seeking opportunities from various cunning angles, appearing in positions Orson couldn’t anticipate with his colossal and cumbersome body.
Suddenly, Su Cha made a rapid stop behind Orson’s head. Like a predatory snake, he opened his sharp fangs, wrapping his legs around Orson’s waist, choking his throat with one hand and pressing his head with the other, twisting and turning left and right! Orson’s eyes widened in disbelief as he witnessed his own head being separated from his body, slowly falling to the ground.
Outside the octagonal cage, the inmates who were cheering moments ago fell into stunned silence, staring in disbelief at Su Cha who had swiftly turned the tables.
White’s face darkened as he walked down from the high platform, whipping out the thorny whip from his waist.
“Snap!”
The whip with sharp barbs lashed towards the previously cheering inmates, who now screamed in agony.
“Snap! Snap!”
The relentless whipping sounds continued one after another. White showed no mercy, and the scalding blood splattered on his face, he did not blink, resembling an executioner in front of all the prison guards and inmates, brutally lashing those prisoners who had cheered for Orson to death.
Song Ke’s heart turned cold, shivering. That red whip—no, perhaps it wasn’t originally red but stained red with fresh human blood.
After venting his anger, White turned towards the three of them, speaking in a grim tone, “Next.”
Song Ke questioned, “Why? We’ve already won.”
“What do you mean ‘why’? I said each and every newcomer has to participate, including him! Don’t even think about evading!”
The sharp wind of the whip approached, aimed directly at Zhuang Qingyan sitting in the wheelchair.
Song Ke slowly clenched her fists. Zhuang Qingyan was a mental power user and was never suited for physical combat. Now, with his abilities nullified, he was at a severe disadvantage. Making him fight was akin to sending him to his death.
White did this on purpose. He had no intention of letting them off.
Stepping forward, Song Ke stood in front of Zhuang Qingyan. “I’ll go in his place.”
“What did you say?” White scratched his ear, suspecting he had misheard.
“I said, I’ll go in his place,” Song Ke’s tone was firm.
White sat back on the high platform, scrutinizing the two individuals in front of him with an enigmatic expression. The emotionless man in the wheelchair and the delicate-looking girl with slender arms and legs, a fragile figure that could be easily toppled by a gust of wind. Quite the pair of ill-fated lovers, performing a tragic drama in front of him, there’s even a scene of sacrificing oneself for love.
“You’ll go in his place? Alright then,” White cracked a chilling, cruel smile.
As the octagonal cage opened, two menacing-looking inmates simultaneously leaped in.
White’s smile turned cold and cruel. “Want to be a hero, huh? I’ll grant your wish. Let’s see if you have what it takes.”
