Chapter 71 – Sin City (5)
◎ Who is going this time? ◎
There was a significant difference between the elevator to the Death Prison and the elevator into the city.
The elevator into the city appeared silver-white on the surface, with a large and spacious interior and accompanied by crisp prompt sounds.
On the other hand, the interior of the death prison elevator was pitch black, resembling the open mouth of a beast. Stepping inside felt cramped and claustrophobic.
Under the threat of hundreds of heavy weapons, Su Cha slowly entered the elevator. The oppressive feeling like a thorn in the back finally disappeared. The particle cannon retracted its barrel and disappeared back into the shadows. Artificial light sources and the sky reappeared, and the underground city returned to calm.
Su Cha looked inside the elevator at the floor index. There were no buttons on it. A black number slowly appeared: “-1.”
Suddenly, the elevator cabin plummeted rapidly, and a strong sense of weightlessness hit Su Cha. He quickly stabilized himself.
After about ten seconds, at a depth of fifty meters from the sea surface, the elevator arrived at the Death Prison.
The elevator doors slid open slowly, revealing two sturdy fences in front of Su Cha. A man wearing a black uniform and a police cap stood behind the second fence and said to him, “Your name is Su Cha? I am your supervisor, Kunbu.”
Su Cha took a small step forward, but Kunbu immediately stopped him and scolded him sternly, “Did I tell you to move?”
Su Cha stopped moving, remained silent, and slowly clenched his fists.
“Are you mute? Say ‘Yes, Sir!'” Kunbu said coldly.
“Yes, Sir,” Su Cha replied with a sour expression but obediently.
Kunbu snorted lightly, not entirely satisfied with the expression, but didn’t continue to pick at it. “Listen carefully, after the first fence opens, turn left to get your tag, then go to the room on the right for inspection. Understand?”
Su Cha nodded slightly. “Understood.”
Kunbu narrowed his eyes. “Did you forget what I just taught you?”
Su Cha raised his voice. “Understood, Sir!”
“Go.”
The fence opened slowly, and Su Cha walked to the left as instructed, covertly observing the surrounding environment.
At the end of the road, there was a small window with a countertop holding a tag.
Su Cha looked down and saw that the bars on it were all gray, indicating his “crime record.”
Kunbu’s voice came through the corner speaker: “Put on the tag.”
Su Cha hesitated for a moment, extended his finger, and prepared to pick up the tag.
The moment he made contact, he felt an extremely uncomfortable and chilling sensation.
The consciousness in his mind was scattered, as if his body and soul had drifted away from him, leaving behind a sense of emptiness in the whole world.
This feeling was fleeting; Su Cha quickly regained his clarity. However, his mental acuity realized that he was being monitored, not by a camera on the wall, but deep within his consciousness, being fiercely watched by a pervasive and ever-present gaze.
As long as he committed another crime, this force would manifest and compel him back to the Death Prison.
No wonder the convicts in the Death Prison didn’t need to wear shackles. From the moment they received their Criminal Record, they became lifelong prisoners.
The power in the Criminal Record was currently beyond his control. He could only turn back and think of a way to resolve it.
Su Cha put on the identification tag and followed Kunbu’s instructions, turning right and entering the room in the opposite direction.
The structure of this room was somewhat similar to an interrogation room. Kunbu still observed him from behind a barrier, pointing to an empty basin on the ground: “The Death Prison implements zero-entry management, and no personal belongings are allowed.”
“Take off your clothes, all of them, and put them in the basin. Then go into the inner room for a shower and come out for inspection.”
“Remember, you only have five minutes.”
Su Cha swiftly began to undress – his coat, belt, pants, combat boots, the dagger strapped to his calf, the hidden dagger in his shoe, and even the concealed weapons Song Ke had intentionally given him – all clattered into the basin. In the end, only his underwear remained.
Kunbu glanced at him. The man behind the barrier was tall and muscular, with a solid body and no excess fat. When he turned around, the fierce black snake tattoo on the back of his neck gradually revealed itself. Looking further down, the man’s back was covered in scars, with hardly a patch of unblemished skin. Some scars were so pronounced that just by looking at them, one could imagine the brutal circumstances at that time.
The rainforest… Kunbu’s eyes flickered, and he thought to himself: Seems like a tough one.
Su Cha entered the bathroom, cold water pouring over him. He had a brief moment to contemplate.
From what he could see so far, the management of the Death Prison was very primitive, and the way of incarceration was similar to other cities on the surface. Aside from ubiquitous surveillance and the unique underwater location, there were few traces of technology here. The existence of the Criminal Record was like an astonishing BUG, completely surpassing the overall level.
The three-minute cold shower ended, and Su Cha went into the inner room to undergo a machine scan and change into prisoner’s clothing. He then returned to the initial room.
Finally, the second barrier in front of him opened. Kunbu sat at the desk, opening the recently delivered file box and reviewing his information.
“What crime did you get in for?”
“It should be damaging public property,” Su Cha thought for a moment and said, not entirely sure.
“Damaging public property?” Kunbu quickly flipped through a few pages, “2nd-floor confinement, one-month sentence, must pay a fine of 130,000 Alliance coins before release. Huh, it was personally issued by Warden She, what did you destroy to get such a heavy punishment?”
“The city elevator.”
“No wonder… that’s Warden She’s money bag.”
Kunbu put down the documents in his hand, clasping his hands against his chin, looking particularly serious.
“I don’t care about your identity outside, as long as you’re in the Death Prison, you belong to me. I advise you to behave and not cause trouble for me.”
“Understood,” Su Cha said, quickly adding, “Sir!”
Kunbu was satisfied with his obedience. “Since you’re a newcomer, I can give you some guidance. Do you have any questions?”
“Yes,” Su Cha nodded, “How many floors does the Death Prison have in total?”
“Why do you want to know this?” Kunbu asked.
“Just curious.”
“Excluding the activity floor between 6th and 7th floors, the Death Prison has a total of 18 floors. The further down, the longer the sentence.”
Kunbu disdainfully glanced at him, “Kid, stow away your curiosity. Believe me, below the 7th floor, even understanding is a form of pain.”
“Why am I on the 2nd floor?” Su Cha asked.
Kunbu thought he was complaining about the long sentence, and answered unexpectedly detailed, “For a regular charge of damaging public property, at most, you’d stay on the 1st floor for ten days to half a month. But your charge was issued by Warden She, and since he suffered a financial loss, he won’t let you off easily.”
“Warden She?” Su Cha recalled the cold voice when he was arrested.
Kunbu explained, “The Death Prison is jointly managed by three wardens. Warden She is primarily responsible for floors 1 to 6, Warden White for floors 7 to 12, and as for floors 13 to 18… they are under the jurisdiction of Hades.”
Just as Su Cha was about to speak, Kunbu interrupted him, “I advise you not to inquire about Hades’s matters.”
His gaze fell on Su Cha’s identification tag, implying something, “Hades knows everything. When you know about him, he also knows about you.”
“Any other questions?” Kunbu closed the file box, “I’ll have you taken to your cell. I have another inmate to attend to.”
“Is there any way to shorten the sentence?” Su Cha asked.
One month was too long. His original plan was to spend a week understanding the internal situation of the Death Prison, then go out and meet up with Song Ke and the others.
Kunbu smiled, “You’re quite experienced. Yes, the sentence can be offset through labor, with a maximum of eight hours per day. If you work actively, you can probably reduce it by half.”
Su Cha asked, “What kind of labor?”
Kunbu’s smile became intriguing. “A new drug test subject in the laboratory, a sandbag in the black boxing training hall, a sand filler in the undersea tunnel, and a dust collector in the mechanical room. Let’s see how long you can endure. Which type of death are you inclined towards?”
Su Cha: “…”
Guided by Kunbu, Su Cha arrived at the 2nd floor. As soon as the elevator door opened, countless pairs of gloomy eyes immediately turned towards them—some were inmates, and others were patrolling prison guards.
The entire 2nd floor resembled a massive assembly line factory. Just looking at the space, it was even wider than the trading street, with a large number of prisoners laboring at each station.
“At 6:00 a.m. every day, the labor list is updated. Sign up first, then go to the designated location to swipe your ID badge for entry,” Kunbu explained as they walked. “You must reach the labor point before the countdown ends; don’t wander around on the way.”
“We’re here, go in,” Kunbu stopped in front of a cell, unlocked the door, and pushed Su Cha in. “Behave yourself and strive to get out as soon as possible.”
…
The next day at 5:50 a.m., Su Cha opened his eyes on time.
He got off the narrow single bed and waited quietly at the door of the cell.
Exactly at 6:00 a.m., the labor list was updated. Su Cha quickly selected “boxing companion,” or commonly known as the sandbag.
The cell door automatically opened, and Su Cha headed to the black boxing training area, memorizing the route along the way.
Once there, he put on his gloves and began eight hours of labor.
The labor was quite simple: getting punched.
Su Cha had his hands up in front of his face, defending diligently, keeping an eye on the surroundings. His mind was elsewhere. The boxer across from him kept missing, growing increasingly frustrated and resorting to all sorts of underhanded moves. Su Cha grew annoyed and retaliated with a punch.
The boxer was hit on the bridge of the nose, flying backward and crashing onto the ground, instantly unconscious.
The noise around them quieted down.
A guard rushed over and yelled at Su Cha, “What are you doing? Trying to fight?”
Su Cha tried to explain, “No, officer…”
“I assigned you to be a sandbag, not to hit people. Go back. Today’s labor time is null and void!”
Su Cha: “…”
He reluctantly took off his boxing gloves and turned to leave.
The look of frustration vanished in an instant as he walked out of the gym.
Su Cha’s eyes were calm as he silently slipped into the shadows.
The various cells on the 2nd floor were well organized, with clear division of labor on the assembly line, and there was no sign of any anomaly for the time being.
Suddenly, a dark red elevator in the corner caught his attention.
Su Cha’s expression changed slightly. Was this an elevator for the internal floors of the Death Prison?
He stealthily made his way toward the target.
The elevator doors were tightly closed, and the badge couldn’t swipe it open. Su Cha was contemplating when footsteps approached from behind.
He rolled on the ground and concealed himself in the darkness.
Two prison guards were escorting a disheveled inmate. One of them seemed to be the inmate’s supervisor and was scolding him, “Look at you. You’re about to be released in less than half a month, and you’re causing trouble at this critical juncture. Now you’ve been assigned to the 4th floor for a whole five years. Take your time to endure it!”
The guard showed an adapter on his wrist, pressed it against the elevator, and the elevator slowly started moving, making the three figures disappear.
Su Cha furrowed his brow in the darkness. It seemed that the internal elevator could only be opened with the guards’ authorization. However, in the Death Prison, accumulating offenses allowed one to go to deeper floors… That was some new intel.
The second day, the third day, Su Cha diligently participated in the labor reform.
When he returned to the cell at night, he used a nail file (obtained from the gym) to draw a map on the wall.
The three-dimensional map in his mind became clearer, he was on the 2nd floor, which had a total of 12,000 cells. It was said that the 1st floor had over 20,000 cells. Based on this estimation, the total number of prisoners in the entire Death Prison exceeded 100,000. Floors 1 to 6 were considered the light crime zone, 7 to 12 were the medium crime zone, and there was an open activity area between levels 6 and 7 for recreational activities. As for below the 12th floor, there was currently no available information.
Su Cha carefully recalled and documented every detail, then smoothed the wall with the nail file.
The scope of the Death Prison was even larger than he had anticipated, many times larger, making it incredibly challenging to find someone inside.
He didn’t know where that person, Lu Xiaoyu, was being held. Judging by Zhuang Qingyan’s description of his offenses, he was likely below the 7th floor.
….
Eight days later.
Su Cha was released.
Kunbu handed back his clothes at the elevator entrance. “Make a fresh start when you go out. Don’t come back in.”
Su Cha said in a low voice, “Sir, I have one more question.”
During this time, Su Cha had behaved himself, and Kunbu found him more pleasing than when he first arrived, so he casually answered, “What’s the question?”
“How long have you been here as a supervisor?”
“Seven years.”
Seven years. Enough time for the outside world to undergo drastic changes, such as the apocalypse, the appearance of zombies, the collapse of cities…
Yet, the Death Prison seemed like a still pool with no ripples, unchanging except for the constant influx and outflow of prisoners.
“So, do you remember the names of all the inmates you’ve come into contact with?”
“Who would bother remembering such things?” Kunbu said nonchalantly. “If you can’t recall, just check the records.”
Su Cha nodded. “No need. Sir, see you next time.”
He stepped into the elevator.
Kunbu stood still for two seconds, then suddenly realized, “Kid, what do you mean by ‘see you next time’? See what!”
…
The pure black elevator rose slowly, and Su Cha recalled the information he had gathered over the past few days.
“Ding.” After reaching sea level, he stepped out.
By the seaside, five people of varying heights were waiting for him.
Zhuang Qingyan and Fang Zhixu were talking and looked up at him.
Lin Youyou and Xu Xing were arguing, dissatisfied, discussing who kicked the blanket last night.
Standing on the raised platform, Song Ke noticed him and waved, “Hey, we’re here to pick you up after your release.”
“Hm.” Su Cha, who hadn’t spoken much in the past eight days, cleared his throat, feeling the darkness of the Death Prison slowly receding from him.
He had a tracker from Song Ke in his clothes; they could track his location, which wasn’t surprising.
“Are you hurt?” Lin Youyou asked worriedly.
“No,” Su Cha shook his head, “let’s talk at the hotel.”
…
Back at the hotel, after cautiously inspecting the room, Su Cha’s first words were, “There’s something we’ve all misunderstood.
“—The true Sin City is the Death Prison beneath the ocean.”
Only those who had been in the Death Prison knew that those who were released were people who had committed relatively “minor” crimes.
As for those merciless demons with no chance of pardon, they would only fall layer by layer, endlessly plummeting.
Su Cha recounted his experiences from the past few days to Song Ke and the others, then drew a map of the 2nd floor and the activity area from memory.
Truly an intelligence expert, he pieced together the fragmented clues, gradually unveiling the mysterious veil of the Death Prison.
Zhuang Qingyan analyzed, “From the two maps, the activity area is nearly one-third smaller in size than the 2nd floor. The Death Prison should be an inverted cone.”
Lin Youyou exclaimed, “Are you saying the Death Prison has three wardens, each in charge of different monitoring levels?”
“We have to undress to enter?” Xu Xing was puzzled.
“I suggest we don’t waste time in the underground city,” Su Cha suddenly spoke amidst the chatter and discussion.
“—We should all enter the Death Prison.”
