Once upon a ti, Jiangnan City Prison was known as one of the top ten most heavily guarded prisons in Longyan Country.
However, that was all in the past. Now, this prison held no such grand title, nor did it pretend to be.
It was old, utilitarian, and worked with a single philosophy in practice: control over the prisoners.
The thick concrete walls ringed the compound, patched and repainted over the years.
Barbed wire ran along the top, with so sections newer than others, suggesting constant repairs rather than upgraded security.
Caras were mounted over the walls, though a few showed signs of age.
Ard guards were visible at regular intervals, alert at all tis.
’It’s enough to keep ordinary people in line.’
That was Ye Chen’s thought as he walked through the gates with his hands cuffed, escorted by several guards.
"So," Li Qiang said lazily, glancing sideways, "this is our Jiangnan City Prison. Not quite what you imagined, huh?"
Ye Chen didn’t respond.
Li Qiang chuckled. "Don’t get any ideas. People who co in confident usually leave quietly, or don’t leave at all."
Ye Chen lifted his gaze slightly, his eyes calm, arrogant, and even dismissive.
Before, he might indeed have been worried, but now, after coming here. What a joke! Do you think this lacklustre security can keep him here for long?
Li Qiang noticed his crooked smile and stopped walking.
"Oh?" he said, amused. "Still looking down on us?"
Several guards subtly adjusted their grips on their rifles.
Li Qiang leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Let give you so friendly advice. Inside these walls, pride is very expensive. And you, my friend?" he smiled. "You look broke."
Seeing that Ye Chen didn’t respond to his words, Li Qiang grew bored and resud walking.
The registration was conducted in a narrow hall with peeling paint and harsh lighting. A tal counter separated Ye Chen from a glass window behind which clerks sat, typing lazily.
"Na?" a clerk asked without looking up.
"Ye Chen."
The typing paused for a fraction of a second before resuming.
"Cri?"
"..."
"Murder," Li Qiang spoke, since Ye Chen still hadn’t admitted to his cri.
The clerk finally looked up, eyes flickering with curiosity before quickly flattening. "Sentence: fourteen years. Hmph."
Li Qiang laughed softly behind him. "Try not to make it fifteen."
Ye Chen’s lips curled faintly. "Depends. Best not to annoy ."
The air turned colder.
A guard slamd the butt of his rifle lightly against the floor. "Watch your mouth."
Ye Chen glanced at the weapon, then at the guard, eyes filled with unmistakable disdain.
Three muzzles rose, pointing at his face.
Ye Chen looked away, not in submission, but in restraint. This wasn’t the right ti to act.
While fingerprints were taken and numbers stamped onto his file, a door at the far end of the hall opened.
A short man walked in.
He was thin, slightly hunched, wearing a clean uniform that didn’t quite fit his fra. His deanour didn’t match that of soone with authority, and yet every clerk straightened imdiately.
"That’s the Chief Jailer," Li Qiang muttered with a grin. "Zhou Kang."
Ye Chen glanced at him.
Zhou Kang didn’t look strong. Didn’t look dangerous. His hands were soft, and his posture seed pretty average. He looked more like an office administrator than soone ant to oversee hardened criminals.
Ye Chen understood instantly.
’He must be here with connections.’
Zhou Kang skimd Ye Chen’s file, frowning. "This one caused quite a stir outside."
"Yes, sir," a clerk said quickly.
Zhou Kang hesitated, then waved his hand. "Put him in a standard two-person cell."
Li Qiang smiled wider. "You hear that? Ordinary cell. This is the chief’s rcy, so be grateful for it. A heinous criminal like you doesn’t deserve such treatnt."
Ye Chen t Zhou Kang’s eyes briefly.
The Chief Jailer flinched. It was subtle, but Ye Chen caught it.
They escorted him away soon after.
As they walked down the corridor toward the cellblock, Li Qiang spoke again, his tone almost friendly. "Rules here are simple. Three als a day. Roll call twice a day at 8. One hour of playground break in the evening from 6 to 7."
He paused in front of a cell door.
"And don’t think about doing anything stupid. This place may look old, but the guns are real."
He reminded Ye Chen again. His instincts were telling him. This guy was very capable; he needs to be kept under wraps.
The door slid open. Ye Chen stepped inside.
This so-called standard cell was cramped and unpleasant. Two iron beds, thin mattresses, rusted fixtures, and a sll of that small open toilet that never truly left. It was intolerable.
Disgust flickered across Ye Chen’s face.
The door slamd shut.
Inside, another man sat on the bed, looking at him with a curious gaze.
"New cellmate?" he asked.
"Seems so," Ye Chen replied flatly.
The man stood and greeted, "My na is Lu Shixun. A Tomb robber. I have five years of sentence left."
Ye Chen studied him for a mont, then nodded.
"Ye Chen, frad for murder."
Lu Shixun was surprised and chuckled. "Seriously, you are already here but still denying it."
Ye Chen didn’t get angry; he just stared at him and shook his head. "I don’t care about the murder, as I don’t have any issues killing my enemies. However, being frad is another thing, which I can’t accept."
His words baffled Lu Shixun. He never expected Ye Chen to admit such a thing so calmly. After a mont, he just nodded and stopped caring about this new cellmate of his.
Outside, Li Qiang walked away, humming quietly.
None of them noticed it. But as Ye Chen stood there, morising the cell’s angles, the door’s locking rhythm, the guard’s footsteps outside.
A sharp glint appeared in his eyes as a thought crossed his mind.
’Less than a month should be enough.’
The prison didn’t know it yet.
But Jiangnan City Prison was already filled with cracks. Soon, they would regret ever placing a monster like Ye Chen here.
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