Chapter 23: The Horrifying Sin 3 - The Isolated Island Prison
Yesterday, Wu Wangwang was thinking about how to reduce the weight of sin in this instance and what kind of work would be needed. She never expected that it would be to have criminals catch other criminals.
That can be considered making the best use of resources.
The specific rules are very simple. There are eight doors in the central area of the island. Each prisoner can choose one door to enter, and will be personally escorted by the directors. It took a little time to announce the rules today, and starting tomorrow, the schedule will be strictly followed.
In the morning, after the prisoners finish their morning classes, they go directly to the center of the island to arrest criminals, and they must come out at noon sharp. If they do not come out, it is considered a violation of prison rules, and the weight of their sins increases over time.
Prisoners who come out on time will eat and rest nearby. They will have other work in the afternoon before returning to their own prison area for dinner, shower, and classes.
The warden didn't say what would happen in the afternoon, but let the prisoners go in first to experience it. He also reminded all the prisoners that the central area of the island was very large and there were no guards to guide them, so he advised them not to go too far, otherwise they would be locked up inside until noon the next day.
Moreover, spending a day catching a criminal may not be enough to offset the weight of the crime committed during a day of breaking the rules, so prisoners should think carefully.
Then the eight directors gathered at the entrance, each holding a sign with one of the eight door numbers. You could follow whoever you wanted to go from.
Wu Wangwang glanced at Ling Yuanshan subconsciously and saw Ling Yuanshan making a peace sign at the air, so she knew that he was going to Gate No. 2.
The team at Gate 2 was led by the head of the Second District, a pretty girl with a gentle smile on her face.
There were quite a few prisoners in this batch. Everyone dawdled as they chose their doors, and Ling Yuanshan was kept far away, taking some time to finally stand behind the director of the second district.
Once the direction was chosen, the warden gave the order to depart.
The next leg of the journey involved a tram ride. The prisoners remained silent throughout the entire trip. Wu Wangwang and Ling Yuanshan, not wanting to sit too close, also kept quiet.
The tram stopped in front of a blood-red gate. The director of the second district went to verify his identity by scanning his face. After a while, the gate opened with a loud bang, and a bloody smell wafted out.
Behind the door was a filthy, barren, and bloody world. Blood and chunks of flesh hung on the door panel, and not far away were severed limbs with maggots crawling out of countless holes of varying sizes.
Although they were all heinous criminals, some of them had committed lesser crimes. Upon seeing this scene, the other party vomited immediately.
Nearby, a warning system was in place, and a robot vacuum cleaner was cleaning the area, seemingly unfazed by the scene.
The head of the second district turned around, still smiling gently: "It's all registered. Everyone, go in. Try your best to survive!"
No one dared to move. One prisoner couldn't help but protest, "This isn't right! What is this place in there? You're not trying to send us to our deaths, are you?"
“But based on the crimes some of you have committed, you should have been executed immediately. What we’re doing is actually giving you a chance to live,” the Second District Director explained with a smile.
The prisoner who had just vomited stepped forward, clutching his stomach: "I...I'm not sentenced to death, I have a twenty-year sentence, can I not go?"
The director of the second district nodded: "That's fine, but this constitutes resisting work assigned by the prison, which is illegal. If the sentence is increased like this, it will eventually lead to the death penalty."
It's like putting yourself on the losing end. Not going to work is illegal, so you'd only get a suspended sentence. You might as well take advantage of the crowd and gamble it out.
The prisoners had no choice but to walk through the blood-soaked door one by one.
After they all went inside, the door slammed shut immediately without any delay.
After closing the gate, the scene before them darkened even further. Everyone gathered in silence, afraid to move, lest they stray too far and never return.
After a while, Ling Yuanshan was the first to walk forward. He was still wearing the slippers provided by the prison. He stepped into the flesh and blood and sank deep into them. Soon, both of his feet were covered with foul-smelling, bloody corpse fluid.
Seeing him walk forward, Wu Wangwang chased after him. The others were still watching, thinking to themselves that he was truly worthy of being from District 1 and District 21. The most vicious and special murderers were different; they showed no fear at all.
After passing through this area, you reach the neighborhood, but it is clear that entering through Gate 2 leads to a poor and backward area. The houses on both sides of the alley are low, crowded, and dilapidated, and none of them look like they are habitable.
Strange pieces of flesh and limbs kept appearing on the streets, as if a fierce battle had just taken place.
Once he was far enough away from the entrance and sure the other prisoners wouldn't come over, Ling Yuanshan turned into an alley to wait for Wu Wangwang.
The smell in the alley was even stronger, almost like being inside a corpse's belly. An ordinary person would probably vomit their bile by now.
Ling Yuanshan couldn't take it anymore either. He covered his mouth and nose, turned around and saw Wu Wangwang walking in normally. He was a little stunned: "Are you alright?"
Wu Wangwang asked, confused, "Should I have something to say?"
"Do you have some kind of problem with your sense of smell? Let me have my mom take you to get checked out once we get out of here," Ling Yuanshan said tactfully.
Unexpectedly, humans couldn't even tolerate this kind of taste. Wu Wangwang was silent for a while, then tried to justify herself: "Fortunately, I worked in a black factory before I became an adult, so the taste was about the same."
Ling Yuanshan hadn't expected this reason, and not wanting to bring it up again, he quickly steered the conversation back to the main topic: "Ahem, did you discover anything last night?"
Wu Wangwang was glad that Ling Yuanshan was a polite child, so she quickly recounted what had happened last night.
After listening, Ling Yuanshan frowned: "My situation was similar to yours last night. The conditions I was in were even worse. The cell was very cramped. I couldn't stand up straight, so I could only sit down, but I couldn't stretch my legs out..."
Compared to Wu Wangwang's cell, which was a normal human cell, Ling Yuanshan's cell was a real prison. He couldn't stand up straight or stretch his legs; he had to be half-curled up in the cell. He could touch the cell bars with his hand. As a tall boy, Ling Yuanshan felt very stuffy when he went in.
That was simply not a place for a human to stay. Ling Yuanshan finally made it to nine o'clock. After the lights were turned off in the entire prison, he intended to open the door and go out to investigate and find a place to sleep. However, before he could even go out, he heard the sound of something being dragged on the ground.
Fearing he might trigger the rules, Ling Yuanshan could only continue to endure in the cell, but he gripped his weapon tightly. If anything went wrong, he would have to fight back. His life was temporarily tied to Wu Wangwang's and he wouldn't die, but he had to prevent the triggering of the fatal rule.
The sound grew closer and closer, and Ling Yuanshan held his breath, his heart pounding as if it would jump out of his chest.
After a while, Ling Yuanshan saw a humanoid figure dressed in a prison guard uniform dragging something past.
Because the entire prison was dark, only a little moonlight could see through the ventilation openings. Ling Yuanshan could barely see in the dark, and only then could he make out that it was a prison guard's uniform. But he felt that this prison guard was none of the ones he had seen in the prison during the day.
The prison guard monster moved very stiffly, and the sounds came from what he was dragging. He walked slowly and haltingly into the deeper part of the cell.
Unable to see clearly what the prison guard monster was dragging, Ling Yuanshan had to switch to an extendable prop—an infinitely extendable tree branch. He carefully extended it out from the bars, moved the thing, and heard a metallic clanging sound.
The next second, the prison guard monster stopped moving. Ling Yuanshan immediately let go, and the prop disappeared automatically. In the darkness, Ling Yuanshan squinted and saw that the prison guard monster's hands and feet were still, but its whole body was bent backward at a ninety-degree angle. He could even hear the sound of its spine breaking.
The prison guard monster turned back like that, his head appearing outside the bars. Ling Yuanshan didn't dare to look him in the eye, so he closed his eyes.
Then Ling Yuanshan felt the prison guard monster reach in and tug at his leg, as if to confirm whether he was human or ghost. After a few tugs, seeing that he didn't react, the prison guard monster stood up again and dragged the thing forward.
Later, Ling Yuanshan secretly left the prison using props. He originally wanted to chase after the monster to investigate, but strangely, he walked back and forth on this floor several times without finding it.
Ling Yuanshan spent half the night lying in the corridor to rest and recuperate, and only returned to his cell to curl up when it was almost time. So he was in good spirits in the morning. He guessed that not many prisoners slept well last night, except for the fearless Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang.
After integrating the information, Wu Wangwang determined that the prison guards during the day and night were not the same group, and the rules they followed seemed to be different. The guards in each area might also have different styles. For example, the guards on Ling Yuanshan's side could break bones, while the guards on Wu Wangwang's side would sweep around with flashlights.
As for the monster Wu Wangwang encountered, he didn't know what it was. Ling Yuanshan suspected that the thing the prison guard monster was dragging was also a kind of monster, but unfortunately, without the light, he couldn't see it clearly.
The dungeon is shrouded in mystery; without confirming the identities of other players, it's impossible to obtain the prison information they possess, which is extremely detrimental to clearing the dungeon.
Ling Yuanshan pondered for a moment and said, "Let's not overcomplicate the dungeon. No matter how convoluted the dungeon's plot may seem, its essence remains the same. Don't be misled by complicated clues."
Wu Wangwang completely agreed with this. Just like the previous instance, the most fundamental setting was that if they followed the information on the note, they would not trigger the death rule. Only when they realized that they were the murderer would they be killed. It was a very simple yet tricky setting.
Sometimes you really shouldn't overthink things. If the plot isn't fundamental, then the rules should be.
"If it's not complicated, to pass the level, you first need to know what crime you committed," Wu Wangwang said, looking at the number on Ling Yuanshan's chest.
Ling Yuanshan glanced down and said, "I understand. Get the highest score and go exchange it for the judgment."
Only by knowing what crimes one has committed can one target criminals in the heart of the island and thus mitigate their crimes.
Wu Wangwang nodded in agreement: "That makes sense. I'll change mine too, even though I already know what crime I committed."
Just as he finished speaking, Ling Yuanshan suddenly said, "You don't know, the warden only said that you cleared out some criminals, but how did you do it? Did all sixty-four death row inmates die at your hands, or did you only provide ideas that led to the accumulation of crimes? Most importantly, you still don't know your own weight, do you?"
How can one lessen the weight of their sins if they do not know their own weight?
Hearing Ling Yuanshan's questions, Wu Wangwang frowned: "But the referee said that the scales on the island cannot measure my sins."
After listening, Ling Yuanshan remained silent for a long time before hesitatingly saying, "No matter what, you have to step on the scale first. We can't not try just because the referee says it's not allowed."
"What if the result is negative?" Wu Wangwang answered subconsciously.
“…Then ask the referee if he’s willing to pay you some money.” Ling Yuanshan couldn’t help but complain. He had always thought Wu Wangwang’s thought process was quite peculiar.
Wu Wangwang really took this to heart. She nodded seriously and made up her mind to redeem the weight as a reward when she got back today. If the result was negative, she would report it to the referee.
Since Wu Wangwang always had the same expression, Ling Yuanshan didn't realize what she was thinking and thought she understood that he was making a joke. So he said, "Let's go for a walk now, but don't go too far. Let's familiarize ourselves with the roads around here so it will be easier to catch criminals later."
Both of them were wearing blue and white striped prison uniforms and slippers. They had already walked a short distance and their feet were covered in mud. The mud got worse and worse as they walked, and they felt as if they were stepping on a maggot-infested mess of flesh. The sensation was disgusting.
After turning three corners, the bloodstains had spread to Wu Wangwang's knees. She looked down and said, "I want to wash my feet."
She could have walked without touching the ground, but the referee was watching her closely, and Ling Yuanshan was nearby, so Wu Wangwang had no protection throughout the entire process.
It's filthy. Just because the Demon Mother eats ghosts all day doesn't mean she'd like to wallow in blood and mud. She doesn't have that fetish.
Ling Yuanshan stopped and turned around, intending to comfort Wu Wangwang, but upon seeing their legs, he suddenly paused, "Don't you think..."
Wu Wangwang tugged at her pants: "What's wrong?"
"As we move towards the more central area, the flesh and blood of these corpses... gets deeper?" Ling Yuanshan carefully chose his words. Even after experiencing many dungeons, he still found it difficult to face such a gruesome scene.
Upon hearing Ling Yuanshan's words, Wu Wangwang immediately looked at Ling Yuanshan's feet. When they first entered, they were walking in muddy blood, and the mud was just level with their slippers. Now, it was almost up to their insteps. No wonder the flesh and blood were gradually climbing up to their knees.
Faced with this situation, Wu Wangwang slowly spoke up: "Young Master, we came here to catch criminals, but the entire center of the island is covered with this flesh and blood. Where did it come from?"
Right now, we can list those of the island's central residents, criminals, prisoners, or, to be bolder, the monsters outside the prison.
How many people would have to be killed to accumulate to this extent?
Ling Yuanshan remained silent. He looked up at the bustling street in the center of the island, with its towering buildings. What kind of scene would that be?
“Let’s walk a little further, we still have time. We’ll turn back when we reach the edge of the block.” Ling Yuanshan didn’t answer, but simply reached out and pulled Wu Wangwang along as they continued walking.
This time, they carefully felt the depth beneath their feet, and indeed, they went deeper and deeper, heading towards the bustling streets. At the end of the last intersection, just across the street, they could see the fighting monsters and... people.
He was dressed casually and didn't look like a prisoner.
Those people, wielding knives, chopped the monster into pieces without hesitation, then threw it into the old neighborhood, seemingly accustomed to this kind of life.
The monster was able to move even after being thrown into the old neighborhood. It tried to reassemble itself, slowly piecing together its shattered limbs into a humanoid form. It then crawled back into the bustling streets, only to be hacked to pieces again upon encountering the next person.
The behavior continued in repetition until the monster was chopped into fine pieces and could not be pieced back together into a human form.
“I think I know where the monster outside my cell came from…” Wu Wangwang whispered from behind the wall.
Ling Yuanshan was silent for a moment: "...Compared to this, isn't it stranger that the entire prison is full of monsters, but we, as prisoners, have to come to the center of the island to catch criminals?"
Wu Wangwang paused for a moment: "Oh right, what does the warden mean by 'criminal'?"
Are they monsters that must be chopped into minced meat to die, or are they "people" who handle monsters with a blank expression?
“Dungeons love to play word games. Let’s leave it for now and talk about it when we get back.” Ling Yuanshan made a quick decision to leave. The situation in the bustling area was strange, and the island had all sorts of odd rules. It was best not to act rashly.
When they rushed back to Gate 2, it was not yet noon. Most of the prisoners were still guarding the vicinity, but Wu Wangwang and Ling Yuanshan were both sensitive to numbers, and they noticed that three prisoners were missing.
The two exchanged a glance, suspecting that the three missing prisoners were players. Only players would desperately gather information under such circumstances. They were different from real prisoners. As long as the players could complete the game and survive, the prisoners might have different intentions.
Seeing Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang, who had left first, return with their legs covered in blood and mud, the tallest prisoner asked sternly, "Hey! You two brats, what did you see when you went in?"
These were all prisoners with a lot of lives on their hands. They were all talking about who could talk the talk, and rules, manners and etiquette were nothing to them. They were already thinking about how to extract confessions from the pretty boy Ling Yuanshan and the skinny woman Wu Wangwang.
Wu Wangwang remained silent, leaving the decision to Ling Yuanshan.
Ling Yuanshan glanced at the prisoner: "I thought that when we went to prison, we would be classified according to the severity of our crimes. How many lives have you taken? How dare you talk to me like that?"
His arrogant tone intimidated the prisoners.
Yes, the most sinful one here is Ling Yuanshan. Among the prisoners in this batch at Gate 2, excluding Ling Yuanshan, the tallest is only 600 jin (300 kg), and he's going to the Fifth District Prison. They just communicated with each other and know that the 600-jin guy is a ruthless and dirty-minded person who does all sorts of dirty work. His eyes are the fiercest among them, and he looks like he came from some war-torn region.
Ling Yuanshan, who was the heaviest, not only lacked any murderous aura, but also looked like a pretty boy who hadn't even grown any hair yet.
Compared to truly ruthless killers who don't blink an eye, Wu Wangwang's murders, driven by a sense of justice, are like those of a kindergarten child—completely insignificant.
A 600-pound prisoner emerged from behind, his eyes dark and menacing. He pushed aside the tall prisoner and confronted Ling Yuanshan: "Are you a technician?"
Ling Yuanshan was just a nineteen-year-old young master, so he didn't understand such slang. But he knew he couldn't lose in terms of momentum no matter what, so he simply didn't reply, appearing cold and arrogant.
Seeing that Ling Yuanshan refused, the 600-pound prisoner turned his gaze to the thin Wu Wangwang beside him. He had actually noticed it a long time ago. Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang were exchanging glances and whispering to each other ever since they were on the boat. Ling Yuanshan was also always pulling Wu Wangwang along. It was obvious that their relationship was not simple.
In addition, Ling Yuanshan's frame doesn't seem to have fully developed yet, so it's obvious that he's a young man and his movements might not be as fast as those of an adult veteran.
Without a word, the 600-pound prisoner rushed towards Wu Wangwang, his attack extremely insidious, targeting Wu Wangwang's eyes and neck. He probably wanted to cripple one of Wu Wangwang's eyes to threaten Ling Yuanshan into obeying him; that's how their people always operate.
By the time Ling Yuanshan sensed it, the 600-pound prisoner was already in front of Wu Wangwang. There was no time to pull Wu Wangwang away. He was so frightened that his face turned pale instantly, and a dagger immediately appeared in his right hand. He slashed at the 600-pound prisoner.
Wu Wangwang moved swiftly and hid behind Ling Yuanshan, striking the tendon on Ling Yuanshan's elbow where he was holding the knife. This caused Ling Yuanshan to instinctively release the knife, which was then hidden by the game.
The whole thing happened in less than a second. The other prisoners only saw a few people sway. In the end, Wu Wangwang hid behind Ling Yuanshan, and Ling Yuanshan raised his hand and slapped the 600-pound prisoner, knocking him unconscious.
The 600-pound prisoner even took two steps back. He looked up in astonishment at Ling Yuanshan, who was clutching his elbow, and asked in disbelief, "How can you be so fast? How old are you?"
Ling Yuanshan was also confused. He had clearly taken the knife to stop the 600-pound prisoner, but when his hand hurt, he let go. Even Wu Wangwang had disappeared behind him without him noticing.
But now is not the time to explore this issue. Ling Yuanshan straightened up again, not replying to him, and only said: "If you dare to touch her again, I'll cut you into pieces smaller than these on the ground."
After saying that, Ling Yuanshan turned around and escorted Wu Wang to a corner. There were too many people, and it was almost midnight, so they couldn't continue the discussion.
After this incident, the prisoners gained a new understanding of Ling Yuanshan, the prisoner weighing a thousand pounds, and dared not utter any more arrogant words to him, believing that his thousand-pound sins were truly well-deserved.
Before long, Gate 2 reopened, and the director of the Second District smiled at them from outside: "Alright, working hours are over. Come over here to register your information."
Everyone slowly walked out, hoping to delay and see if the three prisoners who had left could return in time, but they didn't appear until the door was closed again.
The Second District Chief said regretfully, "It seems some of you have broken the rules. I can only wish them good luck. Now, go and register whether you have caught any criminals."
Today was a fruitless day; no one caught the criminals.
As they boarded the tram to leave, the Second District Chief comforted them, saying, "It's alright. Criminals are hard to find. Keep trying tomorrow. This is your daily work. Don't be discouraged. As long as you catch the criminals, you can lessen your sins. Keep it up!"
They were going to the cafeteria for lunch, which wasn't divided into sections. Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang walked together the whole way, and everyone gradually realized that they were together.
The 1,000-pound prisoner and the special prisoner were inseparable; this combination was practically invincible in prison.
Lunch was simple, and they were to take a nap. Men and women were separated, and they would reassemble in the square at 1:30 p.m., where the warden would announce the afternoon's work.
"After this morning's efforts, some of you seem to have forgotten to abide by prison rules. I hope you will not follow their example and prioritize mitigating your own sins. Also, this afternoon your task is to make daily necessities. We are self-sufficient on this island. Go and collect your production tasks according to your assigned areas." The warden announced again in the square.
The prisoners were reassigned to different areas, but their assigned tasks were not necessarily in their own prison area. Wu Wangwang went to the director of District 21 and was assigned a watering job, which involved watering the plants on the island.
Wu Wangwang never doubted the job. She greeted Ling Yuanshan from afar, got into the car, and left, until she received a bucket of corpse oil at the botanical garden.
The dismemberment oil vendor also said, "Go ahead, this stuff makes things grow faster when you use it, so use it sparingly."
We have to be careful; how many pounds of corpse oil can one person extract?
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Author's Note: [End of Chapter]
Wu Wangwang: The warden who doesn't love you will only think you escaped from prison even after you died. [shrug]
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