"Stop shaking me!" the guard croaked. His eyes weren't even open yet before he barked out the order.

He had been shaken awake. His head felt like it was splitting apart, as if something inside were tearing at his brain. The pain was unbearable. His mind was complete mush. Forget thinking—even in that instant, he couldn't even remember who he was.

Dizzy. Nauseous. Sick to his stomach.

His condition was terrible.

Yet acting purely on instinct, he still tried to stop whoever was shaking him, weakly waving a hand.

He Yu had been holding the guard by the shoulders and shaking him. Hearing those words, he smiled faintly and immediately let go.

Without anyone supporting him, the guard collapsed backward again.

Bang!

The back of his head slammed hard against the floor with a crisp, resounding crack.

Everyone: "..."

—Ouch.

—Just watching that hurt.

After the second impact, the guard was completely dazed. He lay sprawled on the floor, eyes unfocused, face twisted in agony.

[Bullet Screen: "...Beautifully done."]

[Bullet Screen: "Hahaha, serves him right. Who told him to make He God take off his clothes?"]

[Bullet Screen: "Oof... I instinctively rubbed the back of my own head."]

After several seconds, the guard finally regained a sliver of awareness.

Confusion flashed through his eyes.

Why was he lying on the ground?

What had happened before this?

His mind was still fuzzy, but he vaguely remembered someone shaking him...

Instantly, rage erupted.

The unbearable headache demanded an outlet.

"Who was it—?!"

He looked up.

A delicate, refined face came into view.

That beautiful face was filled with concern, and when it saw him open his eyes, it immediately brightened with relief.

"Sir! You're finally awake!"

The guard: "..."

The curses caught in his throat.

He just... couldn't spit them out.

With a face like that looking so worried about him...

Wait.

No.

Something wasn't right.

He remembered these people gathering together to talk. He had come to punish them.

So why was he the one lying on the floor?

Fury resurfaced.

Ignoring He Yu—the one who had voluntarily begun taking off his clothes earlier—the guard clutched his aching head and glared at everyone else.

"What happened?! Why am I lying here?!"

He struggled to stand.

He Yu quickly stepped forward to support him.

Everyone: "..."

—Why did it suddenly feel like they were about to be framed?

The guard got to his feet, whip in hand, glaring sinisterly at the others.

Pain demanded an outlet.

Almost unconsciously, he raised the whip, preparing to lash them.

Ding—ding—ding—

The bell echoed through the corridor.

It was 1:00 PM.

The wake-up signal.

The guard's expression shifted repeatedly before finally settling into something dark and ugly.

With a vicious crack of his whip, he turned and strode toward the exit, one hand still pressed against his pounding head.

"You lot just wait. Tonight I'll interrogate every last one of you properly!"

After saying that, he stepped outside and shouted hoarsely despite the agony splitting his skull.

"Get up and assemble! Two minutes! If you don't want to die, move!"

Qu Wu leaned close to He Yu and whispered,

"What do we do? He's going to deal with us tonight."

He Yu looked completely unconcerned.

"Don't worry. We'll deal with tonight when it comes."

Seeing how calm he remained, everyone else relaxed as well.

So what if they had knocked out an NPC?

None of them had really cared much about that in the first place. Their only concern had been whether it would trigger some negative dungeon consequence.

The group of eight walked out.

Outside, prisoners from every room who had been taking their midday break had already emerged.

Everyone wore identical blue prison uniforms.

They gathered together, lining up neatly.

The narrow corridor allowed four people to stand abreast, with exactly one room forming each row.

After observing the pattern, He Yu calmly walked over and took his place behind Room 704.

Zhen Xing led the people from Room 705 into position behind him.

The NPC prisoners all appeared numb.

Their eyes were vacant.

Their mental states looked poor.

After lining up, every one of them stood perfectly still.

He Yu's group copied them exactly.

The guard counted heads.

When he reached Annie, he noticed they were standing crooked.

Without warning, he kicked them.

The powerful kick landed painfully against Annie's body.

Annie's eyes widened in disbelief.

"What are you staring at?" the guard sneered. "Want to die?"

"Ahem."

Duan Yuchen coughed softly.

Hearing the warning, Annie clenched their fists tightly.

They endured it.

They lowered their gaze and stood perfectly straight.

Only the fury burning in their eyes remained.

He Yu silently took it all in.

This guard constantly talked about death.

Apparently, guards beating prisoners to death wasn't unusual at all.

Once everyone had assembled, the guard took the lead and walked toward the massive electrified gate.

He never touched any controls.

Simply standing before it was enough.

The system scanned his face.

The gate opened automatically.

Click—

The heavy doors fully opened.

For the first time, they could see somewhere besides the prison cells.

Outside was a brightly lit central hall.

Honestly, the architecture didn't resemble a prison at all.

Brilliant lights illuminated every corner, making the polished floor gleam.

As their gate opened, several others opened simultaneously.

Each doorway had a guard leading thirty-two prisoners.

Everyone walked quietly and in perfect order.

No one looked around.

No one made a sound.

There were four entrances altogether, positioned at the four directions of the central hall.

The groups converged in the middle and lined up silently.

He Yu's group of eight blended into the crowd without attracting any attention.

The four guards said nothing.

They approached the man standing in the center of the hall and reported.

"Rooms 701 through 708—all present!"

"Rooms 709 through 716—all present!"

"Rooms 717 through 724—all present!"

"Rooms 725 through 732—all present!"

The four guards all wore gray uniforms.

The man in the center wore white.

He was a fierce-looking middle-aged man.

The corners of his eyes drooped downward.

So did the corners of his mouth.

His face radiated violence.

One look was enough to know he wasn't a good person.

A badge on his chest read:

Deputy Warden Gore.

He Yu glanced back at the guards.

Only then did he notice they all wore badges as well.

The guard assigned to them had one that read:

Code.

Deputy Warden Gore nodded without saying anything and turned to walk forward.

The four guards stepped aside.

The prisoners at the front followed him.

He Yu quietly followed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he met Ling Buchen's gaze.

Both saw the same realization reflected in the other's eyes.

This prison's management was exceptionally strict.

Considering this place was called Death Prison, where supposedly nobody ever left alive, such intensive management made little sense.

A prison designed solely to kill its inmates wouldn't require this much organization or effort.

Then there was the numbering.

Room 701 was at the very front.

That suggested the "7" was separate from the following two digits.

It wasn't 701.

It was more likely 7-01.

But then...

What exactly did that "7" represent?

As He Yu quietly pondered the question, they reached the front of the hall.

The deputy warden stopped before a wall.

Click—

The wall split open.

He led everyone into another space.

The lighting inside was even brighter.

He Yu narrowed his eyes.

It was still artificial lighting.

Not sunlight.

As they entered from the central hall, another group entered from the opposite side.

The formation was identical.

The uniforms were identical.

The number of prisoners was identical.

The only difference...

Every single one of them was female.

He Yu looked over.

His gaze met the eyes of two people within the crowd.

Qiong.

Siya.

Their eyes silently exchanged information.

Beside him, Wanrenzhan's breathing grew heavier.

His emotions became visibly restless.

Being able to make contact with Qiong meant they might finally have a chance to remove the bracelets and free themselves from this miserable situation where none of them could use their equipment.

After a brief moment of agitation, Wanrenzhan calmed himself again.

Now wasn't the time.

The bracelets on their wrists could kill them instantly.

They couldn't act recklessly.

The male and female prisoners split into two formations, standing opposite each other.

The two deputy wardens exchanged glances with several people already waiting inside the spacious room.

Gore asked,

"Do we begin training immediately?"

One of the people wearing an Instructor badge nodded.

"Start training immediately."

The moment those words fell...

A noticeable ripple spread through the NPC prisoners.

Eugene and the others looked surprised.

They couldn't understand why the previously expressionless NPCs reacted so strongly to the word "training."

Then—

Movement erupted behind them.

The instant the NPC prisoners heard the sound, panic exploded.

They scattered in every direction.

"Watch out!" Wanrenzhan shouted.

He Yu didn't even turn around.

Acting almost entirely on instinct, he sidestepped.

A blur shot past him.

It landed on another NPC and immediately slashed downward with a massive claw.

He Yu's expression darkened.

A beast.

Because of the energy permeating the Federation, its wildlife was nothing like the animals of Blue Star.

Different species.

Different levels of strength.

Like certain plants, beasts were valuable resources to humanity.

Like ghosts, they were also nearly impossible to coexist peacefully with.

The creature before them was unfamiliar.

It stood over two meters tall and nearly three meters long.

Its claws and fangs were razor-sharp.

It clearly fed on humans.

Its attacks were savage.

Its speed astonishing.

He Yu looked toward the deputy warden and instructors again.

Every one of them floated high above on flight equipment, coldly watching the beasts slaughter the prisoners below.

Eugene pulled He Yu backward in one swift motion.

His mechanical face was tense.

"S-rank. Be careful."

To people who had once possessed SSS-rank strength, an S-rank beast normally meant nothing.

The problem was—

None of them could use their equipment.

With their powerful physiques, an S-rank beast couldn't simply kill them with a swipe.

But if it hit He Yu...

That would be a completely different story.

He Yu asked,

"What species is it?"

Eugene frowned.

"It looks like one of the Federation's most common savage beasts. If I remember correctly, they're normally only B-rank. The strongest among them should only reach A-rank. They aren't supposed to attack this fiercely or move this fast."

The strongest should only be A-rank?

Yet this one...

Was S-rank.

No.

Not one.

Four.

There were four beasts released from the rear chamber.

Though they varied slightly as individuals, they were clearly the same species.

A species that should have been relatively weak.

Yet every one of these four had reached S-rank.

While they exchanged those few words, the beast lunged again.

Its attacks were incredibly vicious.

It seemed to sense that He Yu was the weakest target.

Every strike was aimed directly at him.

He Yu's expression sharpened.

He bent his waist slightly.

Yet remained exactly where he stood.

"Move!"

[Bullet Screen: "AHHH! He God, watch out!"]

[Bullet Screen: "Holy shit, this is intense!!"]

[Bullet Screen: "What the hell? They call this training??"]

The beast pounced.

He Yu remained crouched.

His slender body formed a taut, powerful curve.

His beautiful almond-shaped eyes shone with razor-sharp focus.

The instant the beast reached him—

His body tilted.

Using a movement so fluid and agile it left everyone stunned, he slipped cleanly past the attack.

As he twisted sideways, the lenses of his rimless glasses reflected a cold flash.

His loose hair swept through the air.

His features turned sharp.

His movements were graceful.

Yet packed with explosive strength.

He had dodged the beast's attack.

Carried forward by inertia, the beast overshot him.

By then, He Yu had already turned around.

Once again, he faced the creature.

Against such a savage beast, he possessed almost no ability to fight back.

One successful hit...

With a combat power of only 2...

Would mean certain death.

Yet the more desperate the situation became, the calmer he appeared.

His gaze remained ice-cold.

Locked onto the beast.

There wasn't even a trace of fear on his face.

The beast turned around.

Even angrier than before.

Behind He Yu, Wanrenzhan gritted his teeth and roared,

"Duan Yuchen! Give me a boost!"

He leaped.

Duan Yuchen rushed forward.

Raising both hands, he shoved forcefully upward beneath Wanrenzhan's foot.

Using that momentum, Wanrenzhan flew over He Yu and landed squarely atop the enraged beast's head.

No weapons.

No equipment.

One hand seized the beast's horn.

The other clenched into a fist.

Then he smashed it downward.

"Ha!"

Bang!

A brutally powerful punch slammed into the beast's body.

The scar across his face only made him appear even fiercer.

At the same time—

Zhen Xing leaped onto another beast.

Eugene ground his teeth.

His mechanical head twisted with determination.

Refusing to fall behind, he jumped onto the third beast.

Annie exchanged a glance with Qu Wu.

Together, they rushed to help Siya deal with the largest beast.

Savage strength.

Brutal collisions.

Above them, the instructors watched with burning excitement.

Especially Wanrenzhan and Zhen Xing.

Their eyes practically glowed.

He Yu's group of ten exchanged no words.

Not even eye contact.

Yet at that moment...

Their coordination was flawless.

Wanrenzhan, Zhen Xing, and the others tied down all four beasts.

He Yu quietly retreated.

Within the crowd, Qiong was doing the exact same thing.

Hidden among more than two hundred prisoners, neither of them attracted attention.

Everyone's focus remained on the savage struggle between Wanrenzhan's group and the beasts.

Using the chaos they had created as cover...

The two of them successfully met.

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