Volume One, Chapter Seventeen: I Took the Initiative to Go Down!

Lin Yun’s heart blossomed with joy as hundreds of thousands of experience points poured in, propelling his power to leap two levels at once, directly ascending to a Level 5 Super Ability User!

“These guys are practically handing me a treasure trove of experience!” Lin Yun mused, stroking his chin. If such good fortune came often, he’d soon reach the pinnacle of ability users and become a figure of influence.

“But such fat sheep don’t come around every day. How could I keep running into reckless fools who aren’t afraid to die?” he thought.

Just then, a burst of brazen shouting erupted from the prison cell area.

Annoyed by the noise, Lin Yun walked over to the cell.

“Hey kid, where’s that prison guard who used to piss in my bowl every day? Haven’t seen him lately,” growled a burly man with a face full of scars and bloodshot eyes, glaring viciously at him.

Lin Yun chuckled. Could it be this guy had forgotten what happened before?

“What’s the matter? Missing his piss already?” Lin Yun teased with a smile.

The man froze, then his face flushed bright red, words failing him for a long while.

After a moment, he slumped like a deflated balloon, lowering his head and muttering repeatedly, “Impossible, impossible... my brothers should have come to save me by now... why no sign...”

Suddenly, he brightened, eyes gleaming with fanatic hope. “I get it! My brothers must be waiting until my execution day when the guards let down their guard, then they’ll come rescue me! Yes! That’s it! They’d never abandon me!” He raised his head with a crazed look.

Watching this lunatic, Lin Yun felt a twinge of pity. If he told him now that his so-called brothers were already dead by his own hand, would he lose his mind right here?

“Ah well, having hope even before death is a kind of blessing...” Lin Yun shook his head thoughtfully.

Anyway, this guy was due to be beheaded tomorrow; let him depart with his last shred of hope.

Early the next morning, Lin Yun received news.

Cao Feng, one of the Seven Heroes of Starsea City, had been nervously looking left and right, as if waiting for someone, right up to his death.

As for Wang Peng...

Half a month after Cao Feng’s execution, Wang Peng’s family came to the prison gate every day, crying and causing a scene.

They thought he was still inside the prison, but no contact was possible for half a month—he was missing.

The guards beat them with batons, and the new captain handed them a few thousand yuan to send them away.

They told Wang’s family to take their complaints to the police station and stop making trouble at the prison gate.

After that, no one from Wang Peng’s family showed up again.

No one took over Wang Peng’s position either. In just six months, two members of the Wang family had died, and the prison stopped forcibly recruiting. They reported Wang Daqiang’s family as “extinct.”

Those in the prison familiar with Wang Daqiang initially mourned for a few days but gradually forgot, as new matters arose daily.

Lin Yun had worried the authorities might trace him through Wang’s younger brother and even prepared excuses, but nothing came of it!

It made sense. With so many wealthy and powerful people in Starsea City and countless cases every day, a missing auxiliary police officer outside the city was of no concern.

Frankly, the county mayor’s lost dog was more important than his life.

The police wouldn’t waste time investigating such a trivial matter!

Lin Yun even tried to give money to Wang’s family later but found that except for Wang Peng’s mother, no one cared.

They only caused trouble at the prison gate to extort more money.

More absurdly, Wang’s second son, Wang Li, who had come looking for Lin Yun, must have been so lost in his studies that he didn’t even remember him.

“Human life... is so worthless in this world,” Lin Yun thought bitterly as he left the Wang family.

Wang Peng at least had a mother and siblings-in-law; even so, they ended up like this.

If he disappeared, probably no one would even inquire.

Sigh, maybe during the Qingming Festival, he’d burn some paper money for Wang Daqiang and Wang Peng.

Half a month later.

Lin Yun arrived at work and entered the break room, only to be stunned.

Usually, the place was as noisy as a marketplace, but today it was eerily silent!

No gambling, no drinking games, not a single lewd joke.

All the guards wore gloomy faces, sighing deeply.

Confused, Lin Yun grabbed a familiar guard and asked, “What’s going on? Why does everyone look like they lost their parents?”

The guard sighed, smiling bitterly. “What else could it be? Big trouble’s come down!”

“Another prison break?!” Lin Yun’s heart jumped.

“Not quite, but close enough...” the veteran guard shook his head and pointed at the table where the guards usually drank and gambled. “See for yourself.”

Lin Yun glanced over and saw a new notice printed in black and white—

A fresh announcement from the Ability Prison.

He grabbed it and barely glanced before his body trembled involuntarily, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes!

The notice read...

“I heard that anyone pulled from the lower-level prison is at least ten times tougher than the hardest guy on our floor!”

One guard mourned, sighing deeply.

“Exactly! I’ve heard guards get killed down there all the time.”

Another leaned in, whispering, “Do you know how many people die down there each year?”

He held up one hand, counting off, “At least this many!”

“Yeah, they say there aren’t enough men, so they’re pulling people from our floor. Three spots are already taken. Who’s going to take the last one?”

“Lin Yun, we’re all counting on you. We were about to draw lots to see who gets this ‘King of Hell’ ticket...”

A chorus of sighs and worried faces.

“No need to draw,” a voice suddenly rang out, startling everyone to look up.

Lin Yun stood in the middle of the break room, slowly rolling up the notice with a smile. “Brothers, thanks for all your help lately. For this transfer, I’m going!”

“Lin... Lin Yun?!” everyone froze.

He had always wanted to get into the lower-level prison but never found the chance.

Now the opportunity came knocking!

The lower-level prison was short-staffed and pulling men from the first floor?

Wonderful!

Lin Yun nearly laughed out loud.

That day, the other three guards assigned to the transfer wore anxious faces and tried every excuse to avoid going, but Lin Yun eagerly volunteered.

The others breathed sighs of relief, mocking Lin Yun as a fool behind his back while pretending to care.

“Lin Yun, we didn’t force you. You asked for this yourself, so we can’t stop you...”

“Hey, it’s not so terrible down there. It’s just rumors. I knew someone who went down two years ago, and he’s fine now!”

“Yeah, I heard he even supports a third-tier celebrity and has a kid!”

“Sure, it’s tough down there, but the pay is good! One year down there equals twenty years up here! A few years there, and you could buy a house in downtown Starsea City!”

Lin Yun watched their hypocritical faces and sneered inwardly, though he smiled and agreed on the surface.