Prison Break Research Club

“This is the harbor where the transport ships dock. On the 1st, 11th, and 21st of every month, a transport arrives at Shattered Lake Prison to restock supplies and deliver death row inmates. The transport ships are medium cargo vessels, escorted by at least one squad of Bloodmad Hunters. The average strength of a Bloodmad Hunter is around One or Two Wings. Unless they're transporting a prisoner of exceptional importance, a Three-Wing hunter captain won't show up...” Watching the prison guard puffing away on a smoking pipe not far off, Yaxiu couldn't resist whispering, “Shouldn't we stand a bit further away while discussing this?” Igola glanced at him. “No one will suspect you. This is my business.” “Business?” “When you two first met, didn't Igola invite you to break out of prison with him?” Langna stood outside the yellow line along the shore, gazing out over the tranquil, unrippled lake. The clear blue sky was reflected on the water's surface, and silvery ripples occasionally leaped across the lake, painting an idyllic natural landscape—provided one didn't know those 'flashes of silver' were finger sharks capable of crunching through bones like potato chips. “He did, but wasn't that just an excuse to lure an inexperienced fool onto his hook?” “While I appreciate your accurate self-assessment, please don't insult my professionalism.” Igola shot Yaxiu a look. “I never lie. If you check the *Club Directory* in the library, you'll find the club I founded right there on page two, line thirteen—the Prison Break Research Club.” A flurry of questions sprang up in young Yaxiu's mind. “How could the prison allow... There are actually clubs in this prison?! Why on earth would you start a club like that?” “The cleverest hunter often poses as prey,” Igola remarked coolly. “When I first met you, didn't I seem enthusiastic, like an eager friend trying to recruit a new comrade?” “Most newly arrived death row inmates, no matter how cautious, are intrigued by the intelligence I share. And I don't just talk—I genuinely research how to break out, and I even take them around to scout the terrain.” “Once they realize through our interactions that I'm just an idiot obsessed with prison breaks, they gradually let their guard down. Before they know it, they've been lured by me straight into the abyss.” “I am the trap, and this club is my bait.” Yaxiu commented, “That sounds like a slut pretending to be innocent just to fleece perverted old men...” “I'm beginning to doubt the chip's speech control capabilities. No matter how you slice it, what you just said crossed the threshold into distributing obscenity, didn't it?” Igola replied calmly. “In any case, you don't need to worry about the guards' eyes at all. I've brought people on scouting trips like this over a dozen times before.” Yaxiu blinked. “Is that your scheme? Pretending to plot an escape every single day, using prison breaks as bait to entrap new inmates, so that when you actually do break out, no one will suspect you're doing it for real?” Igola gave Yaxiu a rather surprised look, then broke into an elegant smile. “To think you'd picture me in such a dark, convoluted light, Yaxiu. It truly wounds me.” “Bah.” Having finished scouting the harbor of Shattered Lake Prison, the four turned back toward the interior. It was worth noting that although they had reached the perimeter of Shattered Lake Prison, they had never once set foot 'outside'—Shattered Lake Prison covered the entire island. Except for a few glass skylights that allowed sunlight to filter down, whenever death row inmates looked up, all they could see was a ceiling. Even the Sea-Watching Rooftop was covered by a sun-shielding dome. Not a single inch of the entire island belonged to the 'outside of the prison.' Though unprovable, the chips on the inmates' napes likely owed much of their tight control to this ubiquitous ceiling. “The place we're heading next is the greatest fruit of my investigations into Shattered Lake Prison. I've never brought anyone here before. You're the first lucky souls to share this secret.” Before Yaxiu could feel any genuine gratitude, Langna murmured flatly, “Do you say that to every single one of your victims? Are you going to follow it up with, 'So you must swear to keep all my secrets'?” Igola looked somewhat astonished. “Gourmet, how did you know that line? Reasonably speaking, anyone who has heard it is bound by a Contract sorcery spirit and forced to keep my secrets without revealing a word. There's no way you should know.” “Walls have ears, Igola. As luck would have it, I happen to be a body sorcerer with exceptionally sharp hearing.” “Understood. Next time I do dirty work, I'll be more discreet—assuming I continue living in this prison, that is.” Yaxiu glanced at Ronald beside Langna. Ronald was very quiet today, led along by Langna without uttering a word. After their conversation yesterday, Ronald and Langna had engaged in another death match. The specifics could be compared to preparing shredded chicken, and the outcome was blatantly obvious: if yesterday's Ronald had been a reluctant servant bound to Langna, today Ronald was practically an accessory on Langna's arm. While hardly looking joyful, he no longer showed any resistance. The parts of him that belonged to 'himself' were dwindling, while the parts belonging to 'Langna' were steadily increasing. One day, when he emerged from the treatment room, every regenerated part of his body would be etched with the name 'Langna.' Perhaps just as Igola had said, Ronald was in far too deep. He believed commanding Langna with love was a victory, unaware that it was actually Langna's lethal counterattack. Love was a terrifying power. You could use it, but you would also be used by it; while you gazed into it, it was gazing back into you; you thought you could master it, but soon you would become its slave. Once the seed of love sprouted, all things would eventually be parasitized by it. Even so, in secret, Ronald still retained a survival instinct and remained determined to break out. Fortunately, Langna's ritual couldn't be performed frequently; otherwise, Ronald would have been reduced to dregs within days. According to Igola's investigation, the shortest tenure of Langna's 'friends' was at least a month. That meant Ronald should be able to hold out until the second Blood Moon Trial arrived—which was more than enough. After all, Yaxiu only needed a temporary teammate. As for whether Ronald could resist Langna after breaking out, that would depend on his luck. “However, I never lie,” Igola said with a smile. “This place truly is the key to our escape. I dare say it's just as vital as Yaxiu's purification miracle... We're here. This is the place.” *Just as vital as my Severing Self miracle?* *Could it be a secret passage out of Shattered Lake Prison? An armory? Or maybe...* Yaxiu looked up in great anticipation, only to see a clear green sign mounted above the room ahead— “Men's Restroom”