Vol-2: 109. The White Ring and the Black Sun (Part 1)

109. The White Ring and the Black Sun (Part 1)

Ring, ring, ring—

The warden of Shiranui Prison, Ozawa Izumi Taro, was a bit surprised. He didn't usually get calls here, and if it were a family member visiting, it should be directed to the front desk, not directly to the office.

So without thinking, this must be a call from someone higher up. He didn't dare slack off and quickly answered the phone: "Hello, Shiranui Prison, this is Ozawa."

"SCIA (Tianhuan Intelligence Bureau), how's the situation at the prison?"

The person responding sounded urgent, not even bothering with formalities. But when Ozawa heard their identity, he didn't dare to mind and quickly said:

"Ah, so it's SCIA. Sorry for the rudeness. The situation here at the prison is great, the prisoners are all obedient. In this long-term low-temperature environment, they can't revolt at all, they're scrambling to do labor every day."

However, the SCIA agent didn't bother to listen to his compliments or praise for his management, coldly leaving just one sentence:

"We received intel that the Akaban Squad is starting to gather. We suggest you prepare yourselves, they might be planning a prison break."

"Huh, really? A prison break? That's no small matter."

Ozawa Izumi Taro said this, but he wasn't too concerned:

"Even so, they wouldn't be that foolish, right? This prison is a fortress built with old-school architectural techniques, as solid as iron. Less than 10 kilometers away, there's a synthetic brigade. No matter how you think about it, with Akaban Squad's less than 2,000 soldiers, they wouldn't dare attack us, right?"

"The 107th Synthetic Brigade has been redeployed for military operations. That's all I can say."

After that, the other party hung up, seemingly having more pressing matters to handle.

"Hey, redeployed? Military operations? Are they going to war with Red Arrow?"

The warden shouted for a while, but the other side had already hung up. He slammed down the phone, growing more irritated the more he thought about it.

Given Shiranui Prison's level, it should be on par with Frost-Plated's Elven Island. However, the latter is a top national priority, with extremely high confidentiality, and its warden is a prominent figure, while he's just a regular civil servant who even needs to beg the finance minister for funds to expand.

And now, an intelligence officer could even lord over him, speaking so rudely. This made Ozawa Izumi Taro quite upset, so he didn't take the threat they mentioned seriously.

What a joke, Akaban Squad's core member, Gretorvo Nighsong, is imprisoned here. Even without the help of the brigade, this prison is an intimidating fortress. Even if the water and electricity were cut off, they still have at least half a year's worth of ammunition and supplies stored. If necessary, they could even mobilize the prisoners as a punitive force to fight and die.

Besides, Akaban Squad's record is pretty mediocre. Without Gretorvo, relying on that former pilot, Xia Jianjing, won't amount to much.

"A mere group of ragtag soldiers, nothing to worry about."

Ozawa Izumi Taro's contempt was justified. On one hand, Akaban Squad's anti-war movement had already failed. On the other hand, living in a remote mountain area, he naturally wasn't aware that SCIA was overwhelmed due to the chaos at the Kowloon Gathering site.

In fact, under such circumstances, anyone who thought there might be an issue would be the strange one.

"Calm down, SCIA folks are always like this, arrogant and full of themselves. It's nothing unusual." The secretary quickly agreed, "Besides, with Akaban Squad's manpower, how could they be our match?"

"Exactly." Ozawa Izumi Taro crossed his arms and muttered, "SCIA is just making a fuss. Could something big have happened? But that shouldn't be, right? Now is the Kowloon Gathering, the national focus should only be on Jingan Capital. The whole country is on high alert, how could Akaban Squad dare make a move now?"

"Speaking of which," Ozawa Izumi Taro thought of something and casually asked, "What's the situation with that Gretorvo Nighsong?"

The secretary replied, "Eating, resting, and working cooperatively. He even chats and plays cards with the other prisoners. He seems to be enjoying himself."

Ozawa Izumi Taro rubbed his chin:

"...It's strange, with that slop and millet buns, he's a near-Jama level powerhouse, working ten hours a day, yet he hasn't collapsed from a lack of energy."

"Maybe his physique is special—though, given how starved he is by now, he shouldn't have the strength to resist."

"I still feel it's not safe."

Ozawa Izumi Taro knew deep down that the chances of an external breach were slim, so it was worth paying more attention to preventing an internal prison riot.

Especially since many of these self-proclaimed powerful individuals were held here.

"How about this?" The secretary thought for a moment and suggested, "It's almost noon. I'll have the kitchen prepare some food with trace amounts of toxins. They've been starving for so long, they won't be able to resist."

"But you can't poison them to death," Ozawa Izumi Taro reminded him. "This is a law-abiding society now. If the prisoners die, we'll lose funding, and what if it disrupts the factory's production? You need to think carefully."

"Leave it to me." The secretary smiled. "This is Hojo family's medicine, there won't be any problems. It'll just weaken them, not kill them."

"Just pulling the tiger's teeth is enough, it still needs to jump through hoops. Remember, every prisoner is an important asset to this prison. We must take good care of them."

"Understood."

"Is she still not coming out?"

Dim sunlight streamed through the cracks, casting Xia Jianjing's shadow on the ground, stretched so long that it didn't even look human.

"Ever since she came back from the outside, she's locked herself in the room. At this point, according to the script, shouldn't she be making some speech to stir people up or something?"

Xia Jianjing raised her hand and pressed it against her bulging veins. Deep silver coursed through them, faintly visible with each breath, as black crow feathers sprouted from her shoulder blades and slowly fell.

"Big Sis isn't that type of person. She's not good with words, doesn't understand speeches. That's something Gretorvo used to handle—Big Sis just handles the fighting. She won't say much until we rescue Big Bro Gretorvo. Then she'll start talking a lot."

—Whispers, murmurs, soft calls.

Xia Jianjing collapsed onto the ground, her pupils shrinking and spinning continuously. Her body kept shifting, muscles swelling and shrinking, rapidly dehydrating, then swelling again. After several cycles, her spine began producing new blood endlessly, blood filled with great power and sentience.

She had thought that awakening her powers after being infected by the Calamity was the most painful experience. But the mutations and the sense of detachment she was enduring now were hundreds of times more terrifying.

The voice, as intimate as a mother's, made her let go of all thoughts and caution, making her want to rush into its embrace. A flood of information that didn't belong to this world was etched deep into her mind like a brand.

Countless people looked at her, smiling at her. In their eyes, there was neither Xia Jianjing nor a human being, but a crow with eerie wings standing on two legs. Just seeing it made the word '[Thief]' rise up in one's heart.

They told her to abandon this ridiculous reality. It was time to embrace the true society.

She had to give up... she couldn't take it anymore. The real world and that hidden existence intertwined and surfaced. Her perception of the world was constantly being destroyed and reshaped.

Death, hunger, war, plague, discrimination, prejudice, disparity, class, poverty, ignorance, shortsightedness, suffering, hatred, jealousy.

All the sins committed by the people of the Azure Starn and the existing negative phenomena were laid bare before her by that society, causing an intense wave of negativity and despair to rise in her heart. The more she hated reality, the stronger the pull of that society became.

Xia Jianjing couldn't imagine what kind of person wouldn't be filled with despair about this world.

This world is fucking rotten.

On one hand, people are starving to death because they can't afford food, while on the other hand, some are pouring milk into the drains. On one hand, people are dying in cold, damp trenches, while on the other hand, some are reciting poems about love and the moon in warm palaces. On one hand, child workers have their legs chopped off by lathes, while on the other hand, some are complaining that people aren't working hard enough.

Educated people just think about emigrating, while illiterate farmers and workers foolishly dream of national prosperity.

Fuck reality.

That entity called society didn't even say anything tempting. It just showed her the reality, and without any exaggeration, it had already broken her.

She didn't want to get up anymore. She wanted to stop here, to never fight again.

Xia Jianjing leaned against the wall, the silver blood in her arteries surging more violently, and her consciousness gradually crumbled.

"I'm not going to let those bastards order me to go slaughter poor people from another country."

The image of Gretorvo Nighsong holding a calico cat still lingered before her eyes. He gently stroked the injured cat, his body exuding a glow of life that gently healed the little creature.

"If we win the war, the honor goes to the lords and corporations. Only blood and scars are left for poor people like us."

His gaze was so gentle, warm like fire, yet his tone was colder than deep water, covering that resolute heart:

"If we lose the war, it's people like us who die. We'll be cursed as butchers by the enemy, and cowards by our own people."

The boy of yesterday had been forged by fire and deep water, finally becoming a steel warrior.

"I don't want you or me to become monsters like that."

Bang!

Faced with the Tianhuan people's suppression of anti-war civilians, he simply picked up his shield and, without hesitation, charged against the crowd, using his flesh and blood to block the tank:

"Stand behind me, you won't get hurt anymore."

......

"Gretorvo, you're an idiot, a hopeless idiot."

Xia Jianjing covered her eyes, her neck swaying slightly as she slowly stood up from her death throes.

"But smart people will never be your friends. Smart people always look down on rats like us in the sewers."