Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The pathway to the third basement level of the frontier prison was separate from the other two levels, but not entirely soundproof. Walking down the damp, spiraling staircase, the unrest of inmates on the other side of the wall was clearly audible.

The treatment of prisoners in Langyan Shelter was poor, a reflection of the apocalypse's harsh realities where even those outside struggled for food, making the conditions inside, for criminals, even more dire, nearly treated as enslaved beasts.

Guard Kama used her work badge to unlock the outermost door of the third basement, where two rows of fully armed soldiers stood along the interior hallway, with a leading officer introducing himself as belonging to the 7th Border Defense Squad of the shelter, tasked with ensuring the medical workers' safety during this mission.

The soldiers in Langyan Shelter were assigned specific functional areas, starting from Captain Zhao Zhiyong's escort team Wu Yin initially encountered, to Xie Linyuan's affiliated Vanguard Team, and now this Guard Team, specially responsible for the shelter's internal security.

Wu Yin, without further ado, distributed the examination forms, then took the lead down the deserted corridor with the form for Xie Linyuan, followed closely by two tall, armed soldiers. Soon after, Kama, having instructed her team, quickly caught up.

The main theme of the third basement was a dull gray. Under the dim, eerie light, the spacious corridors were flanked by plain gray walls dotted with iron doors that blended into the walls, making it impossible to see directly what was confined within.

Each door represented a cell, marked with a nameplate detailing the detainee's number, featuring a 10-inch sliding inspection window and a lower slot for passing meals and other items.

Wu Yin glanced at the cell numbers nonchalantly, noting that most were vacant, with a damp, rotting smell permeating the air. His slightly worn old shoes echoed on the rough concrete as he walked deeper.

The first few rooms were eerily silent, but peculiarly, as he passed one, Wu Yin heard purring sounds, like... a cat being scratched under its chin.

He slowed, curious about the source of the noise.

Suddenly, intense banging from the neighboring cell erupted, growing more frantic and agitated, shifting to chaotic thuds as if a deranged lunatic was raging behind the door, occasionally mixed with wild, hysterical laughter.

Daring to scare me? Wu Yin noted the cell's detainee number with a vengeful look, committing it to memory with the intent to retaliate if given the chance.

Unexpectedly, Kama beside him reacted even more vehemently; at the sound of the screams, she spun around and viciously kicked the door, shouting, "Shut up, scum! You idiot with a mouth for an anus!"

Wu Yin: "..."

The madman behind the door paused at her angry rebuke, but soon resumed his bizarre howling and laughter, eerily like a wailing infant.

Wu Yin silently quickened his pace, determined for a swift resolution, convinced that not a single sane person existed here, and even if there were, they'd likely turn insane with time.

It wasn't until he reached the very end of the long, gloomy corridor that Wu Yin saw the number Z1932 on the last door. He stopped, faintly hearing heavy breathing and the clinking of chains, but when he listened again, all was silent.

Wu Yin stepped back half a step to the side, signaling Kama to open the door.

The female guard, with a stony face seemingly in a worse mood than when they first met, smoothly swiped her work card, entered the password, and scanned her fingerprint before turning back to Wu Yin with a smirk, "Lucky you, Professor, you've got the toughest one to deal with."

The heavy iron door slid open to the side, revealing another gate of iron bars that needed a key to unlock.

Beyond the bars, Wu Yin lifted his gaze to peer inside the cell.

Dark, damp, filled with the stench of decay and mold, and the overwhelming smell of blood. Turning on the incandescent light, the silver-haired man they hadn't seen for days was kneeling in the center of the room, his arms suspended high by chains. His clothes, the same as days ago, were far from clean, stained with mud and dried blood, torn and crumpled, clinging to his body.

Besides, his body was covered in wounds, some crusted over and others fresh with blood, bruised and battered with hardly an inch of unmarred skin.

The barred gate was also unlocked from the outside, Wu Yin stepped inside, and throughout, Xie Linyuan hung his head in disarray, his long hair messy, showing no reaction.

"Why...?" Wu Yin gestured to Kama to indicate Xie Linyuan's condition—far worse than when they had parted days ago.

"He was in his contamination phase," Kama explained impatiently, "Put it this way, until yesterday morning, he was a mutant that bit anyone on sight. Just woke up, so when I say you got the toughest one, his aggressiveness is the highest of all the monsters here, with an 80% fatality rate for doctors conducting the examination."

The deliberate scaremongering didn't have the desired effect; the blond researcher's face showed no fear or panic, and his tone remained even and unflustered: "Then you should have tied him to a bed, not like this..."

Wu Yin, curious and oblivious to the mood, pondered for a few seconds before offering what he thought was an appropriate descriptor: "Degrading?"

Kama's patience ran out: "Professor, he killed six of our guards in just two months of being here. Are we supposed to respectfully ask him to lie down on a bed for a good night's sleep?"

"Ah..." Wu Yin understood, "So you're settling scores?"

The guard let out a snort of laughter and turned her head away, remaining silent.

Wu Yin moved forward with a toolbox in hand, and as he approached, the two guards from the guard team quickly loaded their tranquilizers, aiming at Z1932, who was also tightly bound by chains even in unconsciousness.

Crouching down, his lab coat dragging on the ground, Wu Yin deliberately placed his hand under Xie Linyuan's jaw, lifting his face.

Behind the alloy bite guard, the face full of black veins was now clear, his left eye still half-open beneath a dark display screen, while the previously bulging right eye had returned to normal size, quietly lurking under the eyelid.

Xie Linyuan's complexion was poor, with dark circles under his right eye and pale, chapped lips, indicating he hadn't drunk water in a long time.

As expected, Wu Yin saw no flickering red light on Xie Linyuan's left eye display; the real-time monitoring was off.

He surmised that during Z1932's contamination chaos phase, superiors must have completely shut down his mechanical war god to prevent system disarray and other issues. The prison authorities were evidently well-versed in the procedure, bold enough to retaliate against Xie Linyuan.

Only in the absence of surveillance could they inflict non-fatal superficial injuries on Z1932, which could be dismissed as self-inflicted during his chaotic phase if questioned.

Even though Xie Linyuan was part of the vanguard squad's special operations group, a test subject traded for with a hefty sum, in the eyes of everyone in the shelter, he was merely a weapon, an object, not a person.

Who would argue with colleagues over a piece of communal equipment wearing out?

……

Without surveillance, resolving the following matters would be much easier.

A few seconds later, Wu Yin saw Xie Linyuan's eyeball tremble beneath his eyelid, then, like in slow motion, his light-colored eyelashes lifted, revealing the crimson eyes beneath. The drowsiness in Xie Linyuan's eyes seemed somewhat feigned to Wu Yin, who squinted, trying to pry apart his dry, stuck lips, his voice genuinely hoarse and weak: "…Who are you?"

"I'm Palmer, the doctor here to conduct your physical examination," Wu Yin declared boldly. He bent down to open the toolbox, then was pleasantly surprised to find he didn't know how to use any of the instruments inside.

"Hello… Doctor Palmer," Xie Linyuan responded with the same polite humility as when they first met.

After greeting, he closed his eyes again, exhausted, taking a while before fully regaining consciousness.

Just as he fully regained consciousness and noticed a guard and two soldiers in the room, Jie Linyuan suddenly erupted with intense aggressiveness, struggling furiously with eyes bloodshot, glaring at Kama not far away, baring his teeth and threateningly hissing at her, the heavy chains on his wrists clanking with his movements.

Kama felt her authority in the prison challenged by a creature that currently couldn’t even speak, a monstrous entity neither human nor ghost. Her facial muscles twitched with anger as she drew her stun baton from behind her waist.

But before she could step forward to teach this reckless creature a lesson, the blond-haired researcher abruptly stood up, placing himself between her and Z1932, even spreading his arms in a protective stance, frowning and demanding, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Professor,” Kama unapologetically pointed her stun baton at Palmer's face and then at Z1932, “A dog that bites the hand that feeds it needs to be beaten to learn its lesson.”

“This is clearly a case of post-traumatic stress disorder! Don’t be too harsh!” Palmer accused loudly. He had only heard this term from a colleague the day before, never expecting to apply it so soon and so aptly.

Kama found Palmer’s righteous indignation amusing, incredulously retorting, “So what?”

Palmer glanced back at Jie Linyuan, who was still in a distressed and confused state, took a deep breath, and said, “Your presence here only exacerbates his agitation, making it impossible for me to examine him... Leave us, let him calm down.”

Kama dismissively said, “That’s against protocol. We must be present during the examination for your safety.”

“And your actions are in accordance with protocol?” Palmer, with a stern face and a meaningful look at the female guard, hinted at the abuse Jie Linyuan had endured, his voice cold as ice, “Leave, or after I leave, I’ll expose everything that happened here to the public, letting the chief and the warden decide what’s within protocol.”

Kama’s expression cooled, her thumb lightly flicking the stun baton to an active mode, buzzing in her hand.

Palmer met her gaze without fear, adding credibility to his threat, “The word of an associate professor of a research institute may not be worth its weight in gold, but it certainly won’t be as insignificant as a pebble in a pond. What do you think, Officer Kama?”

For a moment, Kama genuinely wished to see this fool dead right there.

She narrowed her eyes, sinisterly asking, “You want to confront us guards over such a thing?”

“I’m not intentionally making enemies here,” Palmer explained seriously, “This is merely the responsibility of a doctor towards his patient.”

His words were sanctimoniously grandiose, radiant with a saintly aura, embodying a moral standard so lofty it seemed detached from worldly concerns, like a celestial father or a pure white lotus.

Kama was rendered speechless, and even Jie Linyuan, feigning ignorance behind Palmer, almost couldn't maintain his act.

"We really are..." Xie Linyuan widened his blood-red pupils, filled with mockery and enthusiasm.

"...indeed, birds of a feather."

"Do you understand?" Wu Yin spoke seriously, "If you've understood, then leave and close the door behind you."