The Laboratory housed numerous mechanical lighting fixtures, but none burned particularly bright, casting the space in a gloomy, oppressive dimness.
The fourth floor of the Death Prison was no better, lit at night by only a single oil lamp.
The prison officials took turns standing guard on the fourth floor, though the honest Huo Jiang frequently found himself scheduled for the night shift.
On the night Li Ban returned to the Laboratory, Huo Jiang was on duty yet again.
However, he wasn't lounging on the bench like Zhang Baishan, nor did he immediately close his eyes to cultivate like Zhao Yu.
Instead, he knelt on one knee before Zhai Liu, reporting recent events in the Death Prison.
The focal point of his report was Li Ban's successful promotion to prison guard.
Seeing Zhai Liu nod in satisfaction, Huo Jiang voiced his confusion. "Why push Li Ban up the ranks, sir? Even with Gu Yueqi dead, we could have groomed someone else to communicate with the Cat Girl. Li Ban is an outsider, and we don't have any leverage over him. Can we really trust him to carry out the mission?"
Zhai Liu leaned back against the iron bars, avoiding Huo Jiang's gaze. He swallowed hard before answering, "We are out of time. Besides..."
"Li Ban also has luck on his side. Why else would the Cat Girl specifically spare him? And why didn't Tree-Person B spare Gu Yueqi?"
Just thinking about it made Zhai Liu's stomach gnaw with an even fiercer hunger.
The operative he had gone to such great lengths to plant in secret had been killed over an utterly ridiculous reason.
Forced into hiding as he was, finding a capable, unconnected subordinate to do his bidding was no easy feat!
Catching the foul tone in Zhai Liu's voice, Huo Jiang quickly bowed his head.
He shared the blame for this mess.
When Liu Mu first reported that Tree-Person B suspected them of murdering Tree-Person A to clear a spot for Liu Mu, Huo Jiang had only told Liu Mu to issue a simple warning. He hadn't believed Tree-Person B would actually dare make a move against them.
Who could have predicted that Tree-Person B would stalk Liu Mu and Qi for so long, convince himself he'd found leverage, and murder Qi outright!
If Liu Mu hadn't been so cautious—or if he had known more about the inner workings to begin with—he might have left behind actual evidence. Had that happened, explaining this disaster to Chief Warden Du An would have been exceedingly difficult.
Chief Warden Du An might be completely hands-off with day-to-day operations and ignore Zhai Liu altogether, but that didn't mean he would ignore Huo Jiang.
Since the new operative was locked in, Huo Jiang forced himself to look on the bright side.
"Sir, since the Cat Girl spared Li Ban's life, perhaps she might look out for him a bit. Their cooperation might go smoother than it did with Qi."
Zhai Liu nodded. "Mutual benefit is sometimes a far better motivator than threats. If she wants to keep Li Ban alive, she'll naturally take more initiative."
Huo Jiang lowered his head. "I only fear complications from Lord Du's end."
Zhai Liu dismissed the concern. "It's fine, I'll speak with him. That man cares only about his cultivation and climbing the ranks. He ignores everything else, so long as we provide the resources he needs."
Huo Jiang lowered his voice. "Sir, he has already taken a great deal from us."
"Heh, it's the price of a tiger descending to the plains—though Du An is bold and ruthless. He's the only one who still dared to work with me after learning my identity. Given that, tossing him a few scraps of meat is nothing compared to our grand scheme."
"Yes, sir," Huo Jiang agreed.
Just as they were speaking, the heavy iron chains suddenly rattled with a sharp clang.
Zhai Liu whipped around and stared dead at Huo Jiang. His facial features twisted wildly, his lips trembling.
"Get out!" he suddenly roared.
Zhai Liu's shift in demeanor was sudden, completely without warning.
But Huo Jiang acted as if he had been expecting it. Pushing off the ground with both hands and feet, he immediately threw himself backward.
He scrambled away in frantic haste, like a man fleeing for his life.
A second later, he saw Zhai Liu gripping the iron bars, forcefully squeezing his handsome face outward until his features deformed against the metal.
His eyes practically bulged from their sockets and his mouth gaped wide, looking as though he wanted to eat Huo Jiang alive!
In another cell, Lin Han covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. He curled himself into a tight ball, his entire body trembling violently.
The agonized roars remained sealed within the fourth-floor cell block.
Outside, not a single sound could be heard.
Li Ban woke from his sleep and headed outside to wash up, greeted by the bright light of day.
Today was his first day as a full-fledged prison guard.
He was no longer the rookie who had lost his mission prompt.
If this were a game of grinding levels, he would be at least level twenty by now—definitely ready to leave the beginner village.
Yet his mood was even worse now than during his initial terrified, clueless entry into the Wizard World. Splashing his face with freezing well water, Li Ban slapped his cheeks hard, doing his best to rouse his spirits.
Things had already reached this point. He could only—and absolutely must—carve out a path of survival for himself under this crushing pressure.
Wiping his face and looking up, Li Ban saw Liu Mu standing before him, leading another man in tow.
The man looked somewhat familiar.
"Li Ban, this is Shen Kong, transferred over from the Beast Arena."
Shen Kong?
Li Ban was certain he had never heard the name before.
But he had definitely seen the face.
Shen Kong bowed and scraped before Li Ban, as deferential and cautious as a slave.
Liu Mu ordered Shen Kong to get to work, then slung an arm around Li Ban's shoulders. "This Shen Kong is actually an apology gift from the Beast Arena," he whispered.
Li Ban's eyes widened. He pointed at himself. "An apology gift? For me?"
He wasn't into that kind of thing.
"They said that a few months ago, Shen Kong reported a slave named Ze as a mole. Since you and Ze hailed from the same hometown, he reported you while he was at it. Of course, he never expected that not only were you completely clean, but you'd also end up promoted to prison guard. Now he's landed himself in massive trouble."
Liu Mu chuckled, treating the whole affair as an amusing joke.
Li Ban laughed along, though his smile was born purely of fury.
So it was this guy who sold them out back then!
Ze was probably finished, though he could likely force a logout. He would just have to suffer a great deal of torment before he died.
Li Ban might be fine now, but he had nearly died several times over!
He had only survived this long because he had been exceedingly careful, and because he genuinely had no idea what his mission even was.
It was also because he had plotted meticulously, counter-killing Tree-Person A and throwing his lot in with Zhou Gu, allowing the man to use him.
His rage built the more he thought about it. Striving to keep his smile intact, Li Ban asked, "He reported Ze? Why?"
"By reporting him as a mole, Shen Kong earned a promotion. You know how chaotic the world is right now. Moles with unknown origins and unclear motives have cropped up across numerous factions. Everyone is on edge. If they suspect someone of being a mole, they torture them and kill them."
"It seems Ze is dead, then." Li Ban lowered his head, keeping any trace of grief from his face. "I don't know if he was actually a mole or not, but since Shen Kong dared to drag me down with him for no reason, he can just wait and see what happens to him."
Li Ban glanced back in the direction Shen Kong had gone, killing intent glinting in his eyes.
Liu Mu hurriedly patted his shoulder. "Hey now, I was entrusted by others for this. This kid might have been sent here for you to vent your frustrations, but be the bigger man and don't kill him. Just rough him up a bit and call it even."
He winked meaningfully. "Don't let it go to your head and follow in Tree-Person B's footsteps, alright?"
"I understand." Li Ban furrowed his brows. "People with an identity can't just act recklessly."
If you make a move, you have to do it like Zhou Gu—without leaving a single trace.
Given that Du An had just subjected Tree-Person B to death by a thousand cuts as a warning to everyone else, Li Ban had to tread even more carefully.
He couldn't afford to rush.
"He might escape death, but he won't escape punishment. I'll teach him exactly who he shouldn't provoke!"
Li Ban withdrew the murderous intent from his eyes, though his expression remained ugly.
He had the capital to back up his words.
After completing the supposedly impossible promotion task in just a single month, everyone knew he had earned Du An's favor.
As a result, Li Ban was currently a hot commodity in the Death Prison.
Even Liu Mu wouldn't offend him lightly.
"Good, good! I'll help you teach him a lesson!"
Liu Mu believed Li Ban had dropped the idea of murder.
If he wanted to vent, then let him vent. As long as nobody died, it was fine.
Liu Mu had only taken Shen Kong's money to protect his life; he hadn't promised the kid a comfortable time.
Having accomplished his task, Liu Mu walked away perfectly satisfied.
Remaining where he stood, Li Ban considered how he might torture Shen Kong before finally killing him—a small way to relax his own frayed nerves.
However, Li Ban had no idea that on his very first night in the Death Prison, Shen Kong lay on his small cot in the servant quarters and—just as Li Ban had done before him—triggered a temporary logout privilege.
The scene shifted to a small Laboratory of roughly the same scale, though containing only two Experimental Capsules.
Shen Kong fluidly sat up from within his Experimental Capsule and immediately turned to the laboratory assistant, Chen Dong. "I need to see the Director," he said.
There was no need for Chen Dong to call him; the Director stepped out from behind the mechanical doors on his own.
"How did it go?" the Director asked with concern.
"Successfully transferred into the Death Prison," Shen Kong said, his mouth splitting into a wide grin.