A War Between Spies Chapter 109-124

Yang Yi's fist strength was still insufficient. If it was Zhang Yong, a punch from him would have sent the Black man to the ground.

By contrast, his punch only caused the Black man to retreat a few steps. In fact, the Black man retreated because of the pain not because of the force of Yang Yi's punch.

"Argh!" The Black man fell screaming on the ground after Yang Yi kicked him. Yang Yi followed up by attempting to grab the Black man's leg but failed to do so.

Although Yang Yi had spent a lot of time training, it was not easy to execute the moves in actual combat. Yang Yi might have failed to grab his opponent but he was also fortunate that no attack landed on him as he had managed to step back and avoid a kick aimed at him. He then charged towards the fallen Black man again and stepped on his thigh.

"Attack! Destroy him!" the Black man who was being assaulted bellowed out, and a thin man, who was nearby, immediately took out a knife that had been concealed on his waist.

Yang Yi sidestepped and launched a thunderous punch at the Black man who had pulled out the knife. The punch sent the Black man flying backward.

He felt rather cool because the sensation was totally different than when he was training. If body mass was to be compared, Yang Yi's size was actually much smaller than his opponent. However, he had the absolute advantage in this fight.

Yang Yi was like a tiger in a flock of sheep. All the Black men cried out in pain as they were ferociously assaulted by Yang Yi. None of them could even land a hit on Yang Yi.

Very quickly, all the Black men were lying on the ground groaning in pain. This time around though, none of the guards shot Yang Yi. Yang Yi had also not caused any severe injuries this time around. At most, there would be swelling and pain for a few days.

Originally, Yang Yi wanted to practice Mian Zhang Quan, but the martial art had a strict requirement of technical know-how. Yang Yi had to first be very familiar with all the joints of the human body. A real master would know how to apply sufficient force. Unfortunately, Yang Yi had not reached that level yet. Given his comprehension, his brute strength would only cause injuries like fractured bones.

Yang Yi felt very refreshed after he defeated all his opponents. He saw Collins running over to pick up the knife on the ground and walking toward the Black man who was the leader.

"Stop!" Yang Yi exclaimed and glared at Collins as he asked, "What do think you are doing?"

"I want to stab him!" Collins answered sounding justified but baffled at the same time.

Thus, Yang Yi asked in bafflement, "Why do you need to stab him? I already knocked him unconscious."

"So, I shouldn't stab him? That's fine, but I thought we should teach them an unforgettable lesson."

Yang Yi just waved his hand and indifferently said, "Let's end it here. Or do you want to be sent to solitary confinement?"

Collins looked rather confused, "Of course, I will be the one going into solitary confinement. What's the use of us underlings if the boss needs to be held accountable?"

Yang Yi was, of course, overjoyed to hear this. He felt that Collins was indeed a good kid. Collins was sensible enough to know the responsibility of an underling even though their bond wasn't strong yet.

The group of Black men had a total of two knives, and they were both now in Yang Yi's group's possession. Collins quickly hid the two knives. Rodriguez who had just returned was shocked by the scene in front of him.

"The fight here is over. Have you found your enemies?"

"Found them. They are over there! Boss, why aren't the guards taking action?"

Yang Yi looked at all the guards who had turned to look elsewhere and immediately kicked one of the Black men, "Hey, what are you guys lying on the ground for?"

The Black man indignantly replied, "We're having fun wrestling. Yes, we're just wrestling…"

At this time, a guard walked over and asked from afar, "Hey, what are you guys doing?"

"Sir, we're just sparring. I don't think you would want to be involved in such a trivial matter, right?"

"Bastards, get up now!"

The group of Black inmates immediately scrambled to get up. Once they were up, they noticed the presence of a guard and immediately turned around and left as if nothing had happened.

"It's good that you guys are smart. Let's go." Yang Yi instructed his underlings and walked arrogantly towards Hell's Angels.

There were a total of ten White males chatting and laughing loudly. This group of men looked rather similar as if they came from the same mold. All of them were middle-aged men, had beards and looked rather fat.  

Just because someone was fat didn't mean that they couldn't fight. When it came to fighting, the fat men with big bellies might be even stronger than men with muscle. Moreover, they were also more resistant to hits because of the layer of fat.

Looking at the blockheads, Yang Yi felt that his next task was going to be absolutely impossible. However, skill was still the most important in a fight. Regardless of how much strength one had, it was meaningless if the target was never hit. Thus, Yang Yi wouldn't allow himself to be surrounded. He had to quickly defeat all of his opponents, or he would have to fight while on the move. He would have to depend on his nimble footsteps to defeat one opponent at a time.

He started attacking without speaking because it was pointless to spout out a bunch of nonsense. As Yang Yi approached, a White man who had two beards actually nodded at him while the rest of the group just stared at him.

Once Yang Yi arrived in front of the group, a very large man with his arms folded sized Yang Yi up before he contemptuously said, "Little monkey, is there something you need?"

Yang Yi's expression turned cold as he said, "You dare to scold me! You're looking to be beaten!"

After that, he attacked with a kick aimed at the man's belly. However, he wasn't able to knock the man to the ground. With his body bent over in pain, the man roared, "Kill him!"

Since Yang Yi had trained his muscles to be more flexible, it was very easy for him to execute high kicks. Therefore, he was very fond of using high kicks because they looked very cool.

Yang Yi charged forward again and launched a high kick at another robust man. He managed to catch another one of his opponents off guard. Even still, there were quite a number of fat men who had not been defeated yet.

After he defeated another opponent, the remaining opponents took out their knives. The eight men holding their knives surrounded Yang Yi.

Yang Yi's expression turned ugly looking at so many knives. Thus, he turned around and fled.

It would just be waiting for death if he didn't flee. Given the continuous onslaught of knife stabs if he was surrounded, he would be finished if he couldn't dodge a single stab.

At that moment, Rodriguez who was instructed to stay behind immediately took out his knife and charged forward.

Yang Yi was shocked. He was now very sure Rodriguez was definitely not feigning it and was in fact really devoted!

Yang Yi dragged Rodriguez who was holding a knife along with him and shouted, "Are you stupid? Run!"

Rodriguez almost fell when Yang Yi dragged him along. He looked rather foolish when Yang Yi shouted at him. On a side note, not only was Rodriguez devoted, he was also very obedient. He also started running. In fact, he ran even faster than Yang Yi.

Yang Yi was rendered speechless as he saw Rodriguez's back rapidly getting further away. Although they were running away, it wasn't with the intention to flee.

Wouldn't it be seeking death if he allowed himself to be surrounded by eight men with knives? Given how bulky those eight men from Hell's Angels were, they would have quickly separated after running for a short time. The plan was to outrun the Hell's Angels and then defeat them one by one.

Very soon, Rodriguez disappeared from his sight. This temporarily stunned Yang Yi, but he recovered quickly. He turned his head and noticed that the bulky men had indeed separated during the chase.

Yang Yi was currently in a quandary. His fist strength had yet to reach a powerful enough state. As such, he wouldn't be able to quickly take out his opponent with just a few strikes. It would put him in a precarious situation if he couldn't immobilize his opponent within those few strikes. Of course, he had a method to quickly defeat his opponents if he resorted to deadly strikes. Yang Yi could attack certain body parts like the throat, eyes, or the groin, or he could use grappling techniques to break an arm or a leg. However, the repercussions for using such moves was too severe.

If he had Zhang Yong's body, he wouldn't be facing this issue in the first place. One strike to the rib by Zhang Yong would knock his opponent on the ground.

Consequently, Yang Yi was beset with a common problem that all novices face: he was indecisive about what moves he should use to continue the fight.

"Dumbass!" the curse came from Zhang Yong. It wasn't exactly loud but it was loud enough for Yang Yi to hear it.

Although Zhang Yong's voice was full of contempt, Yang Yi quickly realized what Zhang Yong was trying to imply. Was his own life more important, or was his opponent's' life more important? Once this question had been resolved, there wouldn't be any more indecisiveness.

Thus, Yang Yi turned around to face the nearest opponent. His opponent slashed downward with his knife. Yang Yi's stomach would have been split open if the attack had landed, but Yang Yi sidestepped the blow to the left and retaliated with a punch to his opponent's throat. In just a single moment, the bulky man landed on the ground incapacitated without any energy to roll around in pain.

Once again, Yang Yi retreated before he leaped toward another bulky man. Yang Yi used his right hand to launch a palm strike at the opponent's eye and followed it with a left-handed strike to the back of his head. Thus, another opponent was brought down before he could even utter a sound.

The situation quickly reversed after Yang Yi had come to a resolution and started using deadly strikes. The Hell's Angels quickly realized where the problem lay: although all of them had very extensive street fighting experience, they couldn't match up when it came to a professional fight.

Yang Yi started to chase after his opponents instead. As long as he had the space to maneuver around, he was able to defeat his opponents one after another.

Very quickly, there were only four Hell's Angel left standing. One of the bulky men quickly shouted in panic, "Stop! Please stop!"

Yang Yi momentarily stopped but soon after wondered why he should listen to his enemies. Just when Yang Yi was about to continue his assault, the bulky man exclaimed in fear, "Hey, we haven't provoked you in any way!"

"Err…"

Yang Yi took a glance backward and saw Rodriguez running back towards him with a face full of impatience. He pointed at Rodriguez and said, "But you did mess with my little brother."

Collins and the others watched from afar. It was only Rodriguez who rushed back. He was in tears when he looked at Yang Yi and asked with both his arms spread wide, "Didn't you say run? Then why are you fighting now? I'm not a coward, okay?"

At this moment, Kerry covered his eyes with his hands while Collins turned and looked away.

Yang Yi had discovered Rodriguez was definitely a real treasure in this fight. However, the current mood didn't last long. He pulled Rodriguez beside him and pointed straight at his face, "Have a look. Such a simple man and you guys actually bullied him. Do you guys even have any sense of shame?"

The bulky White man shook his head as he took a step backward and innocently proclaimed, "We haven't. I don't remember hitting him. This isn't right. You can't just start a fight for no apparent reason!"

The group of men were just being hypocritical. When they had the upper hand, they would start a fight whenever it pleased them. However, they claimed it was unreasonable when the situation was turned around.

Yang Yi retorted angrily, "Fuck you! Is there a need for reasons when it comes to a fight?" He then shoved Rodriguez aside and planned to continue the fight.

At that moment, a guard finally shouted, "Everyone on the ground right now! Otherwise, I will start shooting!"

Now that a few of the inmates were lying on the ground motionless, the guards could no longer ignore the situation. The whole situation would turn dire if anyone ended up dead.

When the bulky White man heard the guard's instruction, he quickly laid on the ground and warned Yang Yi, "This matter is not over yet! Let me tell you, it's not over!"

He had originally intended to feign weakness and beg for mercy. Now that the guard had taken control of the whole situation, he changed his mind because Yang Yi wouldn't be able to act against them anymore.

Yang Yi laid on the ground too because he had no intention of eating more rubber bullets.

Right at that moment, Rodriguez squatted on the floor with both arms raised and declared loudly, "I did it! I did it! It has nothing to do with anyone else!"

When the guards with guns rushed over, Rodriguez looked at one of the guards and claimed, "I'm the culprit."

However, the guards totally ignored Rodriguez and immediately went over to check out the inmates who were lying on the ground. One of the guards looked at Yang Yi and asked in frustration, "What are we supposed to do now?"

"They should be fine. They just fainted. "

The guard continued to look at Yang Yi doubtfully. Thus, Yang Yi took the initiative to say, "Not a problem, you can just drag me off to solitary confinement."

Rodriguez at this moment at the side haughtily said, "It's me. The whole situation was because of me! It had nothing to do with my boss!"

Thus, the guard pressed Rodriguez down and handcuffed him. As for Yang Yi, he was totally ignored.

What arrangement is this? Can we even get away with this?

Yang Yi was rather shocked by the development. Just when he was about to say something, Yang Yi noticed Zhang Yong who was lying not far from him glaring at him in anger.

Yang Yi had no idea what happened. He had never seen Zhang Yong this angry before. Thus, Yang Yi immediately rushed towards Zhang Yong.

Yang Yi was quite flustered as he thought, What's wrong with him?

Zhang Yong was already in the cell when Yang Yi returned. Zhang Yong who was sitting on the bed glared at Yang Yi coldly.

"Brother Yong, is something wrong?" Yang Yi asked.

After taking a deep breath, Zhang Yong slowly said, "So, you think you can take on ten people on your own now is that it? Do you think that you're that awesome?

"Ah, there's no such thing. What have I done now?" Yang Yi was rather confused. He was wondering why Zhang Yong would suddenly say those words.

Zhang Yong stood up, walked towards Yang Yi and slapped his face.

After the smack, Yang Yi put a hand to his face and asked in shock, "What was that for?"

Zhang Yong coldly asked, "Aren't you awesome? Why are you hiding now?"

"I…" Yang Yi stammered as he rubbed his left cheek. He could still feel the burning sensation on his face. There was a saying: one should avoid hitting the face when hitting another person. Regardless of how angry Zhang Yong was, he shouldn't have hit Yang Yi on his face. Yang Yi asked displeasure evident in his tone, "Are you sick? Why are you hitting me?"

Zhang Yong didn't bother to answer Yang Yi. Instead, he took two steps back and switched to a Wing Chun stance and attacked Yang Yi.

Yang Yi quickly responded. However, he felt a sharp pain in his chest before he could even parry the attack. As a result, he stumbled a few steps back hitting the iron door and slowly sliding down it onto the floor since he was having difficulty breathing.

At the same time, Zhang Yong fiercely shouted, "Stand back up!"

Although Zhang Yong had sparred with Yang Yi in the past, it was all instructive training. This was the first time Yang Yi suffered so much pain. Even still, Zhang Yong showed some restraint. If not, Zhang Yong could kill Yang Yi with a single punch or at the very least break his ribcage.

"Stand up!"

Hearing Zhang Yong's shout, Yang Yi gritted his teeth and staggered to stand up.

"Come and attack me! Aren't you very awesome now? Come and attack me!" Zhang Yong roared in anger.

Thus, Yang Yi gritted his teeth and pounced at Zhang Yong.

Yang Yi didn't withhold his strength as he attacked in anger. However, Zhang Yong easily dodged his attack and successfully landed another heavy punch to Yang Yi's stomach.

This time around, Yang Yi slumped on the ground and curled up like a shrimp. He was in so much pain that he couldn't even utter a sound.

"Stand up! Stand up now!"

Tears were running down Yang Yi's cheeks not because he was weak, but because he couldn't control them. After struggling for some time, Yang Yi panted as he said, "I… can't… stand up… anymore…"

Zhang Yong took a long deep breath before he squatted down and looked at Yang Yi in the face as he angrily said, "Do you think you are such a great fighter now that you're invincible in this world?"

After rubbing his cheek again, Yang Yi rolled over slowly and just laid on the floor and helplessly said, "Fuck! Why did you hit me so ruthlessly?! I wouldn't be lying on the ground now if I was invincible. Fuck! It hurts like hell!!"

Zhang Yong then reached out to grab Yang Yi by his clothes and lifted him up in mid-air as he ruthlessly said, "Well, why did you stop? What give you the confidence to stop and give your opponent the chance to retaliate? What have I been teaching you?"

"I… I…" Yang Yi stuttered as he said, "Shouldn't show mercy when I attack and I shouldn't attack if I want to show mercy. But, I was…"

Zhang Yong released his grip and Yang Yi fell on the concrete floor. Yang Yi gritted his teeth against the pain he was feeling.

Zhang Yong let out a breath as he coldly said, "Where are we?"

"Prison."

"Do the inmates in prison have guns?"

"No, but…"

Zhang Yong interrupted, "Shut up! There are no buts here you idiot! What you're facing here are some of the most dangerous people in the world, if you give them a chance, the one who will be dead will be you! This is not the ring. You don't stop when your opponent stops! If this wasn't a prison but the outside world instead, he could take out a gun and shoot you dead!"

Yang Yi meekly said, "I stopped because we're in prison. They don't have a gun."

"Shut up!"

Zhang Yong became even more enraged as he grabbed Yang Yi's collar, "You should change when you're wrong! You shouldn't be quibbling idiot! You'll be dead if you make a mistake! Dead!"

Yang Yi opened his mouth as he mumbled, "I know my mistake, Brother Yong. I will keep this in mind and I won't repeat the same mistake again. I absolutely won't."

Zhang Yong took another deep breath before he continued rebuking him fiercely, "Do you think you are great just because you can defeat a dozen or so inmates? Let me tell now, you're not! They are just a bunch of wastrels with a tad bit of ferociousness and more shamelessness than common folks. Give them a gun and they will dare to use it, that's all! None of them are experts. After all, they only dare to intimidate common people. Understand?"

"I understand."

"Please don't think you're very awesome. Your skills are mediocre. You'll end up dead if the person you encounter is an expert. Not only are you not an expert, you're just a trainee. It's too early for you to be arrogant!"

Yang Yi slowly sat up as he answered softly, "Sorry, Brother Yong."

Zhang Yong just waved his hand in anger, "You don't owe me an apology. You just aren't being accountable for your own life. Do you know how many experts there are in this world? It doesn't mean they don't exist just because you haven't met them. You plan to become a spy yet you still don't have the awareness of how dangerous the world you want to enter is."

Zhang Yong took another deep breath before he continued solemnly, "Experts could also die due to carelessness. Do you know how many people die each year because they are careless? Keep in mind the most lethal weapon now is not a fist but a gun! Regardless of how fast you are, do you think you will be faster than a bullet? You will lose your life the moment someone presses a trigger! Don't think you're invincible just because you're a capable fighter. Fuck, even a child could kill you with a gun. In Africa, those child soldiers could easily slaughter you with their guns."

After letting out a breath, Zhang Yong continued without smiling, "Given your current capability, you will die if you meet an expert. As for encountering guns, either you don't take any action or you should quickly render them immobile. They should never have the chance to even use their gun! As powerful as you are, never show mercy!"

Yang Yi softly said, "I know my mistake, Brother Yong. I promise not to make the same mistake again."

Zhang Yong slowly said to him, "You don't have to promise me anything. You just need to keep it in mind and be accountable for your own life. You only have one life after all."

Yang Yi just leaned against the wall and didn't say anything for a long time.

Recalling what had happened over the past two days, Yang Yi realized he had indeed turned arrogant as Zhang Yong had pointed out.

So far, he had managed to do as he pleased, but who among those he had defeated was an expert? Let's not talk about experts, none of them could even throw a proper punch. They only had physical strength. In comparison to the average person, they were at most slightly stronger than the average person.

In addition to that, people outside the prison wouldn't be using knives but guns instead.

Yang Yi wouldn't be spending his entire life in prison. Thus, it was pointless for him to keep the same mindset from prison. If he continued to use the prison mindset on the outside, he would only end up losing his life.

Moreover, he was no longer in the era where superb martial arts would allow him to run rampant in the world. It would only give him a better foundation rather than something he could use as a trump card to do as he pleases. Yang Yi was then roused from his thoughts due to the burning sensation on his cheek.  

"Thank you, Brother Yong," Yang Yi was extremely sincere when he thanked Zhang Yong. After a short interval, he softly added, "Thank you for getting me back on the right track."

Zhang Yong then leaned against the wall as well as he said, "I have a solid foundation because I have been training since I was a child. After I joined the army, I didn't have it too difficult as a recruit because of this solid foundation. Sadly, I realized that this solid foundation of mine was useless after I graduated recruit training."

He then sighed before he continued, "Let me tell you, martial arts are now outdated because this is the era of guns. Regardless of how good you are at fighting, it's useless if you can't block bullets. Nowadays, how often do you engage in close quarter combat? Bullets will be flying everywhere from hundreds of meters away. You'll either end up dead or injured if you're shot, so what's the use of training your martial arts to a high level?"

Yang Yi remained silent. Thus, Zhang Yong took out two cigarettes to light before passing one to Yang Yi and saying, "Take a guess, how many people do you think I have killed with my bare hands?"

Yang Yi took the cigarette and put it in his mouth before giving it some thought. He then answered, "Ten people? You're so skilled. You have been both a mercenary and a hitman, so there should at least be ten right?"

Zhang Yong extended three fingers and said, "Three. Only three."

"Ah, so few?"

Zhang Yong shook his head as he said, "Few? Out of the three people, two of them were actually not a threat because they were captives. I bashed them to death out of anger because of the things they had done."

"Ah! So to be precise, there was only one person?"

Zhang Yong chuckled as he said, "As for the last one, he had already suffered a grievous injury when I killed him with my bare hands."

Yang Yi's mouth was wide open not knowing what to say after hearing that.

So, Zhang Yong took another deep breath and added, "I only fought barehanded once. As to fighting with a knife, I did kill a few men in a life and death fight. Anyhow, always keep this in mind, your bare hands should always be your last line of defense. Although it's the most reliable weapon, it's not the most efficient. If you can use a gun, you should always do so. If there's no gun, use a knife or a shiv. In short, you should never put too much emphasis on your fists."

Yang Yi nodded as he answered, "I will definitely remember that."

Zhang Yong removed the cigarette from his mouth and chuckled before he solemnly said, "After practicing martial arts my whole life, I was reluctant to let go and stop. Even still, there's value to practicing martial arts because it has saved my life once. So, do you think it is still worth it?"

"Worth it! It's definitely worth it because we only have one life after all!"

Zhang Yong nodded as he laughed out loud, "That's my thought exactly. It's possible you may never need it in your whole life. However, you'll be glad that you have practiced martial arts if there is even one moment in which you need it. I won't say that martial arts are entirely useless. Although it won't have a decisive impact on the result of a battle, practicing martial arts will allow your movements to be agiler and your mind to be sharper. This will give you an advantage over those who don't practice martial arts."

Yang Yi answered full of determination, "Brother Yong, rest assured that I will continue to practice martial arts. I will never stop doing so."

Zhang Yong just nodded as he said, "Since you want to be a spy, martial arts will be much more useful since the underground world is not the battlefield. Your survival rate will improve even if you can simply shoot faster than your enemy."

Zhang Yong stood back up after finishing what he had to say. He then offered his hand and pulled Yang Yi up.

After he stood up, Yang Yi rubbed his stomach as he smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Yong, I have to thank you for straightening me up, but your methods are just too ruthless. It hurts like hell."

Zhang Yong just laughed as he said, "You won't remember the lesson if I am not heavy handed. Moreover, what does my action count for if you always keep in mind what I have taught you?"

Yang Yi sat on his bed and started contemplating for some time before he asked Zhang Yong. "Brother Yong, if that's the case, should I continue to pick fights with other inmates?"

"Of course, you should continue to fight. Haven't you comprehended something about the essence of martial arts from your fight with those White men?"

"Yes! However, I can't quite describe what the thing I have comprehended is."

Zhang Yong just laughed, "It should be right if you can't describe it. Such a thing can only be comprehended as you experience more fights. You will get better as you gradually accumulate more experience. In the future, you will be able to handle fights much more dangerous than today and you will take on fights without being frozen in fear, so make sure to experience more fights."

Yang Yi heavily said, "That's my thought as well. By the way Brother Yong, there's one last matter I would like to ask you about. Do you think I should continue to recruit more underlings?"

"Why would you ask such a question?"

"I feel like I was becoming too arrogant. My underlings' flattery made the situation even worse. I don't think this is good for me."

Zhang Yong was merrily laughing as he said, "Are you going solo in the future? I believe you'll definitely have group of men to assist you right? If so, you should take it as practice on how to manage your underlings."

"But, they're just a bunch of inmates..."

"Just a bunch of inmates? All the men locked up here are men with vast experience! In fact, they are the best of those with vast experience. If you compare their life experience with the common folks living on the outside, the common folks on the outside are just like little princes and princesses from fairy tales. You'll be really amazing if you can manage them properly. It works to your advantage because there are no guns in prison. If you messed with this bunch of guys on the outside, it would be difficult to say who would end up being the boss."

Yang Yi just laughed as he replied, "You're right, Brother Yong. What you say is very well thought out since you always take the bigger picture into consideration."

Zhang Yong solemnly answered him, "It's just that I have more experience than you. Whoever you recruit, make sure you are able to discern them with your eyes. Those who are willing to become your underling do so not because they like you but because you can protect them. They are only willing to do your bidding because you have value to them. If not, don't you think they would be idiots? Don't think so highly of yourself and think they can't survive without you. You should always be cautious. How many of them do you think will still remain by your side once you have lost your usefulness? Nowadays, you should count your blessings if you're able to come across those who are willing to go through thick and thin with you."

Zhang took out a mobile phone from his pocket. "Didn't you ask me to find you a phone? I've found one for you. You better make your call right now. We have to return the phone at dinner time. It can make international calls but you'll have to pay for it yourself since the call rate is very expensive."

Yang Yi took the phone and called Danny. Yang Yi softly said when the call connected, "Captain, it's me."

"Oh, Little Egg. So, how are things in there? Were you able to protect your ass? Hahaha."

Yang Yi was silently cursing Danny for his bad taste in jokes. He weakly said, "Lucky for me, I'm totally fine."

"Well, why are you calling me then? You should call your girlfriend instead. She has asked about you a few times now. You're truly heartless for not contacting her at all after such a long time."

Yang Yi let out a breath as he said, "Captain, can we be serious for a moment? I called you for a reason."

"Say it then, what's the matter?"

"Please help me transfer a hundred thousand dollars to an account. Also, do you have someone reliable in America who can send me a phone? It'll be much easier for me to contact people if I have a phone."

"Sure. Can you tell me who you are transferring money to? How is it possible for you to use so much money in prison?"

"The money is to bribe one of the guards. It will be more convenient for me to do things in the future. I'll wait for the phone from you. Hopefully, you can arrange this quickly. Oh yeah, don't forget to send over a sim card as well."

After Yang Yi passed back the phone, Zhang Yong asked, "You're only going to make one call?"

"Is this phone secured?"

Zhang Yong just answered dismissively, "This phone is only used by inmates. Who do you think will monitor the call? Just make the call if it's not particularly sensitive."

After hesitating for a while, Yang Yi finally called Kate. The call quickly connected and Kate's voice could be clearly heard on the line, "Hello, who is this?"

"It's me. How are you doing?"

"I guessed the call was from you. So, how are you doing?" Kate's voice was full of concern.

Yang Yi let out a breath as he said, "I'm doing quite well. I'm able to eat my fill and sleep soundly. How about you?"

"I'm… doing fine."

Kate didn't exactly have it easy. As she was still being hunted by the Destroyers, there was no way she could take a step out from the building she was staying in. Beyond the fact that she could watch television and make phone calls any time she pleased, her circumstances were no different than being in prison. As a matter of fact, her scope of activities was smaller than Yang Yi's in comparison. At least Yang Yi was allowed to go outside during free activity period.

Yang Yi was thinking what he should say next when he heard Kate say, "Do you get bullied in prison? I heard the inmates in prison are all very dangerous."

Yang Yi just laughed as he answered, "Things have been well. They should count their blessings if I don't go around messing with them. No one dares to provoke me nowadays. How about you? What have you been doing lately?"

"There's nothing much I can do here. I just train on my own or I come up with things to do. I am doing well."

Yang Yi let out another breath as he said, "Make sure you stay safe."

"I will. You stay safe as well."

Yang Yi no longer knew what he should say next. Kate said, "I managed to liquidate both of my inheritances from my parents. I have some wealth now. Erm… when will you be coming back?"

"I'll definitely return. There's no need for you to rush, okay?"

"I won't do anything stupid. There's nothing much I can do alone anyway. So, I will definitely wait for you to come back. I will continue to pay the Captain for protection if you still haven't come back within a year. They have agreed to my request."

"That's great. I'm very happy with your decision. I'll have a phone of my own in the future. I will contact you again then. So, I think I will end it here for now. Goodbye."

After Yang Yi ended the call, Zhang Yong asked out of curiosity, "Your girlfriend?"

"She's not."

"The expression on your face already betrayed you. Moreover, it's definitely a female given your tone."

"Must she be my girlfriend because she's a female? Like I said, she is just a friend. Wait, strictly speaking, she's not really my friend. Erm… I'm also not sure how to actually describe our relationship."

Zhang Yong didn't seem like he believed Yang Yi. He just took back the phone from Yang Yi and said, "What was that all about? Do you have something to do when you get out of here?"

"Yes, there's this hitmen organization called the Destroyers who are trying to assassinate me. The girl I was speaking to just now is also their target. We're currently in a deadlock. This whole affair won't end until one side is dead. Although I can hide, for the time being, there's no way I can hide forever. So, I will have to resolve this troublesome affair before I can work on my own quest."

"Which hitmen organization is it again?"

"The Destroyers."

"I've never heard of them before. They shouldn't be too prominent if I've never heard of them before. Or is it one of the new organizations?"

"I'm not sure."

Zhang Yong just spread his hands as he said, "Confrontation with hitmen organizations are the most troublesome because those hitmen won't have their identities written all over their face. Since you have no idea where their hideout is, you might be the one being struck with a fatal blow when you're out looking for them. It's truly a troublesome affair."

"What advice can you give me?"

"What advice can I give you? In this world, when have hitmen ever stopped concealing themselves? That's why it's so troublesome. You'll have to keep your guard up day and night against hitmen who might appear at any time. After some time, you will become suspicious of everyone and suspect them all of being hitmen. You'll just end up driving yourself crazy."

"Then, how should we handle the situation?"

Zhang Yong looked at Yang Yi as he answered, "The only solution is for you to become a killer of hitmen. You'll have to conceal yourself deeper than them and be more vicious than them when you act. After you have the ability to get rid of them, eliminate them before they manage to kill you instead. Beyond that, what other option do you have?" Zhang Yong then patted Yang Yi on the shoulder before he continued, "Originally I planned to teach you later but it seems like I need to start teaching you how to become a qualified hitman. Although the training approach is different than martial arts, your martial arts foundation can assist you in your hitman training."

Yang Yi responded in excitement, "Great, can you start teaching me now?"

Zhang Yong shook his head and said, "Before I teach you, you need to inform me of something. I still feel that something is amiss with the method of playing cards you have taught me. I'm not saying your method isn't useful. I think I have reached my limit regarding card playing skill yet it is still no way near the level of your superb card playing skill. Since I don't think you have been bragging about your skill, have you been withholding something from what you have taught me?"

Yang Yi started scratching his face and hesitated for quite a while before he softly said, "About that… Brother Yong, please promise me not to get angry when you hear what I'm about to tell you."

"You should first tell me what this is about."

Yang Yi shrugged rather unnaturally before he mumbled, "I have an eidetic memory."

"Huh?"

"I am trying to say I have an eidetic memory. I never forget what I have seen before."

"Fuck! What are you trying to tell me?"

"I'm trying to say it's very important for you to pay attention to the other players' expression when you're playing cards. However, if you have a good memory, things will be easier if the cards in use have some markings on them. If there aren't any, you just have to remember what cards have been dealt, which card is in whose hand and then calculate what's the probabilities of the cards that might come next."

Zhang Yong was transfixed for a moment before he abruptly said, "Fuck! You were cheating from the very beginning."

Zhang Yong was rather resentful. He felt like Yang Yi had cheated him. Although he was well aware that Yang Yi was very intelligent, it had never crossed his mind that Yang Yi possessed an eidetic memory.

It might sound easy when talking about memorizing all the cards in a deck, but in reality, how many people could actually accomplish such a feat? Let's not talk about Blackjack or Texas Hold'em where only a few cards were dealt per game, even for a game like Fighting the Landlord where one just had to memorize all the cards which have been in play, not many players could truly memorize all the cards which had already been played so that they could forecast what cards may come next.

(TN: This is a Chinese card game. It's a game where each player is dealt 17 cards and the first player to have no cards left in his hand wins. You can read more about the game here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dou_dizhu)

Because of that, Yang Yi could only teach Zhang Yong a lesser version of his skills. Just like training in martial arts, a practitioner must start from the basics. Thus, Yang Yi had to start off by teaching Zhang Yong how to memorize cards and some simple formulas to calculate probability. He ended up spending the whole afternoon teaching Zhang Yong how to calculate probabilities. Yang Yi was filled with frustration because he personally thought the task would be very simple yet Zhang Yong was unable to grasp it. Yang Yi didn't have a choice but to imitate Zhang Yong's approach to teach him. That was to repeatedly defeat Zhang Yong thoroughly until he picked up the skill.

When dinner time arrived, Yang Yi stopped the lesson because he was wondering what happened to the rest of his underlings. After all, Collins, Kerry, and Rodriguez had been taken away in lieu of him. After he arrived at the canteen he noticed that all his underlings were already there waiting for him.

Although it was common for the underling to become a scapegoat for the boss, Yang Yi still felt embarrassed when he met the rest of his underlings. At the same time, he was also feeling quite pleased since he had escaped punishment.

Yang Yi felt that something was different compared to the past. Although Kerry had been taken away earlier, his reverence for Yang Yi had become even greater. Hammond Phil was the first to flee the scene at the first sign of trouble yet he now looked rather cocky. Collins, on the other hand, looked extremely cheerful simply because he had come out unscathed after being taken away earlier. The only person who seemed unaffected and remained similar to how he was previously was Rodriguez.

Zhang Yong said that Yang Yi should use his eyes to discern people. For those who were blind, there was nothing much that could be done about it but even for those whose eyes were working just fine, was it so easy to discern a person?

Even still, Yang Yi had an understanding of his underlings. He positioned them as follows: Geller came first. As a chemistry professor, he was a useful talent who could teach him a lot of things.

Kerry had been in prison for a long time. As such, he was well-informed about a lot of matters. Although he was a bootlicker who couldn't be assigned any important tasks, Yang Yi could still use him to run errands.

Collins was a typical type with a herd mentality. He didn't want to join any gangs but at the same time, he didn't want to be alone. So, he decided to look for a tough boss to be his backer. He would try to dodge any responsibility and would only work on things when he couldn't avoid it. He could be classified as a typical underling. It's wasn't important whether he was there or not.

As for Rodriguez, Yang Yi still couldn't figure him out.

It was reasonable to say that his underlings were clinging to him for protection and weren't by his side to become cannon-fodder. He would be the first one to charge headlong into trouble and also the first one to step up to take the blame. Given how he was behaving, wouldn't it be better for him to be alone?

Yang Yi felt like Rodriguez had been performing well above expectation, very unlike an underling he just casually accepted in prison. He took a seat on a chair and took a look at his underlings. With a frown, he asked, "Did you guys get bashed up?"

Although there were injuries all over his face, Kerry just indifferently said, "We're fine. As long as the boss is fine, taking a bit of a beating isn't anything much."

Collins just licked his lips as he said, "Those guards were downright ruthless."

Only Rodriguez remained nonchalant when he said, "I'm fine. We just took a few hits, that's all." It seemed like Rodriguez was truly an earnest person.

Thus, Yang Yi just nodded before he started eating his meal.

Kerry then started speaking, "Boss, there are more people who want to join us. However, they can't afford to give you cigarettes."

Yang Yi just nodded as he said, "You can inform them that they can substitute instant noodles for cigarettes. I'll protect them as long as they give me two boxes of instant noodles. They can come tomorrow. I don't want to meet anyone today."

Yang Yi didn't intend to accept any underlings who couldn't even offer him cigarettes or instant noodles. Since he didn't intend to use his underlings to fight on his behalf, what was the point of him having so many underlings who wouldn't be contributing anything? As for running errands on Yang Yi's behalf, he just needed a few of them for that.

After he was done eating, Yang Yi just waved his hand and said, "You guys can go back now but do be careful. Don't give anyone the chance to seek revenge. I will see you guys tomorrow. Rodriguez, please stay behind. I would like to speak to you alone."

After the others left, Yang Yi looked at Rodriguez and asked, "Were you part of a gang in the past?"

"Yes, but it was just a tiny gang in Ecuador with a few men in it. I haven't contacted them since I arrived in America. They are all serving time in an Ecuadorian prison now."

"Rodriguez, so what did you do here in America to earn a living?"

"I robbed and stole. At times, I sold drugs too. However, it's not something I could do regularly unless I joined a gang."

"You seemed to be very familiar with how a gang operates. If that's the case, why don't you join a gang in America?"

Rodriguez scratched his head and looked rather perturbed when he responded, "I don't want to join because I feel the whole arrangement is unfair. I'll be given the most dangerous tasks yet be paid peanuts. Moreover, they'll immediately throw me under the bus the moment anything goes wrong. I don't like that they do things like that."

"If that's the case, why would you want to get mixed up with me?"

Rodriguez opened his mouth and asked Yang Yi seriously, "Boss, we're not a gang right?"

"That's right. We're not a gang."

"That's the reason. It's because we're not a gang. Boss, you're very powerful. I won't be bullied by anyone as long as I'm under your protection."

"Is that it?

"What other reason can there be?"

"If that's the case, why would you be willing to be sent to solitary confinement on my behalf?"

Rodriguez's mouth opened wide in shock when he heard Yang Yi. He looked at Yang Yi and said with a face full of surprise, "Is that not what an underling is supposed to do? Although we're not a proper gang, the boss is still the boss. If the underlings don't serve any purpose, why would he need them?"

What Rodriguez said was a simple fact. Although it was correct, he still performed well beyond his obligation. Without a doubt, Rodriguez was an excellent underling. Any boss would be happy to have an underling who was willing to sell himself on his boss's behalf.

Yang Yi stood up and patted Rodriguez's shoulder in satisfaction. "Great! Continue to do well. I have high expectations of you."

Half a year quickly passed by. Nowadays, whenever it was free activity period, all the other inmates made sure to be careful of Yang Yi and would flee from him with their tails between their legs.

Yang Yi felt like he was about to cause public outrage. Yang Yi now had a total of twelve underlings.

Yang Yi walked around aimlessly looking for a potential target he could pick a fight with and use as training material. For the time being, he still didn't want to provoke any of the larger gangs but all the small gangs would flee the moment they caught sight of Yang Yi. Because he didn't intend to pick a fight with just any random inmate, he ended up failing to find a suitable target.

Things were rather rosy since Owen received his money. Since then, the guards never dragged him away to be taught a lesson regardless of how he went around looking for trouble. In the case that Yang Yi ended up injuring his opponent, the guards would only drag off two of his underlings and teach them a small lesson without going overboard. Yang Yi could get away with beating up the other inmates yet the other inmates couldn't do the same. Because of this abnormality, all the inmates were well aware that Yang Yi made a secret deal with the guards.

As a result, which inmate wouldn't hide from him in such a situation?

After making one round, Yang Yi could only sit next to Zhang Yong helplessly. He then waved his hand, gesturing to his underlings to leave.

"You didn't fight anyone?"

"I couldn't find a suitable target. I have already messed with all the smaller gangs. In fact, I have messed with some of them twice. I don't think it will serve any further purpose to use them as target practice."

Zhang Yong nodded his head. "Hmm, seems like these types of fights have lost their meaning. You should start picking fights with experts for the next part of your training. I'm talking about a true expert in the general sense."

Yang Yi, who was sitting next to Zhang Yong asked, "Are there such experts in this prison?"

Zhang Yong gave it some thought before he finally nodded his head, "Without a doubt, there are experts in this prison. Depending on the angle in which you measure their level of proficiency, there are experts within the Black men, White men, and the Latino gangs. As for true experts, I'm only aware of two people. You wouldn't have met them yet because they are all held in single-person cells. They have also been denied the right to leave their cell for any free activity period."

Yang Yi asked full of excitement, "Where can I find them?"

Zhang Yong looked at Yang Yi and said, "You've been in here for about a year now. Don't you know that Pelican Bay State Prison holds some of the most dangerous criminals in America?"

Yang Yi was stunned for a moment before he pointed at the other inmates and asked, "Aren't they them?"

Zhang Yong just snickered with an expression full of disapproval, "How could they be considered dangerous when they aren't even wearing shackles? They're just normal gang members. Not psychopathic murderers. Let me tell you this now, you'll never meet the truly dangerous criminals because they're held in a different block. That group of inmates are all kept in single-person cells with both their hands and legs in shackles. Besides being able to leave their cell once a week, they have to spend all their time in the cell. Even their meals are eaten inside the cell. I would same it's almost similar to solitary confinement. Sorry, I think I should say it's actually worse than solitary confinement."

Although Yang Yi was very excited, he asked in a very soft voice, "Do you know what sort of criminals are held in there?"

Zhang Yong let out a breath before he leaned back in the chair and shifted his gaze towards the sky. "I only know one of them. Wayne, the Beast. When you get to meet him, you'll know why he's called the Beast."

Yang Yi softly asked, "Is he very powerful?"

"If he's let out, everyone here will be turned into his prey. He's the only person in this prison I'm not sure I can defeat. The only reason I'm hiding here is because the Beast is being held in this prison."

"You know him personally right?"

Zhang Yong just chuckled as he answered, "Yeah, I know him."

"Looking at your expression, you must be here for him!" Yang Yi declared with certainty.

Zhang Yong just laughed as he nodded, "Yeah. I'm here with the intention to kill him. However, I had no idea he was being kept isolated in the single cell block for the most dangerous villains. After I knew that was where he was being held captive, I decided it was better to leave him in there than it was to kill him."

Yang Yi lowered his voice and asked, "Why? What's your past relationship with him? Why would you want to kill him?"

Zhang Yong twisted his neck before he snickered and said, "It's a tale of betrayal."

"Can you share more about it?"

Zhang Yong's hand convulsed subconsciously as he answered with a painful expression, "I'm not really a loner and I don't do everything on my own. In the past, I used to have a group of brothers but they're all dead now. So, this is a tragic story of betrayal." After he said that, Zhang Yong's mood turned dull. He just smiled before he continued, "There are some things you shouldn't ask. Since I never asked you about your personal matters, you shouldn't ask me about mine."

After that, Zhang Yong picked up the playing cards beside him and laughed, "Ok, call your little brothers here for a game. You'll be the dealer and you're not allowed to reject."

Yang Yi didn't summon his underlings. He just looked at Zhang Yong with uncertainty and said, "I understand now. You're not here to hide but to kill a guy called Wayne the Beast."

Zhang Yong helplessly replied, "Didn't I just tell you? Now, I don't want him to die. I want him to continue living in a tiny cell with both his arms and legs in shackles. That way, he'll be in misery, a misery worse than death. So, I won't kill him."

Yang Yi shook his head as he softly said, "I understand your intent. You're not here to have an idyllic life. Instead, you're here to guard Wayne the Beast to ensure he continues to be locked up in a single cell. For normal people, prison is already considered a living hell on earth. You don't want him to have an easy death. So, you're going to continue guarding him while staying close by."

Zhang Yong just let out a sigh as he helplessly said, "Don't you know some things are best left unspoken? Anyway, I'm very free. You're here to learn from me. So, just mind your own business and focus on your learning. There's no benefit in you finding out any more of my business."

Yang Yi sincerely said, "Brother Yong, I know you think the current punishment is the most fitting for Wayne. However, is there a need for you to sacrifice your own freedom to make sure of it? You should just kill him and get out of here."

Zhang Yong turned gloomy as he said, "This is my own personal matter and it has nothing to do with you. So, we're going to end this conversation and play cards instead.

Yang Yi hurriedly said, "Brother Yong, this just isn't worth it right?  Are you going to spend the rest of your life here guarding if Wayne the Beast is to be imprisoned here for life? You should just kill him and let the whole matter come to an end."

Zhang Yong sighed and said, "You wouldn't understand. To me, there's no difference in being alive or dead. Regardless of where I am, it's hell to me. I just want to make sure wherever Wayne is, he's living a life much worse and painful than me. That's all that matters to me now." After he finished speaking, Zhang Yong let out another sigh before he laughed and said, "Come, let's play cards."

Zhang Yong's hand reading skills had also improved a lot.

As a matter of fact, Yang Yi's eidetic memory wouldn't offer him much of an advantage if the playing cards they were using had no markings on them. In a game like Texas Hold'em, winning relied more heavily on hand reading skill. It was a skill which involved a sharp observation skill to take note of the players' expression and smallest movements to determine the cards they had in hand. Yang Yi's stronger memory gave him a slight edge over Zhang Yong but not one which was decisive.

Zhang Yong's card playing skill had improved significantly now especially when it came to Texas Hold'em. Although he was much more skilled now, it was absolutely impossible to achieve absolute victory. Who would be willing to gamble with someone who would only win but never lose? Not only that, even the Casinos would blacklist such a person from entering their premises.

As such, skilled card players won when they had a good hand and they would fold decisively when the odds were against them. The biggest losers were the players who relied on their luck and hoped to obtain a winning hand.

Nowadays, Zhang Yong could make accurate judgments whenever he played. He would bet small when the odds were against him and would only go big when he had a favorable hand. At times, he would just check to make those with poorer hands follow along. As a result, he managed to improve his winning odds to above 60% which was an impressive achievement.

Zhang Yong was laughing happily as he collected his winnings. He then took one of the cigarettes and started smoking. In this game, Rodriguez and Geller played all the way to the end and lost big as a result. The outcome caused Rodriguez to look rather vexed but Geller actually remained indifferent.

So far, there were two people who were ahead in the winnings. Zhang Yong and Hammond Phil. In fact, Hammond Phil as a professor who taught acting was a very good gambler and was also one of the biggest winners.

Geller lost most of the time. As a chemist, it would seem all his skills in mathematics were chemistry related. Towards the end, it turned into a face-off between Zhang Yong and Hammond. Yang Yi was the card dealer the whole time because he was prohibited from participating.

By the time free activity period ended, the match had come to a draw between the two of them. Zhang Yong collected his winning cigarettes and returned to his own cell. He was no longer sharing a cell with Yang Yi and had moved to a single-person cell usually used to punish inmates. Yang Yi was now sharing a cell with Geller instead.

Zhang Yong seemed to be very happy whenever he laughed. But after knowing him for more than ten months, Yang Yi finally found out that there was a deeper meaning concealed within those laughs. If you analyzed it logically, the very idea of coming into the prison to have an idyllic life was ridiculously absurd.

Yang Yi believed Zhang Yong all this while and never doubted him even once. As such, it could be said that there was no correlation between high IQ and being gullible. There was so much going on in Yang Yi's mind that he was still absent-minded even when he returned to his cell.

"Boss, today I will teach you how to synthesize some of the poisons."

Yang Yi raised his head to look at Geller who was standing there like he was getting ready to give a lecture at the university and said, "Not now. It can wait for the time being. You don't have to rush to start the lesson."

Geller was quite surprised when he heard Yang Yi's words. Yang Yi was after all the best student he had ever taught. He might not have been the most intelligent student due to his poor foundation in chemistry and toxicology, but without a doubt, he was the best student.

Geller didn't teach Yang Yi the basic principle of toxicology because Yang Yi wouldn't find it very useful. Instead, he was teaching Yang Yi how to identify what poisons would cause what sort of effects under varying dosages. He also taught him about the commonly available materials which could be made into lethal poison.

Because they were in a prison, the teaching progress was slow due to a lack of teaching aids and chemistry laboratory equipment. Thus all the practical experiments could only be explained verbally. As a result, it was only today when Geller could finally teach Yang Yi how to synthesize poison.

Yang Yi was waiting for this lesson for a long time now. That's why Geller felt it was rather odd to see Yang Yi being absent-minded when the day of the lesson finally arrived, "What's up? Are you not going to learn today?"

After coming to a decision, Yang Yi stood up and solemnly said, "Yes. I won't be taking lessons today. There's something I need to do." After that, Yang Yi moved towards the cell door and yelled, "Guard! Guard! I'm not feeling well. I would like to visit a doctor."

A guard soon arrived and asked Yang Yi, "What is it? What do you want?"

Yang Yi lowered his voice and said, "Can you inform Officer Owen I'm not feeling well and I would like to visit a doctor?"

"Just give me a moment."

The guard walked aside and spoke over the walkie-talkie. He then returned and instructed, "Follow me."

The prison guard then opened the door and handcuffed Yang Yi before he escorted him to Owen's office.

Yang Yi hadn't seen Owen since the last time they came to an agreement and today would be the first time since then.

"Why do you want to see me? Is there something important?"

Yang Yi answered without hesitation, "Yes! I want to know is there another block here where the most dangerous inmates are held?"

Owen seemed rather troubled when he rubbed his head. He then bitterly smiled, "I thought you already knew. Since you didn't ask, I thought you had no interest in it. Yes, they're all kept in a small compound isolated from the other areas. You'll never be able to see those inmates since they are some of the most dangerous criminals in the world."

"If I want to get in there, is there a way I can enter that area?"

Owen just shook his head before he answered Yang Yi gravely, "There's no way you can enter that area. It's an area where that has no contact with the outside world. There is a reason why Pelican Bay State Prison is a Supermax with the highest level of security. That area was never intended for common criminals. It is a place with the highest level of security for holding some of the world's most dangerous criminals."

Yang Yi solemnly said, "One other question. Is there someone called Wayne the Beast inside?"

"I have never heard of anyone by the name of Wayne the Beast." Owen just smiled before he nodded and said, "Do you know why this prison has the highest level of security in the country? It is because those inside are terrorists and serial killers whom the FBI caught after much difficulty. Those inmates have no future. They're being kept alive because they're all persons of interest. So, it's best for you not to provoke them or even have any contact with them in the first place. As for me, I don't even have the slightest interest in finding out who they are."

Yang Yi then cautiously asked, "Since you didn't mention that you can't enter that area, can I assume that you can enter that area and can even bring someone along with you there?"

Owen just chuckled again before he answered, "I can but there's no way I will allow anyone to mess with the inmates in there. If your intention is to kill one of those inmates, then I can only tell you that it's impossible. That is a restricted area under strict FBI supervision."

There were some people who were just living shells. Deep down, they were already dead.

The sentence Zhang Yong had spoken left a deep impression on Yang Yi. He recalled the story about the hitman Zhang Yong once told him. At that time, he didn't understand why a successful hitman who was very rich and had a comfortable life would suddenly commit suicide during breakfast one morning.

Now that he finally understood the reason, he could somehow empathize with Zhang Yong's feelings.

Why would Zhang Yong hide in a prison? Although Yang Yi had his doubts, he still chose to believe Zhang Yong wanted to have an idyllic life in prison. After all, there were a lot of strange people in the world. It was possible that Zhang Yong was unable to find the peace he wanted on the outside. Because of that, he chose to hide in the prison so that no one could find him.

Now that he knew the full story, the reason was absurd. Zhang Yong was here so that he could kill someone he had a history with. He changed his mind because he believed the idea of Wayne the Beast living the rest of his life in prison was much worse than dying.

Although Wayne the Beast did have it much worse alive than he would dead, that wasn't the crux of the issue. One had to wonder how much hatred there was between them for Zhang Yong to willingly sacrifice his own freedom to keep track of Wayne.

Unless the person's will to live was gone. Not only was freedom meaningless, everything else would be meaningless as well. However, Yang Yi felt that Zhang Yong shouldn't live or continue living like that. Zhang Yong was the most capable man Yang Yi had ever met. He seemed to know everything and had very strong combat capabilities.

There was a reason why Zhang Yong could divert a conversation. It was because he always diverted it by raising an interesting topic. Yang Yi always found the story and experience Zhang Yong shared to be interesting and educational. They tended to expand Yang Yi's worldview, which is why Zhang Yong always managed to distract him.

Because of that, Yang Yi personally felt that a person as capable as Zhang Yong shouldn't remain in prison.

It was distasteful to intrude on others personal affairs. Yang Yi didn't really want to be hated by Zhang Yong and he didn't want to decide for him how he should live his life. It was just that Zhang Yong sacrificing his own freedom to punish himself was no different than committing suicide. (TN: Not sure if I can agree with Author's view on this.) As such, Yang Yi met up with Owen because he wanted to solve Zhang Yong's problem.

Killing Wayne the Beast on behalf of Zhang Yong seemed like a good idea to help him gain some closure. Zhang Yong would no longer have a reason to stay in prison once Wayne was dead. That's what Yang Yi had in mind. He directly made an offer with this thinking, "What do you think about a hundred thousand dollars?"

However, Owen refused much quicker than he anticipated. "No! That's not possible. You don't seem to understand this isn't a question of money."

Yang Yi was there to discuss a transaction with Owen, that's why Owen dropped the attitude he used when talking to an inmate and approached Yang Yi. He then lowered his voice and said, "You need to understand, every inmate in the special administrative area is under FBI supervision. Even I only know why two of them are in there. I can do business with you but there's no way I'm going to risk my career and future doing so."

Yang Yi just sighed before he looked at Owen and said, "Can you give me an example? I just can't imagine what type of inmates they keep there."

Owen remained silent for some time before he answered, "There's a traitor who sold a huge amount of state secrets to foreigners over there. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. He needs to be kept alive because he still has a lot of valuable intelligence."

Yang Yi was rather surprised. "A spy? If he's a spy, why would he be held here?"

Owen broke out in laughter. "Without a doubt, the CIA would usually keep spies in their own prison. However, you need to know this, there are no prisons in the world which are impossible to break out off. As an intelligence agency, the CIA will always be under the scrutiny of other foreign intelligence agencies.  So, they will secretly keep a few of their captives here."

Yang Yi asked, "That's true? They even hold spies here?"

"That spy has been here for years now and he's one of the longest-standing inmates in here. He was already here before I started working here. Nowadays, most people have forgotten he's still in here. Regardless, they still keep a very strict surveillance on him to this day and the shackles he's been wearing have never left him since the day he was admitted. Can you imagine that?" After sighing, Owen just gave a bitter smile, "It's not that I don't want to earn your money but I really don't have the ability to earn it this time around. You need to know, not only does the special administrative area have very strict supervision, I have no authority in that area at all.

Yang Yi frowned when he said, "Two hundred thousand dollars. Give it some thought. There must be a way for you to help me without exposing yourself."

Owen just shook his head as he reiterated, "You should stop. I have delivered on our agreement. You get to do whatever you want in the felony section. So, stop asking me to do something impossible. There's no way I can bear the consequences of you killing whoever it is in there."

The Beast was just an alias while Wayne was most likely a fake name because he wouldn't use his real name in public. As such, Owen wouldn't know who he is. Without a doubt, there was also a possibility that Owen knew who Wayne the Beast was, but he refused to divulge the information.

Yang Yi gave it some serious thought before he finally said, "Five hundred thousand dollars."

A reaction could finally be seen on Owen's face. Five hundred thousand dollars was equivalent to five years of his annual salary. Although he made some dubious side income, five hundred thousand dollars was not an amount he could easily dismiss.

"I'm not, particularly in a rush. So, you don't have to worry about getting tangled up in the whole mess while you're here. Aren't you getting a transfer soon?"

Owen looked at Yang Yi in the eye and asked, "Can you guarantee that?"

"Of course, I can guarantee it. You don't want to get into trouble while I have no intention of dying."

Owen considered the whole proposal for a very long time before he finally said, "I will be getting a transfer in four months' time to a larger prison to be the head guard."

"I'm well aware of the transfer. That's why you don't have much to worry about. I will only take action after your transfer."

Owen smiled rather unpleasantly as he said, "I already guessed you came in here with a purpose. Later, I started to suspect it was to kill someone but I wouldn't have cared. However, it's different now that I know your target is in the special administrative area."

Although Owen misunderstood the whole situation, Yang Yi didn't correct him because he needed this misunderstanding to be maintained.

After quite some time, Owen finally came to a decision. He just looked at Yang Yi and softly said, "Can you take action six months after I have transferred away? Or at the very least, please wait three months."

"Sure. I can guarantee that."

Owen's expression kept changing as he continued to contemplate the whole matter. He then looked at Yang Yi and said, "I will try to figure out a way to get you inside. You just wait for the time being until I find an opportunity to do so."

Yang Yi then said, "If you find an opportunity to do so, let me know. I will transfer you the money the moment I get the news."

Owen just nodded and said, "I hope I can find you this opportunity. You should go back now. Just wait for my news."

It was only helping when someone asked for help and you extended a helping hand. In contrast, it would be deemed being a busybody if someone didn't ask for help yet you insisted on helping. Even when you were doing it out of kindness, they would still call you a kind-hearted busybody.

As such, Yang Yi was also wondering if he was being a busybody meddling into something that he shouldn't. When all was said and done, he would be going against Zhang Yong's wish if he did act.

Because of that, Yang Yi needed to find out more details on Wayne the Beast and the only person who could give him this information was Danny.

"Hello, Captain, sorry to bother you but there's something I must ask you."

"Speak."

"Do you know someone called Wayne the Beast."

"Wayne the Beast?"

"Yes."

"Of course, I have heard of him before. He's abnormal, downright ferocious. But he's dead though."

"Dead? Are you sure?"

"Yes, he's dead. Why didn't you just ask Zhang Yong? Wayne the Beast was one of his men."

Yang Yi took a deep breath before he said, "Wait a minute, Captain. Can you start from the beginning? Why would you say Wayne the Beast was one of Zhang Yong's men and that he's already dead?"

Danny solemnly said, "Zhang Yong used to do everything. Later, he met someone called Junk Dog and pulled together a group of men. They took any job including cross-border jobs. They were also very good at their jobs. Wayne the Beast was a part of the group."

"I understand. If that's the case, why would say that he's dead?

"There was a huge commotion four years ago. Oh, sorry. To be precise, only those within the circles are aware of the commotion. The FBI managed to eliminate Junk Dog and his whole team. Junk Dog and his team had accepted a job to assassinate someone very important. However, they were ambushed by the FBI instead and ended up dead after a heavy gunfire exchange.

"If that's the case, how did Zhang Yong survive?

"Zhang Yong only survived because he was the failsafe. After that disaster, he stopped taking high-value jobs. A year later, he took the initiative and got himself admitted into the prison you're in. I thought he just didn't want to be living all alone in the outside world. For people like Zhang Yong, he'll never have a roommate unless he's assigned a cellmate in prison. I think he also wanted to break all contact with his past."

Yang Yi took another deep breath before he finally asked, "Captain, can I trust you?"

"What do you think?" Danny sounded rather annoyed when he responded.

Yang Yi didn't have a choice but to ask because he was meddling in someone else's personal matter,  "Captain, you need to promise me not to share what I'm about to tell you. It will only be between you and me. Can you do that?"

Danny turned serious as he answered Yang Yi,  "Then you better not tell me. I don't like to keep secrets. It can easily get you killed if you know too many secrets. You better not say it. Moreover, we're now speaking over a phone line."

Yang Yi lowered his voice and said, "It's related to Zhang Yong."

"Oh, if that's the case, just say it. I already have a rough idea what's it all about anyway."

"Wayne the Beast isn't dead. He's being held in the same prison I'm in."

"Fuck! What did you just say?! I understand now. Zhang Yong is in there to rescue Wayne. No, that can't be right! Fuck!" After cursing, Danny suddenly turned furious as he continued, "Zhang Yong didn't go in to rescue Wayne. Wayne betrayed them. Zhang Yong is in there for vengeance."

"You're right."

"Oh shit! Fuck! I understand what's going on now. But why would he betray them? Why?"

"I don't know the reason. I only know Zhang Yong is here to get vengeance on Wayne. It's just that now Wayne is living in a single person cell and living a miserable life just like that of a beggar. Zhang Yong believes this form of punishment is better for Wayne. Thus, Zhang Yong is now living here to watch over Wayne."

Danny sighed before he finally said, "I am still wondering why Wayne would betray them. They had a very good relationship. In the past, Wayne was being pursued and he was at the end of his rope when Zhang Yong saved him. Since then, all that he had was given to him by Zhang Yong. I just can't imagine why he would sell them out."

"I don't know because Zhang Yong wasn't willing to tell me. Captain, I want to kill Wayne. Otherwise, Zhang Yong will never leave this place. He has given up on himself. He plans to forsake his own freedom just to make sure Wayne is living a much more miserable life than he is."

Danny said, "This is going be really troublesome."

"Captain, do you think I should help Zhang Yong get rid of Wayne? After all, I'm meddling here. It's just that I don't want Zhang Yong to continue wasting his time here."

Danny sighed a bit longer before he said anything. "Zhang Yong is the most capable person I have ever met. Regardless of what Wayne did, he shouldn't be wasting the rest of his life in prison. Just kill him. There's no point wasting time on that guy. We need to correct Zhang Yong's misguided mindset. I support your decision. Just one problem though Little Egg. Do you think you can kill Wayne? I suspect you will just end up being his prey instead."

"Captain, I'm quite strong now. Besides, Wayne is locked up in a cell and he's always wearing shackles."

"You don't seem to understand. Wayne is not someone that you can apply common sense to. Listen to me, don't act rashly. What you should do now is persuade Zhang Yong and not act arbitrarily. You won't be Wayne's opponent even if he has shackles on. As long as Wayne is still mobile, there's no way you can defeat him. Think of another way to kill him. It's best that you don't confront him directly."

Yang Yi gave it a moment of thought before he answered, "I know what to do. After some time, I might need you to help me pay five hundred thousand dollars. I will contact you again when that happens."

After Yang Yi ended the phone call, he was deep in thought for a while before he waved Geller over. "Is there any poison which won't easily be detected?  The victim needs to die painfully and the poison should have no cure."

Geller just laughed as he answered, "There's just too many of them."

"It needs to be something we can make here in prison."

"What? A poison we can make in prison? That is not going to be easy. Without the right equipment, we won't be able to refine the required ingredients. Give me a moment to think about it. The poison needs to be deadly yet can only be made with some rudimentary processing." Geller started thinking about his options.

Yang Yi just sighed before he said, "You don't have to rush. Take your time. We have plenty of time to get this right."

Geller raised his head and said, "I've thought of something! The poison will take effect the moment you inject it into the body. Is that good enough?"

Yang Yi gave it some thought before he shook his head, "If I can inject the poison then I can just kill him directly. So, injection won't do. It would be best if we can smear the poison on his food without him ever finding out. Alternatively, it needs to be a poison which will immediately take effect the moment it's applied to the skin."

"Is that what you need? If that's the case, let me see what I can get my hands on in prison before I come up with something."

Yang Yi had been in prison more than a year now. He was just a month short of reaching one and a half years.

For other inmates, they would be counting their fingers until the day they get released. Each day they would hope they'd get released earlier. It was different for Yang Yi. He just felt that another day had passed and he's another year older.

Yang Yi wasn't bored at all staying in prison. He was like a sponge busily absorbing skills and knowledge. There were just too many useful skills and knowledge that could be learned from the wide range of inmates in prison. Moreover, most of the inmates were the elites in their criminal fields. Those who committed petty crimes like snatch and grab muggers wouldn't be held in Pelican Bay State Prison.

On top of learning martial arts, Yang Yi also learned how to use poison, how to act and how to manage a group of inmates which was never easy. Without a doubt, there was still a lot he could learn from those living on the dark side of society and Pelican Bay State Prison was one of the best places to do so.

After Yang Yi stopped going around looking for fights, he was able to build up a much better relationship with the rest of the inmates. Yang Yi was no longer a rookie and he could even be considered a top student of a school for criminals after he was released.

Up until now, there was still no development on how he could get into the special administrative area. After the previous talk with Owen, he had never contacted Yang Yi again. The biggest thing that worried Yang Yi was that Owen would be getting transferred in a month.

Yang Yi was now in a cell learning how to act from Hammond Phil. Yang Yi had discovered acting was actually much more difficult than it seemed.

"Please control your emotions. You're now playing the role of a mafia boss. You need to be able to instill awe. How do you do that? It comes from within you. You can't just have an emotionless expression, your eyes also need to be commanding. It's from this that you demonstrate your status and the awe will come naturally."

Yang Yi's shoulder jerked instinctively before his face turned emotionless and he coldly glared at Hammond, "Am I not already one? Without a doubt I am the boss of a gang."

Hammond rubbed his forehead before he furiously denounced Yang Yi, "Damn, have I not been clear with you? You can't act like some common thug. It's all wrong. You should portray yourself as someone with social status and wealth. You don't instill awe just because you're leading a group of men. Think about it, is it normal for you to glare coldly at everyone with killing intent whenever you talk?  Is that even normal? If it's not, then why are you acting it out in such a manner right now?"

Yang Yi just covered his face with a hand before he smiled bitterly. "I've never seen how a mafia boss portrays himself."

"If that's the case, think about how the president of the United States carries himself. The president of the United States is the leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world. How does he usually carry himself? How does he look when he's angry, happy or when he's meeting other state officials or civilians? Try to recall how he smiled when he was in public."

Yang Yi gave it some thought before he answered, "The smile looked fake?"

"Shit? What do you mean by the smile looked fake? Why don't you show it to me right now?!"

Yang Yi said, "That's why I asked. I don't know."

Hammond could only helplessly sigh as he looked at Yang Yi and said, "There are those who can act out whoever they try to imitate and there are those who still behave like themselves regardless of who they try to act out. You'll be able to play the role of a supporting character well but you'll fail miserably if you're playing the main the role."

Yang Yi could only answer helplessly, "I don't have much talent then."

Hammond just shook his head as he said, "No, it has nothing to do with talent. Think about all those great actors, do you think they killed someone before they could play the role of a serial killer successfully? Do you think those playing the role of kings or princes used to be royalty? It all comes down to acting! The only reason why it felt real is because they did a great job acting out the roles."

Yang Yi couldn't find a single word to defend himself. He could only say, "I could use my good looks to make a living yet I had to go a step further and depend on my artistic talent."

"You're right. You have what it takes to be an idol actor. You can just use the same expression for all your roles. However, you'll have to return to Asia. There's no place for you in Hollywood."

Yang Yi just helplessly waved his hand, "Got it. Let me try again."

Hammond just blankly stared at Yang Yi as he loudly said, "Then think! You're a mafia boss. You're confident and you don't need to please anyone. There's also no need for you to glare at someone just to threaten them. That's it! You got it right. You're confident because your strength comes from within you. Right! Soften your eyes because the eyes are pivotal here."

Just when Hammond was half-way correcting Yang Yi's expression, a loud voice was heard coming from outside. "2039, come with me. You are being assigned a new cell. "

Both Yang Yi and Hammond were startled. There was a guard standing outside the cell holding handcuffs impatiently tapping the cell door. "Be quick, stop dawdling."

Yang Yi stood up and asked in astonishment, "Why does he have to change cells?"

"It's an order. There's no need for you to know why. Where do you think you are? A hotel? Gather up your personal items quickly."

Yang Yi was shocked because he could stay with whoever he requested. Although Owen arranged who stayed with Yang Yi, it was the first time the cellmate was being changed so suddenly.

After Hammond got over the shock, he started packing up but stopped halfway and reluctantly told Yang Yi, "It's regrettable I can't teach you any further. You're actually quite a good student. In fact, you do have the talent for it and have what it takes to be a great actor. I had a good time teaching you. Too bad I can only continue teaching you during free activity period in the future." Hammond continued packing after he said that.

Yang Yi than looked at the guard and said, "I would like to meet Officer Owen."

Yang Yi was sure the guard he was speaking to was new here. He was familiar with all the guards in here yet he had never met this guard before. So, he didn't say anything beyond that. He just watched as Hammond finished packing up his personal items and left the cell escorted by the guard.

Yang Yi was suddenly all alone and he wasn't used to it. Right now, he wanted to speak to Owen. So, he could only ask the guard to pass the message. He shouldn't have to wait long before he got to speak to Owen.

Yang Yi didn't burst out in anger. Since he couldn't continue practicing his acting skill, he started training his physical fitness instead. There were just too many things on his to-do list. After completing a set of punching routines silently, Yang Yi suddenly thought of something. Was this done by Owen in preparation for him to be transferred to the Special Administrative Area? However, it didn't seem quite necessary for Owen to transfer his cellmate away before moving him to the Special Administrative Area.

Hammond Phil was transferred away three days now ago and nothing happened since. Yang Yi requested to speak to Owen but it seemed that Owen was avoiding him.

Although he wasn't in a rush to talk to Owen, Yang Yi was quite curious about what Owen was planning.

During free activity period on the same day, Yang Yi was sitting on the same bench as Zhang Yong.

"Nice weather today."

"It's passable."

"What have you learned these past few days?"

"I was learning how to act, hadn't I already told you that?"

"I do have a question for you. What can a spy get from learning how to act? Are you planning to become an undercover agent?"

"Actually I'm also not sure if a spy will find acting useful or not. It's not like I know what skills a spy will need anyway. I believe it will be useful though. Life is like a play after all. You need to put on an act at times."

"Actually, I don't think you need to learn how to act. You're good the way you are. I believe you'd be one of the best agents if you did go undercover."

"Oh, thanks for the confidence."

"Haha, I'm actually just pulling your leg." Zhang Yong burst out laughing.

Yang Yi was quite curious what had him in such a good mood today. "Brother Yong, can I ask you a question?"

"Ask away."

"Can you tell me about Wayne the Beast? I'm really curious."

Zhang Yong just gave Yang Yi a glance before he nonchalantly said, "Why are you asking about him. I don't want to think of him. Moreover, what has he got to do with you? So, stop asking." Zhang Yong could definitely put up an act. Although Zhang Yong hated Wayne the Beast to the core, he sounded outright indifferent when he spoke of him as if Wayne was a total stranger.

Yang Yi just brushed it off in annoyance, "So petty. Forget about it then."

Zhang Yong had immediately retorted, "I must say Little Egg, you're one strange guy. Do you know that?"

"How am I strange?"

"Why are you in prison? To learn, right? If that's the case, why would you meddle in the affairs of other people? As a matter of fact, there's nothing much that I would like to say. Our minds start getting unstable after being in prison for a very long time. Even still, I have no idea why you would plan to kill Wayne. I have started to regret telling you about him."

"What? I'm not planning to kill Wayne."

Zhang Yong firmly asked him, "How's your progress in learning how to act?"

"It's going quite well."

"I don't believe you. At a glance, I already know you're lying." Zhang Yong then looked up into the sky before he continued, "Mind your own business. Wayne is my target and no one is allowed to meddle with him."

"I have no plans of killing him. As you have said, what reasons do I have to kill him? Moreover, it's not like I have the capability to kill him right?"

Nowadays, Yang Yi could lie so smoothly that he found it easier than drinking water for him. As such, Yang Yi was wondering if Zhang Yong was just making a guess or if he indeed discovered the lie.

Right now, Yang Yi was surrounded by his underlings. There was nothing much to do so they were just chatting to pass the time. Soon after, Yang Yi caught sight of a group of inmates walking in a line escorted by guards passing through the main gate.

It was a new batch of inmates.

Kerry immediately stepped beside Yang Yi and said, "Boss, seems like there are newcomers. Do you want me to find out more about them?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Yang Yi was observing this group of new inmates from behind the fence of the recreation field. This group of new inmates still needed to be processed before they could be assigned a cell. Though most of the old-timers in the recreation field just looked at this new batch of inmates indifferently, there were a few old-timers who were trying to intimidate the newcomers.

One of the newcomers actually caught Yang Yi's attention. All the other inmates were only wearing handcuffs but this particular inmate had shackles on his legs as well and had to take small steps as a result. In fact, the way he walked was in a very funny looking way.

In general, only extremely dangerous criminals were treated in such a manner. Thus, Yang Yi pointed at him and said, "Go and find out what crime he committed."

"Sure Boss, I will go now."

Amongst Yang Yi's underlings, he had two who had joined his gang immediately after they entered prison. One could pretty much find all sorts of people in prison. Yang Yi didn't just let any random inmates join him. He would only pick inmates who had the skills he needed and were willing to teach him.

Usually, it was never easy to meet a multi-skilled criminal. However, this type of criminals was very common in Pelican Bay State Prison. The American Judiciary system had filtered out only the most dangerous and high-profile criminals and sent them to the prison. So, the underlings Yang Yi took in were the elites in their criminal fields which made them good teachers and underlings.

Kerry ran to one of the guards and passed him two packs of cigarettes. Kerry soon returned after a quick chat with the guard.

"Boss, I got the details. Not much detail is out yet on what the crimes of all these newcomers are, but the guy wearing leg shackles is definitely out of luck. He managed to break out of prison but the authorities caught him soon after that. That's why he got sent here."

It was no longer surprising why this particular inmate was wearing leg shackles. It was because he had actually managed to pull off a prison break successfully. Moreover, he would also be given some extra treatment as well. At the very least, the guards would let him know who's in charge so that he wouldn't think about attempting another prison break.

"Wow, a prison break. What was his original crime?"

"This guy attempted to break out of prison twice. He's a thief and apparently a very good one too. Oh yeah, his name is Hank."

"He's a thief?"

Yang Yi couldn't help taking another look at the inmate after hearing that. However, there was nothing much that could be seen from so far away. What piqued Yang Yi's curiosity the most was how this particular thief managed to make two attempts at breaking out of prison.

"Yes, the guard wouldn't be able to tell if there are other attempts but it can be confirmed he tried to escape twice. In fact, he even managed to escape successfully once but was soon caught after. Because of this incident, he was sent here. It will be impossible for him to escape this place." Kerry said with absolute confidence due to the high level of security at Pelican Bay State Prison. A person may be able to escape from any other prison in Los Angeles, but the same couldn't be achieved here.

Yang Yi let out a breath before he said, "I believe he should be sent here to the felony section. Go ask this guy if he's willing to be part of our group when he gets sent here. If he doesn't want to join us… Rodriguez."

Rodriguez stepped forward and said, "Yes, boss?"

"If he doesn't want to join us, you go and beat him up until he begs you to let him join."

"Sure, Boss."

"Also, go and remind the other gangs not to fight over this guy with us."

"Understood, Boss."

Zhang Yong just laughed as he asked, "Has he piqued your interest?"

Yang Yi just signaled with his hand, "Yup. I think he's very promising."

Zhang Yong unhappily asked, "Why would you want a thief in the gang? Are you going to tell me you're planning to learn how to steal as well?"

Yang Yi gave a direct answer, "Of course. As per my understanding, aren't spies supposed to steal stuff? That's how the movies always show them. Regardless of whether it's intelligence or whatever it was that got taken, to put it plainly, those are all stolen goods rights?"

Zhang Yong nodded after giving it some thought. "I can't refute that. Go and take him under your wing. I need to pay closer attention to my own wallet in the future. Who knows when you might try to steal it. Hahahaha."

It wasn't an easy job to find a prisoner who was willing to break out of jail with you. As for Yang Yi, the only chance he got to interact with other prisoners was during break time.

However, on one particular day, Yang Yi got to meet a new inmate in a way that he could have never expected.

While Yang Yi was finishing doing a handstand inside his cell, he started to see a view of a guard's legs approaching his cell. Along with the guard were another pair of legs, except they seemed to belong to a prisoner as they were shackled by heavy metal handcuffs.

Realizing that the guard was already at his cell door, Yang Yi quit doing the handstand and front-flipped his body to the ground.

Before the guard said anything, he took out his baton and slammed it onto Yang Yi's cell bars.

"You've got yourself a new roommate, wretch," the guard said as he slapped the prison bars with his baton.

Wretch. That was Yang YI's new nickname in prison. He got it from starting fights all the time.

He had stopped involving himself in fights for a while, but the name Wretch was stuck to him. Well, the guards continued to call Yang Yi that, but so far no other prisoners dared to call him that to his face.

The prisoner brought in was a Caucasian man in his thirties. Even with a slightly humped back, he stood pretty high at 180 centimeters. On a first glance, he actually looked somewhat handsome with his glasses on, but there was an eccentric vibe emitted from his overall demeanor.

"Get in," the guard said as he opened the cell door. Even though the prisoner had his handcuffs taken off him, the shackles around his feet remained intact.

"Have your eyes on him, wretch. If he tries to break those shackles, beat the shit out of him and then tell us," the guard commanded, then disappeared from Yang Yi's sight.

'What kind of maneuver is this?'  Yang Yi paused in shock and thought, 'Did Owen do this? If so, what was he thinking, replacing my cellmate with a thief that just tried to escape the prison?'

"Hey, buddy. He was talking about you," the shackled prisoner suddenly said, then sighed.

"Mm?" Yang Yi turned his head as his thoughts were interrupted.

"This is a pretty good place," the shackled man started talking to himself as he looked around the cell, "Much better than Los Angeles, I would say. Hey man, how long have you been here?"

"A year and a half," Yang Yi replied.

"Do you know who I am?"

"No."

"Key, that's my name," the shackled man said in a shady voice, "Alright buddy, tell me who's in charge of this place. I'll give you a reward if you tell me who's the toughest one in this sector."

Yang Yi wasn't quite sure how to respond to Key's question, but Key wasn't waiting for him anyways. Instead, Key walked towards the bed and began examining it.

"Hey, care to help a brother out?" Key asked bluntly, "Put your stuff on the top bed. I'm sleeping at the bottom."

Judging from how the bed was made, it was obvious that Yang Yi had been sleeping on the bottom half of the bunk bed for a while now. In fact, Yang Yi hadn't changed the spot he slept in ever since he shared a room with Zhang Yong.

Apparently, this Key person wasn't aware of his own circumstances. Either that, or he was trying to challenge Yang Yi's authority and claim the position of boss of the cell room.

"Come on, don't just stand there. I'm tired enough already," Key said as he stretched out and yawned.

"What's your real name? Tell me what crime you committed and how long your sentence is," Yang Yi said as he simply ignored Key's request.

"Hey, you…" Key was starting to feel quite annoyed but quickly changed his tone as he noticed the pile of stuff Yang Yi had in the corner.

"What have you got there?" Key asked.

"Cigarettes, Candies and some instant noodles."

Yang Yi actually had a lot of food with him at this point. Apart from what Yang Yi had robbed from other inmates, there were also quite a few offerings that were given to Yang Yi by his admirers and underlings. Since there was too much food to store in his cell, Yang Yi simply piled them in the corner and covered them with a piece of cloth.

Key paused for a bit. As his head shifted between Yang Yi and the pile of food sitting in the corner, he suddenly spoke in a much more obedient tone.

"My name is Hank and I'm here for theft. I originally had an eight-year sentence, but it's now extended to twelve because I tried to break out of this place. So instead of eight years, it's now been extended by four years."

"What did you steal to have a sentence that serious?" Yang Yi asked curiously.

"Well, it's a long story. I'm very much into stealing artworks and jewelry and whatnot. The reason I was caught was because, uh, the police found me when I was trying to sneak into a mansion in Los Angeles. If it weren't for my lawyer, they would have probably given me a life sentence instead of eight years."

"Be more specific. How did it turn out like that?" Yang Yi asked skeptically. Eight years seemed way too long if Hank was arrested only for stealing.

"Well, I happened to find a porn video with a senator in it as part of the main cast. I didn't know I was stealing from the home of a politician, but there I was, trying to find something valuable and boy was there was a lot of great content in that tape! Anyway, I uploaded the video and was then targeted. Someone tried to have the police ambush my house. They were trying to frame me for stealing a national secret document and they were going to sentence me to life imprisonment for it."

With a smug voice, Hank continued the story, "I didn't touch the safe where they said they stored the important documents, though. I deliberately chose not to touch it because I knew there was something wrong with it. The hidden cameras they hid couldn't get the footage of me touching the safe, so I was sentenced to eight years instead of life."

"It's twelve, isn't it? You got four extra years," Yang Yi asked as he counted with his fingers.

"Oh, that's for breaking out of prison. Like I said, I managed to get out of here. Things just happened to turn out not as planned."

Before Hank continued with his story, Yang Yi suddenly pointed at him. His finger then pointed at the wall, Yang Yi grabbed a towel and started wiping his sweat.

"Go do an Asian squat in the corner over there. Cover your ears with both of your hands. Don't move unless I tell you to."

Without showing any signs of resistance, Hank quickly walked to the wall after throwing his sheet on the top of the bunker bed.

"I want your feet rooted on the ground, and do not lean against the walls," Yang Yi ordered coldly.

Hank followed the order and proceeded to do an Asian squat, but his legs just couldn't tolerate standing at an angle that low. As he struggled to remain as still as he could, Hank was sweating.

If Hank didn't see the pile of food lying in the corner, he would be still talking to Yang Yi with the same cocky attitude that he had when he just arrived. However, as quick-witted, as Hank was, he immediately realized that Yang Yi was not someone who could be tested easily.

In fact, Yang Yi had the authority to abuse any newcomer he wanted. Yang Yi wasn't the kind of person to enjoy bullying other prisoners, but it was clear to him that in order to receive respect in prison, acting ruthless was sometimes the most effective method.

After Hank squatted in the corner for half an hour, Yang Yi finally spoke to him again.   

"Your name is Key, am I right? Sounds like you know how to open locks."

Unlike Zhang Yong, who was technically on the level of being untouchable, Yang Yi still had to resort to intimidation tactics in order to protect himself in prison.

Sure, Yang Yi was now a capable fighter, but what truly mattered was not how threatening he looked on the outside. Even with the rapid improvement he had made over the last year, Yang Yi still had a long way to go before he could afford to not have his guard up whenever he interacted with a stranger.

If Yang Yi was as good as Zhang Yong, he might even be Hank's friend right now. However, that's obviously not what was happening.

Hank did a pretty good job avoiding a beating from Yang Yi. As soon as he noticed the amount of food Yang Yi had, Hank immediately understood Yang Yi wasn't someone who could be taken lightly.

If it weren't for Hank's quick shift in attitude, Yang Yi was going to give him much more to do than just Asian squats. After all, Hank was trying to belittle Yang Yi just then by trying to sleep at the bottom of the bunk bed.

In fact, doing Asian squats already seemed like quite a bad punishment for Hank. Not only was he in pain from standing in a low position, Hank was also having trouble just trying to keep his balance.

Anyway, Yang Yi was asking Hank about his nickname Key. Judging from the sound of it, Yang Yi assumed Hank to be some sort of thief.

"Yes, I'm good at opening locks. I can open anything that has a lock on it," Hank answered in a shaky voice. His legs couldn't stop wobbling while he tried to stay still on the ground.

"Tell me something. Why did you break out of prison? And why were you caught right after you escaped?"

"Can you let me talk while I stand? Please, I can't hold on with these shackles on me."

"Just keep holding. Make it short and I'll let you stand up pretty soon," Yang Yi said ruthlessly.

"Oh shit," Hank cursed to himself quietly, then paused for a bit while he tried to think of a way to tell his story.

"Basically," Hank said in agitation, "I came back to jail because I realized that the whole thing was a conspiracy. They were trying to let me escape so they could kill me after I got out of here. I didn't want to die right away, so I turned myself in at the closest police station and came back to this prison."

"You can stand up now," Yang Yi commanded. He now had a rough idea of Hank's character.

"You really have an… an eccentric way of punishing others," Hank smiled painfully as he quickly stood up and wiped away his sweat. Yang Yi, however, still had the same stern expression on him.

"Now tell me, why were you sent to prison?" Yang Yi continued the interrogation. Even though Hank was now standing up, it seemed that Yang Yi wasn't going any easier on him.

After wiping his sweat, Hank continued to talk as he leaned himself against a wall.

"I went inside this really fancy house in Los Angeles last Autumn. Without triggering the security system at all, I managed to find a safe and stole twenty grand worth of cash, three paintings and some other valuable items from it. If I remember correctly, the paintings were worth two million and four hundred grand, the jewelry one hundred and there was also a watch that was worth a hundred grand. I also stole a laptop since I didn't want to spend my own money on it."

"Geez, after stealing that much, you still had to save yourself the cost of buying a laptop..." Yang Yi said in awe. He couldn't fathom how someone this good at stealing money could also be so stingy at the same time.

"I know I can be a bit greedy at times," Hank said in a slightly regretful voice, "but you know, I might as well not waste anything while I was at it."

"Anyway," Hank shrugged his shoulders, "I received eight hundred grand in total for selling all that stuff I got and then after I was done, I remembered that laptop I stole. When I opened it, I found out that the laptop had a pretty interesting porno video stored inside it. There was a video of a senator having an orgy with sixteen different chicks at the same time. All the girls in it were pretty hot, but the senator was the only dude in it. With a discovery this shocking, I did the only natural thing - I uploaded the video to a public porn website."  

"That's pretty impressive," Yang Yi complimented despite shaking his head in disapproval of Hank's decision. "Why did you decide to upload the video?"

"I just hate rich guys," Hank replied with a slightly displeased look.

"Well, that's a pretty fucking dumb way to project your apathy. What happened next?"

"After four months, which by then I thought everything was over, a friend of mine told me that he found a good target for me. It was a nice house with a lot of artworks in it and since I've always had a thing for artworks, I went there immediately and man - I knew it was a trap the moment I took a step inside that house. There were no surveillance, no alarm, and the safe was just sitting in the most visible spot in the house. I wanted to leave, but the police had already surrounded me."

"What happened then? Couldn't they just kill you if you fell into their trap?"

"I was already on the ground when the police got in. Since they had their law enforcement cameras on, they couldn't just kill me if I had my hands behind my back the entire time. You've got to admit that I was pretty smart for not giving them the chance to kill me for supposedly resisting arrest."

"Keep going."

"Then they seized my house and took away all the artworks I had. God damn it! All that hard work for nothing in the end…"

"You stole those," Yang Yi narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

Apparently this petty thief, or a mad genius, rather, honestly believed that his skill in stealing somehow let him gain ownership over the things he stole.

"Those were masterpieces I stole with my talents and that was my money! Fucking hell! It was five million in total…"

"Alright, stop your whining," Yang Yi commanded, "now tell me about how you escaped this prison."

"They milked all the money I had and tried to give me a life sentence, but what they didn't know was that I had a lawyer with me in case something like this happened. Like I said before, my lawyer did a great job of reducing the length of my sentence. Now, maybe I should've been satisfied with what I got and maybe I should've just stayed here for a bit longer, but I happened to find a way to escape this place a few days ago. What happened next is no secret: I basically utilized my lockpicking skills and marched my way out of here."  

"You escaped a prison that easily?"

"Of course it's not easy, but back to the story. After I left prison, I thought about going to this secret hideout I had in Los Angeles City, but one question quickly came to me: what if those assholes out there were trying to let me escape so that they could, you know, just kill me?"

"That's a fairly reasonable assumption."

"So, what I did was confess to the nearest police station I could find. There were probably at least four of them trying to shoot me in the head before I got to the police station, but I still managed to reach the police station and surrendered myself. So even though my sentence was extended by four years, it was much better than just dropping dead somewhere, you get me?"

Yang Yi nodded in approval, "You are pretty good at making decisions during times of crisis, I'll give you that. I don't even know if I should call you an idiot or a genius now. Maybe a smart idiot?"

"I guess anyone can be too confident sometimes," Hank shrugged his shoulders again, "In the end, we are all humans. We can't be correct all the time and I'm no exception. That being said, I'm not an idiot."

Yang Yi shook his head, then took a step closer to Hank.

"No, you are an idiot." Yang Yi suddenly stared at Hank, "If you're not an idiot, maybe you should've asked someone who I am before you got here. You know what? I think I'm starting to understand why you're back in prison now."

"Why? What's that supposed to mean?" Hank asked in confusion.

"It's none of your business," Yang Yi smiled, "Anyways, since you are in my cell let me explain the rules to you."

"Anything you say, boss. I'll listen to anything you tell me," Hank said obediently. He didn't show any signs of defiance now that he understood Yang Yi's temperament.

"From now on, you are my man. I will protect you, but you need to make yourself useful."

"Useful as in?" Hank narrowed his eyes for a bit, "Do you mean…"

"I have rather unique interests..." Yang Yi smiled as his gaze landed on Hank's butt. Hank stepped back and covered his backside instinctively.

"No, please, anything but that, boss!" Hank said loudly as he stuck his back to the wall.

"I didn't finish my sentence. My interest is to learn anything that could potentially be useful to me. If you teach me your skills, I'll guarantee your safety, but if you don't want to teach me, or you fail to teach me, you will become useless to me."

"You want to learn lockpicking? Sure, I've taught a lot of people, but it's not really something that you can learn if you don't have the talent for it. If you still don't know how to pick locks after I teach you--"

"That's your problem."

"What? I don't it's my fault if you can't learn it--"

"No," Yang Yi shook his head and reaffirmed, "It's your problem if I can't do what you can do. If I can't do it, it's your fault for not teaching me right. For a pretty boy like you, I know exactly the way to make you useful if you don't know how to make yourself useful."

"You can't do that to me!" Hank yelled in disgust.

"I don't need to do anything. Pretty soon there will be dozens of big, muscly guys wanting to be really good friends with you. You know this isn't just some empty threat that I've just made up, right?"

"Let's make a deal here," Hank suddenly changed his tone, "You know, I'm actually a pretty successful thief myself. That makes me quite rich.""

"So what?" Yang Yi crossed his arms.

"Ugh!" Hank groaned in frustration, "Please, I just want to live in peace here! Come on, I'll pay you five hundred dollars every month if you can give me a peaceful life here. Think about it, I won't just be paying you in cigarettes!"

Seeing that Hank was obviously on edge, Yang Yi decided to tease him a little bit more.

"I'll send in three guys tomorrow. Do you prefer men of lighter or darker skin? Or is it a mixed flavored sundae you're looking for? I can make it up to you since we don't usually get someone as pretty as you in here."

"Fuck it, a thousand dollars then!" Hank proclaimed. He was now slamming the back of his head against the wall, "I'll give you all my savings and pay you one thousand dollars every month. Is that good enough for you?"

Yang Yi smiled wickedly, "I don't want your money. Well, I would start considering if it's ten grand every month."

"Ten thousand? Fuck, how about you just kill me right here?"

"Why would I want to kill you? I'm not into dead bodies. Anyways, that's all the talk for today if you are not willing to be useful to me. From tomorrow onwards, I'll make sure that you are going to really get a feel of how 'warm' and 'intimate' prisoners are in here. Now go stand in the corner while I do my workout."

"Fine, fine! You'll get what you want!" Hank shouted anxiously, "I'll teach you lockpicking if you want to learn it, okay? I'll teach you how to open locks the best I could! No problem, I'm the best teacher there is if you want to learn how to pick a lock!"

"Can you open this?" Yang Yi pointed at the cell door.

"Yes, but not without the essential tools. This is an electronic door that doesn't use a mechanical key. I just need a chip card to disrupt the signals."

"Good, now go stand in the corner. I don't like having others look at me when I do my workout."

"Can I please have a cigarette? Please, boss, just one," Hank begged as his palms were closed together.

"I'll give you one if you behave yourself. Now, go stand in the corner like I told you to, you little bitch! Or do you want to do an Asian squat again?"

Realizing that there was no chance or him to speak anymore, Hank stopped speaking and faced the wall. Again, Yang Yi's intimidation tactic had proven to be very effective.

Yang Yi knew that he couldn't let his guard down against someone as crafty as Hank. It didn't matter how obedient Hank acted around Yang Yi. Inside Yang Yi's mind, he was already planning to treat Hank like a slave for the next few days.

If it weren't for the fact that Hank just demonstrated how clever he could be, Yang Yi probably wouldn't mind adopting a more tolerant attitude. As for the moment, Yang Yi would never let Hank help him before he had completely crushed Hank's ego.

While Hank continued to stand to face the wall, Yang Yi started his daily workout: handstand, plank, push-ups.

After Yang Yi did two sets of every calisthenic he could do, he then practiced the two sets of wushu moves he learned from Zhang Yong.  

It took around four hours for Yang Yi to finish his daily training, and that's exactly how long Hank stood in the corner.

"You can move now," Yang Yi said as he recharged himself with two pieces of chocolate

"May I go to the toilet now, boss?" Hank pleaded miserably when he turned around.

"You did well. I'll give you the permission to use the toilet. Go on."

Yang Yi couldn't help but break into laughter as he watched Hank trying to limp toward the toilet. Hank was acting exactly like what Yang Yi called him just then.

Yeah, Hank was behaving like a complete little bitch since he didn't even spend any effort trying to look more dignified while going to the toilet.

From the way Hank was asking for Yang Yi's permission in such a rushed voice to how he tried to limp to the toilet as fast as he could, Yang Yi just couldn't help but burst out laughing like a bully.

After Hank had zipped his pants, Yang Yi threw a cigarette at him.

"Here's your reward for behaving yourself," Yang Yi told Hank while still trying to recover from his laughter.

"Thank you, boss! Thank you so much!" Hank said gratefully, then quickly lit the cigarette and inhaled from it.

With an extremely satisfied look face on his face, Hank thanked Yang Yi again.

"You don't know how good this cigarette is, boss. I haven't had a good smoke in nine days."

"Why didn't they take the shackles off? I thought it was illegal," Yang Yi suddenly asked as he pointed towards Hank's legs.

"It is illegal, but you can get anything if you were caught after you escaped jail."

"Can you open it?"

"See?" Hank said while pointing towards a hole on his shackles, "I can't open this because it's sealed with lead."

"Didn't you say you can open anything with a lock?" Yang Yi said in a sneering voice.

"I can open any electrical or mechanical lock, but this right here is just a piece of metal. I can't open it unless I hack it with a chainsaw or something."

"I guess you'll have live with that thing on you. You're pretty unlucky, Hank, but the worst has yet to come for you. Now tell me: how are you supposed to go to meals and breaks with that thing on you?

"Well, nothing I can do about it. I'll just have to bring this with me."

Suddenly, a slamming noise came from outside the cell. It appeared that another guard had come to visit Yang Yi.

"Oi, wretch!" the guard shouted at Yang Yi while he kept knocking his baton on Yang Yi's prison bars, "Your medical application has just been passed. Get over here right now!"

Yang Yi quickly stood up and began heading out, but before he did, he turned his head towards Hank once more.

"I'll see you in a moment, Hank," Yang Yi said with a threatening smile, "but let me just kindly remind you to not fuck with my things while I'm not here. You don't want to know what would happen if you do, right?"

Even though Yang Yi just told Hank to not touch his belongings, he still threw half a box of cigarettes onto his bed before he left. He also took out his shiv and put it on top of the pile of belongings before covering it with his cloth.

After doing all that with Hank's knowledge, Yang Yi threw a taunting smile at Hank before leaving the cell with the guard.   

Instead of going to the medical center, the guard took Yang Yi to Owen's office. It turned out that the medical application was nothing more than an excuse for guards to secretly meet up with prisoners.

"How's your new roommate?" Owen asked as soon as the guard left.

"He's pretty good as a key."

"Yes, Key is his nickname, and being a key is what he's useful for. Now, when do I receive my pay?"

"I'll pay you right after you let me see the person I need to see," Yang Yi asserted, "Come on, I thought that's what we agreed on. You send me to the special zone and I give you the money."

Owen wiped his forehead anxiously, "I'll be off my post here after twenty-two days. The payment must arrive before that!"

"Rest assured, I can send the money whenever I want. You just need to do your part."

"Good," Owen exhaled in relief, "Listen, I'm going to be replaced by a new guard pretty soon. I swear that I'll send you to the special zone before that, but you have to promise me that you won't do anything until after I've left for three months. I don't want anyone to know what went on between us, you got that?"

"Rest assured," Yang Yi responded sternly, "I am very keen on maintaining my reputation."

Owen sighed as he looked in another direction, "I can't make any profit without taking some risks first, and now I'm betting my career on your reputation! I hope that you are a man of your word, I really do. Just don't do anything that's harmful to me and I won't do a thing to you. Now tell me what is that you want to do."

Seeing that Yang Yi wasn't going to answer him, Owen took a step closer to him and began to whisper, "That Hank fellow I sent to you will be very useful if you want to go to the special zone. Just tell the guards that you found him trying to break out. Do that within the next few days and you'll become a hero in this sector."

"You're saying the plan is for me to tell on Hank? What do I get out of it?" Yang Yi asked.

"You'll become a hero for stopping a jailbreaking attempt, which means you'll get a job to work in the special zone. Is that clear enough?"

"Yeah, sounds great," Yang Yi said without objection, "What happens after that?"

"What do you mean? Anything after is your own business. Listen, this is all that I can do for you. Usually, no one would believe it if you tell them that a prisoner is trying to escape, but Hank has already done it before. And you know what? We guards fucking hate it when someone tries to break out of prison."

"So even though you have all the worst murderers and rapists here, the kind of criminals you guys hate the most are the escapees?"

"Of course! We would owe you a great deal if you report someone for trying to break out of prison. Or better yet, try catching him in the act! Suppose that you stopped Hank from trying to break out of prison a second time, I could reward you by having you work in the special zone. No one will suspect us if we do that."  

"Sure, but how do we get Hank to try to break out of prison?"

"We don't. We use this," Owen replied as he took out a tiny box from his pocket. The box, which was five millimeters thick, was even smaller than a chewing gum packet.

"This is a disruptor that can jam the cell door's signal," Owen explained, "You just put this near the keyhole and it will unlock your cell. It didn't trigger the alarm system last time someone used it."

"That's a pretty flawless plan you got," Yang Yi smiled as he took the box.

"It is," Owen said with a smug face, "You know who found the way to break out like this? Hank, he's one. He made this thing and broke out of this place once before. No guard likes a prisoner who knows how to escape, and I'm no exception. We'll have him get a taste of his own medicine."

"You got it," Yang Yi smiled in response as he put the small box in his pocket, "Hank's going to feel real pleasant when he finds out that he failed to break out a second time."

Owen laughed, then pointed a finger towards the ceiling, "Ha! God must've blessed me when He decided to send Hank to my care. Alright, everything looks fine for now. Don't forget your promise and I'll see you at another time."

"Sure, Owen. I'll see you another time," Yang Yi said, then headed back to his cell cheerfully. This gift he just received might even help him to escape prison for real.

When Yang Yi got back to his cell, he saw that Hank was still standing while facing the wall. It seemed that he really didn't want to risk angering Yang Yi. However, Yang Yi couldn't help but think that something was going on while Hank was alone by himself.

Yang Yi opened the pack of cigarettes he left on the bed earlier. While he was doing so, Hank was starting look more anxious than when Yang Yi just came back.

"Did you use my cigarettes?" Yang Yi asked skeptically while he sat on his bed.

 

"No, sir. I did not." Hank said in fear.

Without saying anything, Yang Yi got up from his bed and walked to the corner of the cell. After he took away the piece of cloth covering his belongings, Yang Yi picked up a half-full box of cigarettes.

Most of Yang Yi's cigarette packets were half-full, but Hank was looking especially scared when Yang Yi picked up that specific box.  

Yang Yi said with a creepy smile on his face, "You've got a pretty bad nicotine addiction. That's four you took from me in such a short time. Or did you hide them somewhere on you?"

Without trying to pretend anymore, Hank immediately dropped on the floor and begged for Yang Yi's forgiveness.

"I'm so sorry!" Hank apologized regretfully, "I was only going to have one, but I couldn't help myself! I'm sorry for touching your stuff!"

"What do you think your punishment should be?" Yang Yi asked with a troubled look. He honestly wasn't sure how bad Hank's punishment should be.

"Please, don't hit me!" Hank shouted in tears, "Call me anything you want, but just don't hit me!"

Yang Yi tilted his head, "You mean I should give you a scolding? No no no, I'm not into scolding people. I like hitting them."

"Please don't hit me! I can't take a beating!" Hank begged as he curled into a fetal position. He was crying even louder now.

Yang Yi hated it when grown men start to cry like children, but he couldn't bring himself to hit someone behaving this pitifully.

"Fine, I'm not going to hit you," Yang Yi scratched his head, "Go sleep on the floor until I'm not angry at you anymore."

"Thank you, thank you, boss!" Hank praised Yang Yi while still kneeling on the floor, "Bless you, kind sir! I know I didn't deserve this."

Suddenly, the dinner bell rang.

"You won't be having dinner tonight either. Now go stand in the corner and don't look anywhere. Let this be a real lesson to you," Yang Yi commanded, then proceeded to go to dinner.

It didn't take Yang Yi much time to finish his dinner. After he came back to his cell, he saw that Hank had been standing in the corner the entire time this time.

Yang Yi was hoping to execute Owen's plans tonight, but he needed to at least test the disruptor first. Seeing that Hank was not moving at all, Yang Yi stood at the cell door and started to take out the disruptor.

It would be a bonus if the disruptor could work without triggering the alarm system, but Owen's plan would still work whether or not it could open the cell door quietly.

'Might as well just push Hank out and go from there,' Yang Yi thought. After all, the plan was just to frame Hank for trying to escape.