Yang Yi couldn't walk straight when he went to the cafeteria for lunch. In fact, everyone was looking at him as if they knew what had been done to him. Some of them were looking at Yang Yi like he was the kid who was bullied all the time in school. Some of the inmates were even throwing pitiful smiles at him as he walked through the cafeteria.
"Talk to me if you need to, alright? Just remember to take care of yourself," one of Yang Yi's nicer neighbors said as Yang Yi walked past him.
It's not what you all think it is! All I did was stretch! My legs are the parts that hurt!
Yang Yi wanted to shout out and tell everyone that their assumption was wrong, in the end, he decided to stay quiet and just held back his grievances.
I can't blame this on anyone but myself, can I? Yang Yi thought to himself as he tried his best to ignore the looks from the people in the cafeteria.
"Please, give me a little bit more," Yang Yi pleaded as he walked over to the Mexican man who was handing out lunch.
The man did what was asked and scooped an extra spoon of meat sauce onto Yang Yi's plate, but he had a perverted grin on his face the entire time he was serving Yang Yi.
After Yang Yi got his lunch, he sat beside Zhang Yong and started to almost inhale his meal. Strangely, it took Yang Yi no time to finish the same food that he was so disgusted with when he first came to prison.
"You see that White guy over there?" Zhang Yong asked just as Yang Yi was about to finish.
"Yeah, what about him?"
"His name is Michael. He's a merchant who exchanges goods in this place. Go ask him if he sells cup noodles. If he does, they should probably arrive around dinner time. You got the cigarettes?"
"Yeah. I'll ask him now," Yang Yi said, then proceeded to walk over to Michael as smoothly as he could.
"Hi, Michael," Yang Yi greeted, to which Michael replied by offering a seat in front of him.
"Good day to you, my friend. What can I do for you?" the man named Michael said kindly. He was a man probably in his fifties and had a savvy look about him.
"Do you have any food? I'd really appreciate it if you have anything that has a lot of calories. I'd really love it if you have cup noodles."
"You're not here for prostate pills right?" Michael asked in surprise, then gave Yang Yi a teasing smile.
"Come on, it was a joke. Don't look so serious!" Michael laughed as Yang Yi looked down in embarrassment, "Alright, you want food. Let see, I have some chocolate here. If you want cup noodles, I have some as well."
"How much are they?" Yang Yi asked.
"One piece of chocolate costs two packs of cigarettes. A small package of cup noodles cost the same or you can pay in cash. Each of them costs twenty American dollars."
"That's more than ten times the retail price." Yang Yi cursed in his mind, but he didn't have any other choice in prison.
"I have forty packs of cigarettes. I want ten pieces of chocolate and ten packages of cup noodles."
"Sure," Michael said delightfully, " We have a deal then, but we'll have to exchange several times in small portions. You don't want the guards becoming suspicious of you."
"Can you bring them this afternoon? How about two cup noodles?" Yang Yi whispered as he snuck in four boxes of cigarettes underneath the table.
"Sure, that's too easy. Come here at dinnertime," Michael said, then gestured for Yang Yi to go back to his table.
"You're done?" Zhang Yong asked Yang Yi when he returned.
Yang Yi nodded, "Yeah, it's done. I'm going to get it at dinner time. Brother Yong, I still think it's better if I have some cash on me. Do you know how to get cash?"
"Don't call me that," Zhang Yong smiled. He sounded a little displeased.
"What?"
"Have I asked you your name before?"
"Oh wait, no, you haven't yet," Yang Yi said in surprise, "Do you know my name?"
"Obviously not. Listen, never tell people your real name unless you're asked to. This applies to every job there is in existence. Just call me Landmine and I will call you by whatever you prefer."
"My name is Yang Yi. That's my real name."
"Fuck, I didn't ask for your name!" Zhang Yong said and scratched his head in irritation. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I just thought I should tell you. On top of that, my pseudonym is Benjamin. You can also call me Ross too."
"Stop! Don't go around telling people your pseudonyms either! What's your nickname?"
"Well….it's Little Egg," Yang Yi uttered shamefully.
"Little Egg...That's well... pretty special for a nickname…"
"I want to change it! I'll change it now. I really want to!" Yang Yi suddenly said loudly. It seemed like he was about to cry.
"Come on, you don't have to. Little Egg isn't that bad!" Zhang Yong scratched his head as he tried to comfort Yang Yi, "It's just a nickname! Come on, I change nicknames from time to time. It's no big deal! But I have to say, man, Little Egg doesn't sound threatening at all."
"Sure, sure, whatever you say," Yang Yi replied weakly, "Why is your nickname Landmine anyway? Is it because of the way you fight so explosively?"
"Yeah, something like that. I got the nickname after I came to this prison. I really like it. Maybe I'll stick with it in the future."
"Why are you also called the Worm then?"
"Well, because I hide deep. On top of that, worms are very good at surviving, don't you think?"
Zhang Yong laughed and tapped lightly on Yang Yi's shoulder, "Come on, let's get back to the cell. For our kind, nicknames are something we change more often than our clothes. Don't bother too much about it."
"Well, I'm not you guys. Once I become a famous spy, I'm going to stick with my nickname and manage it like a brand. You know, it'll be something that sounds memorable and impressive."
"So you're sticking with Little Egg?"
"You've got to be kidding me. I'm not sticking with a shitty name like that! I want something badass, something I can really make a reputation out of."
After the two had talked their way back to their cell, Yang Yi immediately started his physical training.
"Do some push-ups," Zhang Yong instructed, "We'll go with twenty reps every set. There will be five sets for you in total."
One hundred consecutive push-ups was a bit too much for Yang Yi, but he could definitely manage it if it were split into five sets. After all, he was still quite young and he wasn't too heavy either.
After Yang Yi had completed his push-ups, Zhang Yong continued to instruct him.
"Next is squats. Again, twenty reps every set. Come on, get to it. You're aiming for two hundred reps in total."
Whenever Yang Yi made the mistake of doing an exercise incorrectly, Zhang Yong was there to help him adjust his posture. However, Zhang Yong usually didn't have to give Yang Yi the same piece of advice more than once since Yang Yi would understand it the first time.
"We'll stop here. That's enough for today," Zhang Yong said after Yang Yi had completed two hours of exercise.
Yang Yi's arms were jerking in pain at that point. He was covered in so much sweat that it was as if he had been thrown into a river.
"It's fine... I can hold on," Yang Yi insisted even though he was having trouble breathing properly.
"Don't force it, Yang Yi. Training is something that you are meant to do over a long period of time. Don't rush it too much or you'll get yourself hurt. How do you feel right now?"
"Hungry and I want to take a shower…"
"There's no shower right now," Zhang Yong chuckled, "You might have to just wipe yourself down with some tap water once you stop sweating."
Seeing that Yang Yi was pushing himself quite hard in his training, Zhang Yong became less harsh than before. Instead of telling Yang Yi to continue training, he was now actually telling Yang Yi to take a break.
After Yang Yi had stopped sweating, he rinsed his body with some water and wiped himself dry. As soon as Yang Yi put on his shirt, Zhang Yong was already dealing him a hand for a poker game.
Zhang Yong said as he counted the cards in his hand, "Alright, time for a poker session. Now, how did you beat me every single time?"
"Well," Yang Yi thought for a moment, "The main thing involves observing your opponent. You observe their expressions and the little movements they make. But most importantly, you need to remember their cards…"