Chapter 29: The Dog Pen

The main control room of the prison governed the lives and deaths of all inmates. Its console was equipped with a system akin to a “Cradle System,” constantly transmitting specific signals to one hundred thousand neck shackles, ensuring the green light remained lit for safety. If the control room were completely destroyed, it would mean a massive riot had broken out within the prison, and the safety signal would cease to be sent. To prevent accidental operation or equipment malfunction, the cessation of the signal would not immediately kill the prisoners; instead, there was a fifteen-minute buffer.

The recent explosion in the control room had clearly obliterated the console, cutting off the safety signal. Every inmate’s neck shackle now flashed a severe yellow warning, granting all just fifteen minutes to live.

Li Nanke, at present, possessed three traits and one primary attribute. “Breath of the Lake” was already at its highest level, “Scale of the Sea” had reached level seven, “Armed” trait lingered at level three, while the primary attribute “Deep Sea” had not advanced at all. He was sorely lacking in source energy to enhance his supernatural abilities, but what did it mean to have one hundred thousand people in the Pit Prison? If all these condemned prisoners died after fifteen minutes and transformed into the living dead, akin to those in Safety Zone A91, the Pit Prison beneath the earth would become a true hell.

At this moment, the Pit Prison had descended into utter chaos.

Upon discovering their neck shackles shifting to a yellow warning, some prisoners rushed toward the burning control room, others tried to forcefully dismantle their “dog collars” with makeshift tools, some collapsed internally, screaming and roaring in despair, while others abandoned all concern for life and attacked fellow inmates.

Human diversity manifested in its most vivid form.

Li Nanke noticed that those attempting to violently dismantle their collars quickly triggered a red light on their necks. Struck by deadly high-voltage electricity, they collapsed stiffly to the ground, wisps of acrid smoke rising from their bodies—dead beyond doubt.

His mind raced; he realized that heading for the control room offered no hope of resolving the crisis, for the explosion had been intentional, leaving no chance the console survived or could clear the yellow warning. These prisoners were doomed. His only option was to save himself as quickly as possible!

Li Nanke searched Michael’s memories and soon discovered where hope lay hidden.

He hurried down the corridor toward cell number 176 on the same floor. Ten rooms away, within that cell, resided a skilled expert in electronic hacking named Alba.

If Alba was willing, he could help Li Nanke remove his collar.

Cell 175’s bars stood ajar, and someone had arrived ahead of him.

A hulking prison boss, twice the breadth of a normal man, stood there—at first glance, reminiscent of a bear. Tattoos covered the white skin exposed outside his prison garb.

The boss had Alba cornered in the cell. Alba, a hunched middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses, wore a swollen red handprint on his face and now sported a terrified, ingratiating smile.

“Sir, let’s talk this out—”

“Say another word and I’ll twist your head off. Hurry up and remove my collar!”

Alba nodded frantically, fumbling a small electronic hacking device, similar to a USB drive, from his pants.

He inserted a finger-length wire into the boss’s collar at the back of his neck, tapping buttons on the device. Soon, the collar beeped, its light went dark, and the tight shackle slackened.

The boss’s face lit up with joy, and he laughed as he tried to rip off the collar—but Alba’s eyes flashed coldly, and he pressed the device again.

A crackling spark erupted, and the collar unleashed a high-voltage surge lethal enough to kill a bear. The boss did not even scream; his body emitted a burnt stench as he collapsed, eyes wide open, never to move again.

“Bah!” Alba spat a thick glob straight onto the lifeless face. “Dare to slap me? Go rot in hell!”

Outside the cell, Li Nanke frowned. This Pit Prison held only death-row inmates—desperate men, none to be trusted. To let Alba remove his collar would be to hand his life over, risking an end like the boss’s.

But Li Nanke was no ordinary man. He sneered, lifted his chainsaw sword, and strode into the cell.

“Michael? Where did you get a weapon? What are you doing?”

Li Nanke said nothing, turned, and shut the barred door. The electronic lock snapped shut, and with a swing of the chainsaw sword, he destroyed the cell’s electronic controls, turning the closed electronic lock into a mechanical one.

“You’re insane! Damn you, you’ve locked the door! Maniac!” If not for Li Nanke brandishing the chainsaw sword, Alba might have leapt at him.

Li Nanke waved his hand, and the sword vanished: “Don’t worry, I have no hostility. I’m not as foolish as this corpse.”

“Alba, you have the skills to hack not only the collars but also a series of electronic doors, but in a prison full of death-row inmates, you have no means to protect yourself.”

“You saw it—I possess supernatural power and the strength to protect you. Cooperating to escape benefits us both.”

“Besides, you need your collar removed, but the device interface is at the back of your neck. You can help others but can’t remove your own… So, you help me, I help you. What do you say?”

Alba glanced at the now dead-locked cell door, cursing inwardly. He could hack electronic devices, but once damaged, the barred door became a mechanical lock—breakable only with brute force. His thin arms and legs were useless against such heavy metal bars, designed for death-row inmates. Li Nanke’s confidence in locking the door showed he could break out by force. If such supernatural power was truly strong, seeking Li Nanke’s protection and cooperation was indeed the best option.

Though Li Nanke spoke in a friendly, negotiating tone, in truth he blocked all of Alba’s escape routes, leaving him no room for trickery.

Unless Alba wished to die here with Li Nanke in this cramped cell…

“Make up your mind quickly, time waits for no one. When fifteen minutes are up, this place will only become more dangerous.”

Half the fifteen-minute limit had already passed.

A flood of death-row inmates poured into the control room but failed to clear the warning; their collars still glowed yellow, plunging the entire prison into madness.

Many prisoners, eyes bloodshot and brandishing improvised weapons, began a savage melee, turning the prison into a hellish inferno beneath the earth.

Alba looked at the carnage outside, swallowed hard, and caught the hidden meaning in Li Nanke’s words.

“Michael, do you know something?”

Li Nanke turned, offering the back of his neck: “Want to know? Then hurry!”

Alba had no choice but to operate behind him, tapping frantically to remove the collar. Then he turned, handing the hacking device to Li Nanke: “Be careful. It’s your first time—follow my instructions step by step, don’t do anything rash.”