Shackles of Humanity

Early the next morning, the scar-faced Prison Guard opened the cell door, his face dark. He saw that while Luo Kai looked half-dead, he clearly wasn’t going to die anytime soon. ’This is surprising,’ he thought. ’That lash I gave him a few days ago was infused with Dark Force. Forget a prisoner on the brink of death; even a healthy, able-bodied man would be severely injured, if not killed. With no medical treatment here, the outcome should have been obvious. But after all this time, the kid still looks the same. What the hell!’ Somewhat annoyed, he cursed, ”You stinking brat, count yourself lucky. Get up and eat!”

Luo Kai could already smell an intoxicating, meaty aroma and secretly swallowed his saliva. He waited until the scar-faced Prison Guard had left before carefully sitting up. He looked at today’s meal; besides the two cornbread buns, there was actually a bowl of fish soup!

The fish had clearly not been cleaned properly. It reeked and still had many scales on it. Luo Kai suppressed his urge to eat as hesitation washed over him. ’Why is the food suddenly so good today?’

After a long moment of deliberation, he could no longer resist the temptation. He picked up the bowl and began to wolf it down. It was a saltwater fish with very few bones. Though it wasn’t cleaned well, to Luo Kai, it was a delicacy beyond compare.

For the next ten-plus days, a bowl of fish soup arrived every day, and his meals increased from one to two a day. The scar-faced Prison Guard kept his usual dark expression but never laid a hand on him again. All of this was clearly due to the arrival of the new Prison Director.

Another ten or so days and nights passed. Luo Kai’s emaciated body began to fill out, and he had the energy to start exercising again. In a daze, he even started to think that things weren’t so bad. Human desire is limitless, yet it is also easily satisfied. Once you escape from misfortune, everything in the world seems beautiful, even if you are in a cage.

One day, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed. The scar-faced Prison Guard roughly threw open the cell door and gave Luo Kai a menacing grin. He walked slowly toward him, then suddenly shot out a hand, snatching him up like an eagle snatching a chick, and dragged him outside.

Luo Kai struggled with all his might, but the scar-faced Prison Guard’s strength was astonishing. The man’s thick, meaty hand was like an iron clamp, squeezing Luo Kai’s neck so tightly that he could barely breathe. Soon, his face turned red from suffocation. A ruthless glint appeared in his eyes, and his hand tightened around the iron spike he was holding...

Just then, the scar-faced Prison Guard seemed to sense something. He paused, then suddenly punched Luo Kai in the stomach. Luo Kai immediately doubled over like a shrimp. He felt the punch penetrate deep into his guts, as if his intestines had been tied into a knot.

”You little bastard, you’d better behave!” the scar-faced Prison Guard sneered.

Outside was a long corridor. Strange torches giving off a faint blue glow were mounted on the walls. Cells lined both sides, and through the small windows on the iron doors, he could see that most of them were empty.

They passed through the long corridor and entered a room filled with various torture instruments: huge iron shackles, an iron table stained with dark red blood... A middle-aged man in a white uniform sat inside the room, flanked by several Prison Guards with handguns at their waists.

The scar-faced Prison Guard threw Luo Kai to the ground like a dead dog, then turned and said respectfully to the middle-aged man, ”Sir, there are two more.”

”Mm, bring them all,” the middle-aged man said with a wave of his hand.

Luo Kai was curled up on the ground, his body trembling violently from the pain. Beside him lay two other prisoners in ragged clothes. One was a black man with skin as dark as charcoal, the other an old man with a white beard and hair. Like Luo Kai, both prisoners had a sickly, sallow complexion and were nothing but skin and bones. They glanced at Luo Kai expressionlessly before looking away.

A moment later, the scar-faced Prison Guard dragged in another small, thin man and threw him down next to Luo Kai.

Luo Kai had recovered from the intense pain. He silently sat up and leaned against the wall, observing the people in the room. He noticed that the clothes worn by the middle-aged man, the only one seated, shimmered with a faint white halo, as if made from the scales of some animal. When their eyes met, he felt a strange, slight dizziness.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed again. Luo Kai turned his head toward the door. The scar-faced Prison Guard walked in, his face dark. Following him was a giant nearly two meters tall. The terrifying thing was that another pair of arms grew from beneath his main pair. The four arms swayed slightly with his steps, and combined with his enormous frame, he truly looked like a humanoid monster.

’What kind of world is this?!’ Luo Kai’s mouth fell slightly agape as he stared in disbelief at the monstrous giant. He was now finally certain that he was not on Earth.

CRACK!

The scar-faced Prison Guard viciously whipped the Four-armed Giant and barked, ”Squat!” The blow was powerful. The giant’s massive body staggered, and he turned to glare at the scar-faced Prison Guard, his huge face trembling with obvious rage.

The scar-faced Prison Guard sneered and raised the black Long Whip in his hand threateningly.

The Four-armed Giant took a deep breath and slowly squatted down.

”Director, Sir, all five prisoners from death row have been brought,” the scar-faced Prison Guard said respectfully to the middle-aged man, putting away his Long Whip with a satisfied air.

”Mm.” The middle-aged man scrutinized them and announced loudly, ”All of you have committed capital offenses and should have been executed long ago. However, last year, when Emperor Dongyuan of our Upper Country ascended the throne, he issued a decree pardoning a portion of criminals. But while the death penalty may be spared, your punishment is unavoidable. You were originally meant to be left to fend for yourselves, but our new Prison Director is a man of great benevolence and has decided to give you a chance to live...”

The five prisoners were stunned, and a glimmer of hope appeared in their eyes.

”Sir, as long as you spare my worthless life, I’ll do anything you ask!” The speaker was the old man with the white beard and hair. He struggled to his feet, his wrinkled old face contorting into a fawning smile.

The middle-aged man nodded and instructed the scar-faced Prison Guard, ”Lao San, get them a change of prison uniforms. Tomorrow, send them directly to the Nanya Island mines.” With that, he stood up and walked toward the door.

The scar-faced Prison Guard’s expression changed. He hadn’t expected these prisoners to be given a chance to live. Gritting his teeth, he hurriedly caught up to the man and whispered, ”Sir, we originally took in over a hundred death row inmates. Only these five have survived to this day. These men are not simple. If we send them to the mines, they might cause trouble...”

The middle-aged man stopped and frowned. ”Hmm, but the Prison Director ordered...”

”Sir, you may not know the background of these death row inmates. These men are all vicious and desperate criminals. For example, that old man, nicknamed ’Shadow Mouse’—he’s rumored to be connected to the Genetic Research Bureau theft case. And that black man is very likely a member of the notorious Dragon Shark Pirates...”

”Alright, I’ll speak to the Prison Director about it.”

The middle-aged man pondered for a moment, then nodded and continued, ”Lao San, I hear you’ve worked here for over a decade. You must know this place very well. The Prison Director and I are new here, so we’ll be counting on your support in the future.”

Scarface hurriedly agreed, ”Of course.”

Luo Kai and the other four were returned to their cells. For the next few days, nothing happened. The middle-aged man’s words about sending them to the mines seemed to have been just empty talk.