Shackles of Humanity

Luo Kai and Li Gui stared at Shisan in shock. The spine was connected to the entire nervous system; any injury could easily lead to paralysis, or even death. Yet despite such a severe wound, he acted as if nothing was wrong. At least, he showed no outward sign of any problem.

Shisan put his shirt back on and said in a low voice, ”Someone used iron spikes to seal my spinal nerves. I’ve pulled out two of them over the past few days. The last one in my lower back has already fused with my spine. If I pull it out, I’ll probably be paralyzed instantly.

Right now, I can’t mobilize the power in my lower body. I can walk, but I can’t run hard. I can only use about twenty percent of my Power. Simple fights are no problem, but if I can’t finish an opponent quickly, I’m in trouble.”

’Luo Kai had always wondered how someone like Shisan ended up locked up here. Now, he finally understood. He must have been viciously attacked and crippled, which led to his capture.’

Li Gui’s brow furrowed, and he sighed. ”For you to tell me this, Shisan, means you don’t see me as an outsider. Alright... I’ll give this matter some more thought.”

...

For the past few days, the quarry had been calm on the surface, but turbulent underneath. The new batch of war criminals was stirring up trouble everywhere.

The inmates here couldn’t be called battle-hardened veterans, but they had been fighting since childhood and were experienced brawlers. In a group fight, individual strength usually meant little; whoever had more people had the advantage. However, although the war criminals were few in number, they were proficient in a military Combined Body Technique. They sent the old inmates flying in utter defeat. They just hadn’t used any lethal force. Their leader, Ba Hu, had already proclaimed himself the sixth Prison Tyrant.

Most of the prisoners in the quarry were bruised and swollen, clearly having been dragged into the brawls. Every day, they stared at the group of war criminals with deep-seated hatred. None of this had anything to do with Luo Kai and Shisan. The fights usually happened at night, and by then, they would have been escorted back to their cell.

Humans are highly adaptable creatures. Luo Kai had already gotten used to the monotonous life here. He was now gradually reducing his training intensity, sneaking in a break whenever he saw a guard walk away. He pulled half a cigarette butt and a half-empty box of matches from his pocket and huddled under a large rock to smoke.

’This body didn’t originally have a nicotine addiction, but it became uncontrollable after that first smoke. He felt as if the craving was etched deep into his very soul, something even Rebirth couldn’t erase. On top of that, Li Gui would come over to give him cigarettes whenever he had a chance, making it even harder to quit.’

Today, dark clouds gathered in the distant sky. It looked like a big storm was coming.

That evening, dark clouds shrouded the sky above Nanya Island. Booming thunder echoed continuously. Work at the quarry ended early, and the prisoners all looked a little excited. They couldn’t work in the rain, which meant they could finally get some rest.

Luo Kai’s group of five walked toward the prison under the escort of a squad of guards.

”It hasn’t rained in a long time. This is going to be a heavy one,” Li Gui muttered, looking up at the sky.

Luo Kai was also staring at the sky, his expression growing more and more surprised. He could hear thunder, but he couldn’t see any lightning!

He suppressed the doubt in his heart. After returning to his cell, he quickly scrambled to the iron-barred window to stare at the dark clouds in the sky.

The first raindrops began to fall. The thunder continued to rumble from within the dark clouds, but he didn’t see a single spark of lightning.

Luo Kai’s brow furrowed. ’I never paid much attention before. But thinking back over the past year or so, it seems I’ve never seen lightning during a storm.’

Generally speaking, thunder is accompanied by lightning. There was no unified theory for how lightning formed; scientists in his past life all had their own explanations. The common belief was that it was formed by the collision of charge fields in the clouds, but this was just a hypothesis that couldn’t be proven. In other words, even with the level of his past world’s Technology Civilization, the exact cause of lightning formation could not be determined.

The reason for Luo Kai’s doubt was that he recalled the Era Canon mentioning that humanity had lost an important type of Energy after the Great Cataclysm. He had originally thought it was petroleum, since oil was a crucial industrial energy source. Its disappearance would certainly have a huge impact. But today, he suddenly felt that wasn’t it. Even without oil, it wouldn’t be enough to cause a complete fracture in civilization, as there were many substitutes for petroleum.

’So what resource could cause such a complete fracture in civilization? Could it be electricity?’ Luo Kai immediately shook his head. He wasn’t a scientist, but he knew some basic facts. Most forms of Energy, like sound, light, electricity, and heat, actually originate from the interactions of the Electromagnetic Force.

Electricity is a Basic Power that constitutes matter itself. All known substances are constantly emitting all sorts of strange electromagnetic forces. Even the emergence of self-awareness in life is due to the Electromagnetic Force; consciousness is essentially a set of weak electromagnetic signals generated by the cerebral cortex.

You could say that the world itself is a complex electromagnetic network. If electricity were gone, then the very cornerstone of the Material World would crumble.

Luo Kai wracked his brain for a long time, trying to recall his knowledge of electricity from his past life. ’It probably isn’t electricity,’ he thought. ’I’ll have to get out of here and try to build a generator to be sure. A simple hand-cranked generator isn’t hard to make. I just need to find some magnets.’

Outside, the downpour grew heavier. As usual, Luo Kai practiced the Soft Body Technique for a while. In the Early Stage, practicing this set of Body Techniques was agonizing, but it gradually became bearable. He still couldn’t stretch his body into the exaggerated, elongated shapes drawn on the parchment, but he could roughly perform the basic form of each posture.

After finishing his Body Techniques practice, he would be lightly sweating, and his mind and body would become calm. It was a very comfortable feeling, and the reason he persisted in practicing every night.

He had dug the tunnel nearly a hundred meters, and he estimated it had already reached outside the prison walls. He just didn’t dare to break through to the surface yet. The island was home to many free-roaming hounds that patrolled in packs every night. These dogs fed on trash and the corpses of prisoners, making them extremely ferocious. If he were discovered, he had no confidence he could escape.

The heavy rain fell for three straight days. The Han Hua Festival that Li Gui had mentioned was approaching. The quarry and prison had rare decorations of hanging lanterns, and the meals included much more coarse grains. This point made Luo Kai very satisfied. Having once nearly starved to death, his craving for food had become insatiable.

Li Gui approached him again, looking secretive. He first tossed Luo Kai a thick, crude cigarette, then said with a grin, ”Tomorrow is the Han Hua Festival. There’s going to be a gladiatorial tournament. It’s definitely going to be lively!”

Luo Kai glanced expressionlessly at a nearby guard and said in a low voice, ”So? Did you find the people you need?”

Li Gui shook his head. ”No. There are too few people who are both capable and trustworthy.”

”Then what’s your plan for tomorrow?”

Li Gui’s old face grew serious. He lowered his voice and said, ”We’re not the only ones who’ve thought of the fishing boat. I estimate that another group will probably try to break out tomorrow during the chaos! If the opportunity arises, are you two willing to take a gamble?”

Shisan closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded. ”Then we’ll play it by ear tomorrow.”

”Good! You two get ready. Whether we live or die, it all comes down to tomorrow!”