Chapter 19: Secrets, Section 2

“It takes some time to restore one’s physical condition. Maybe you should wait.” Noticing the joy in the figure’s presence, Black Hair instead felt relieved. His mind relaxed slightly, and his eyes closed. Soon, steady and slow breathing sounds filled the dark room.
Black Hair actually fell asleep under such circumstances…
Of course, this was just an appearance. In truth, he was in a very peculiar state, somewhat between sleep and wakefulness. In this state, he could manipulate his subconscious to do things he normally couldn’t—like healing.
He hadn’t known until he tested it, and the result really startled Black Hair. In this state, the true condition of his body became immediately apparent, and the illusion of good health he had been maintaining vanished completely. Only then did he realize how badly his body had deteriorated.
It wasn’t that he had suffered any damage, but rather he discovered the presence of a substance in his body. This substance greatly slowed down the cell cycle and reduced vitality. Under its influence, Black Hair’s body couldn’t even exert even a fraction of its usual strength.
This was unacceptable… In a daze, Black Hair felt annoyed. After hesitating for a while, he finally focused his attention on his right arm and sent a silent call.
His right arm was the site where the Core resided. However, since the construction of the Death Star began, the Core’s main consciousness had left Black Hair and settled there permanently. So now, Black Hair was merely trying to see if he could establish contact with it. After all, in the field of biology, only the Core could offer him the greatest help.
The result was surprisingly good. Almost as soon as he sent the call, the Core’s lazy voice echoed in his mind.
“Hey, Black Hair. What brings you to me? Don’t you know I’m busy? I’ve been busy fixing your brother—it’s given me a headache. Get to the point. I don’t have much time to waste on small talk.”
“How’s things on the Death Star? Is everything normal since I left? Any news from the interstellar fleets or Mason Planet?” Black Hair frowned and asked in a low voice.

“Everything is normal on Death Star. No news at all. Aside from your new subordinates discovering two more planets, I haven’t received any interesting updates. Your monkey brother is recovering well—one-third of his body has already been repaired. If nothing goes wrong, you should be able to see him when you return.” Core replied lazily, then added impatiently, “What exactly do you want me to do this time? Mental connection is very energy-consuming. I don’t have time to bicker with you.”

“Fine, then check my body right away and get rid of all that junk.” Blackhair didn’t waste words and got straight to the point. His serious tone made Core take it seriously, and silence ensued. In less than a moment, there was suddenly a loud shout.

“Are you kidding? Why are there so many little things in your body? Haha, still those guys who like phagocyte hormones. Blackhair, where did you get so many treasures!?”

Treasures!?

Blackhair gave a bitter smile. Probably only Core would consider such a terrifying potion a treasure. Wait… little things!? Isn’t that potion inanimate?

“What inanimate stuff? These are just little bugs… Hehe, great stuff… wonderful treasures. Blackhair, no bargaining this time. I want them all.” Core was clearly excited, his voice trembling.

“Nonsense. I never intended to compete with you. Do you think I crave them that much?” Blackhair said irritably.

Still, when it came to efficiency, Core was indeed unmatched. In just a few words, Blackhair clearly felt some strange changes in his body. The initial good feeling gradually faded, replaced by waves of muscle pain and fatigue. This made him smile in satisfaction.

Good, very powerful.

The muscle pain meant he was gradually regaining control over his body. Though it was much more painful than before, it was undoubtedly the beginning of recovery. With his physical condition, half a day of rest would bring everything back to normal.

And indeed, just an hour later, under the watchful gaze of the figure in the corner, Blackhair slowly woke up. He stretched greatly, as if he had truly slept, then suddenly sat up and walked over to the figure. He bent down and stared coldly at the figure.

“I know you have some secrets you want to tell me. But you’re not sure if I’m trustworthy. Yet that doesn’t matter. I don’t have much time to waste talking with you. And my companion’s fate is still unknown. So if you don’t want to talk, then just stay silent. I need to leave this place now.”
With that, the black-haired man turned toward the iron door of the room and stretched out a hand…
“Wait!!” A voice suddenly came from behind him. Then, the figure slowly moved, soon returning to its position by the corner. Its green eyes scanned the black-haired man twice before slowly closing.
“Young man, please don’t be in such a hurry. If you really want to know about us, then you need to calm down. Trust me, impulsive actions won’t solve anything here. Do you know how many Bone Guards there are? What abilities do they have? Where they are, the structure of this prison, where your companion might be held? Do you know any of this?”
“And without a weapon, do you think you can get out of here?”
“If you don’t know any of this, then come stand by me. Young man, though I don’t know your background or past, from your actions just now, I think I can trust you a little. Of course, just a little. To gain more trust, you’ll need to prove yourself further.”
Hearing his words, the black-haired man finally stopped moving and turned around, offering a smile that should have appeared long ago.
“Good. It seems we both know what to do next. Then let’s get started.”
With that, he really went over to the figure, unconcerned by its dirty and terrifying appearance, and sat down beside it calmly.
Time passed slowly. In the dark, lightless environment of the prison, they had no idea how many days and nights had gone by outside. The food delivery box hadn’t appeared yet, so it was probably less than three days. But during this time, through the figure’s bitter voice, the black-haired man gained a rough understanding of this prison.

The real name of the figure is Kaqiu, a biological researcher from the planet Norton in the Fifteen-Star Region. In his own words, it’s a leisurely job where one receives a government salary without having to do anything. Yet, due to his immense passion for biology, he could never give up on researching it. After that incident, his tiny creatures destroyed three planets, and all those connected to that high-ranking official suffered catastrophic losses. As a result, he was assigned to the most dangerous missions and sent to the deepest levels of the Black Prison.

Contrary to what most people imagine, the Black Prison is actually an underground structure—more precisely, an underground city. The entire city is divided into nine layers, with a human serving as the warden. All the other guards are Bone Guards, whose strength varies depending on their rank.

The Bone Guards Kaqiu first encountered were merely the lowest-level outer guards. There are many stronger ones as well. Ordinary Bone Guards can only control their own bones, but the truly powerful ones can control all bones within a certain range around them. For example, the chief manager Mari is said to be able to control not only his own bones but also those inside enemies’ bodies—truly a formidable warrior.

However, the prisoners here are equally powerful, far beyond Kaqiu’s imagination. This isn’t referring to their combat skills, but rather their value. In the deepest layers of the Black Prison, any prisoner who steps out is undoubtedly a master in some field, covering almost every aspect. Even someone as knowledgeable about biology as Kaqiu is just a low-level figure here. Some are so skilled that they can design and build warships on their own. Their abilities far exceed what can be measured by appearance.

For this reason, the Bone Guards treat them with respect. These prisoners exchange their research and inventions for favorable treatment from the Bone Guards. They enjoy considerable freedom in their lives, though the environment is harsh.

It is this freedom that allows these prisoners to successfully create another layer of space as their base right under the Bone Guards’ noses. If they didn’t lack enough combatants, no one knows what the Black Prison would be like now. After all, no matter how strong the Bone Guards are, they are only skilled in combat; when it comes to strategic thinking, it’s these prisoners who hold the upper hand. In fact, they have already identified the weaknesses of the Bone Guards and developed weapons to counter them. All they need now are people who can use those weapons.

“If it’s a battle, I have no problem. And if I’m guessing correctly, my subordinates should also have been captured by the Bone Guards. As long as I can find them, I have a way to revive them.” After hearing Kaqiu’s account, the black-haired man pondered for a while before finally speaking slowly. Although he didn’t entirely trust this skeleton in front of him, what else could he do given the current situation? He just hoped both sides would cooperate sincerely. And if those prisoners were indeed as Kaqiu said, the black-haired man knew he had struck gold this time. With their help, he could definitely make the 31st Star Region the most powerful force in the universe!! With this mindset, he finally saw Kaqiu slowly crawling away from the corner. Behind him, the wall’s surface was distinctly different from the rest—it seemed somewhat… corroded.