Chapter 19: Secrets, Section 1

“Five generations of relatives?” Black Hair pondered for a moment, already understanding what the shadow meant.
So-called “five generations of relatives” was merely a rough estimate. According to his description, those so-called tiny creatures were actually highly destructive and contagious gene viruses! With Black Hair’s knowledge of such viruses, not to mention five generations of relatives—even those with a slight blood relation or who had shared utensils or been in contact would not escape unscathed.
What ruthless guys!
At this thought, Black Hair’s gaze toward the shadow changed, filled with dread.
Black Prison was indeed the most terrifying place in the world—just a random prisoner could possess such tactics. Black Hair could hardly imagine what would happen if those scumbags were set free by him. It would probably be like demons and monsters breaking free from their cages, turning everything upside down.
As he was lost in thought, suddenly a clinking sound came from outside the door. Soon after, a dirty square box was shoved through a small opening beneath the iron door of the room. The shadow in the corner immediately let out a sinister cackle.
“Hehe, young man, you’re lucky. You get to taste Black Prison’s special meal right away. Take a look—what have they brought us this time?”
“Huh? Doesn’t Black Prison deliver meals every day?” Black Hair was slightly puzzled but still took the box as the shadow instructed. When he opened it, a strong sour smell hit him instantly. Upon closer inspection, he was stunned.
There was no food inside as he had expected—only two dark, gelatinous masses. The strong sour smell came from these masses. In the dim light from the corner, he could even see insect corpses and rotten grass stems inside!
“This…” Black Hair frowned slightly and held up the box toward the shadow. “Is this the daily meal?”
“What daily meal? Do you think this is some ordinary prison?” The shadow was clearly annoyed by Black Hair’s casual assumptions, but seemingly unable to do anything, it could only wave its withered, claw-like right hand weakly.
“Give it to me. I’m starving. We only get a meal every three days. Stop just standing there—give it to me!”

Seeing his anxious expression, Black Hair could only hand him the lunchbox. The figure immediately grabbed it and started chewing frantically, making rumbling sounds as he ate—just like a starving ghost. In just half a moment, he had already eaten half of the lunchbox, with only half of the two clumps of gelatinous food left.

“Nuo!” As he was about to finish eating, the figure seemed to suddenly remember something. He stopped abruptly. After hesitating for a while, he finally handed over the lunchbox. “Eat it. It’s not very good, but there won’t be any other food for the next three days. If you don’t want to die, eat it.”

“Only food once every three days? Is Black Prison that cruel?” Black Hair found it amusing, but he still took the lunchbox. Looking at the sour-smelling gelatinous substance inside, he frowned before taking a bite. Immediately, a strong stench spread through his mouth and nose, making him cough.

“Hehe, eat slowly. No one’s competing with you.” The figure was pleased to see Black Hair’s embarrassed state. “I’m not used to eating this kind of thing either. But it will get better over time. Although the food isn’t great, you can’t survive without it. Moreover, Black Prison uses it to control us. If you don’t eat it, you’ll likely be thrown out and killed soon.”

“What do you mean?” Hearing this, Black Hair stopped and asked in a low voice.

“Haven’t you been feeling weak? It’s related to what’s in this food. Gu Wei added some drugs to it that can suppress the vitality of your cells. It makes you feel fine on the surface, but gradually you lose your bodily functions. Eventually, you’ll just become a breathing lump of dead flesh. Don’t you understand from my appearance?”

As he spoke, the figure pulled back the covering on his body.

This!? Black Hair gasped in shock.

What appeared before him was no longer a living person—it was a skeleton!! Its muscle tissue had severely atrophied, and its skin was dry and dull, wrinkled and stuck to the bones. If it weren’t for his chest still rising and falling, Black Hair would have thought he was already dead.

Seeing the black-haired man’s astonished expression, the shadow seemed satisfied as well. But soon, its satisfaction turned into surprise. For in just a glance, the young man with black hair in front of it no longer looked at it, continuing to lower his head and devouring the food in his hands. His greedy manner was no different from that of a prisoner who had gone three days without food! It seemed he cared nothing about what he had said just now.

“Hey! Do you know what you’re eating?”

“I know. It’s poison!” the black-haired man replied quickly, chewing on his food.

“Then why are you eating it so happily?” The shadow grew even more puzzled.

“First, if I don’t eat, I’ll die.” The black-haired man spoke, putting the last bit of sticky food into his mouth, chewing carefully before swallowing and then letting out a satisfied burp.

“Second, I don’t believe it can disable me.”

“What ability do you have, anyway? Ridiculous.” The shadow was amused by the black-haired man’s bold claims. “This is the Black Prison. No matter what your past identity was, here you’re just a prisoner. You must have seen those Bone Guards. Do you really think you have a chance of seeing the light of day in their hands?”

“Bone Guards? So impressive?” The black-haired man shook his head disdainfully. “Their leader, Mari, is quite good. I have to admit, he’s a really formidable guy. I was careless this time.”

“You’ve fought against Mari?” The shadow’s eyes widened in disbelief, and its gaze toward the black-haired man changed.

As a prisoner who had been in the Black Prison for a long time, it was well aware of Mari’s reputation. It could be said that if the Bone Guards were the gods here, then Mari was the supreme god-king. That bone-covered fellow was said to be a true warrior, whose strength defied ordinary measurement. The methods used to rank warriors in the real world couldn’t apply to him at all. He was already beyond the golden rank! If not for the special nature of the Bone Guard identity, his existence alone would have caused a huge stir in human society!!

This young man had actually fought against Mari and survived. Although he too had been captured and imprisoned in the Black Prison, in the shadow’s eyes, it was completely different.

The fact that he could survive Mari’s attacks proved his strength. No wonder this young man was locked up in the lowest levels of the prison. Such a dangerous person truly deserved the Bone Guards’ attention.

Thinking of this, the shadow’s heart suddenly stirred.

If this man were to join, would the boss’s plan go more smoothly? But… even if he truly had the ability, wouldn’t he end up as a skeleton under Bone Guardian’s drugs? Shadow knew well just how powerful Bone Guardian was—those drugs might not seem extremely potent, but once they took effect, they could make one feel as if in a dream, unable to distinguish reality. The body would wither unnoticed—truly terrifying. On the other hand, Black Hair seemed to know what he was thinking and suddenly spoke up. “Have you heard of the Wandering Ones?” “Wandering Ones?” Shadow was shocked. He was a biologist—how could he not know about this most mysterious race in legend? It was said that this race was the gods of the biological realm. Though their individuals weren’t strong, they possessed countless abilities. No one knew exactly where they were, though. Could it be this young man…? “Do you know where the Wandering Ones are?” Seeing Black Hair stop speaking, Shadow became anxious and hurriedly pressed further, his voice filled with hope. Unfortunately, Black Hair seemed indifferent to his hope. He dropped his lunchbox and leaned lazily against the wall, even squinting his eyes. “I don’t know.” “Then why mention the Wandering Ones?” Shadow grew annoyed. Was this some kind of joke? “I don’t know where they are,” Black Hair replied slowly, organizing his words. “But I’ve encountered them before. There are cells of theirs parasitic in my body. So I don’t believe these drugs can affect me.” “So your body can recover quickly, and your combat strength can be maintained?” Shadow’s eyes lit up. He couldn’t contain his joy; even his voice trembled. To be honest, as prisoners trapped at the bottom of the Black Prison, who among them wasn’t desperate? Long ago, they had united, establishing connections through various means in hopes of escaping this hellish place. After years, right under Bone Guardian’s nose, these ruthless guys had gradually prepared themselves. They had no lack of equipment or tools. They even took advantage of opportunities to mine minerals and repair gear on Black Prison Planet, gradually accumulating parts to build a small warship and several mechs!!

These prisoners are extremely powerful; even Bone Guard couldn’t have imagined that at the deepest levels of the Black Prison, it was no longer their domain. They didn’t even know that beneath their cells, the prisoners had managed to create another layer of space on their own, using only their hands, as a base for their escape.

But once all preparations were done, the prisoners encountered a problem: they lacked suitable fighters. Although each of these prisoners was an extraordinary individual, their bodies had atrophied severely due to Bone Guard’s drugs. Not only could they not fight, but even ordinary tasks required the use of machinery. Now that it was time to carry out their plan, they found they couldn’t use those assembled weapons at all. The overload from operating mechs alone was enough to tear apart their weakened bodies, killing them instantly.

It was truly ironic. So, was the man before them the one who could bring them hope? The figure’s gaze turned eager.