Siberian Prison

It was early autumn, and although it hadn't snowed in Siberia yet, the temperature had already dropped to extremely low levels. Compared to this environment and climate, the prisoners' clothing was quite thin.

This ensures that prisoners can only move around in heated areas. If a prisoner attempts to escape, the guards don't even need to chase them down.

The harsh climate will wipe out all those who dream of freedom.

However, the temperature has not yet reached below zero degrees Celsius, so when the Sun Pharma is shining, the prison authorities still allow the prisoners to go outside for fresh air and enjoy the rare sunshine.

Unlike the Arctic Circle, which experiences six months of perpetual darkness and six months of perpetual daylight, the length of daylight here can differ by as much as six hours between the beginning and end of the season, highlighting how precious the sunshine is.

Henry, dressed in prison garb, mingled among the crowd, searching for his to-do list. Ivan Kochetov and Yuri Kuznozov.

These two were assistants to Peter Thaddeus Ross, the director of the Alien Research Institute. After the director was purged, they were also thrown into prison.

Having experienced a change of regime, he originally had hope of gaining freedom. However, other researchers seeking to protect themselves exposed his embezzlement, so instead of releasing him, he remained imprisoned.

Personnel movement at the Siberian Special Prison is infrequent, so a new face like Henry would normally stand out.

Thanks to the prison's block-based management system, everyone is only familiar with their own area. So, during these mixed-use exercise periods, seeing some unfamiliar faces is not surprising at all.

In Russia prisons, tattoo culture is an absolutely unavoidable topic.

Compared to tattoos from other cultural backgrounds, Russia gang tattoos have developed into a system similar to the heraldry of Europe nobility. Each symbol has its own meaning, and you can't just tattoo whatever you want.

For example, a person with a dagger tattooed on their body is, on one level, expressing the sentiment, "No one can subdue me except by killing me."

Another layer of meaning is "you can hire me to kill," akin to the meaning behind the GG logo.

The bloodstains on the dagger and the tears tattooed on the face were especially important to avoid, as they represented the number of lives taken. One drop of blood or one tear meant one person had been killed, two drops meant two people, and so on.

The tattoo themes are mostly related to the mainstream Russia faith, Eastern Orthodox Church Christianity.

Although Eastern Orthodox Church is a branch of Christianity, it is not under the jurisdiction of the Pope in the Vatican, and its doctrines are naturally slightly different.

One of the most obvious differences is that the Eastern Orthodox Church does not strictly prohibit the use of images for worship. Therefore, many tattoos by Russia gangsters feature icons of the Virgin Mary and saints.

Besides religious themes, tattoos sometimes express the tattoo artist's beliefs, such as despising the authority of the Red Empire and yearning for the US dollar of the Lighthouse Nation.

There are even special designs tattooed to represent one's crimes. For example, a girl whose skirt is caught by a fishing rod represents a rapist; a mermaid represents child molestation; a snake represents involvement with drugs, or that the person with the tattoo has a severe addiction to drugs.

The reason for emphasizing tattoo culture is that Henry miscalculated how conspicuous he would be in the unique cultural context of Russia prisons, where he was unable to get tattoos.

It's not that everyone wears clothes and that tattoos won't be visible. Almost everyone has some kind of tattoo on their face, neck, arms—areas not covered by clothing—and even on the back of their hands and fingers.

Although Henry's current disguise makes him look like a dirty, smelly homeless person in the outside world, in the prison environment, he's a clean-cut rookie. He immediately attracted the attention of many people.

No one suspected they were intruders; many were simply asking around for an opportunity to pick up the soap.

These whispers and rumors inevitably penetrated the Kryptonian ' Super Hearing, making Henry feel a tightness in his anus.

I just wanted to run away as fast as I could.

Just as Henry was contemplating whether to come back another day, a bear-like man grabbed his neck from the side.

Henry could have easily avoided it, but he was worried about how to start the game and thought this might be an opportunity. So he let the man hook up with him.

"Young man, how did you get here? This is a prison specifically for serious criminals. Did you sleep with the beautiful wife of some high-ranking official, so he sent you here to let you experience what it's like to be a woman?"

As he spoke, he put his finger in his mouth, pried open his lip, and made a "pop!" sound. Then he and the people around him laughed lewdly.

Although the other person's attitude was quite rude, the way they hooked their arms around his neck was very measured, unlike the typical prisoner who was desperate for women and wanted to sleep with their buttocks.

So Henry said directly:

"I have a score to settle. Do you know where those two bastards, Ivan Kochetov and Yuri Kuznozov, are?"

Of the tattoos on the other person's body, Henry could only see "KARL" on the right knuckle and "MARX" on the left knuckle. A double-headed eagle tattoo was vaguely visible on the chest of the open shirt.

The meanings of these two tattoos are somewhat contradictory. Knuckles are usually used to represent objects of respect or one's own attitude.

Karl Marx is the only person one can think of: Carl Mark, the Germany -born philosopher, political theorist, and social revolutionary.

However, the double-headed eagle on the emblem of Russia, representing the old era, usually signifies anger and contempt for the Red Empire regime.

The only explanation for this love-hate relationship is that he adheres to an ideology but dislikes certain people—perhaps the very people who sent him here.

So Henry stated his purpose bluntly. Besides seeking help, he was also testing the man. At least this guy didn't seem like a pure gangster; he might be a political prisoner.

Upon hearing Henry's request, the bear-like man immediately released his grip on his neck and retorted, "Who are you? What do you want with them?"

Looking directly at the man, who was just as disheveled as himself, Henry said, "You don't look like someone who can do this for you, so just tell me where he is. I'll handle the rest."

He glanced at Henry from head to toe, sensing neither the warrior's ferocity nor the aura of an assassin. He said, "This isn't a place for you to cause trouble. What If...? you still hope to leave, behave yourself."

Just then, a busybody nearby shouted, "The person you're looking for is over there!" pointing in a certain direction. He also yelled back, "Ivan, Yuri, there are some fair-skinned young men here looking for you!"

A number of people nearby were also jeering.

Following the direction indicated, Henry could easily understand why these people were making a fuss. Because of their own goal, Ivan...

Kochetov and Yuri Kuznozov clearly belonged to the same gang, surrounded by menacing figures.

He meant that the two guys he was looking for weren't much better looking or acting than the other group.

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