Act16: Free Fallin

[Part 1: Do they really not like playing video games?]

The thirteen Knights Tournament matches have ended.

--G117 achieved a flawless victory without taking any damage.

Everyone at the Blackland Royal Hotel, every gang, every top-notch henchman and ruthless assassin chosen by their leaders, couldn't even scratch this woman.

Before her tenth victory, people simply cheered and applauded her superb martial arts skills.

After the thirteen wins, the people in the clubhouse and in front of their televisions fell silent, a terrifying stillness descending upon them.

People don't understand how such a killer was imprisoned.

It's unimaginable how powerful the Guangling Zhixi troops must have been when she was captured.

She is incredibly strong, unbelievably strong.

He is proficient in all forms of combat, including hand-to-hand fighting, and can even engage in gunfights without sustaining a scratch.

Perhaps it was among the VIPs at the station that a powerful Soul Force, a formidable Flash Butterfly unit, sent this woman into Blackland.

At this moment, the leaders of the warbands, each harboring their own ulterior motives, stared at the Tyrannosaurus Warrior Andro with a mixture of envy and malice.

--After all, the people were brought in by Jello and Jielina. With such strong support, Andro will have an extra powerful trump card to play in the next Loyalty Hall meeting, in terms of business deals and territories to discuss.

They were also thinking--

--Is there any other way to recruit G117 into the ring?

At this moment, Xue Ming made no comment.

She was like a martial arts fanatic; after sparring with various masters in Blackland Prison, she squatted on the ring to digest the fighting stances she had just learned.

The Christmas dinner began, but she didn't bother to greet her old friends from the Tyrannosaurus Warriors. Unfazed by the dirt, she rolled around on the blood-covered arena, mentally devising several imaginary enemies—how to deal with them if they all swarmed at her.

Boss Andro paced back and forth below the stage, intending to personally serve the meal to reward this newly minted warrior with delicious food.

But for some reason, the girl had no appetite at all. She picked up a large machete from the weapon rack and started swinging it, as if she were surrounded. The staff couldn't get close to her for a while.

Andro then spoke to Jello.

"Aren't you and Jielina acquainted with her before? Go and invite this hero down."

Jello shrugged innocently, his face contorted in a pained expression. "I've only met this girl once."

After much deliberation, Andro felt the food on his plate was not presentable, so he went to Edward to ask for artificial blood, afraid of slighting the vampire.

After a busy day, A Xing finally had some free time to talk to the leader of the Tyrannosaurus Warriors.

"Don't disturb my older sister's practice; it's her habit. Every time she finishes sparring, she feels it's not enough and has to review it several times, imagining different scenarios in her mind, how to handle situations where she's fighting multiple opponents, and even if it's just to escape, she needs a specific escape route."

Upon hearing this, Andro felt a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"My older sister is just that honest," A Xing continued. "She's too cautious; she's a timid and cowardly person!"

Andro didn't understand; when she was beating up her opponent, he couldn't see any sign of cowardice or fear.

After about ten minutes, Edward finally managed to persuade G117 to leave the ring.

Xue Ming put the weapon back and went to the banquet hall, where he was stopped by Andro.

Before Andro could greet them with a smile, another pair of sisters arrived uninvited.

--That's Flavia and Duran.

They pushed past the Tyrannosaurus Warriors and stood straight in front of G117.

Duran smiled and said, "Long time no see, sister!"

Flavia said with a grin, "You're so hot!"

Xue Ming didn't reply immediately. There were too many people around, so she used the excuse of the blood and mud stains on her body to pull A Xing and the contact person from the Little Brotherhood to the women's bathhouse. She still needed to retrieve the Black Immaculate.

Andro missed his target and suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis.

It would be such a waste and abhorrent if such a fine gun fell into the wrong hands.

"Jello, help me find out who these two women who suddenly appeared are."

Before Jello could answer --

--Hasben has already learned how to answer questions quickly.

"They're from Forty-Eight District, from the Little Brotherhood, and they were brought in six months ago."

Andro dropped his fake smile, glancing sideways at the newcomer, Hasben, with intense suspicion in his eyes.

"You're from Guangling Zhixi, Hasben Madison. For criminals—seeing a police officer in prison is like seeing an enemy. I'm protecting you, so don't try to cheat me out of kindness."

Hasben: "There's no need for that—I came to Hedland to investigate the true identities of G117 and S272."

"What did they find out?" Andro suddenly became interested. "My new family, Jello and Jielina, both said that these two girls came to the prison looking for someone."

"That's right, we found them, didn't we?" Hasben raised his head slightly, looked at Boss Andro who was standing close by, and answered neither humbly nor arrogantly, "They said they came to repay a debt of gratitude."

After a while--

--Andro asked in a low voice.

"To repay a debt of gratitude?"

"Yes, to repay a debt of gratitude."

"So that means this newcomer who defeated thirteen stuntmen in a row is already taken, and she's doing things for others to repay this favor?"

"Yes."

Andro first asked softly, "Then do you know who she works for?"

Hasben: "The Falcon Gang."

"Then all my expectations were for nothing?!" Andro erupted in fury, raising his hand to smash the Rangers's skull. "Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! Absolutely fucking ridiculous! I said so many nice things at the Hall of Loyalty! Where am I supposed to put my face now?!"

Then Andro turned around, his eyes red-rimmed.

--Staring intently at the grinning Jello.

"And you! The people you brought in for me, how did they suddenly become the enemy's weapons?"

Jello was still caught up in the huge prize of 300 to 1, but when he heard his boss's stern shout, he was jolted out of his elation and became eloquent.

"Boss, this is great news! This is great news!"

"A good thing?" Andro didn't understand.

Jello analyzed logically and with evidence. "The Little Brotherhood is a major drug trafficking and manufacturing gang in Forty-Eight District. How could members of the Madness Butterfly Sect possibly look down on mercenaries like the Falcon Gang?"

Andro's Tyrannosaurus Warrior Gang and Kun En's Falcon Gang, to put it nicely, are illegal armed groups; to put it bluntly, they are mercenaries derived from the Madness Butterfly Sect, the Religious order's lackeys.

If we consider the relationship between Party A and Party B, it's like the wealthy boss is in jail and has to be served by his underlings; the host-guest relationship cannot be reversed.

Even after Kun En released from prison, he still has to respectfully address Sister Duran as "[Lady Grey Robe]".

Andro then came to his senses and realized his duty.

Jello continued, "The reason the bigwigs of the Little Brotherhood chose to settle in the Falcon Gang's territory is solely due to the similarity in the origins of their monstrous beasts. Those two lords are blood-born, worshipping the feathered serpent monster—which has a tiny bit of a blood relation to the Eagle Falcon."

"Oh dear!" Andro slapped his forehead. "How could I not have thought of that!"

Jello: "Our gang also has a lot of bloodline units of the dragon-like reptiles coming to join us, boss—haven't you ever thought about this?"

Andro squinted, his face full of regret. "How foolish! How foolish of me—I thought they really liked FF14 and that's why they wanted to be friends with me."

[Part ②·The Multipurpose Room]

Since the competition ended, Manager Mana has been closely following G117.

He had just taken over as the professional manager of Hedland, and had only been in the position for three years, maintaining an outstanding record of zero Prison Break and zero violent incidents.

However, this G117 made him uneasy, especially when he learned that this person had some connection with two serious criminals in the female prison district's Little Brotherhood. Mana immediately thought of Prison Break plot with inside help.

He kept his emotions hidden and followed them to the women's bathhouse. He overheard four girls chatting about everyday matters the whole way, as if they were sisters reunited and on a relaxing vacation in Hedland.

Cameras are not allowed in public bathhouses, and the manager couldn't follow the female prisoners in to watch them shower. He could only listen to what they said through the listening devices in the bathroom.

He silently activated his soul power, trying to discern some clues from the characteristics of the remnants of the soul. But the intense spiritual pressure emanating from G117 was like a violent electric current driving people mad; the sins she carried were truly far too numerous!

The moment Mana's soul power took effect, the narrow corridor was filled with blood-soaked ghosts.

Some were decapitated, others were riddled with wounds, and still others carried their heads split in two, uttering mournful wails.

The rising and falling chorus of ghosts almost shattered Mr. Mana's spiritual power, forcing him into a state of Gate of Death.

Just then, Ms. Duran him up.

"Can you do me a favor?"

Mana then snapped out of his daze, returning to the world of the living from a terrifying nightmare.

"Oh, ma'am, what would you like?"

Duran, with her arm around the Big Sister's shoulder, showed no disgust at the blood and mud on Xue Ming's body, and said to Mana, "I want four packets of bubble bath shampoo, pink or red, the water has to be red."

Mana nodded. "Understood, I'll tell the waiter to fetch it right away."

Duran then pressed on, saying, "My girlfriend doesn't like having men following her around, you know what I mean?"

Mana: "I won't go into the women's bathhouse."

Duran: "How much would it cost to rent out the entire venue?"

Mana: "Four thousand pyroxene coins, starting from one hour."

Duran handed over his HC card, which was very generous.

"Put it on my tab, and get out."

Mana also wanted to plant some people in there, to set up some informants for listening in and monitoring.

Need a massage? It's free!

Duran pushed Xue Ming and A Xing into the changing room, then turned back to give them a meaningful look—a look full of cunning and cruelty, the kind of look she had when she was working in the underworld, dealing with all sorts of criminals and bloodthirsty beasts; it was her survival skill.

"If you don't want to be tainted by bad luck, then don't bother our sisters' gathering."

This made Mr. Mana even more suspicious of the four female prisoners' motives.

They definitely wanted to do or say something in the bathroom.

These secret societies often hold gatherings in men's bathhouses, but the conversations are mostly in slang and jargon, or they communicate using the strange cries of monsters. They can record and listen to the recordings repeatedly to decipher the information, and many major cases have obtained valuable clues under these conditions.

Like the bullfighter Morian, who transports drugs for drug dealers at the Royal Hotel in Hedland, he is a middleman in the drug trafficking gangs in Thirteenth District and Eleventh District. He has already taken down two major gangs and arrested more than 300 criminals, but new gangsters and small guilds still actively contact Morian to take the risk.

Mana simply prayed silently.

--Hopefully these female prisoners will talk about serious topics about retirement and stop thinking about Prison Break.

The public bathhouse was filled with steam. Xue Ming washed off the dirt and bloodstains from his body and began to clean his prison clothes.

After finishing her chores, she found her locker in the dressing room, retrieved her [Black Immaculate] combat boots, hid them in her clothes drying bag, then changed into a bathrobe and rushed to the sauna to discuss her Prison Break plan with Duran.

Hedland appeared impregnable, guarded by the Gates of Heaven, offering virtually no chance of escape.

As soon as I pushed open the door, I saw bright red bubbles bubbling in four private bathtubs, and the water in the jacuzzi was splashing up in waves.

Duran sat in a corner, seemingly having waited for Xue Ming for a long time.

Flavia, however, was shameless. She grabbed A Xing's bathrobe, intending to strip the little girl naked and throw her into the water.

"Hahahaha! Don't be shy! You're a girl! Let me see! Let me see how you've developed!"

A Xing screamed in terror, "No! Help me! G117!"

Xue Ming covered her face, unsure of what to say.

After a long time, she was certain that there was no electronic surveillance in this hot and humid environment, so she pulled A Xing out of Flavia's arms and tossed him onto a lounge chair next to the hot tub.

She removed her laurel wreath, her hair turning from red to black. "Are you here for fun, or to discuss serious matters?"

"How amazing!" Duran had never seen such hair-changing gemstone jewelry before, and he was now certain of Jiang Xueming's true identity. "You and your sister look exactly alike."

Xue Ming squatted beside the hot spring pool, putting his headdress back on. "What do you mean?"

Immediately afterwards, Duran dipped his finger into the bright red water in the hot tub and wrote words on the floor tiles.

Xue Ming suddenly realized--

--There are also listening devices here, so we need to communicate by writing.

Duran wrote on the floor tiles.

"I've already contacted the members of the Little Brotherhood and told them that I'll be returning to Forty-Eight District around Christmas, bringing Black Serpent with me."

Xue Ming followed along and wrote.

"What can we do? I can't think of any way to get you out of here. If we destroy the Heaven's Gate and defeat the warden, then all the prisoners in this prison will be freed—the BOSS won't allow us to do that."

Ms. Duran swept away the writing on the floor tiles and wrote something new.

"I have a solution. For the past six months, I've been observing the Hedland task force. To ensure efficiency, they all travel through the Heaven's Gate to different areas. This prison holds at least three thousand serious offenders, and to cater to the every need of so many prisoners—including their food, drink, toileting, and outrageous demands—a highly efficient commuting method is essential."

"Then what?"

"Depending on the work group, there are different [universal rooms]—I can see these rooms through the [Timeline]. For example, the head chef in charge of food management, and the leatherworker in the cloakroom, they all take the same path and arrive at a six-door, six-way connecting passage. Depending on the door, the warden will send these staff members to different places. As long as you can find the universal room, you have a chance to escape."

"Should we pretend to be staff members?"

"No, that's too risky. We also need to consider how to disguise it, and how to explain it if we fail." Duran, ever meticulous, continued, "All the guest rooms and the houses where prisoners can live are on the inside, while the staff rooms are on the outside—this is also to prevent prisoners from violently breaking through the walls, opening a new door, and escaping into the Lava Lake. But there is one exception."

Duran climbed out of the bath, Xue Ming immediately turned her head away to avoid offending the lady.

Both the White Snake and the black snake were born of blood and had no sense of shame. Duran changed into his bathrobe, squatted down on the floor tiles, and wrote a long string of words.

"Many rooms on the secondhand auction list are listed but not for sale. Like escaped prisoners, their belongings left behind in Prison Break are not allowed to be sold. They must have found a multi-purpose room or escaped by other means."

"Inmates 1184, 1185, and 1186 successfully escaped from Prison Break 21 years ago. Prison staff didn't know how they did it; they practically vanished into thin air. The Prison Break scene has been preserved, and prison guards and security personnel still regularly patrol it to simulate the Prison Break environment, search for clues, and try to find security loopholes in the prison."

"There's also the couple 3310 and 3381. They simultaneously opened two ceilings in separate areas for men and women, broke through to the roof, and jumped into the Lava Lake before the guards and Lord of Cinder could capture them—their fate remains unknown. That's another path."

The A Xing was writing in a very serious manner next to it.

"I'm not a Pompeii worm! I don't want to soak in a lava sauna, Sister Duran!"

Duran smiled and continued writing.

"When Jello and Jielina get married, almost all the prison inmates have to attend. For the prisoners, entering Hedland means entering a new family, where a couple is about to bring a new life into the world—that's the most important thing. So the plan is—"

"--To Prison Break on the wedding day, based on past successful Prison Break cases, at least three things need to be prepared."

"First, at a secondhand auction, buy a cell near the multi-purpose room, and slip out unnoticed through the staff entrance."

"Secondly, violently sabotage the electronic surveillance system in the ceremonial hall, run up the upper level of the church to the flying buttresses of Hedland, risk being shot, seize a vehicle to escape, and use the refrigerated truck that delivers food to escape at four o'clock every morning."

"The third option is to rush headlong to the top floor, and before the Lord of Cinder returns, freefall into Lava Lake with a temperature of three to five thousand degrees Celsius, and then swim out."

The A Xing started talking right away.

"Are you sure the third method isn't some weird or bizarre way to commit suicide?"

Duran answered.

"After all, some people have done it before, and you can't say they didn't succeed, right?"