The Second Warden

"0456, First Prison. No making noise."

The door to Cell 05 opened, and Lu Mi appeared in the doorway with a cold expression.

Yu Tu did not have time to pull back his extended leg and kicked Lu Mi hard in the shin.

The calf wrapped in black officer's trousers was solid as iron. Even through his dress shoe, Yu Tu could feel the strength contained within.

He withdrew his leg and looked up, his expression calm while his red eyes burned with irritation.

Lu Mi said, "0456, First Prison. Assaulting an officer is a serious crime."

Yu Tu moved closer to Lu Mi, but Lu Mi took a step back to widen the distance. The prison officers on either side stepped forward at once, crossing their enforcement batons before Lu Mi.

The madness in Yu Tu's eyes stirred faintly, making his breathing a shade heavier.

Lu Mi raised a hand. "Stand down."

"Yes, Warden Lu."

The batons were withdrawn. Yu Tu's breathing eased slightly. Lu Mi stared at his face with the bearing of a superior. "0456, what are you making such a fuss about?"

Yu Tu pressed his lips together, his voice slightly cold. "I'm not making a fuss."

"Then are you expressing dissatisfaction with this warden?"

"No." Yu Tu looked displeased. "Why is there no water in the shower room?"

"Water is a precious resource on Calamity Planet, 0456. You are no longer an active-duty commander."

Yu Tu tilted his head slightly. Compared to the "truth" Lu Mi had revealed, he clearly cared more about the outcome.

"No. I can't go without water! You have to get me some water!"

Lu Mi gave a derisive laugh. His gloved fingers lifted a strand of Yu Tu's white hair, his tone slow and contemptuous.

"0456, who do you think you're ordering around? Don't forget, you're my prisoner now."

The next second, Lu Mi withdrew his hand and took a step back. "Close the door."

The instant the cell door shut, furious kicking rang out against it again. Lu Mi turned and walked away.

Behind him—

"Warden Lu, you're leaving already?"

What happened to the demonstration?

What happened to the violent suppression?

Why all thunder and no rain?

Lu Mi paused. "Let him make noise. Go to the machine room and call Cang Qi over. Soundproof Cell 05."

"And then?"

Lu Mi turned sideways, his gaze cold. "Then wait until he's made enough noise. He won't have the strength to keep it up. What, were you planning to torture him?"

"...No, sir."

"Heh." Lu Mi strode forward. "Have you learned how to handle 0456?"

"...Learned... the wrong thing?"

"Mm."

"So noisy. Why is the newcomer so ignorant of the rules?"

After receiving the order, Cang Qi hurried to Cell 05, dragging a metal suitcase behind him. The moment he entered the corridor, he frowned.

Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang, bang! Each strike was more unbearable than the last!

"I remember the last one who was this noisy had his jaw removed by the warden. What, would this one keep going even without a jaw?"

Cang Qi was one of Lu Mi's two deputy wardens.

He was 172 centimeters tall, with chestnut curls, chestnut eyes, and an adorable baby face. Standing beside the tall prison officers, he looked like a high school student who had not graduated yet.

His uniform was the same as the prison officers', except for the dark red skull armband on his left arm.

"Deputy Warden Cang, Warden Lu did not violently suppress 0456."

"0456? Hasn't that number been vacant for years? The warden was willing to give it to someone? Who is it?"

"The newcomer who arrived today, Commander Yu Tu."

"Huh, how strange. The warden actually didn't dare to hit the First Commander too hard?"

"...Probably."

As they spoke, Cang Qi had already arrived outside Cell 05. He crouched down and opened his metal suitcase, taking out four strange machines.

Cang Qi's hands moved at demonic speed. The machines unfolded into mushroom-like shapes, and he stuck them onto the four corners of the cell door.

Cang Qi then took a remote control from the suitcase and switched it on.

The mushroom machines emitted blue light at the same time. The light covered the area before the door, forming something like a pane of luminous glass.

The moment the luminous glass appeared, something strange happened. The bang, bang, bang of the door being struck abruptly stopped.

Cang Qi closed the suitcase, gripped its handle, and turned to leave. "Done. I hope the warden doesn't interrupt my new toy research over something this trivial next time."

Cang Qi's awakened energy source was Advanced Hamster.

He was an advanced energy user. Though he was not particularly outstanding among ordinary prison officers, no one dared underestimate him.

Because he had another identity.

An Advanced Mechanist.

Mechanists, pharmacists, and energy users were the three most sought-after professions in the interstellar world.

Mechanists and pharmacists had to pass rigorous certification examinations to determine their ranks: low-level, intermediate, advanced, and ace.

Advanced Mechanists were rare.

When Cang Qi had come to First Prison as a deputy warden under the title of Advanced Mechanist, quite a few prison officers had nearly dropped their jaws.

What Cang Qi had taken out earlier was his own invention, the Soundless Path, which could block sound within a small area.

First Prison returned to silence.

Inside Cell 05, Yu Tu was still smashing the door viciously.

His expression gradually began to twist. His red eyes flickered as he neared the brink of collapse.

"Why is there no water?"

"I need water!"

"Where's the water? Where is it?"

He twisted his neck, producing a sharp crack.

Below the neck bound by the energy restraint collar, veins spread upward like a spiderweb, swelling and subsiding over and over.

After an unknown amount of time, he gave up pounding on the door. He turned and walked into the shower room, raised a hand to remove the showerhead, and kept pressing his face against it.

"So thirsty. I'm dying of thirst."

"Where's the water? I need water..."

"Why won't you give me water?"

Meanwhile.

White boots stepped through the main entrance of First Prison's inner building. A strikingly beautiful, cold-faced man with long golden hair and golden eyes adjusted his white gloves as he spoke. "Where is Lu Mi?"

The man was very tall, dressed entirely in a white officer's uniform. A belt cinched his narrow waist, an energy gun hung at his hip, and the blood-red skull on his shoulder insignia represented his identity.

One of Calamity Planet's three great wardens—the Second Warden, Ming Qiuxue.

"Warden Ming, Warden Lu is in the warden's office. Please wait here for a moment."

"Wait?"

Ming Qiuxue sneered.

"Make me wait? He isn't qualified for that. Fine, let me ask another question. Where is Yu Tu?"

"Warden Ming, my apologies. For that question, I need Warden Lu's authorization."

"No need to trouble him." Ming Qiuxue said, "Yu Tu's identity is special. He would only be held in an odd-numbered cell. I'll retrieve him myself. Move!"

The white boots rose again, followed closely by eight ordinary prison officers dressed in white uniforms.

The three major prisons on Calamity Planet had roughly the same overall layout. Ming Qiuxue knew exactly where the odd-numbered cells were located.

Just as he was about to enter the corridor on the left—

Whoosh!

A black whip sliced through the air with a shriek. Ming Qiuxue turned his head at the same time.

The whip nearly grazed Ming Qiuxue's cheek.

It severed several strands of his golden hair.

Lu Mi emerged from the other side. With a flick of his wrist, he reeled in the long whip.

"Ming Qiuxue, you want to take my person on my turf? Fine!"

Lu Mi ground his back teeth together.

"Kill me."