"Yu Tu Is Mine"

"Warden Lu."

Lu Mi had barely taken two steps in his black ankle boots when Cang Qi called out to him.

Cang Qi and Zhang Jiao hurried over from one side of the corridor, looking as though they wanted to say something but hesitated.

Cang Qi especially had puffy, swollen eyes. One look was enough to tell he had been crying a lot lately.

Lu Mi frowned slightly.

Had Lan Su bullied Cang Qi?

"Speak."

Cang Qi was extremely cautious, acting sneaky as he bounced up to Lu Mi. Pretending to look at the ceiling, he swiftly slipped a note into Lu Mi's hand.

Lu Mi: "?"

Lu Mi unfolded the note. It read: Warden Lu, is Commander Yu Tu okay? (Along with a hand-drawn crying hamster emoji.)

Lu Mi crumpled the note and stuffed it into his pocket. "He's doing very well now."

Cang Qi pointed at Lu Mi's mouth in disbelief. "W-Warden Lu, you just said it out loud?"

The matter of Lu Mi taking Yu Tu from the Second Prison and even attacking Qi An had already spread through all three major prisons!

The prison officers of the First Prison did not dare gossip about Lu Mi, but the officers in the other two prisons had all sorts of things to say.

Cang Qi had slipped him that note precisely so Lu Mi would not give people something to talk about.

Who would have thought Lu Mi would expose himself so readily?

Lu Mi nodded. "Yu Tu is mine. Ask whatever you want. You don't need to hide it. From now on, I'll protect him openly."

Cang Qi's eyes widened even further, as if he were meeting Lu Mi for the first time!

Lu Mi changed the subject. "Cang Qi, I happened to need something from you. Come on, let's go to your workroom."

The group soon arrived at Cang Qi's workroom.

Lu Mi pointed at Peter. "Cang Qi, I need to examine his memories."

At any other time, Cang Qi would have hesitated.

His Brain Scanner was not difficult to make. What was rare was the Memory Origin Crystal inside it.

In theory, the Memory Origin Crystal could only support one complete brain scan, but because Yu Tu's memories had been limited, there was still some left over.

Cang Qi had originally planned to treasure it as a collectible.

But Cang Qi felt guilty.

Lu Mi had entrusted Yu Tu to him, yet he had let Ming Qiuxue take Yu Tu away. He had thought Yu Tu would be fine...

But the news he had heard from the Second Prison was terrible.

Every day, Cang Qi had to curl up in Lan Su's arms and cry.

The kind that not even frantic kisses could soothe.

Cang Qi immediately nodded. "All right."

Cang Qi took out the Brain Scanner, pressed it against Peter's temple, and switched it on.

Peter had never used this thing before. His gaze toward Cang Qi was full of wariness. Then a terrifying wave of dizziness burrowed into his mind from the scanner, and his limbs went limp beyond his control.

Realizing something was wrong, Peter struggled wildly!

The Brain Scanner's display went dark, then lit up again. Cang Qi frowned. "No, the prisoner isn't willing to cooperate. If he keeps this up, he'll only waste the Memory Origin Crystal!"

Cang Qi hit the pause button. Peter instantly regained consciousness. He was still exhausted, but his gaze at Lu Mi was full of provocation.

Even if both his legs and feet had been crippled and his jaw dislocated, he would never submit!

Lu Mi glanced at him. "What can we do?"

"Theoretically, as long as it's a living brain willing to cooperate, the scanner can examine their memories."

"Then isn't that simple?"

Lu Mi sneered and struck the back of Peter's neck with a swift, precise, brutal chop.

Peter's eyes widened.

Damn Lu Mi, he wasn't playing by the rules!

Then he passed out.

Lu Mi's expression remained blank. "Cang Qi, continue."

The scan resumed. This time, the display successfully lit up, and a brain scan progress bar appeared in the center of the screen.

The bar raced forward and soon reached 100%.

On the screen appeared fragments of Peter's memories from within the time range the scanner could detect.

Peter's memories would have resonated with every prison officer in the First Prison.

Day after day, he performed his duties as a prison officer. Nothing seemed unusual.

Cang Qi sped up the playback. For nearly two months, Peter showed no abnormalities.

Until—

In a dim room, a strange flickering blue light appeared before Peter's eyes.

"Master, I am Falcon No. 03. Yu Tu has been imprisoned in the prison where I am stationed. Please give your orders."

"Master, there are rumors in the prison that Yu Tu has become Lu Mi's pet. What should I do?"

"Master is wise. Yu Tu indeed does not look like someone willing to live beneath another."

"Yes, Master. I will create an opportunity for Yu Tu to make a mistake. No serious offender can withstand Lu Mi's punishments."

"My apologies, Master. My judgment was wrong. Lu Mi does appear to be giving Yu Tu preferential treatment... Yu Tu has been punished and sent to Ghoststone Forest."

"Master, I heard a rumor in the prison these past two days. It is most likely true."

"The rumor is... it is not that Yu Tu became Lu Mi's pet. It is that Lu Mi willingly lets Yu Tu have his way with him."

"Yu Tu won't die as long as he remains in the First Prison."

Pairs of eyes turned toward Lu Mi in unison.

Cang Qi and Zhang Jiao were somewhat better off.

After all, they had already heard some rumors while staying in the First Prison.

Lin Luo, Mo Ke, and Luo Wei were different.

Lin Luo blurted out in shock, "Boss Lu! You actually have a thing with the First Commander!"

Mo Ke said, "I knew it! Boss, when you went to the Second Prison today, you had the air of rescuing your wife... Oh, no, rescuing your husband!"

Luo Wei looked utterly crushed. "...Let me process this! Boss, how could you be the one on the bottom?"

Lu Mi: "..."

He gritted his teeth. "Shut up! Keep watching!"

Understanding Peter's memories was more important right now!

As for who was on top and who was on the bottom, he could explain that later!

The images continued on the Brain Scanner's integrated display—

"Master, Lu Mi has temporarily left Calamity Planet."

"Master is wise. Having Ming Qiuxue interrogate Yu Tu can still kill two birds with one stone."

"Lu Mi has returned. He took Yu Tu from the Second Prison."

"Yu Tu is severely injured. Whether he lives or dies is uncertain."

"Master, Lu Mi has told me to go to the Seventh Operations Room. I fear I may not return safely."

"Master, please cut off contact with me and erase the message backups."

After saying this, Peter left the rest pod and went to the Seventh Operations Room, where Lu Mi eventually singled him out.

The image stopped.

Cang Qi bent down to inspect the Brain Scanner. "The Memory Origin Crystal has been fully consumed. Those were Peter's recent memories."

Lu Mi frowned. "Who was he talking to?"

These memory images were very strange.

Peter had not activated any communicator. There was no second person in his field of vision, and he had not even heard another person's voice.

It sounded as though he had simply been talking to himself.

But everyone present knew Peter was not speaking to himself.

After thinking for a moment, Cang Qi turned and took a metal detector from his toolbox, then scanned Peter's head all over.

When he scanned Peter's left eye, the metal detector gave off a red warning light.

Cang Qi pulled open Peter's eyelid, shone a bright lamp inside, and exclaimed happily, "This is it!"

Lu Mi lowered his gaze and saw a strange blue speck in Peter's left eyeball.

He removed the leather glove from his right hand and directly reached in with his fingers.

Peter's eye instantly became a bloody mess.

"Oh, my eye!"

The one screaming was not Peter, but Zhang Jiao, who fainted at the sight of blood.

Zhang Jiao covered his eyes, his face pale as he trembled and turned away. "W-Warden Lu, I-I-I-I-I-I-I..."

Lu Mi exerted force with his fingers and dug out a strangely shaped object.

The excruciating pain woke Peter. He opened his mouth, about to lose his mind, but Lu Mi raised a hand and gripped his throat, then turned to Zhang Jiao.

"Zhang Jiao, if you're afraid of blood, you should leave first..."

Before he could finish, Zhang Jiao's body went limp and collapsed into Mo Ke's arms.

Lu Mi: "..."

For once, he felt a little apologetic.

"Mo Ke, please take Zhang Jiao back."

Without loosening his grip, Lu Mi strangled Peter to death and tossed him onto the ground. Luo Wei immediately stepped forward and dragged Peter's corpse away.

Lu Mi wiped his fingers clean, placed the unidentified object in his palm, and held it out before Cang Qi.

"What is this?"

"This is the Slave-Taming Eye!"