South Blue, Soma Island.
A Jie, the blond kid, brought Kuina to the clearing in the middle of the Soma Prison complex.
With a new boss in charge, the layout here had changed a little.
All the loose stones in the center of the clearing had been removed. In their place stood a relatively crude stone pavilion, built without proper tools.
A fairly refined-looking young man in a white fur coat, with a patch over his left eye, sat leisurely in the pavilion, drinking steaming morning tea.
"Boss, today's supplies are here. Xiao Liu and the others took them to the cellar first. They sent us a newcomer today, too."
A Jie gave his report casually.
The man he called boss set down his teacup and looked up at Kuina. "Sending someone before the scheduled time? It seems our new friend has quite a background."
Kuina surveyed her surroundings expressionlessly. Most of the people standing outside the cells wore prison uniforms. A rare few wore ordinary clothes, clearly marking them as having slightly higher standing among the prisoners.
As for the man sitting in the stone pavilion, his clothes alone suggested that he held the highest position here.
"He's the boss here," A Jie told Kuina. "If you want to get by in one piece, you'd better not offend him."
"A Jie." The man picked up his teacup again and took a sip before continuing, "Don't scare the newcomer. I'm quite easygoing."
"Ah, yes, of course." A Jie smiled. "Our boss is a very enlightened and fair-minded leader. Boss, her name is Kuina. She isn't much of a talker."
"Oh." The man continued sizing Kuina up. "Now that you're here, there are certain rules you'll have to follow. A Jie, explain them to her."
"All right." A Jie nodded and