The Blunt Blade Leaves Its Sheath, Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey

It was as if someone had pressed the mute button on cell 107.

A day had passed since Zheng Qi's bloody purge. A faint smell of rust and a lingering fear still seemed to hang in the air. Of the three former bullies, Scar had been badly injured and had yet to return, Iron Head was said to be under observation in the infirmary with bruised throat cartilage, and only Skinny Monkey had been thrown back into cell 107 like garbage by the guards after some basic treatment, since he had "only" suffered a crushed nose and facial bruising.

He had looked utterly miserable when he returned. Crooked gauze covered his nose, his cheeks were swollen high and mottled black and blue, and one eye had narrowed to a slit. His waist, where Zheng Qi had kicked him, still had no strength in it, and he walked with a limp. He kept his head down, afraid to look at anyone, especially Lin Feng, who sat on the best bunk with his eyes closed, resting.

Skinny Monkey silently curled up on his old, inconspicuous bunk, trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. Every slight movement tugged at the injuries on his face, sending a spasm of pain through him that made him bare his teeth. Humiliation, fear, and a spark of venomous resentment that would not be extinguished churned together in his heart.

He was afraid. Of course he was afraid of Zheng Qi, that god of slaughter. But what he found even harder to understand, even harder to accept, was-why? Why would that god of slaughter acknowledge Lin Feng, that "god of plague," that "molester," as his big brother? Lin Feng was clearly a soft persimmon anyone could trample! What gave him the right?

The frustration of being unable to make sense of it, mixed with the agony in his body and the shock of his fall in status, gnawed at Skinny Monkey's nerves day and night like a venomous insect. The more he looked at Lin Feng's calm expression-which he saw as an act-the more anger burned inside him.

It had to be luck! There had to be something wrong with Zheng Qi's head! Or he'd gotten the wrong impression! How could someone like Lin Feng really be a big brother?

Another hopeful thought began to grow: Zheng Qi had been thrown into solitary confinement and didn't look likely to come out anytime soon. Now, aside from Lin Feng, only a few timid, law-abiding prisoners and the newcomer, the fraudster Qian Er, who looked just as much like a coward, were left in cell 107.

Maybe... maybe he could...

A dangerous, death-seeking thought bubbled up like gas from a swamp. He didn't dare touch Lin Feng again, but he felt he had to do something, even if it was just a little verbal provocation, to win back a pitiful scrap of "face." Otherwise, he really would become the lowest of the low in this cell.

Once the thought took root, it was hard to suppress.

During exercise time that day, he saw Lin Feng standing alone in a corner and felt the urge to go over and spit at him, but in the end he didn't dare.

At mealtime, he saw the largest slice of fatty pork in Lin Feng's bowl and let out a disgruntled rumble in his throat, but didn't dare reach out and snatch it.

As time passed, the urge to prove something, to break this suffocating oppression, grew stronger and stronger in his heart.

By evening, the light in the cell had begun to dim. The atmosphere was still so oppressive it was hard to breathe. Lin Feng was still sitting on his bunk, seemingly resting. The newcomer Qian Er, meanwhile, was carefully sorting his meager belongings, looking honest and harmless.

Skinny Monkey leaned against his bunk, the wounds on his face throbbing. He looked at Lin Feng, then at the prisoners avoiding his gaze, and finally his eyes settled on Qian Er. Could he squeeze this new soft persimmon a little? Bully him to test Lin Feng's reaction indirectly?

But he quickly rejected the idea himself. It was beneath him.

His gaze returned to Lin Feng in the end.

Damn it! No! I can't stand it anymore!

Skinny Monkey drew a sharp breath, as if to pump himself up. Bracing himself against the wall, he slowly struggled to his feet, limping as he rose. The movement pulled at his injuries, making him bare his teeth again.

The faint sounds in the cell vanished in an instant. All the prisoners raised their heads and stared at him in terror, wondering what this defeated wretch wanted now.

Skinny Monkey ignored their stares, all his attention fixed on Lin Feng. He shuffled toward him step by step, stopping about two or three paces away. His heart pounded with fear and an inexplicable excitement.

Lin Feng kept his eyes closed, seemingly unaware of his approach.

Skinny Monkey licked his cracked, bleeding lips and summoned every last bit of courage he had. His voice was hoarse and unpleasant, its bluster clearly hiding his fear. "Hey!"

Lin Feng didn't react.

"Fuck!" Skinny Monkey raised his voice a little, a tremor running through it. "Stop fucking... stop fucking pretending to sleep!"

Lin Feng's eyelids twitched slightly, but he still didn't open them.

Skinny Monkey felt he was being ignored, and being ignored hurt more than an outright threat. He remembered the days when he had humiliated Lin Feng at will, and a surge of anger shot to his head, temporarily overwhelming his fear.

He took a step forward and, almost on momentum alone, reached out with his relatively uninjured hand to grab Lin Feng by the collar-a gesture he had used most often before, one that meant absolute humiliation and control.

"I'm talking to you! Are you dea-"

The instant his fingers were about to touch Lin Feng's collar-

A sudden change!

Beside them, the newcomer Qian Er, who had kept his head down and silently sorted his things, looking utterly timid and harmless, moved without warning!

Fast! Vicious! Precise! Not the slightest hesitation!

Like a venomous snake disguised as a dead branch, he struck a fatal blow!

The frightened, timid look vanished from Qian Er's eyes in an instant, replaced by a cold, mechanical ruthlessness! His body spun sharply, and his right hand darted out from behind him like lightning. In it he gripped a "dagger" made from a sharpened white plastic toothbrush handle, the toothbrush's head whittled to a sharp point that glinted deathly white in the dim light!

There was not a single wasted movement, and his target was clear-Skinny Monkey's unguarded side!

"Pfft!"

An exceedingly faint yet clearly audible muffled sound rang out as the sharp object pierced cotton cloth and plunged into flesh!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

All of Skinny Monkey's movements, all his cursing, stopped short. His outstretched arm froze in midair, and his body gave a violent shudder. Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, he lowered his head, his face filled with utter shock and disbelief, his eyes nearly bulging out of their swollen sockets!

He saw a length of deathly pale, rough plastic handle lodged firmly in his blue prison uniform. A small, dark wet patch spread rapidly through the fabric around it, growing larger and larger.

Only then did the intense, tearing pain surge into his brain!

"Uh... kh..." Meaningless, wheezing sounds escaped Skinny Monkey's throat. He raised his head, looking away from the "dagger" in his abdomen, first at Lin Feng, who had finally opened his eyes, his gaze terrifyingly cold and calm, and then slowly turning toward Qian Er, whose eyes were just as cold, with even a hint of mockery in them.

His expression twisted through a tangle of emotions-first bewilderment (What happened?), then a spasm of terrible pain, followed by boundless fear and a sense of absurdity as he saw the situation for what it was (This coward? He stabbed me?). At last, every emotion became the deepest despair and disbelief as he watched his life drain swiftly away with his blood!

His body began to go limp, his strength ebbing like the tide.

Expressionless, Qian Er gave a sharp twist of his wrist and cleanly pulled out the makeshift weapon. A few drops of blood came out with it and splashed onto the floor.

Skinny Monkey finally let out an agonized, stifled groan, like that of a dying man. His legs gave way, and he fell to his knees with a thud. Then his upper body pitched forward, and he curled up on the floor, both hands clamped tightly over the wound as blood continued to pour out. His body convulsed violently like a fish out of water, and he let out painful whimpers.

Once again, a deathly silence that made souls tremble fell over the entire cell!

All the prisoners were scared senseless, frozen in place as if encased in ice, even forgetting to breathe!

Even Lin Feng's eyes flashed with the slightest hint of surprise, but it immediately turned into a deeper chill. He hadn't expected Qian Er to be so decisive, so ruthless.

Hurried footsteps and angry shouts once again came from the direction of the iron door as the guards were alerted.

Without even looking at Skinny Monkey convulsing on the floor, Qian Er quickly tossed the bloodstained plastic toothbrush handle into a corner and stepped back. The cold, ruthless expression vanished from his face as if in a face-changing act, and in an instant he looked frightened, uneasy, and helpless again, as though the killer who had just struck so viciously were his twin brother.

The cell door was yanked open.

"What the fuck happened again?!" The guard rushed in and saw Skinny Monkey curled up on the floor, bleeding, convulsing, and groaning. His face turned livid, and he was almost ready to explode. "Who did it?! Huh?!"

Qian Er flinched in fright and shrank back, his face full of terror and bewilderment, as if he knew nothing.

The other prisoners were even more silent than cicadas in winter. No one dared point anyone out.

The guard cursed as he checked Skinny Monkey's injuries, his expression growing even uglier. "Fuck! Plastic? You bastards really know how to cause trouble!" He called to his colleagues, "Get him out of here, now! Fuck, there's something cursed about 107!"

Skinny Monkey was quickly carried out, leaving only a small pool of dark red blood slowly congealing on the floor.

The guard's sharp gaze swept over every prisoner present, lingering a few seconds longer on Lin Feng and Qian Er in the end. But he got nothing out of anyone and could only lock the door again in frustration.

Clang!

The iron door shut.

Inside the cell, deathly silence descended once more.

This time, all eyes were fixed on Lin Feng, who had barely changed his posture from beginning to end. They no longer looked at him with alarm and awe, but with the terror one might feel at the sight of an "inhuman monster."

They finally understood.

That god of slaughter Zheng Qi calling him "big brother" was no misunderstanding at all.

The newcomer Qian Er, that "coward," was a venomous snake in disguise!

And Lin Feng, who seemed the weakest and easiest to bully...

He was the source of it all! He was the most terrifying person in cell 107, the one they must never provoke!

Lin Feng slowly raised his eyelids, his calm gaze sweeping over everyone. Every prisoner his eyes touched jerked his head down as if struck by electricity, his body trembling uncontrollably.

He said nothing.

But a silent fear had already locked itself around everyone's heart like the hardest of shackles.

The transfer of power, accompanied by bloodshed and ruthlessness, was completed in this moment.