Chapter 49 – Solitary Confinement

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of someone banging on the iron door echoed.

Bai Li was jolted awake from her dream, nearly rolling off the bed.

“Food’s here! If you don’t take it, it’ll be taken away!”

The impatient voice of a prison guard came from outside the door.

Bai Li rubbed her eyes and climbed up.

She saw the small door at the bottom of the iron door slide open, and a gray plastic tray was shoved in from outside.

She quickly crouched down and took the tray.

She had fallen asleep at noon and only now realized that if she didn’t pick up her meal on time, it would be taken back.

The Shelter doesn’t support idlers, much less slackers.

She had two days left.

She had to seize the opportunity.

Bai Li carried the tray to the bedside, picked up the spoon, and was about to bring it to her mouth when a strange smell wafted into her nose.

She put down the spoon, leaned down, brought her face close to the edge of the tray, and sniffed carefully.

“Tomorrow night… 8 PM… rooftop.”

This was a pheromone used for internal communication within the Starfall Society.

Only Strange Person executives could transmit and receive it; ordinary guards couldn’t detect it at all.

Bai Li’s heart leaped with joy.

It seemed Madam had sent someone to rescue her.

She pretended to be nonchalant, scooping up a spoonful of rice and chewing it while her mind raced.

Tomorrow night at 8 PM, the rooftop.

The shelter facility should have a barrier that blocks magical energy, so there was no way to directly rescue her.

So they could only rendezvous from outside.

The rooftop was the easiest place to approach, as it wasn’t covered by the barrier.

As long as she could reach the rooftop, she could be rescued.

But this brought another problem: how was she going to get to the rooftop?

Bai Li bit down on the spoon and looked around.

The iron door was tightly shut.

Outside was an electronic lock operated by a card.

The walls were solid, with no windows.

She had tried the ventilation grille, but she couldn’t even fit her arm through.

Her current cell was on the first floor.

At the end of the corridor was an iron door, beyond which was another corridor, and at the end of that corridor was…

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of a stun baton hitting the iron door interrupted her thoughts.

“Hurry up and finish eating! Time to go out for recreation!”

“Okay!”

Bai Li hastily stuffed all the food from the tray into her mouth, then passed the empty tray back through the small door.

The iron door opened.

Two fully armed prison guards stood outside, watching her warily.

“Go.”

Bai Li obediently stood up and followed behind them.

The other cells also opened one by one, and all kinds of Strange Persons walked out.

The recreation yard was at the back of the Shelter, an open concrete area.

Surrounding it were high walls, topped with barbed wire, and surveillance cameras every few meters.

The area wasn’t large, only about the size of a soccer field, but it was enough for several dozen Strange Persons to “exercise” at the same time.

On the other side, Strange Persons wearing work uniforms also filed out.

After rehabilitation, they had been deemed capable of participating in labor.

If they performed exceptionally well and hadn’t committed any particularly serious offenses in the past, it was even possible for them to leave this place and obtain legal identities.

Bai Li looked around, amazed that the Blazing Knight had dealt with so many Strange Persons.

With so many dazzling Strange Persons, how did he manage to fight them all?

The setting sun hit her face, dyeing everything in warm hues of orange-red.

Bai Li squinted and instinctively looked up.

Directly above the recreation yard, the rooftop platform of the Shelter’s main building came clearly into view.

Gray concrete railings, a rusted lightning rod, and a flag flapping noisily in the wind.

That was the place.

Tomorrow night, she had to reach that spot.

Bai Li lowered her head, withdrew her gaze, and began to slowly walk around the yard.

She was observing the height of the walls, checking for any gaps in the barbed wire, noting the blind spots of the surveillance cameras, and watching the patrol routes and time intervals of the guards.

She walked absentmindedly, not noticing what was ahead.

Bam.

Bai Li bumped into something that blocked her path like a wall.

“Strange, is there a wall here too?”

Bai Li rubbed her nose and looked up.

No, it wasn’t a wall.

It was a Strange Person of enormous size.

The top of her head only reached his waist.

His arms were thicker than her legs.

His whole silhouette was like an inflated balloon, with a round, bulging belly like a standing rhinoceros.

Bai Li staggered back two steps and looked up at the giant.

“Are you blind?”

The big guy looked down, a hint of displeasure flickering in his eyes, which were squeezed into slits by fat.

Bai Li had originally intended to say sorry and then walk away.

But suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind like an electric shock.

‘Since her own cell wasn’t viable, and the recreation yard wasn’t viable either, she might as well try another place.’

‘If she caused trouble here, where would she be locked up? Solitary confinement?’

‘What floor would the solitary cell be on? Would it be close to the rooftop?’

A faint smile curved her lips.

“You’re the one in the way.”

Bai Li looked up, her tone clearly provocative.

“You fat pig.”

The big guy’s eyes widened a bit.

The Strange Persons around stopped in their tracks and looked their way.

“He suddenly called him a fat pig…”

“First meeting and he’s already calling him a fat pig!”

Some whispered, some wore expressions eager for a show, and someone in the distance let out a whistle.

“Say that again?”

The big guy’s voice dropped.

Bai Li put her hands on her hips, raised her head, and flicked her tail twice behind her.

“I said—move it, fat pig. If your ears don’t work, get a hearing aid.”

The big guy’s face turned the color of pork liver.

With a roar, he swung a fist larger than Bai Li’s head down at her.

Bai Li was ready.

She dodged sideways, and the fist grazed her ear, smashing into the concrete floor behind her.

Using the momentum, she leaped aside, planted her toe on the wall, flipped over, and landed behind the big guy.

“Too slow. Didn’t you eat?”

She clapped her hands.

“Ahhh!”

The big guy turned around and swung another punch.

Bai Li ducked to dodge, then kicked him in the back of the knee.

The big guy’s leg buckled, he lost balance, and stumbled forward a couple of steps.

Bai Li jumped up, planted her feet on his shoulders, and clawed at his eyes buried in fat.

Ughhh!

The big guy let out a pained howl, shook his head, and raised both hands trying to grab Bai Li off his shoulders.

The surrounding Strange Persons let out gasps.

Some started clapping, and some had already begun placing bets.

Unfortunately, the big guy’s arms were too thick; he couldn’t reach his own back.

He was like a wild bull being ridden, spinning in place, but couldn’t shake off the agile little fox on his back.

Bai Li found her timing, leaped up powerfully, and upon landing, she charged her right foot and drove it upward from below, slamming hard between the big guy’s legs.

Crack!

The sound of something shattering.

The big guy’s body trembled, then suddenly fell backward.

His enormous frame crashed to the ground like a wall.

The ground shook violently, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The dust cleared.

The big guy lay on the ground, his eyes rolled back.

Bai Li dusted off her hands, her tail held high.

“Is—there—anybody—else?”

The moment the words left her mouth.

Zap!

A blue electric arc struck her side from behind.

Bai Li’s body went rigid, and her tail and hair bristled.

“Ahh ba ahh ba ahh ba…”

She fell straight down, face-first.

Two guards walked up from behind her.

One put away the stun gun, and the other picked her up from the ground.

Bai Li’s body was still twitching slightly, her tongue hanging out, her eyes unfocused.

“Causing trouble. Solitary confinement.”

The guard’s voice was devoid of any emotion.