CH 6.2

Yan Kuan widens his eyes in disbelief, “he did?”

Xiao-Lin has raised his head up for the first time ever. He looks at Yan Kuan, but his expression remains emotionless as he lowers his head once more.

“Your boss has confessed already. You still going to insist it was you?”

After a few seconds of silence, xiao-Lin repeats, “I did it.”

“Hey, seriously…” Yan Kuan adjusts his sleeve, speechless at the guy’s stubbornness, “even your boss has…”

Xiao-Lin’s eyes turn towards Zhang Zheng.

And halfway through his tirade, Yan Kuan notices something in xiao-Lin’s eyes. He turns to look inquisitively at Zhang Zheng.

Zhang Zheng, suppressing his anger deep within him, says, “fine, keep to your confessions then, but tell me the reason!”

Xiao-Lin looks away once more – at his own hand. He can almost see another hand, with blade in hand, casually slicing skin and flesh wide open.

His own fingertips cannot stop trembling.

“Xiao-Lin!”

“…’ll die.” Xiao-Lin is holding his own hand, trying to stop the uncontrollable trembling, “officer Zhang, I’ll really die!”

“Fuck!” Zhang Zheng turns to leave after glaring at the guy for a few seconds.

The door is swung hard, making a loud banging noise.

Yan Kuan looks at the door, still shaking from the impact, and back at xiao-Lin’s blank expression, tries to convince him.

“We will ensure your safety. If you report him to us, he will fail the evaluation and get sent to the second floor.”

Yan Kuan is really puzzled here——It’s not the first time someone dangerous was sentenced to the first floor by mistake. They will soon fail their evaluation and be sent where they belong.

These prisoners lack sympathy for others. They will do whatever it takes to send anything that threatens them to hell——Yet, this seems to have completely failed on Jiang Yiyi.

Xiao-Lin’s lifeless eyes turns a little in his eye socket, as he looks back up at Yan Kuan.

“He is different.”

Yan Kuan knits his brows. He’s clearly not following.

“That man is…” xiao-Lin shudders, “perverse.”

“Well? Couldn’t get them to open their mouths?” Lin Yi walks next to Zhang Zheng, and hands him a cigarette.

Zhang Zheng leans back on the fence as he takes it, while overlooking the prisoners underneath in defeat, “that man… I don’t understand how he did this.”

Lin Yi pats him on the shoulder, “it’s simple.”

Zhang Zheng turns his head. He sees Lin Yi spinning the cigarette in hand and speaking calmly, “Tiger and his gang are still the same. They pick on the weak and avoid confronting the tough. Only this time, it’s 2091 who is tough in comparison to the prison officers.”

“He’s tougher than us?” Wonders a baffled Zhang Zheng, “but he’s a prisoner…”

“Yes. A prisoner, who can dissect an arm perfectly like a diagram, and then perfectly patch it back up in ten minutes.” Lin Yi casts his gaze downwards as well, “I’ve seen Tiger’s wound. I can only describe it in one word.”

What he’s saying is mind-blowing enough that Zhang Zheng fails to note a slip of the tongue——How did he know that Tiger’s arm was sliced diagrammatically?

“Perfection.” Lin Yi grinds out the cigarette then throws it in the bin, and continues emphasising, “a perfect dissection, an even more perfect suture. It’s like…” his light-coloured iris reflect Zhang Zheng’s knit brows, “a master surgeon at work.”

Zhang Zheng recalls something, “but his file, I remember it said that he was doing unlicensed medical work because he failed certification numerous times.”

“Really?” Lin Yi is the one with the astonished expression this time, “his work definitely does not look the part.”

With Lin Yi’s purposeful guidance, Zhang Zheng makes the conclusion without issue, “he came in on purpose?”

“There is no other possible explanation.”

Zhang Zheng has a stern expression on as the answer only increases his wariness.

“Don’t be so tense. There are only two possible reasons for him to come in. Either to escape pursuit——Given his clean slate, it’s basically impossible, then that leaves——Someone has commanded him to come in. No matter which side he belongs to and whatever mission it is, though, it has nothing to do with the first floor.”

Lin Yi pats Zhang Zheng on the shoulder, “this means, he actually has the same goal as you do.”

“He also wants to reach the second floor, or rather, the floors below that.”

Zhang Zheng’s expression remains difficult, “but with things as they are, even if I nominate him, the evaluation won’t fail.” He looks at Lin Yi, “there is not enough proof of his danger.”

“I’ll go talk to him.” Lin Yi smiles, rather casually given the mood, “even if all else fails, there is still the Special Protocol, isn’t there?”

Zhang Zheng’s brows twitch, “you can’t be… The Special Protocol will send both the officer who nominates the dangerous prisoner along with the prisoner down to the second floor!”

The official legalese is difficult to understand, so the much more approachable explanation is that – without proof that a prisoner is exceptionally dangerous that the evaluation does not fail, the prison officer can still insist on their judgement of the prisoner. The prison officer can then trigger the Special Protocol. The officer in question will be named the Outstanding Supervisor, and be sent along with the prisoner down a floor.

Naturally, this request will also have to be approved first.

However, there have only been two instances of the Special Protocol being triggered in the past. Most prison officers are of the opinion that the danger a prisoner poses will never be enough for them to risk leaving their relatively safe posts to become an Outstanding Supervisor on the next floor down.

For Outstanding Supervisors, while nominally still a prison officer with the duties intact, they will also become personally responsible for the safety of that prisoner and liable for everything that prisoner does.

“That’s right.” Lin Yi seems not to have noticed the officer’s shock, and points to himself, “I can elect to trigger the Protocol myself.”

“Are you insane?” Zhang Zheng reacts quite appropriately, “or do you have a grudge with him?”

Lin Yi blinks, “clearly, I do not.”

“But then?”

Lin Yi straightens up and waves him goodbye, “regardless, let me talk to him first.”