Black Crow Prison (16) Come with me

Zhou Kui and his companion were in the hospital's small canteen, where they were served only one meal a day—a bowl of white porridge, a small side of greens, and a cup of soy milk.

Zheng Kai clutched his tray and couldn't help but grumble, "This is much better than what we expected. Although it might not be enough to fill us up, it's better than having nothing to eat."

Zhou Kui agreed. He had expected something like a single piece of bread, so he was surprised to have porridge as well.

Just as they were carrying their trays back to their ward, they saw someone walk out of the lounge. It was Mo Yichen.

Both men froze in their tracks, their legs seemingly rooted to the spot. They didn't even dare to breathe. This was the dungeon boss! One wrong move and they could be killed!

However, the man simply brushed past them and went to the canteen window to give the cook a few instructions. Zhou Kui and Zheng Kai didn't dare to watch any longer; the moment the man turned away, they scurried back to their room. A short while later, Mo Yichen left, carrying a tray filled with a hearty meal.

Meanwhile, Feng Xuanxuan was in the restroom checking her reflection. The side of her face that had been struck was beginning to swell. She cupped cold water from the faucet and splashed it onto the red, puffy skin. The moment the water hit her face, it stung like fire, making her scalp tingle with intense hatred.

Damned Number 3! If it weren't for her, her beautiful face wouldn't have ended up like this! It was all her fault!

But as she thought about how Mu Xinning must have been dragged to the fifth floor by the prison guards by now, Feng Xuanxuan sneered. So what if she wasn't afraid? Being locked up there couldn't lead to anything good. She hoped the girl would just be killed outright so she wouldn't be an eyesore anymore!

The room had a private bathroom, and Feng Xuanxuan had intended to shower, as she hadn't bathed the day before and felt incredibly uncomfortable. However, her injury still pained her after rinsing it, so she decided to go back to the registration desk to see the prison doctor for some medicine or an ice pack. Her face was of the utmost importance to her; treating it had to come first.

When she left her ward and reached the registration desk, she caught sight of the figure she had been obsessing over walking down the corridor. Forgetting all about her registration, Feng Xuanxuan hurried after him.

She saw the man heading toward the ward corridor with an exquisite tray in his hands. She quickly hid behind a corner to observe him. Could this man not be a prison doctor, but a caregiver? Was he on his way to deliver food to her?

As the man drew closer to her ward, Feng Xuanxuan’s heart began to race—it felt as if it might jump right out of her chest. But the man did not stop at her room; he walked straight past it until he reached 401 at the very end of the hall.

401... Feng Xuanxuan stopped dead in her tracks. She knew the ward assignments were based on the registration order. Zhou Kui was in 402, and as for the person who had arrived on this floor before them, the answer was self-evident.

It was that bitch, Number 3!

The light from the ceiling fixture fell upon her swollen cheek, and the pain, combined with a sharp, bitter resentment, surged to her brain. If it hadn't been for Number 3’s bizarre demeanor making her wary of provoking her, she would have dealt with her long ago. She had disliked her from the start!

That pretentious bitch! How did she deserve special treatment? How did she deserve to have such a handsome man personally bring her meals? She considered herself more capable of handling people than Number 3, better at pleasing men, and as for her looks—if not for this slap, she wouldn't be inferior to anyone!

"How dare she..." Feng Xuanxuan gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with venom. "Does trash like her even deserve it?"

When Mo Yichen reached the door of ward 401, his knuckles hovered over the panel for a moment. The heart rate he had spent so long calming in the lounge began to falter again for no apparent reason. The cream stew on the tray was still steaming, with fine droplets of golden oil glistening on the surface. He had specifically ordered the kitchen to prepare it according to the nutritional manual, thinking it would be perfect since she had an injured arm.

He wondered if she would like it...

He gently pushed the door open, but the room was empty. On the bedside table sat the breakfast tray from the morning, the food completely polished off, but the figure who had been holding the mummy doll was nowhere to be seen.

"Mu Xinning?" he called out softly. His voice echoed in the empty room, met only by the silence of the walls.

His fingers tightened around the edge of the tray until his knuckles turned white. After placing the tray on the table, he checked the restroom. It was also empty.

Where did she go? Mo Yichen narrowed his eyes, a hint of imperceptible panic lurking beneath his gaze. He closed his eyes, radiating an invisible pressure. As the dungeon boss, he used his full-map perception ability for the first time, a feat that cost him a great deal of energy.

Pale purple energy waves rippled out from him, sweeping past the locked cells on the first floor, brushing over the dark, viscous slime on the door cracks of the second floor, passing through the canteen on the third, and finally stopping at the iron door of the solitary confinement ward on the fifth floor.

Her aura was there, accompanied by a faint, elusive trace—one that belonged to him!

In the confinement cell, Jin muttered to himself, "Tch... have I been discovered?" Why did this damned clone have to use his perception? He must have truly sensed him this time. What a nuisance!

When Mo Yichen opened his eyes, the panic had been replaced by cold, icy rage. He turned and strode out of the ward, arriving in front of a room without a name. He pulled a key from his pocket and opened the door, revealing an elevator inside. He then took out a white card and swiped it against the control panel next to the lift.

...

Mu Xinning was lying on the stone bed, bored, when she suddenly heard the sound of the elevator starting up next door. She quickly got off the bed and went to the iron bars to check. The number 5 on the elevator display began to descend, stopping at the number 4!

Was this elevator connected to the hospital? Thinking of those two mysterious rooms, Mu Xinning immediately understood.

Soon, the elevator returned to the fifth floor, and the doors slid open slowly. Who could it be?

As the doors opened, a figure in a white lab coat stepped out. Mo Yichen? Why was he here?

As soon as Mo Yichen stepped out of the elevator, the prison guard rushed out of the monitoring room, saying respectfully, "Sir, why have you come here?"

His wicked purple eyes swept over Mu Xinning’s confinement cell, making her heart tremble. She gripped her doll tighter. Was he angry...?

Mo Yichen exuded an invisible pressure, and with an air that brooked no refusal, he said coldly to the guard, "I'm here for her."

The guard was forced to break into a cold sweat by the pressure. "Sir, whoever you want, just say the word! I'll release her immediately!"

"Her." Mo Yichen pointed at Mu Xinning's cell.

"Yes, yes! I'll let her out right now!" The guard unlocked the door with lightning speed.

Mu Xinning was stunned. Wait, what? She had just arrived! Her seat wasn't even warm yet, and they were letting her go?

Seeing that she didn't move, Mo Yichen stepped forward, took hold of her uninjured arm, and pulled her out of the cell. His voice was strained and hoarse. "Come with me."

Just like that, Mu Xinning was pulled into the elevator by him.

Zhang Dafu had heard the commotion on this floor. When Mu Xinning was brought up, she had passed his cell, so he roughly knew which area she had been taken to. The man who had just spoken was addressed as "Sir" by the guard, so he must have held a significant position.

Very few people were ever taken to solitary confinement; several of those who had were the ones involved in the conflict in the canteen yesterday. From the voice echoing at the end of the hall, he was certain that the "Sir" had taken away Number 3!

Who exactly was Number 3? Did she know someone in this dungeon? The guard's attitude toward her had been very different—at least, much friendlier than it had been toward him. And they had left directly by elevator; if they had taken the stairs, they would have had to pass his cell.

People like that were not to be trifled with, Zhang Dafu decided. He had been thinking ever since he was locked up about what kind of people his fellow inmates were; he didn't want to be backstabbed again. After all, once was quite enough.