Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 302 The Prison of the Cherry Blossom Mansion

Since the night Guan Tong attempted to assassinate the Divine Child, the entire nation of Yingqi has been under martial law.

Previously, the patrol vehicles on the streets were all from the Public Security Bureau, but now they have all been replaced by military armored vehicles, which are also equipped with thermal-sensing drones for 24-hour aerial patrols.

According to some insiders online, Sakura's top management purchased a batch of advanced weapons and equipment from the Somali Empire, and also imported a number of intelligent robots.

Sakura Inori's official explanation is that it's to deal with the threat posed by the Shadow, an Ascended Being, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that it's just an excuse.

If we really want to deal with the Shadows, hiring a group of powerful individual Ascendants might be more useful than these weapons.

However, other countries are not in a position to criticize. Currently, Sakura Inori officially claims that the Divine Child was assassinated and is vigorously promoting the Human Union's comprehensive manhunt for the Shadow. Various countries are still hesitant about this matter and are not in a position to say anything about the arms import issue.

No one expected that Shadow would still be in Sakura Inori territory.

He is currently manipulating the shadow threads, secretly heading to the Sakura Mansion of the Divine Child Misawa Jun to investigate.

The official residence was sealed off after the night of the assassination, and the rest of the Mizawa family have moved to new residences.

Based on this, it's unlikely that any important information was left here.

However, adhering to the principle of doing the opposite, Guan Tong still wanted to investigate further.

The protective barrier originally intended for the official residence had been removed, and Shadow easily slipped inside.

Through the sharing of the five senses, Guan Tong felt that the place was completely silent, as if there were no living beings inside.

He manipulated his shadow to search each room, but they were all empty. Even the room that resembled a study contained no written documents or information storage devices.

"It looks like this official residence has really been emptied out."

After checking everything, Guan Tong found nothing and wanted to recall the shadow.

But when one of the shadow lines slid across a spot on the ground, a subtle "vibration" was transmitted to Guan Tong through the sharing.

The sensation was extremely subtle, yet he still managed to detect it.

"Why would there be an tremor for no reason?"

If it were a minor earthquake or other factor, there would be no reason why only one shadow line would be received.

Is it...

Guan Tong immediately mobilized multiple shadow lines and focused them on the area where the tremor had just occurred.

Could it be down below?

All the rooms in the official residence have been inspected and there are no problems.

But it's just a room on the ground.

What about underground? Are there facilities like basements that can only be opened via mechanisms?
Upon realizing this, Guan Tong immediately manipulated his shadow to become ethereal and burrowed beneath the stratum from which the tremor had originated.

When you go down to about three meters, the soil disappears, and in its place is a dimly lit room.

There really is a basement!

This discovery overjoyed Guan Tong.

Fortunately, he was cautious enough and released enough probes, otherwise he might have missed this important clue.

Guan Tong thought to himself, "Perhaps this is why the divine child chose to convert this temple into an official residence."

Many temples in An Tai State were used as prisons in ancient times, so it is not surprising that there are underground prisons.

The room the shadow peered into at that moment, with three walls and a wooden railing, was undoubtedly in the style of an ancient prison.

And the source of those subtle tremors on the ground...

Through the shadow, Guan Tong saw a person crawling in the corner, banging their head against the wall repeatedly!
Is this the source of the vibration?
Guan Tong initially didn't believe it, thinking that the human brain couldn't be that hard.

But when he looked closely at the person lying on the ground banging their head against the wall, a chill ran down his spine. That undulating figure was not that of a normal human; it was clearly a monster with a human head and a snake's body.

"Snake servant?"

This guy was undoubtedly a snake servant created using Shangyuan Zi's abilities, but why was he imprisoned in an underground jail?

And why is this thing banging its head against the wall...? Is it out of Shang Yuanzi's control now? Should I contact Shang Yuanzi to ask her about it?

Guan Tong couldn't understand it, but he chose to remain calm for the time being and manipulated the shadow to continue exploring.

He discovered that the space beneath the official residence was vast, not just a single cell or a few cells, but an entire medium-to-large prison.

Many cells were filled with people, some even with groups of people.

There are also quite a few non-Yingqi people among them; judging from their appearance, they seem to be from the former Antai State.

After the Kingdom of Sakura moved here, the decision of the People's Federation was to allow the remaining small number of Antai people to join Sakura. But now it seems that Sakura is not treating these people as citizens at all.

The more Guan Tong looked at the shared visuals, the more shocking they became.

The state of the prison beneath the official residence reminded him of the prison at the Yongzhou base.

Even if the appearances are different, their core is the same.

If a certain rule requires it, high-ranking figures like Miko, who are imprisoned in the prison, will definitely use these people as tools.

The shadow moved from back to front, hugging the wall all the way.

These densely packed cells were almost all occupied, and many of the detainees were covered in wounds and had suffered torture. Guan Tong even discovered someone she had interrogated not long ago.

Is this the sheriff named "Suzuki" who has the ability to profile?

When Guan Tong saw a disheveled, scarred woman in a prison cell, she barely recognized her.

At the time, Shang Yuanzi advocated letting her go, and Guan Tong agreed. Now, judging from the scars on her face, it's clear she was subjected to severe interrogation upon her return, just as he had told Shang Yuanzi: letting someone go wouldn't end well.

At this moment, Suzuki looked blank, staring vacantly at the wall, seemingly lost in thought.

Guan Tong didn't have time to observe her any longer; he had a more pressing problem to deal with.

Where are the guards?
The shadow moved rapidly; Guan Tong was now desperate to find the manager of this place.

He came to the official residence to find evidence, but he unexpectedly discovered this underground prison... What could prove the inhumane behavior of Sakura and others better than the existence of this prison itself?

"……found it."

After traveling some distance, the shadow discovered the entrance to the prison. It was a stone staircase more than three people wide, with several stone chambers on both sides, containing some people dressed in a very retro style.

Looking at the tight-fitting clothes those people were wearing, Guan Tong recalled the invisible guard he had when he assassinated the Divine Child.

"Look at that guard, and these prison guards, they're all dressed like ninjas, not in sheriff's uniforms or military uniforms. I guess these people are either the Divine Child or the private guard of the Misawa family."

Guan Tong was certain that these people were the direct confidants of the Divine Child lineage, but now that the Divine Child was dead, he didn't know whose orders they were following.

Or is it possible that the divine child didn't die at all?

Guan Tong is still unsure about this.

But now that he had discovered the prison, he could not simply leave it unattended.

“Killing these guards wouldn’t be difficult for me now, but they’re just small fry. Killing them would only alert the big fish.”

Guan Tong pondered for a moment and decided to hold back for now.

He planned to lie in wait here, hoping that the superiors guarding these ninjas would arrive before he could strike and reap greater rewards.

(End of this chapter)