I bought a prison in the United States.

Guiya stood up and walked to the door.

The gap in the door is about three millimeters wide.

He slipped the metal sheet through the crack in the door with steady movements, like a surgeon inserting a scalpel into a patient's body cavity.

The tip of the metal plate touched the latch.

He closed his eyes and focused all his attention on his fingertips.

The tactile sensation transmitted from the metal sheet formed an image in his mind.

The shape of the latch, the position of the spring, the angle at which it needs to be pried open...

He applied pressure upwards, three millimeters.

The metal sheet is slightly bent, storing elastic energy.

Then—"Click."

The sound was very soft, barely louder than the sound of a cockroach crawling across a piece of paper.

But in the absolutely quiet corridor of the confinement area, the "click" was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, the ripples enough to wake any ear.

Ghost Fang remained motionless for a full thirty seconds, intently listening to the sounds outside.

The breathing sounds in solitary confinement cell number one remained unchanged.

Number two is empty.

The prisoners in cell number four were snoring; their snoring was even and continuous.

He gripped the doorknob and slowly turned it.

The door opened.

The security lights in the corridor made him squint.

Ghost Fang stood at the door of the solitary confinement cell for about ten seconds, allowing his eyes to readjust to the light, before moving lightly in one direction.

He didn't walk in the center of the corridor, but rather near the wall.

When your foot lands on a concrete surface, the contact area gradually expands from the heel to the ball of the foot, which can minimize the noise generated by the friction between the sole of the shoe and the ground.

This is a gait learned from the streets. The old folks of the 18th Street gang call it the "cat walk," which is to walk like a cat approaching a sparrow.

He passed through solitary confinement cell number one, then number two, and past the chair of the guard on duty.

The room was empty at the moment, just as he had planned. Wade was in the duty room, while Coffey and Jackson were probably patrolling elsewhere.

As he passed by, he glanced at the small table next to the chair, on which sat a flashlight and an empty coffee cup.

At the end of the corridor in the solitary confinement area is the connecting passageway to the cell block.

The iron gate to the passage was locked, but the lock cylinder was on this side of the gate.

This is a fire safety requirement; any door must be able to be opened from the inside to prevent people from being trapped in the event of a fire.

A design intended for security has now become a security vulnerability in the prison.

In prison, all security measures are a double-edged sword.

Those idiots really are idiots!

With that thought in mind, Guiya opened the passage door.

The corridor of the prison area stretched out before him, sixty meters long, with cells separated by iron bars on both sides.

Moonlight streamed in through the small window at the end of the corridor, illuminating the space into individual cubicles of roughly the same size.

Most of the prisoners were asleep, their breathing rising and falling, with the occasional rustling sound of someone turning over.

Ghost Fang walked through the prison cells.

His footsteps were lighter than in the restricted area; here it was an open space where sound would be amplified by the reflections off the walls.

Before each foot lands, his toes touch the ground first to test for any sand or debris that might make a sound.

He stopped in front of cell number 27.

This is the Blue Snake's cell.

Through the iron bars, you can see Blue Snake lying on the lower bunk, facing the wall, with a blanket covering his shoulders.

His breathing was steady and deep, and he appeared to be in a deep sleep.

Ghost Fang squatted down and pulled out a second item from the lining of the shoe sole.

A metal wire about fifteen centimeters long, with one end sharpened and the other end wrapped with a strip of cloth torn from the hem of a shirt, was made into a handle.

This was the murder weapon he had prepared before being locked in solitary confinement, because he had long planned to assassinate Blue Snake.

The metal strip on the dinner plate is used to unlock the door; the spring wire in the mattress is used for the same purpose!

He held the wire in his right hand, stood up, and reached for the cell door with his left hand, gently prying open the lock as before.

Ghost Fang pushed open the cell door.

The iron gate turned on its hinges, making a very faint creak, so faint that it could be completely masked by the rustling sound of someone turning over in the corridor.

He entered the cell, and Blue Snake's breathing remained unchanged.

Guiya stood by his nemesis's bedside, looking down at him.

Moonlight streamed in through the small window of the cell, but Blue Snake's face was hidden in shadow and could not be seen.

Ghost Fang raised his right hand, which was holding the metal wire, and the next moment, Blue Snake's eyes snapped open.

He wasn't sleeping at all; he sensed it before Ghost Fang even walked into his cell.

Even though Ghost Fang tried his best to hide the slight sound of footsteps, his killing intent could not be concealed.

"snort!"

Blue Snake pulled his left hand out from under the blanket, holding a sharp knife made from a toothbrush handle.

The toothbrush handle was worn into a flat triangle, its tip reflecting a cold white luster in the moonlight.

This is a classic weapon used in prisons; the materials are readily available, it's easy to make, and it's lethal enough.

Blue Snake struck first, thrusting her dagger fiercely into Ghost Fang's abdomen!

Ghost Fang dodged to the side, but the dagger sliced ​​through the left side of his prison uniform, leaving a shallow cut on his ribs, but it did not penetrate his abdomen.

"Damn it!"

He seized the blue snake's wrist, and the two men's strength collided in the air, their muscles and bones tightening under their skin, producing a soft creaking sound.

Blue Snake rolled off the bed, and the two of them fell heavily to the ground.

"wipe!"

The cold, rough cement floor scraped their exposed skin.

They rolled on the ground, arms wrapped around arms, knees clashing against knees, teeth clenched, breathing heavily.

But no one made a sound.

This is a silent struggle, because in the prison at midnight, sound equals alarm, and alarm equals defeat.

Ghost Fang was still holding the metal wire in his right hand.

He tried to stab the wire into the blue snake's neck, but the snake's left forearm got stuck under his right arm, blocking the angle of the attack.

The tip of the wire drew a bloody line above the blue snake's collarbone, but failed to pierce its carotid artery.

"snort……"

The blue snake's sharp blade was also searching for an opening.

He used his knee to press against Ghost Fang's thigh, trying to create an angle from which he could stab him.

The tip of the dagger cut gashes into Ghost Fang's prison uniform, but each time it missed by a hair's breadth.

Ghost Fang's body always manages to twist at the last moment, just enough for the dagger to glide past rather than pierce him.

Their breathing grew heavier and heavier.

This wasn't the first time they'd fought in prison; each of them had countless similar experiences.

On the streets or in prisons, anywhere where you need to use your hands and teeth to establish your right to life.

They knew the pattern of this fight: the first thirty seconds were a contest of explosive power, followed by a battle of skill and endurance.

Finally, it's a battle of wills!

Whoever can hold out until the other party shows a weakness first will survive!