I bought a prison in the United States.

At seven o'clock in the morning, the prisoners were released from their cells and taken to the canteen for breakfast.

Breakfast was simple: two slices of bread, a bowl of oatmeal, and a cup of instant coffee—that was already considered a luxury.

Mrs. Martha bustled about by herself, her face expressionless.

Lin Ge noticed that several prisoners would say thank you as they passed by her.

Whether it was intentional or unintentional, he remembered it.

He stood in a corner of the canteen, observing each prisoner, and saw many keywords pass before his eyes:

"Depressed", "bored", "irritable", "excited", "fearful", "doubting"...

Neither of these are positive emotions, but that's to be expected of prisoners.

He can't see keywords above everyone's head; it seems he can only capture the emotions and states that are currently active.

Not knowing the purpose of these keywords, Lin Ge didn't accept them all.

The "mayor" sat alone at a table in the far corner.

He ate his breakfast quickly, but chewed each bite carefully, though his expression clearly showed that his mind wasn't on the taste.

After finishing his meal, he didn't leave. Instead, he sat there, his gaze slowly scanning the cafeteria.

Lin Ge soon noticed that his gaze would linger on each prisoner for a second or two as he passed over them, just like a prison guard calling out roll.

"Ghost Fang" sat at a table in the middle, surrounded by three or four young Latino prisoners.

They were talking in hushed tones, occasionally letting out a laugh.

But every time "Ghost Fang" spoke, everyone else listened quietly.

He appeared relaxed and casual, but Ringo noticed that his eyes were constantly searching for something, and his position was better for observation than that of the "mayor."

Every exit of the canteen, the location of every prison guard, and the state of every window were all within his surveillance range.

This young murderer is currently the person Lingo is most wary of, because he has a feeling that the other party may cause trouble at any time.

As for the draftsman that Ringo cared about most, he was sitting alone near the window.

He wasn't eating breakfast; instead, he was flipping through a book he'd borrowed from the prison library.

Although the title is illegible, judging from its thickness and binding, it should be some kind of engineering manual.

He was flipping through the notebook and drawing something in it, his fingers covered in pencil ash.

Even after going to prison, he didn't give up his previous job, which shows that he has a deep desire to get out of prison.

The drug addict Lin Ge met last time didn't come for breakfast. Lin Ge asked Tommy, and the answer he got was:

"He hasn't been doing well these past few days, so Mrs. Martha has been bringing breakfast to his cell."

Randy, the boy who stole the television, sat at the front table, eating bread in big mouthfuls, as if he were eating his last meal.

His eating habits drew laughter from several prisoners nearby, but he was completely oblivious.

As for the old prisoner who had been lying there for nineteen years, he didn't come either, and it seemed that no one cared about him.

……

Breakfast ended at 7:30.

The prisoners were taken to the workshop to begin their day's work.

Only ten sewing machines in the factory were running.

Twenty prisoners were assigned to make uniforms for the state government, while the remaining forty-odd prisoners had nothing to do and were put back in their cells.

Prisoners with nothing to do are more dangerous than those with something to do; this is an ironclad rule of prison management.

Some of them must be planning a famous prison break, and four prison guards simply can't keep an eye on them all the time.

Harmon was aware of this, so he regularly rotated prisoners between cells, since there were plenty of empty cells available.

All of this pained Lingo greatly, as it not only resulted in a serious waste of manpower but also increased the pressure of supervision.

"Um……"

Lin Ge stroked his chin, stood at the factory entrance, and looked at the huge stamping machine.

It sat quietly in the corner, completely unable to fulfill its intended purpose.

We need to find someone to fix it so we can take on some outsourced work. The prison desperately needs some income, and Lin Ge is counting on it now.

The problem is that repairing a stamping machine is very expensive; if you hire someone else to do it, it will cost at least $1000.

In those days, the average hourly wage for a repairman in the United States was about $150, with labor costs accounting for more than 80% of the repair costs.

If we can save that money, the replacement parts can be done for under $100!

Ringo immediately thought of Craig Miller, the engineer.

……

Half an hour later, Craig was taken to the office, where Ringo was looking at his file.

Craig Miller, 32 years old, white, from San Jose, California.

He dropped out of the mechanical engineering program at UC Berkeley, just one semester shy of graduation, but chose to work at Lockheed instead.

Lockheed Corporation is a highly influential aerospace manufacturer in the United States.

Due to its remarkable achievements, it holds an absolute leading position in the field of military aviation.

During his three years at Lockheed, Miller worked as a draftsman, responsible for drawing up blueprints for some components of the F-117 stealth fighter.

Later, he became addicted to cocaine and began forging checks to cover his expenses.

He was convicted of twelve counts of forgery and sentenced to seven years in prison, of which he has already served one year and four months.

"You worked at Lockheed?"

Lin Ge asked as soon as he came up.

Craig sat in the chair opposite the desk, looking more relaxed than yesterday, his posture and demeanor more like that of an engineer attending a project meeting.

"For a period of time, but I wasn't fired because of poor performance; I resigned on my own."

Why?

"Because when I was drawing those blueprints, I knew those planes would be used to kill people."

Craig looked terrified and didn't even dare to look Ringo in the eye.

"I have nightmares every night, dreaming that those blueprints turn into real airplanes, and the airplanes turn into bombs."

"The bomb landed somewhere I've never been, killing people I've never met."

Ringo's eyelids twitched. "Invading Panama or the Gulf War..."

"What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing, and then you started doing drugs."

Lin Ge quickly changed the subject.

Craig nodded, a wry smile tugging at the corners of his mouth:

"Using cocaine to numb oneself, then using forged checks to buy cocaine—perfect logic, right?"

Lin Ge looked at him, or more precisely, at the word "concern" above his head.

He tried it out, making the color of the two characters lighter, and said at the same time:

"If I give you the tools and parts, can you fix that stamping press?"

Craig raised an eyebrow slightly. "You really intend to let me touch the machine?"

Ringo nodded:

"You're in jail, not turned into an idiot. Your hand isn't broken, and your brain isn't damaged."

"Since you can draw, fix machines, and do manual labor, why should I waste air locking you up in a cell?"

"Come do my job, and I can try to get you a reduced sentence or parole. You must be eager to get out of here soon."

Craig's concerns lessened somewhat, but his expression still showed a hint of confusion:

"You are different from other people."

"What's different?"

"You have a strong sense of purpose, but you don't seem to have a strong desire for control. It's strange that you don't seem to treat prisoners as walking dangers."

Ringo remained noncommittal about Craig's words:

"There are indeed some vicious and dangerous individuals among the prisoners, but in my eyes, you are just someone who can fix machines."

Craig thought for a moment, and perhaps because some of his concerns had been alleviated by Ringo, he became a little more at ease than when he had first come in:

"Alright, give me a day, I'll fix that stamping machine, but I need someone to help me."

"Who?"

"Randy, that kid is skillful and obedient."

Lin Ge thought for a moment, "Okay, but I have one more condition."