I bought a prison in the United States.

Lin Ge placed the roster on the table:

"These three people earn at least $150,000 a year outside of prison."

"But in our factory, their labor cost is only twenty cents per hour. Don't you think that's an advantage for us?"

Hamon looked at the roster, slowly sat down, his brows furrowed, but his eyes darted around rapidly beneath his eyelids.

"If they can actually make it..."

Lin Ge shook his head, his tone more resolute than ever before:

"There are no 'ifs,' this matter must be completed. If all else fails, we'll hire an external consultant!"

"In short, we need to develop our own prison security system. The prototype should be ready in about two months, and we'll complete the patent application before Christmas."

"At that time, the security level of this prison will jump from Level D to the most advanced level in the state."

Harmon thought Ringo might have been driven mad by that judge and was starting to talk nonsense.

Where did you get your technology? Whose patent is it?

However, he didn't contradict the other party at this moment, but instead followed Lin Ge's lead and continued to ask:

"and then?"

"Then those comments about the lagging security in Hammond's report became historical documents!"

Lin Ge took a sip of coffee, his eyes bright:

"He can cut off my state funding with an audit report now, but he can't stop a product that can raise the bar for the entire industry."

"Once our system is patented, other prisons in Oklahoma that are also short of guards will be our first customers."

"I don't need to fight him, I just need to switch to a track he can't see."

"My lawyer is gathering evidence of the other party's illegal actions. I don't care if he's a Supreme Court Justice or not; whatever he wants, I'm not giving it to him!"

After saying these words, which sounded tough but impractical to Hamon, he put down his coffee cup, got up, and walked toward the factory.

At 2 p.m., the iron bars of the prison cells slid open one by one.

The prisoners were brought back from the factory for their afternoon exercise time.

The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, illuminating everyone's faces with a bloodless, pale white.

Lin Ge stood at the entrance to the prison area, holding a roster in his hand.

Wade stood beside him, holding a baton and wearing handcuffs on his belt.

Kofi leaned against the wall, arms crossed, looking like a bear that had just woken up.

Hobbs stood at the other end of the corridor, while Jackson stood at the entrance to the cell block, his hand on the walkie-talkie at his waist.

All four of them are on the day shift today; this was arranged by Hammond.

When going to the area where the prisoners transferred from Lawton are located, at least four prison guards must be present.

"Omar Hashim."

Lin Ge read out the first name.

In the middle of the cell block, a dark brown-skinned man stood up from the edge of his bed in cell number six.

He walked to the fence, his gaze lingered on Lingo's face for a moment, and then looked away.

There was no fear, and no pandering.

It's the kind of expression only someone who's been in prison for a long time has—expectations minimized, and vigilance maximized.

"Come to my office."

Omar didn't ask why, and obediently followed Wade out of the cell.

"Maurice Boone".

Cell number seventeen.

An elderly man with gray hair took off his glasses, placed the well-worn paperback book face down on the bed, and stood up.

He walks with a slight drag on his right leg, and his file states that he had suffered from polio, which seems to be some kind of sequela.

"Felix Montes".

Cell number 42 received no response.

Lin Ge read it again.

In cell number 42, a blanket on the upper bunk shifted slightly.

"..."

A man of about thirty years old slowly sat up, his hair in a mess, with several old and new scars on his face.

The most obvious line runs from the left ear all the way to the jaw, as if someone had slashed it with a knife.

"What is it?"

He first looked at Lin Ge with a puzzled expression, then moved away from him and glanced at the four prison guards in the corridor.

"Come with me."

Montes seemed not to hear him; he stood blankly behind the bars, his hands in his prison uniform pockets.

"I just transferred from Lawton, where no one dared to talk to me like that."

Ringo turned around, facing Montes directly in the face, staring back without flinching.

"What? You want me to say 'please'?"

The two people looked at each other through the iron fence.

Montes didn't know whether the Asian man in front of him was bluffing or had some real trump card.

About five seconds later, Montes took his hand out of his pocket.

He nodded, appearing quite honest, but a playful smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.

"Yes, Mr. Warden."

In the office, three people stood in a row.

Wade and Coffey stood behind them, their hands behind their backs.

Hamon leaned against the door frame, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Lin Ge sat behind his desk, placed the roster on it, and said to them:

"Starting tomorrow, the three of you will be transferred from your regular work positions in the factory and assigned to a new work group."

"This working group is called the Technology Research and Development Group."

"Your job is to design a closed-circuit surveillance system suitable for the prison environment."

"Craig Miller will be the team leader, and he will decide on the specific task assignments. I will only be responsible for the progress and results."

Upon hearing this, Omar and Morris both frowned, looking at the somewhat young boss in front of them with a sense of disbelief.

Montes frowned, clearly not understanding what the Asian man was saying.

Seeing their confusion, Lin Ge continued:

"If you make the system work, the prison will issue you a certificate of special contribution, which can be used for sentence reduction applications or parole hearings."

"In addition, according to the supplementary clauses of the points-based management rules, prisoners who participate in research and development can earn extra monthly points during their imprisonment, and after their release, they will have the opportunity to obtain a one-year technical consultant employment contract."

"Hey, wait a minute."

Montes couldn't help but interrupt Ringo.

"You said...develop what? A surveillance system?"

"right."

"Are you kidding me?"

Montes' lips curled up again, but this time there was no smile.

He turned his gaze to Omar, then to Morris, with some disbelief:

"You called us out of the factory just to have us help you with some kind of invention?"

"Shall I design a monitoring system for you to keep a closer eye on us?"

Lin Ge looked at him calmly and said:

"Is there a problem?"

Montes chuckled and took a step forward, and Coffey immediately placed his hand on the baton.

"I don't care what you do outside, boss."

"I'm serving my sentence now, not here to be your engineer. You want me to make stamped parts? Fine, I'll do the work anyway, no matter where I am."

"But you want me to design a surveillance system for you, to keep an eye on myself? Do you think I'm out of my mind?"

Just then, Omar coughed softly and said:

"Your Honor, I think Mr. Montes has a point."

"Even if you are the owner here, you have no legal right to order us around like this."

Lingo frowned slightly, but did not refute the other party. Instead, he waited for Omar to finish speaking.

This person, with 12 years of experience and having managed technical teams of at least 30 people, wouldn't just say half of what he means.

"Mr. Chen, you just said that this is the technology research and development team."

"But to me, it seems more like you're planning to use our cheap labor to develop a product that will help you make more money."

"You said that the points earned during the research and development period will be calculated as usual, and you can even get extra rewards."

"But you and I both know that the points in this prison are used to exchange for extra food and priority visits, not for a share of the patent fees."

Omar finally turned his head and looked at Ringo.

"If this system is successfully implemented, the patent licensing fees will be at least several hundred thousand US dollars a year, or even more."

"How much are you planning to give us?"

"zero."

Lingo's answer was without any hesitation.

Omar's expression didn't change, but the last trace of warmth in his eyes vanished.

"Under current Oklahoma law, the ownership of intellectual property created by inmates while incarcerated belongs to the prison."

"Any promises I make regarding distribution must be based on this law, but I can offer you employment contracts after you are released from prison."

"Employment contract?"

Omar had completely figured out Ringo's tactics, and even his tone had become less polite than before:

"Do you know when we'll be released from prison?"

"The employment contract you mentioned won't be fulfilled for at least four years, while your monitoring system can be made in two months."

"Once you get the patent and the licensing fees, what relationship will you have with us for the next four years?"

Omar's voice remained consistently rational.

This rationality carried far more weight than Montes's earlier outburst, and his words were devoid of excessive emotional intensity.

Any engineer could see just how unprofitable this deal was; it was practically an unequal treaty!