Warden of the Beast World: Everyone is a Hakimi

Standing on the perch, Ling Shou watched as Chi Heng happily finished the last bite of his strawberry ice cream and then slowly enjoyed a piece of mango mille-feuille. Looking at the lonely nutritional supplement in his own plate, Ling Shou finally realized a reality he had resisted for half a month—in this Zero Prison, being stubborn wouldn't put food on the table.

But he remained defiant. When he pressed the communication panel to contact Lu Yu, his tone still carried the arrogant air of the young chieftain of the Skyfeather Falcon Clan: "Colonel Lu, transfer some food expenses to Warden Wild's account. The amount should be the same as the Firebird's next door." Then he paused in the transfer remarks field, typed a few words on the virtual keyboard, and sent it.

When Ye Tang received the transfer notification, she was squatting in the yard pulling weeds next to the garlic sprouts. A line of large characters appeared on the holographic screen that popped up on her personal terminal—【Note: This young master has plenty of money!】 She stared at the words for three seconds, then burst out laughing. This free-range chicken is really something; his mouth is the toughest thing about him.

From that day on, Ling Shou's meals were finally freed from the bitter days of nutritional supplements and catnip, and were upgraded to the same standard as the other big spenders.

Roasted lamb chops, pan-fried beef ribs, and honey-glazed chicken legs—Ye Tang prepared a meal for Jing Yao according to his standards, even increasing the portion size—after all, he was a bird of prey, and his appetite was certainly considerable. But after Ling Shou finished his extra meal on the first day, his gaze involuntarily drifted towards the next table.

Chi Heng's plate not only contained meat, but also a glass of iced cola and a box of chocolate-coated ice cream. Ling Shou looked down at the abundant but simple roasted meat on his plate, then looked up at the dessert in Chi Heng's hand. The satisfaction in his eagle eyes was instantly replaced by a new wave of resentment. Why?

He accepted giving Jing Yao and Han Zhou extra food; he knew Ye Tang favored Yuan Mao—this little sprout's filter for fluffy things was so thick it could be bulletproof. White Tiger and Black Panther were big cats in her eyes, You Lie was a dog, and even Cang Ming, that mermaid, had a beautiful fishtail. He tolerated Yuan Mao's privileges. But he and Chi Heng were both flat-feathered, both birds; why should Chi Heng get cake while he didn't?

"Little Sprout!" The call bell rang again.

Ye Tang pushed the food cart over, hands on her hips: "What is it now?"

"Why does he get the cake!" Ling Shou pointed with his wingtip at Chi Heng, who was happily pecking at a Black Forest cake next door, his eagle eyes filled with accusation.

"Because he has a sweet tongue." Ye Tang said without changing her expression.

"You're treating little bean sprouts differently!"

"If you're not happy, then bite me!" Ye Tang took half a step forward, looked up at him through the glass wall, her face saying, "What can you do to me?"

But Chi Heng next door was perfectly in sync—he held a cake fork in his mouth, closed his eyes, and wore an expression of extreme ecstasy on his bird-like face, his tail feathers swaying behind him like a propeller: "The little warden's skills are unparalleled in the empire. This cake is so fragrant and sweet, it melts in your mouth, mmm... even better than yesterday's mango mille-feuille..."

Ling Shou was furious, his silver-gray falcon feathers standing on end from his neck to his wingtips. He hopped around on his perch like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. But there was nothing he could do but bristle – he couldn't hit it, he couldn't win an argument, and even though he'd paid, the dessert was still only available to the firebird next door. He shoved the last piece of lamb chop into his mouth, crunching it loudly.

The next morning, the security department's inspectors arrived.

Three black armored vehicles stopped outside the gates of Prison Zero. A group of people in dark gray uniforms got out, led by a middle-aged male orc with meticulously combed hair and a serious expression, as if he were there to ransack a house.

Lu Yu personally greeted him at the door, his military uniform crisp and clear, his antlers gleaming warmly in the morning light, his face as calm and composed as ever. He had already replaced the surveillance records, seamlessly altering the movements of all detainees; according to the data, Chi Heng had indeed not left Observation Zone No. 4 last night.

The investigators reviewed the real-time footage from each observation area according to procedure, and also checked the surveillance backups provided by Lu Yu—everything was normal and without any loopholes. Finally, they arrived at observation area number four, ready to question Chi Heng face-to-face.

Chi Heng was in human form today, wearing a dark red robe loosely draped over his body, and his long red hair was braided into a casual braid that hung in front of his chest. He was sitting on a stone platform eating the spiced melon seeds that Ye Tang had fried for him.

Seeing a group of people in uniforms walking over, he spat the sunflower seed shells aside, stood up, stretched, and put on an innocent expression that said, "Oh my god, what happened?"

"Young Master Chiheng," the investigation team leader cleared his throat, "last night, the main gate of the Ye clan's residence was set on fire. We found traces of Vermilion Bird True Fire and Vermilion Bird clan feathers at the scene. Could you please explain this?"

"Wow—" Chi Heng's eyes widened, his exaggerated tone putting even a theatrical actor to shame, "Such a big commotion, I thought someone had died! Turns out it's just the gate that burned down?" He grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and continued cracking them open, saying as he did so, "If it burned down, just fix it, right? Isn't the Ye family supposed to be the empire's number one female family? No way, no way, they can't even afford to fix a gate, can they?"

The young investigators behind the head of the investigation team couldn't help but exchange a glance—yes, it was just a door, yet it had involved the news media and required the Ministry of Security to send an investigation team; frankly, they themselves felt it was making a mountain out of a molehill. But the team leader's professionalism kept him expressionless as he continued to press, "So, you were completely unaware of last night's fire?"

"I don't know," Chi Heng shook his head while cracking sunflower seeds, spitting the shells all over the ground. "I slept in the observation area last night and didn't go anywhere. Do I look like a bird that flies out in the middle of the night to burn down people's gates?" As he spoke, he blinked innocently with his bright red eyes, looking exactly like a well-behaved bird.

The head of the review team was silent for a few seconds before closing the notebook. "Thank you for your cooperation, Young Clan Chief Chiheng."

Chi Heng managed to get away with it. After all, his status as the young patriarch of the Vermilion Bird Clan was undeniable, and the surveillance data provided by Lu Yu was airtight; the investigation team found no direct evidence pointing to him.

Logically, the investigation should have ended here, but there was an orc in the investigation team who had been looking around ever since they entered the gates of Prison Zero.

He was a middle-aged male, tall and thin, with pale skin tinged with an unhealthy grayish-blue, and vertical pupils characteristic of reptiles. He was of low rank, standing at the back of the investigation team, originally just an ordinary investigator responsible for taking notes. But as the investigation team passed through the living quarters corridor, he saw Ye Tang through a window at the end of the corridor.

The petite figure pushed a food cart out of the small detached building, wearing a dark blue warden's uniform, her hair casually tied back. In the sunlight, her fair skin had a rosy glow that she hadn't had in two weeks. The middle-aged investigator's vertical pupils contracted sharply.

He recognized that face. The baby girl with double F-cup breasts born eighteen years ago in the Ye family, the little good-for-nothing abandoned in the backyard to fend for herself with the tacit approval of the entire family. His master was Ye Tang's nominal mother—the current head of the Ye family. As one of the head of the family's many pets, although he didn't even have the lowest-ranking title of servant, he climbed all the way to a sinecure in the security department by being good at reading people and being extremely loyal.

Two weeks ago, when the Ye family kicked Ye Tang out, Madam Ye didn't even glance at him, only saying, "Get rid of him." Now, this good-for-nothing who should have died out there is not only alive, but has become the warden of Zero Prison? Looks like he's doing quite well?

This realization caused his vertical pupils to shrink to a thin slit. He took a step forward and stepped out from the back of the review panel.

"Wait." His voice, like his appearance, was thin, smooth, and had a hissing quality characteristic of reptiles.

The head of the review team frowned and glanced back at him. He was just an ordinary investigator and, in principle, had no right to speak in front of the team leader. However, he paid no attention to the team leader's gaze, staring straight at Ye Tang at the end of the corridor with his vertical pupils. His voice was not loud, but every word was clearly audible to everyone present.

"Is this the current warden of Zero Prison?" He pointed in Ye Tang's direction, a faint smile playing on his lips. "As far as I know, her mental strength level is double F. What qualifications does a double F-level female have to manage Zero Prison?"

The head of the review team flipped through the documents in his hand. The warden's file did indeed state her mental strength level as FF. Prison Zero held five S-rank orcs with mental breakdown values ​​exceeding 85, yet the warden was a female with two F-rank attributes? The minimum mental strength requirement for this position was at least B-rank.

The middle-aged investigator, as if he had seized upon some serious incriminating evidence, abruptly sharpened his tone, a cold smug gleam in his vertical pupils: "Colonel Lu, shouldn't the position of warden of Prison Zero have a minimum mental strength requirement? Does hiring a double-F-level female violate the Empire's personnel appointment regulations? Furthermore, isn't having such a weak-minded female manage the Empire's most dangerous prisoners a major security risk? If she can't withstand the pressure of an S-level orc, who will be responsible if an emergency occurs?"

The corridor fell silent for a moment. Ye Tang had just pushed the food cart to the door when she heard this and paused. She turned around and saw the person who had spoken—tall and thin, with grayish-blue skin and vertical pupils, standing at the back of the review team, staring at her with a predatory gaze.

Those vertical pupils seemed to bring back images from the original owner's memories—a snake beside Ye Rouyun, a plaything without even a proper title, who would occasionally patrol the backyard, picking at her thorns each time, as if she couldn't explain herself to Ye Rouyun without bullying her a bit.