Excessive ferocity due to caution

One hour later.

Zhao Yi and Cherry arrived at his office. Looking at the dust on the ground, Zhao Yi complained:

"You need a broom."

Cherries, however, didn't seem to care:

"It's no use."

"In the vast desert, no matter how clean you sweep it, it will still accumulate dust before long."

He took a clean towel from the toilet and carefully wiped the family photo on the table and the dust on the small table around it.

For Cherry, cleaning this area means cleaning the entire office.

Zhao Yi sat down on the sofa against the wall. Cherry took out two bottles of bitter beer from the refrigerator and handed one to Zhao Yi.

whispering sound--

Beer bottles opened, cherries chug ....

The bitter wine hurts my heart as it goes down my throat.

"I regret it."

"Cherry said."

I shouldn't have invited someone like you for drinks.

Zhao Yi used his teeth to open the beer bottle cap, took two sips, and a strong yet fragrant aroma filled his nostrils.

"A writer once said something completely nonsensical: 'If a woman agrees to have dinner with you, it means she agrees to sleep with you.'"

"Now, I also have some nonsense to say to you—if a man offers you a drink, it means he's willing to risk his life for you."

Cherry was silent for a moment, then sneered:

"That's absolutely utter nonsense."

"I'd much rather you show me something more concrete than these meaningless words."

"If you can't cure my illness, you'll die a horrible death!"

Zhao Yi enjoyed the cold, bitter beer in his hand, his eyes half-closed in comfort:

"It's actually very simple to cure your illness."

"Just let you leave here and reunite with your family."

Cherry's eyes narrowed:

"Is this what you call a complete cure?"

Zhao Yi said calmly:

"You're asking me this question simply because you think it's impossible for you to leave this place."

Cherry swallowed a mouthful of bitter beer, closed her eyes, and savored the unpleasant explosion in her mouth.

"My whereabouts are being monitored, and I cannot leave this prison in the desert at will."

Zhao Yi continued:

"Unless...they die."

Cherry glanced at Zhao Yi and mocked:

"You want them dead?"

"Did you see the collar around your neck?"

"Once you put on this thing, you'll be nothing more than lambs to the slaughter for the rest of your lives."

"They can kill you; you can't kill them, understand?"

Zhao Yi rinsed his mouth with bitter beer:

"This thing... can't be taken off?"

Cherry's eyes lit up:

"We need a key."

Zhao Yi:

Where is the key?

Cherries:

"There is no 'Sand Cage' in Z city."

Zhao Yi was surprised:

"You know so much about this?"

A look of pride appeared on Cherry's face:

"Of course... I invented the collar around your neck, and the key to it!"

Zhao Yi clicked his tongue:

"Since we've already made one, why not make another key?"

Cherry sneered upon hearing this:

"Are you dreaming?"

"If the officials in Z City found out, wouldn't I be sending my wife and children to their graves with my own hands?"

Zhao asked in return:

"Do you think that as long as you don't make any mistakes, the officials in Z City won't harm you or your wife and daughters?"

When this question was raised, Cherry's heart skipped a beat.

"Of course!"

"I didn't do anything wrong, they..."

Zhao Yi calmly said:

"Then, Mr. Che, were you exiled and imprisoned in this desert prison because you committed a crime?"

The cherry choked me:

"I……"

Zhao Yi tilted his head back and gulped down a mouthful of ice-cold bitter beer, his tone subtle:

"A sheep is kept in a sheepfold. Whether it lives or dies depends not on whether it has done anything wrong, but on whether the person keeping it has needs, or whether they are in a good or bad mood..."

"If you do nothing, it's like handing over the lives of your wife and daughters to the dice of fate."

"Perhaps you've had pretty good luck in the past few years."

"But you need to understand one thing..."

You can win countless times, but you can't lose even once.

"Because...you can't afford to lose."

Cherry gripped the beer bottle tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"At least this way, my wife and daughters have a chance to survive, don't they?"

"If I remove the collar from your neck... they're dead!"

"The gentlemen of Z City all know that the Sand Sea Prison has no key, but the collar I invented can only be opened with a key."

"If a major riot breaks out here, and a supervillain's collar is removed, even if the officials in Z City are idiots, they'll definitely guess that I was behind it all!"

Zhao Yidao:

"So...you must 'die' in this riot."

The cherry suddenly raised its head:

"What do you mean?"

Zhao Yi asked:

"I'm asking you, why are the officials in Z City detaining your wife and daughter?"

Cherry replied:

"In order to...control me."

Zhao Yi squinted and smiled:

"That's right."

"If a large-scale riot were to break out in the Sand Sea Prison, under normal circumstances, your wife and daughters would be doomed."

"But the prerequisite is... that the officials in Z City can spare enough energy to manage this matter."

"If they know that a large number of supervillains are about to head to Z City to vent their vengeful rage, then it will be difficult for them to take care of your wife and daughters... After all, your wife and daughters are under their control, and they can kill them whenever they want."

"Moreover, once news of your death reaches Z City, their vigilance towards you will naturally drop to zero."

"At this moment, I'm in the open, causing them trouble; you're in the shadows, rescuing your wife and daughters. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

As soon as Zhao finished speaking, Cherry's eyes lit up.

This method... sounds feasible!

But soon, Cherry's eyes became wary again:

"The plan is good, but you have to convince me to believe it first."

"Why should I believe you would go against the powerful figures of Z City for the sake of my wife and daughter?"

Zhao Yi said with a faint sneer:

"You really think highly of yourself... all for your wife and daughters?"

"Everything I do is for myself."

"They put this thing around my neck when I wasn't looking... Do you think I'd let them get away with it?"

Cherry opened his mouth as if to say something, but suddenly remembered that not long ago, while Zhao Yi was unconscious, he had observed what Zhao Yi had done in the No. 3 canteen.

If it were anyone else, Cherry would think that this sounded very fake.

But when these words came from the mouth of someone as calm and ruthless as Zhao Yi, they had a magical power that made people believe them.

"I need a day to think..."

Finally, Cherry said.

His voice trembled slightly, whether from excitement or fear, it was hard to tell.

With his permission, Zhao Yi left the medical tower.

They also took his pack of cigarettes and lighter.

Once downstairs, Zhao Yi pushed open the door of the medical tower. The glaring sunlight, along with the biting sand, hit him in the face. Zhao Yi leisurely walked out and lit the cigarette he had in his mouth.

On a building complex under construction in the distance, many people watched Zhao Yi emerge from the medical tower, utterly shocked!

"Holy crap... isn't that the newbie who got into trouble with the Black Tiger Gang this afternoon and was brought into the medical tower?"

"Holy crap! He actually... he actually came out of the medical tower completely unharmed?!"

"What's going on? Has the car devil changed its nature?"

"..."

The crowd was abuzz with discussion, finding it unbelievable that Zhao Yi could walk out of the medical tower so casually.

Over the years, any criminal who has been imprisoned here for more than a year knows very well what a terrifying hell the Medical Tower is!

No one has ever walked out of that place as leisurely as Zhao Yi!

And he was even smoking!

This seems to be the first time cherries have appeared in the "Desert Cage" (a metaphor for a prison in the desert)!

"I told you guys... this newbie is amazing!"

At that moment, a young prisoner suddenly spoke excitedly.

"He single-handedly took down several members of the Black Tiger Gang at noon, he was incredibly cool!"

The people around him looked at him with disdain:

"Are you just going to switch sides like a fence-sitter?"

"Just a moment ago you were saying you wanted to see how they died, but now that they've appeared, you're all high and mighty?"

The young prisoner, with his neck stiff, said:

"What do you mean, 'opportunist'?"

"I'm... never mind, there's no way I can communicate with you!"

"If we don't see eye to eye, even half a sentence is too much!"

"snort!"

He even gave a very arrogant snort.

In the distance, the Black Tiger Gang members saw Zhao Yi walk out unharmed and with an air of nonchalance, and their faces turned extremely ugly.

During lunch break just now, several of their members had their throats slit by another newly arrived prisoner.

That guy was as thin as a bamboo pole. Although his close-combat skills were not as good as Zhao Yi's, he was extremely ruthless and vicious!

If fighting wasn't prohibited during afternoon work hours, they would have definitely torn this arrogant newcomer to pieces!

Thinking of this, they glanced at the bamboo-pole man not far away, who was also struggling to work despite his injuries, their cold eyes filled with murderous intent!

Once he finishes his work this afternoon... that will be his death day!

Shortly after Zhao Yi was released, he was also assigned a job in the new recruits' area, where he was responsible for moving bricks.

Under the scorching sun, as I brushed past the man with the bamboo pole, I heard him whisper:

"I've already killed all the people you specified in the cafeteria."

This made Zhao Yi raise an eyebrow slightly.

This bamboo-pole man... wasn't a man at all, but a woman!

The two had a very brief conversation at lunchtime in the No. 3 canteen.

But at that time, because the bamboo pole girl was too hungry and had been punched and kicked, she was covered in injuries and her voice was hoarse and low, so Zhao Yi couldn't tell the difference.

At this point, her body had recovered somewhat, and her voice was no longer hoarse; it was clear that she was a woman.

Zhao Yi's gaze unconsciously fell on her chest.

It was so flat there that even a mouse, which is good at climbing walls, couldn't find a foothold.

Zhao Yi suddenly realized that it was understandable that he hadn't been able to tell her gender.

The two passed each other and then continued to bury themselves in their own work.

The construction of the Sand Sea Prison was almost entirely due to these criminals.

They are the cheapest free labor force, and if they die in danger or for other reasons, there will be no trouble.

During the break, Zhao Yi leaned against the corner of the wall when the woman with the bamboo pole came to find him with some water.

After a long silence, Zhao Yi suddenly said:

Are you an actor?

The girl with the bamboo pole was slightly taken aback:

"What actor?"

Zhao Yi stared into her eyes, then smiled and said:

"It seems not."

"So, what's your name?"

The girl with the bamboo pole thought for a moment and said:

"I'm so skinny, just call me Bamboo Pole."

"And you?"

Zhao Yi extended his hand and shook hers.

"Zhao Yi".

P.S.: This chapter is 3200+ words, and I've tried my best not to pad it out.

10000-word update today!

Goodnight, my darlings!!