The criminals held in Pan Shi Prison were, without exception, the most vicious and depraved individuals who had committed monstrous crimes—the kind for whom being shot ten times wouldn't be enough.
In this world, committing such heinous crimes often required immense power.
Blue Star was different from Earth. A thousand years ago, an "Evolutionary Rain" had ushered in Blue Star's Era of Evolution.
The plants and animals on Blue Star had all awakened the power of evolution. Their cells, even their very genes, were transformed by this power, allowing them to master all sorts of powerful and wondrous abilities.
Only humans remained unchanged. Facing the onslaught of evolved beasts, they could only take up firearms and fight for their survival.
This conflict lasted for five hundred years and was known as the "War of Evolution."
During those five hundred years, humanity gradually discovered a method of evolution suited to them. One powerful expert after another rose, allowing them to defend humanity's last territories and finally end the War of Evolution.
Humanity's method of evolution differed from that of other plants and animals. Humans needed to absorb the extracts of life forms one level higher than themselves to have a chance at evolving.
This evolutionary path was clearly more difficult than that of plants and animals, but in return, it granted combat strength far superior to theirs.
Among those of the same stage, humans reigned supreme.
The higher the life-form level, the more pronounced the advantage. It was said that human Saint-level experts could generally hunt evolved beasts of the same stage, and the best among them could even fight those a stage above.
For each evolution, a human needed to absorb three vials of extract from a higher-level life form. After absorbing each vial, besides a comprehensive improvement in their physical attributes, they would also randomly gain an ability from the source of the extract.
Take Su Ze's neighbor next door, for example. He was a Cocoon Stage expert who had evolved twice, possessing abilities like blood-sucking and blood control. Through kidnapping and human trafficking, he had once imprisoned and kept over a thousand "blood slaves" for his own pleasure, feeding on them until at least two hundred had died.
His blood-sucking ability came from the extract of a leech-type evolved beast, while his ability to control blood came from a third-stage Mosquito Beast.
Su Ze had mentally nicknamed him "Vampire."
In the cell across from Su Ze was a sickly-looking middle-aged man. His face was ghastly pale, and he was nothing but skin and bones, appearing utterly feeble. In reality, however, he was also a Cocoon Stage expert with the ability to control corpses. He had once slaughtered an entire village to build an army of walking dead, an inhuman act that had enraged the entire nation.
Su Ze often felt out of place in Pan Shi Prison, simply because he wasn't twisted enough.
Of course, he also single-handedly dragged down the average power level of the entire prison.
You could say Pan Shi Prison existed specifically to house powerful death row inmates who had committed the most heinous of crimes. An ordinary criminal, if too weak or with too low a body count, wasn't even qualified to be locked up here.
Su Ze's presence in Pan Shi Prison was all thanks to the "special consideration" of the King of Mu.
However, under the deterrence of the King of Mu—a Saint-level life form who had evolved four times—the entire Mu Country had been relatively peaceful for the last few decades. As a result, over ninety percent of the cells in Pan Shi Prison were empty.
And so, around Su Ze's cell, there were only his two fellow inmates, "Vampire" and "the Sickly Man," because the three of them were part of the same batch of prisoners, all scheduled to be executed tomorrow morning.
Therefore, if Su Ze wanted to escape, these two were the only ones he could rely on.
"Hey, man. Want to break out?"
Hearing Su Ze's question, "Vampire" in the next cell sneered. "If you've got nothing better to do, go jerk off a few times. Stop bothering me."
Su Ze heard the disdain in Vampire's tone but paid it no mind. 'It won't be hard to convince Vampire and the Sickly Man to help me escape,' he thought. 'As long as I can make them believe my plan is feasible, they'll definitely cooperate.'
After all, they were all death row inmates with only a day left to live. If the escape failed, it just meant death—but if it succeeded, it was like getting their lives back.
Su Ze said, "You don't want your life of sin to end just like this, do you? Why not hear my plan first and judge for yourself if it's feasible?"
"You? A plan?" Vampire laughed out loud. "You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, yet you managed to get yourself on death row. You were dealt a winning hand and played it into the ground. I wouldn't dare listen to a plan from an idiot like you."
Su Ze was at a loss for words. With a month of his memory blocked, he couldn't figure out why Zhao Lingxiao would do something so self-destructive. From what he knew, Zhao Lingxiao wasn't some idiot led by his dick, nor was he a typical rich brat. On the contrary, he was extremely ambitious and ruthless, and he certainly didn't lack for women.
There had to be more to the story of Zhao Lingxiao raping and murdering Princess Zhuzhi, but Su Ze didn't have time to dwell on that now. The most important thing at the moment was to find a way to escape.
Ignoring Vampire's mockery, Su Ze continued on his own, "I already have a preliminary plan, but it requires the three of us—you, me, and the guy across the way—to work together. The details still need to be ironed out."
"You can choose to keep mocking me, or you can help me perfect this plan and fight for a chance to escape with your life."
After Su Ze finished speaking, the cell next door fell silent.
After a long moment, Vampire's low, suppressed voice sounded again from behind the metal wall. "You're not the first one who's wanted to break out. In the hundred-plus years since Pan Shi Prison was built, it's held quite a few Butterfly Stage experts who've evolved three times. There's never been a single successful escape. Why should I believe you can do it?"
"Let's not even talk about anything else. Just the surveillance cameras in the corridor outside our cells are monitored by Prison Guards twenty-four hours a day. The slightest unusual move from us will alert the warden of Pan Shi Prison, and he's a Butterfly Stage expert..."
Su Ze cut him off directly. "What if I can temporarily shut down the surveillance?"
"How could you do that?" Vampire asked doubtfully.
"In terms of power, I'm no match for you. But in terms of status, you're not even fit to carry my shoes. Just because you can't do something doesn't mean I can't," Su Ze said. "Since you know who I am, you should also know that money makes the world go round."
After another moment of silence, Vampire asked, "In your plan, what do you need me to do?"
Su Ze smiled. 'He's taken the bait.'
"First, help me open this cell door."
"I can't do that. The control panel for the cell doors is at least fifty meters away. Although I can control blood, my range is limited to only ten meters around me. Besides, that panel requires fingerprint verification from a Prison Guard of captain rank or higher to operate."
"Then help me collect the fingerprint of a captain-level Prison Guard. That shouldn't be hard for you."
"Also, help me kill someone!"
"Who?"
"You'll find out when the time comes."
Su Ze took a deep breath. "Now, let's talk to the guy across the way and go over our plan."
...
Around noon, Su Ze heard footsteps getting closer in the hallway and knew the Prison Guards were coming to deliver lunch.
Although there were few inmates in Pan Shi Prison, almost all of them were evolvers with special abilities, so even delivering meals carried a certain degree of risk.
Therefore, every time the Prison Guards delivered food, a Prison Guard captain would accompany them.
"Eat a chicken leg and get your strength up. So you'll be ready for the road tomorrow."
The Prison Guard was speaking to Vampire in the next cell, but hearing it still lifted Su Ze's spirits. 'There are chicken legs today!'
After days of eating nothing but steamed buns, his mouth was about to lose all sense of taste.
He hurried to the heavy metal door, pulled open the small window, and saw the young Prison Guard delivering food outside, along with the burly Prison Guard captain behind him.
Su Ze's eyes were filled with anticipation, but a moment later, a steamed bun was tossed in.
Su Ze caught the cold, hard bun. He stared at it for a second, then asked, "Where's my chicken leg?"
According to Mu Country's customs, a death row inmate's meal was supposed to improve on the day before their execution. Clearly, Su Ze was being treated differently.
The Prison Guard captain outside chuckled. "Young Master Lingxiao, take a look at the crime you've committed. You're lucky to get a steamed bun. What makes you think you deserve a chicken leg?"
Su Ze sighed. Seeing the two Prison Guards about to turn and leave, he quickly called out, "Captain, sir! Don't be in such a hurry to leave. I have something to discuss with you."
The burly Prison Guard captain paused. After a moment of thought, he said to the other guard, "You can go."
Then, he walked up to Su Ze's cell door and said, "What do you want to talk about?"
Su Ze breathed a sigh of relief. 'The first step of the plan was what I was most worried about,' he thought. 'Pan Shi Prison has three captains. I was afraid I'd run into an incorruptible one who wouldn't even give me the time of day.'
The fact that this captain was willing to listen to him spoke volumes about his attitude.
"I'd like to trouble you, Captain, to take a message to my family. The Zhao Family will certainly make it worth your while."
The Prison Guard captain neither agreed nor refused. Instead, he asked, "What's the message?"
"Come closer," Su Ze said.
The captain hesitated slightly. If it were any other inmate in this prison, he wouldn't dare be careless. But Zhao Lingxiao was just an unevolved Mortal-level Life Form who posed no threat to him. So, he took a step forward, right up to the cell door.
He placed one hand on the cell door and tilted his head slightly to the side.
He didn't notice that where his fingers touched the door, tiny beads of blood flowed, imprinting a faint fingerprint.
Su Ze leaned in and lowered his voice.
"Go to my home and find a man named Zhao Qiang. Just ask him this: 'Where did the doll go?'" Su Ze paused. "And also mention to him that it would be nice if I could have a full meal before I die."
'Where did the doll go?'
The Prison Guard captain found the phrase completely random and didn't understand what it meant.
However, he didn't ask any follow-up questions and simply turned and left.
But Su Ze knew that not refusing meant he had agreed. He just had to be discreet under the surveillance cameras.
After leaving the prison, the captain didn't delay for long before driving to the Zhao Family estate.
Although Zhao Lingxiao had committed a grave crime, Mu Country was not an ancient feudal dynasty. It was governed by law, and there was no concept of punishing an entire clan for the crimes of one individual.
Besides, the Zhao Family had powerful backers, so on the surface, Zhao Yuanyi hadn't been implicated much.
Furthermore, Zhao Yuanyi had personally captured Zhao Lingxiao and brought him to justice. This act of "righteously sacrificing family for justice" was praised throughout the nation. Even if the King of Mu secretly held a grudge against Zhao Yuanyi, he couldn't show it openly.
Therefore, the Zhao Family remained prosperous and was well worth a Prison Guard captain's effort to curry favor with.
After the captain left, Su Ze called out to Vampire next door and the Sickly Man across the way, "You two probably don't like chicken legs, right? Why don't you give them to me?"
The two acted as if they hadn't heard him.
Su Ze tried again. "You're both Cocoon Stage masters. You wouldn't be affected even if you didn't eat or drink for ten days or half a month. I'm just a Mortal-level Life with a frail body. If I starve myself into a bad state, I'm afraid it might jeopardize the plan!"
"You don't want anything to go wrong with the plan, do you?"