Chapter 7: Skarn
The cell door opened, and amidst the envious gazes of the many prisoners, Su Xiao walked out of the cell.
Several soldiers behind the warden stepped forward, carrying handcuffs, leg irons, and other restraints, which clinked and clanked as the metal collided.
"Just make a show of it."
The warden tightened the collar of his uniform. Although his face was covered in scars, nearly disfigured, wearing that black military uniform didn't give him a ferocious appearance. Moreover, in a country like the Geya Alliance, which revered the strong, the warden was clearly the type more favored by women.
Hearing the warden's order, the soldiers looked troubled. "Making a show of it" meant simply putting a pair of handcuffs on Su Xiao, without needing to use that set of handcuffs and leg irons made from patterned spiral steel, weighing a total of 168 kilograms.
However, Gakbak Prison simply didn't have those kinds of "toys." Everything here was heavy-duty restraints.
A young soldier with a few dark pimples on his face unfastened the leather belt from his waist and, with practiced skill, tied it around Su Xiao's wrists.
The warden glanced at the young soldier, a hint of satisfaction flickering in his eyes.
Why did the warden do this? Was it simply to show goodwill toward Su Xiao? Not at all. He was preparing to give those people from the Foreign Affairs Department a "surprise," or rather, a shock would be more accurate.
"Let's go."
Several soldiers led the way, the warden walked in the middle, Su Xiao was relatively behind, and at the very rear were six soldiers positioned in a triangular formation as rearguard. This wasn't anyone's command, but rather the habit of these soldiers and the warden—being ready to fight at any moment was ingrained in their bones.
Their current location was the third underground level of Gakbak Prison, also the most heavily fortified level. While inside, it might not have been noticeable, but upon reaching the exit, Su Xiao realized that at least several dozen soldiers were stationed here, with two heavy machine guns set up.
The power of rifles in this world was somewhat exaggerated. If those two heavy machine guns opened fire, there would hardly be any living things left on the third underground level. Describing this place as "relaxed on the inside, tight on the outside" couldn't be more fitting.
After verifying their identities, the warden led the group upward. Anyone entering or leaving here needed identity verification, and even the Grand President of the Geya Alliance was no exception.
Passing through layer after layer of checkpoints, Su Xiao went from the third underground level to the first above ground, where security was even tighter.
It was now evening, and the sky had grown quite dark. Through the glass windows of the corridor, Su Xiao saw at least five watchtowers in the prison yard. The searchlights at the tops of the towers slowly swept across, and when the light hit the glass window, Su Xiao immediately felt a sense of being locked onto. He could confirm that at least three snipers hidden in the shadows had their gun barrels aimed at him.
This sensation made Su Xiao's muscles tense. He didn't yet understand this world, so he wouldn't fully trust this prison or that warden.
Su Xiao slowed his pace slightly, spreading his ten fingers apart.
"No need to be so alert. They're just going through the motions."
The warden, walking ahead with a filterless cigarette dangling from his mouth, spoke.
Soon, Su Xiao was escorted to the door of the warden's office. Faint sounds of conversation and laughter could be heard from inside the room.
The warden tossed the half-smoked cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his foot.
"Those two bastards."
For some reason, the warden muttered a curse under his breath as he stood at the door. The soldiers, meanwhile, rolled their eyes upward, staring blankly at the ceiling. At this moment, they were all "deaf-mutes."
Su Xiao quickly understood a situation: the warden had a conflict with those people from the Foreign Affairs Department. Come to think of it, the Geya Alliance couldn't be a monolithic entity internally. With its free and fierce folk customs, internal division was inevitable.
The military of the Geya Alliance hated politicians, politicians thought the military was a bunch of brutes, so they hated merchants, and merchants hated the military, considering them a group of "bandits." The Grand Presidential Palace mediated, and everyone obeyed its jurisdiction.
Merchants didn't provoke politicians, politicians didn't provoke the military. The military was a tiger—a tiger out of its cage would hurt people—so it needed oversight. The Grand Presidential Palace was the supreme command department overseeing the military.
The warden took a deep breath, forced a smile onto his face, and raised his hand to push open the door.
Inside the room, two men in suits sat opposite the warden's desk. One was slightly plump, with a handlebar mustache and a kind face. The other was somewhat gaunt, with a head of black hair and a stern expression, giving off an impression of being difficult to deal with.
"Skarn, you're 1 minute and 27 seconds late."
The gaunt man glanced at the pocket watch in his hand. A pure gold pocket watch was not something just anyone could own.
"Leizong, who set a time with you?"
Warden Skarn's lips curled up, a smile spreading across his face.
"Your adjutant..."
Before the gaunt man, Leizong, could finish, Skarn drew the pistol from his waist and aimed it at a slightly overweight soldier.
Bang, bang, bang...
Shattered skull fragments flew. Several bullets pierced the expensive evergreen wood floor, leaving dark, gaping holes.
With a thud, a body fell to the ground—its head blown apart, five bowl-sized bloody holes in its torso—as blood spread across the floor.
Clink~
An empty shell casing fell. Skarn pulled off his black gloves and tossed them onto the corpse. This man had once gone through gunfire and rain of bullets with Skarn. Originally weighing 82 kilograms, his weight had soared to 124 kilograms two years after retiring. The shared life-and-death experiences made Skarn tolerate him for three months and give him over a dozen chances. But alas, money and women had blinded the man's eyes.
Skarn waved his hand. Several soldiers rushed in from outside the office and dragged the corpse out.
The slightly plump diplomat sitting at the desk swallowed hard. He had heard of Skarn's ruthlessness, but this was the first time he'd seen it. An adjutant who had followed him for over a decade—shot dead just like that. This was no longer just ruthlessness.
The plump diplomat panicked. His professional composure kept him calm on the surface, but the oily sweat on his face betrayed his facade.
The gaunt man, Leizong, pulled a gray handkerchief from his chest and covered his nose and mouth. He hated the smell of blood.
"How should I thank you?"
Skarn leaned back in the leather chair behind the desk, placing his gun on the desk. Leizong had mentioned earlier that Skarn was 1 minute and 27 seconds late, but in reality, he was revealing a piece of intelligence: Gakbak Prison had a total of 127 hidden sentry posts.
"No need."
Leizong remained calm throughout, but he was secretly delighted. The Foreign Affairs Department and Gakbak Prison had always been at odds. After today's incident, it would definitely disgust Skarn to no end.
"..."
Skarn's scarred face was smiling, but inside, he felt as if he had eaten shit. He would have preferred the other party to ask for something rather than hear those three words: "No need."
"Bring the man up."
Feeling quite frustrated, Skarn spoke. The office door opened, and two soldiers escorted Su Xiao into the room. "Escorted" was a loose term—the two soldiers simply stood behind Su Xiao, each placing a hand on his shoulder.
Su Xiao had already sensed the situation inside the room. His gaze was mainly fixed on the gaunt man, Leizong. The other's aura was very peculiar, so peculiar that it didn't seem human.
"Skarn."
Leizong spoke word by word, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
"What is that thing?"
Leizong pointed at the leather belt tied around Su Xiao's wrists. By doing this, Skarn was essentially using a sewing thread to bind a ferocious beast and then making the beast share a room with Leizong. The awkward part was that Leizong was about to "judge" that beast.
"There's been a shortage of restraints lately. I wonder who intercepted the last allocation from the Grand Presidential Palace? Look at my memory—I forget everything."
Skarn was clearly enjoying himself.
"You may leave."
Hearing Skarn tell the two soldiers to leave, the "steadfast" plump diplomat's mouth opened and closed. In this matter concerning Su Xiao, he had caused the most trouble.
"Everyone's here. You can begin judging this soldier of the Killing Force, who has infiltrated deep behind enemy lines 67 times, eliminated over 400 enemies—including 9 High Repair Masters and 6 Bishops—and been wounded 37 times."
Skarn was smiling. Leizong covered his nose and mouth with his handkerchief, his face dark and gloomy. The plump diplomat laughed along beside him, his smile very awkward.