In the lake, at the Thistle Flower Prison.
It was 3:16 p.m.
In a brightly decorated and luxurious office on the top floor of the inner fortress, Warden Jones and his butler, Peter, were sitting on the balcony having afternoon tea. A black cat was lying on the dining table, gnawing on a piece of bread with meat in it. Those who were familiar with the warden knew that he was a very kind-hearted person who loved keeping small animals the most in his life, especially cats and dogs.
He loved these kittens and puppies even more deeply than an average noblewoman. He even specially invited a realist-style oil painting master to paint portraits of his cats and dogs, which were hung in his office.
Once, a prison guard played cards too late and forgot to bring dinner to his hound, "Cassie". As a result, no one saw that prison guard eat for a whole week later.
"You greedy little thing..." Jones stroked the black cat's head and showed a kind smile on his face.
At only thirty-eight years old, he had already taken this position. Besides his powerful background, his own abilities were even more something that couldn't be ignored.
"It's raining again," Peter, the butler, looked at the rain outside the window and sighed.
Jones gave a faint smile and said, "It's just a light drizzle."
"The light drizzle will always turn into a heavy rain," the butler said with a touch of sadness.
Jones waved to the maid beside him. The latter understood his meaning very well and obediently handed him a fluffy cotton-padded jacket. "Is your spine hurting again? Put this on," Jones handed the jacket to the butler.
Peter, the butler, quickly got up to thank him. After putting on the fluffy cotton-padded jacket, he sighed and said, "This old problem acts up every time during the Disaster Rainy Season. I can't seem to get rid of it."
Jones smiled slightly. Just then, a slender woman walked quickly from outside, leaned over to his ear, and whispered a few words. As he heard her words, the smile on Jones's face slowly faded away bit by bit. He nodded slightly, looked at the light rain outside the window, and said softly, "You're right. The light drizzle will always turn into a heavy rain."
The butler noticed the expression on his face and asked, "Is there something wrong?"
"A prisoner has escaped," Jones said softly. "It's that little guy who came three years ago. Just now, the prison guards sent word that he's already left his cell. There's a pit and a tunnel inside the cell. He escaped by digging a tunnel."
"Escaped from prison?" The butler was a bit surprised. "Did he have tools? There's a lake outside. Where did he escape from?"
"He should have stolen the tools during work. He dug through the entire bottom of the lake and escaped from there," Jones looked out the window and gently tapped his fingers on the table. "The radius of our lake should be more than three hundred meters, right?"
The butler was shocked. "Digging a passage through the entire bottom of the lake? This, this is impossible. Where did he move all the soil from digging such a long passage?"
The slender woman beside them said respectfully, "According to the prison guards, he brought the soil into the cell and smeared it on the walls and the floor. Since it was smeared so evenly, the prison guards didn't notice it in the dim light. When the prison guards went in, they saw that the walls and the floor were much higher than those of other cells."
The butler was stunned and couldn't say a word.
Jones raised his hand and stroked the black cat on the table that was still gnawing on the meat filling in the bread. The black cat ignored their conversation and focused on eating. He gently stroked the cat's fluffy fur and said softly, "Send out the wanted posters. Also, notify the Black Cavalry to mobilize and immediately track down the whereabouts of the criminal."
"Yes," the slender woman replied and turned to leave.
"Wait a moment," Jones called out to her, but his eyes were still looking at the black cat in his hand with kindness. He said softly, "The people who were in charge of delivering food to the cells in the last week, let them go and keep Cassie company."
The slender woman's hair stood on end, and she tensed up as she agreed. Then she quickly turned and left.
After she left, Peter, the butler, still couldn't quite believe it. He couldn't help but say, "There shouldn't be any flaws in the structure of our prison. Even outside the feces drainage channel, there are prison guards on duty. How could he possibly escape?"
Jones shook his head slightly and said, "The lack of flaws might be the biggest flaw. Since this prison is built at the bottom of the lake, the walls are too thick. We've always thought that no one would be stupid enough to try to chisel through such thick walls. Moreover, it's the bottom of the lake outside. Other prisoners think the same way. But this is a misunderstanding. Chiseling the wall doesn't necessarily mean chiseling through it. The thickness of the wall meant that when this little guy was digging the passage inside the wall, no one heard the vibrations. This was the biggest advantage of our prison, but now it has become the biggest disadvantage."
The butler fell silent and sighed, "If that's really the case, this can be a reminder for us. The solid prison has made the prison guards relax their vigilance and become too careless. If we had taken attendance and checked on the posts regularly, we would never have let someone dig a passage hundreds of meters long to escape from prison. The time for going back and forth during this process would have exposed him."
Jones nodded slightly. "Fortunately, it was just a little guy from the first layer." After saying that, he patted the black cat on the table and smiled, "You greedy thing. Go and play somewhere else after you're full."
...
...
In the North District of the slum, on a desolate and remote street, there was a small factory.
Dudian bought some food at a tavern by the roadside and hired a carriage to come here. When the carriage arrived, he had already finished the food he bought in the carriage. The fatigue of several days suddenly felt much relieved, and his body regained some strength.
Getting off the carriage, Dudian took a look at the small factory. Just as he was about to enter, he saw a notice hanging outside the factory, which turned out to be his wanted poster.
"Just one night has passed, and the wanted poster has already reached here. The efficiency is quite fast," Dudian's eyes flickered slightly. He didn't avoid it but still walked towards the front of the factory and said to the old doorman inside, "I'm looking for some people, Barton, Kroen, Joseph..."
The old man raised his eyes listlessly, glanced at Dudian, and said, "They're at work. What do you want with them?"
Dudian took out three copper coins from his pocket and handed them to him, saying, "Help me call them out and tell them that their old friend has come to visit them."
When the old man saw the copper coins, his drowsy look immediately disappeared. He smiled and put away the copper coins, saying, "Sure, you wait here. I'll go and call them for you right away."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Dudian waited quietly by the side. It was normal that the old man didn't recognize him as the person on the wanted poster. He had tied up his hair now, which was very different from the disheveled look on the wanted poster. In the past three years, although the prison guards often tortured the prisoners, they didn't have a deep impression of the prisoners' faces. After all, their faces were often covered by their hair due to the lack of grooming for a long time, and no one was interested in remembering the face of someone who was doomed to die.
Therefore, the person drawn based on the prison guards' impression on the wanted poster didn't look like him at all. Although there was also a portrait of him when he first entered prison next to it, showing his delicate features, three years had passed, and his appearance had changed greatly. You know, the fastest-growing stage of a person is from ten to sixteen years old. Now, he was completely different from his previous appearance with a childish and tender face. Growing up in the face of torture, pain, and hunger, his face was thinner, and his brow bones were more prominent. Although he was only sixteen years old now, he had a somewhat mature and cold temperament.
Moreover, he had smeared coal evenly on his face. Even a familiar person would have to stare at him for a long time to recognize some familiar outlines.
After a while, the old man came back. Behind him were four figures, namely Barton, Kroen, Joseph, and Barry. Three years had passed, and the four of them had also changed a lot in appearance, but Dudian recognized them at a glance.
When the four of them saw Dudian at the door, they showed a bit of confusion on their faces and stepped forward, saying, "Who are you?"
Dudian smiled slightly and said, "Come with me to the abandoned factory."
"Abandoned factory?" As soon as the four of them heard these words, they were greatly surprised and immediately showed expressions of joy. Barton said excitedly, "You're finally back, Di..."
Dudian raised his hand to interrupt him and said, "Come with me first."
Barton was stunned. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something, and his face changed. He didn't say anything more.
The other three exchanged a look. Barry hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say something but held back. In the end, he didn't say anything.
Seeing that the four of them were about to follow Dudian away, the old man hurriedly said, "It's still working hours. Where are you four going? Don't you want your wages?"
Barton quickly said, "Sir, please help us ask for a leave of absence."
"I can't do that," the old man immediately shook his head and refused.
Dudian said to the four of them, "Quit this job. Come with me."
The four of them looked at each other, vaguely guessing something, and didn't say anything more.
The old man stared at Dudian in surprise and said, "Boy, what are you talking about? If they leave, they'll lose their wages for two months."
Dudian ignored him and turned to leave.
The four of them immediately followed.
After a while, Dudian and the four of them returned to the abandoned factory in the outskirts.
"Dian, what's going on? Why are you wanted? Where have you been for the past three years? The wanted poster says you're a heinous criminal. What crime did you actually commit? Did you kill someone? I don't believe it. Even if it was an accidental killing, it doesn't count as a heinous crime," as soon as they arrived at the abandoned factory, Barton asked eagerly, his face full of worry.
Dudian's gaze swept over the faces of the few of them. When he saw a trace of hidden worry on Barry's face, a glint flashed in the depths of his eyes. He said to the four of them, "What the wanted poster says is right. I didn't commit a crime before, but it's different now. I'm starting to." Looking at the four of them, he said, "Are you willing to do something big with me?"
The four of them exchanged a look. Kroen asked in a low voice, "Is it the thing from before?"
Dudian smiled slightly and shook his head gently, saying, "Something even bigger."
The four of them looked at each other and could see the hesitation on each other's faces. Barry had a complicated expression and said, "Dian, how about we just stop? Living an ordinary life like this is also good. We work every day now. Although it's tough, we can still make ends meet."
Dudian glanced at him and his expression remained unchanged. He said to the other three, "What about you?"
Kroen said worriedly, "Although we want to help you, now you're wanted. Once we're exposed, it's all over."
Barton didn't say anything and kept staring at Dudian. After Kroen finished speaking, he suddenly said, "Dian, no matter what you want to do, I'll follow you. I said that my life was given by you. Even if you ask me to rob, I'll do it!"
Dudian looked at him and a smile appeared on his face.
"Me too," Joseph gritted his teeth and said, "I said before that I don't want to live a life where I don't know where my next meal is coming from. Although I've found a job in the factory, how do others look at us? With contempt and disgust. I've had enough of it!"
Kroen and Barry were stunned and fell silent.
Seeing that the two of them didn't say anything, Barton said angrily, "Dian is wanted now and is in a situation where he has no one to turn to. Are you just going to watch him be wanted like this?!"
Kroen gritted his teeth slightly and said, "I don't want to either, but what can we do with just the few of us? Can we even get Dian's wanted poster cancelled?"
Barton was at a loss for words and said angrily, "Even if we can't, Dian needs help now, but you're backing down. How can you be worthy of Dian for bringing you out of the orphanage in the first place?"
The two of them had an ugly expression on their faces and couldn't say anything.
Dudian looked at them and said, "You don't have to have any psychological burden. I said that I brought you out to repay the kindness you showed me when you took care of me. If you want to live a peaceful life, you can leave now. But I hope you'd better not expose what happened here."
Hearing Dudian's words, the two of them lowered their heads. Kroen clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, saying, "Damn it, I'm going all in. At worst, we'll fight it out. Anyway, I've had enough of those idiots' mocking voices."
Barry suddenly prostrated himself on the ground and said, "Dian, I'm sorry. I really am. I can't do it. I already have someone I like. I just want to live a peaceful life. I hope you can forgive me. I promise I will never tell anyone what happened here."
Dudian's expression remained unchanged, and he nodded slightly, saying, "Alright. I wish you happiness. Go ahead."
Barry raised his hand to wipe away his tears. He didn't dare to look at Barton and the others and turned and left without looking back.
Dudian quietly looked at his departing back, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.