Chapter 5

Everyone knew the sun from books and films. No one had actually seen what it looked like, so naturally no one cared whether this sun lamp really resembled it.

According to history books, Earth began to collapse 389 years ago and gradually became uninhabitable. Earth humans went into space in search of a new home.

372 years ago, humanity discovered "Blue Star."

Blue Star was very similar to Earth, except that dangerous natives roamed its surface and toxic fog harmed the human body. Scientists' surveys, however, showed that Blue Star's soil could block the toxic fog, meaning humanity could live beneath its surface.

362 years ago, humanity began gradually moving underground on Blue Star.

344 years ago, all 130 million surviving Earth humans had completed the migration. At the same time, Earth became completely unfit for human life, and Earth humans officially began a new era beneath Blue Star's surface.

Today, in Earth Calendar Year 345, Earth humans had adapted quite well to life beneath Blue Star.

Before long, Zhao Xing and Luo Mingshan arrived at Academy No. 7.

Zhao Xing knew this place extremely well.

The men's prison and women's prison had originally been far apart, one to the south and one to the north, separated by an electrified fence. If an inmate approached the fence, it connected with their wristband and shocked them unconscious.

But that rule did not apply to the children of offenders who wore green-glowing wristbands.

As it happened, Zhao Xing had found a small gap in the fence.

So he often brought Luo Mingshan here to "explore."

Academy No. 7, with its men's athletic field, became Zhao Xing's primary playground.

More than a decade later, the words "No. 7 Offender Behavior Correction Academy" over the gate had grown even more weathered.

The red slogan above the gate, on the other hand, had been repainted and was more glaringly eye-catching than ever.

"—I violated the Earthling Code of Conduct. I repent. I know my wrongs."

Zhao Xing squinted at it, then walked through the gate.

"Beep. New student registration card: Zhao Xing."

The moment the electronic voice sounded, the elderly prison guard in the gatehouse abruptly looked up.

Zhao Xing saw him too.

Zhao Xing paused, then smiled and waved at him.

"Hey, Grandpa Zhou!"

So it was someone he knew.

Guard Zhou had once liked Zhao Xing a great deal.

That was actually unusual, because most prison guards preferred Luo Mingshan. Only Grandpa Zhou was an exception.

Most of little Zhao Xing's "toys" had been supplied by him, and Zhao Xing liked him a lot too.

The instant Grandpa Zhou saw Zhao Xing, his entire body seemed to go still, and his expression became a little strange.

The next moment, his lips flattened and an emotion somewhere between disappointment and disgust appeared on his face.

He looked Zhao Xing over, then lowered his head to his book, speaking coldly. "Call me Guard Zhou."

The smile on Zhao Xing's face froze. Awkwardly, he lowered his hand.

Of course. Any person would dislike a child they once liked after he became a criminal.

Luo Mingshan cautiously tugged Zhao Xing's sleeve and said in a soft voice, "Brother Zhao, I ran into some uncles I knew these past two days too. They all ignored me and wouldn't talk to me. Grandpa Zhou dislikes me now too, so... don't be sad."

The second he finished speaking, the Grandpa Zhou he had mentioned leaned out of the window and stuffed an expensive apple into Luo Mingshan's hand. His expression softened from coldness into kindness. "Xiaoshan, I only found out how you got in here after checking your file. Don't be afraid. You did nothing wrong. The bastard who bullied you deserved to die. You're not like the others..."

Zhao Xing lowered his eyes and strode ahead.

After saying goodbye to Grandpa Zhou, Luo Mingshan hurried after him. "B-Brother Zhao."

At a corner, Luo Mingshan tugged Zhao Xing's sleeve again and held out the fruit in his hand as if offering a tribute.

Smack!

With one sweep of his hand, Zhao Xing not only pulled his sleeve free but knocked the apple from Luo Mingshan's hand onto the floor.

"Luo Mingshan, you talk too much." Zhao Xing gave a scornful laugh, his expression icy. "Who the fuck do you think you are, trying to comfort me? Starting today, unless I tell you to speak, keep your fucking mouth shut. Just trail behind me quietly like a mute accessory. When I need you, come over and entertain me. Got it?"

Luo Mingshan's face went pale. He lowered his head, pressed his lips together, and gave a quiet hum of assent.

Zhao Xing swiped his card at the underground entrance to the new student registration area, but Luo Mingshan was stopped by the machine. He stood there with his mouth partly open, not daring to speak. He only looked at Zhao Xing with pitiful eyes.

Zhao Xing said, "Get lost. Go to class."

With that, he headed underground without looking back.

Luo Mingshan stood where he was for a while before slowly turning around and leaving.

The new student registration room was on the first basement level. New students were lined up at the door, including the familiar chatterbox Zhou Ming.

But this time Zhou Ming didn't come over to greet Zhao Xing. Instead, he stayed far away, only furtively studying him now and then.

There were five rooms at the registration office, where five students could be questioned and assigned to classes at once, so the line moved quickly. Before long, it was Zhao Xing's turn.

Zhao Xing pushed open the door. Inside were a prison guard in a pure-white uniform, a robot prison guard, and an iron chair.

Zhao Xing sat in the chair. The robot came over and corrected his posture, positioning his arms on the armrests and the back of his head against a ring on the chair back, making him sit straight.

Then iron bands extended out and locked down Zhao Xing's hands and waist.

The prison guard looked through the information on his tablet as he asked, "Why were you brought in?"

In an even tone, Zhao Xing recounted the entire "crime," including breaking two of Zhao Feiyu's ribs, slapping him twice, and kicking him once. He did not defend himself at any point.

It matched the information in the guard's hands.

The guard nodded and asked, "What did you do wrong in this incident?"

The fuck-up I made was pulling him out of the water. I should have watched him drown.

Zhao Xing sneered inwardly, but his expression was completely serious. "I was wrong to hold life in contempt, harm a fellow Earth human, assault a drowning person, and leave him untreated even though I knew he needed follow-up care. Although the judge did not convict me of murder, I should still bear some responsibility for Zhao Feiyu's death."

The guard said nothing, merely looking at the robot.

Beep. The chair behind Zhao Xing sounded.

The robot spoke, its cold mechanical voice echoing through the room.

"Lying."

The next instant, an electric current surged from the iron chair into Zhao Xing's body. Even his bones ached and trembled; his fingers were forced open, spasming from the pain.

Caught off guard, Zhao Xing couldn't help crying out.

But only once.

Almost the very next second, he had clamped down hard on his lip without making another sound. His face was pale, and cold sweat beaded on his brow.

The prison guard looked at him and repeated in a flat tone, "What did you do wrong in this incident?"

Zhao Xing shut his eyes for two seconds. Only after the pain had begun to ease and his teeth had stopped shaking did he open them again. He looked coldly at the guard and said, "I shouldn't have saved him. And after I left, I shouldn't have forgotten to destroy the surveillance footage."

The guard still said nothing, looking to the robot again.

The air nearly froze for a minute, then—

Beeep—

"Lying."

A second, even harsher shock hit him. Zhao Xing bit his lip until it bled, and even his eyes went a little unfocused.

The guard spoke a third time. "What did you do wrong in this incident?"

This time, Zhao Xing took longer to recover. The extreme pain brought a numbing sensation, so paradoxically it was not as unbearable as the first shock.

Zhao Xing smiled. He stretched his right leg forward. Though his upper body remained upright within the iron bands' restraint, his expression turned more lazy and relaxed.

Looking the guard in the eye, he said with casual contempt, "I did nothing wrong."

The iron chair did not beep. Instead, with a clack, the bands unlocked.

The robot said, "No lie detected."

The guard was silent for two seconds, then lowered his head to operate his tablet. "Your required ideological reform level is A. You have been assigned to Class 109. Leave within five minutes."

The academy handbook Zhao Xing had read said that A was the highest level, encompassing every criminal with absolutely no remorse. They had to score at least ninety on the final assessment to pass.

A "pre-criminal" like Zhao Xing, whose wristband glowed white, had no fixed sentence. He could leave prison only after passing the ideological assessment.

Zhao Xing sat quietly for two minutes to recover before leaving through the room's other exit.

Class 109 was on the ninth basement level of Corridor One at Academy No. 7.

But Zhao Xing headed straight for the abandoned Corridor Nine instead.

The class bell rang. Sure enough, Zhao Xing lost 0.5 Repentance Points for being late.

Zhao Xing glanced at his electronic card, slipped it back into his pocket, and took out a flashlight.

Corridor Nine had been abandoned for so long that its elevators and lights had both been shut down.

The flashlight's faint beam illuminated the path ahead as Zhao Xing descended step by step.

One level, two, three...

Zhao Xing didn't stop until he reached the eighteenth basement level.

There was no path ahead. A mound of trash blocked the stairwell, and years of dust were thick enough to swallow a person.

Zhao Xing put on gloves and a mask, cleared away the trash and scrap metal, and finally found the air vent he remembered.

The vent wasn't large. Six-year-old Zhao Xing could have crawled through it with room to spare, but nineteen-year-old Zhao Xing couldn't.

Shining the flashlight in, Zhao Xing poked his head through, but it was still pitch-black. He couldn't see a thing.

It was what he had expected, yet he still felt a little disappointed.

He leaned loosely against the wall, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.

The sensation of the shocks still seemed branded into his bones.

Fuck, that hurt.

Zhao Xing smiled.

That lie detector really was fucking impressive.

He truly felt no remorse, because he didn't think he had done anything wrong.

Zhao Feiyu deserved to die.

And Zhao Xing had to come to this place.

Two months ago, when Zhao Xing happened to see Zhao Feiyu struggling in the water, he had already planned everything that would happen next.

He would save Zhao Feiyu, beat him up, and then walk away.

He hadn't thrown Zhao Feiyu back in the water because Zhao Xing didn't want to become an actual "murderer." The shock level for murderers was far higher than it was for "pre-criminals."

He was afraid of pain.

And Zhao Xing's ultimate goal was to come here.

Every step had gone according to plan. How could he feel remorse?

It couldn't have been more perfect.

Very few people knew that this Prison City had a passage to the world above.

"Above."

Not the subsurface where Sun Square had been built, but the real surface.

There was a star much like the sun, a blue sky beyond any electronic screen, natural wind gentler and more changeable than air stirred by a fan, and a different kind of light from artificial lamps—sunlight.

Zhao Xing closed his eyes and breathed in the damp air mixed with dust and smoke.

It felt as though his soul had already drifted into that unknown, brilliant light.