12: Chapter 12 Annihilation, Probing!

The Capital, midnight.

Lin Wan stepped into the gate of the Cell Block D.

The gate led into a long, narrow corridor.

"Secure the perimeter." Lin Wan gestured.

A dozen constables quickly fanned out, blades forward, advancing while keeping their backs against the walls.

There were no wails of prisoners or footsteps of jailers in the corridor.

Using the faint light, Lin Wan saw the horrific scene on the ground.

Bodies lay strewn about in disarray.

On the left lay a body dressed in jailer's attire. There was a deep gash at the neck; the blood had drained out, staining the bluestone floor red.

Further ahead were several bodies dressed in prisoner uniforms.

Lin Wan stopped in front of a prisoner's corpse and crouched down.

Old Zhou brought the torch over. The firelight illuminated the state of the corpse.

Old Zhou took half a step back.

"This is a high-risk prisoner from the Cell Block D, 'Black Wolf.' This guy practiced external hard-body arts; ordinary swords and blades couldn't cut him," Old Zhou said, pointing at the corpse on the ground.

Lin Wan looked at Black Wolf's corpse.

Black Wolf's entire chest had collapsed inward, forming a terrifying crater.

Lin Wan extended two fingers and pressed them against the edge of Black Wolf's sunken chest.

"Killed in one blow. No weapons were used; it was pure palm force or fist technique," Lin Wan said, withdrawing her hand and standing up.

Old Zhou held the torch up, illuminating the surrounding walls.

"How deep must that Internal Energy be?" Old Zhou's grip on his blade tightened.

Lin Wan pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from her fingers.

"There are no traces of residual Internal Energy around the wound," Lin Wan said, surveying the corridor. "Either the Physical Body external arts have been trained to the extreme, or the Internal Energy is extremely condensed and did not leak."

The constables continued their search forward.

Every corpse of the escaped prisoners had died in a strikingly similar manner.

Heads had been smashed into chests, spines had been snapped, and limbs were twisted at impossible angles.

The method was identical. There were no superfluous Moves.

The scene only left behind traces of a one-sided massacre.

"Chief! There's a survivor over here!"

A constable scouting ahead shouted, lowering his torch.

Lin Wan walked over quickly.

At the end of the corridor, in the corner of a collapsed cell, rubble had piled up into a small hill.

In the shadows, a person was curled up.

He was dressed in jailer's attire, covered in dust and dark red blood stains. His hands were gripping a notched waist saber so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

His body was trembling, he was gasping for air, and his chest was heaving violently.

It was Chen Ran.

Lin Wan looked down at him from above, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

"Who are you?"

"I am a jailer of the Cell Block D, Chen Ran."

"What happened here?" Lin Wan stared at him.

Chen Ran pointed at the nearby jailer's corpse, his finger hovering in the air.

"Liu Haifeng is a traitor. He killed Brother He, took the keys to open the cell doors, and released those prisoners!"

"And then?"

Chen Ran swallowed hard and shrank back into the corner.

"The prisoners rushed out and killed everyone they saw. I was patrolling at the other end at the time, and when I heard the commotion and ran over, I saw them on a killing spree."

"I couldn't fight them, so I could only play dead, hiding under a pile of corpses, not daring to Move."

"How did these prisoners die?" Old Zhou asked.

Chen Ran shook his head.

"I don't know. I only heard 'bang bang' sounds, and then the prisoners' screams stopped. Only when there was no movement outside did I dare to crawl out."

"A dark figure passed by; it was too fast, I didn't see clearly."

Lin Wan turned and looked toward the deepest part of the corridor.

The special cell holding the Red Lotus Witch.

Lin Wan strode over. The torchlight illuminated that heavy door.

The black iron gate was intact, and the runic chains showed no signs of damage.

Through the iron window, the enchanting woman in red was in the corner, her hands and feet locked tight by thick iron chains.

A sound of heavy, rhythmic footsteps came from outside the Cell Block D gate.

Dozens of guards wearing heavy black armor and black iron masks stormed in, carrying standard-issue long sabers at their waists. The torches illuminated their armor in a deep red.

Demon Suppression Division, Black Armored Guards.

The crowd parted, and a tall man strode forward, wearing the uniform of a Centurion of the Demon Suppression Division, with a dark gold long saber hanging at his waist.

Centurion Zhao Wuji of the Demon Suppression Division.

Centurion Zhao Wuji glanced at the bodies covering the floor and stopped.

"People from the Six Doors, you Move quickly. However, the Celestial Prison is the territory of our Demon Suppression Division. Constable Lin," Centurion Zhao Wuji said, his voice echoing in the corridor.

Lin Wan turned, her eyebrows raised slightly.

"A riot occurred in the Celestial Prison, with heavy casualties. The Six Doors is responsible for the capital's security, so we naturally have the right to intervene. Centurion Zhao, what is going on here?"

Centurion Zhao Wuji walked over to Black Wolf's corpse and kicked the collapsed chest with his toe. The body emitted a dull thud.

Centurion Zhao Wuji turned to look at his subordinates behind him.

"Where are the people from the Red Lotus Demonic Cult?"

"Reporting to you, sir, we have searched inside and out. No traces of the Demonic Cult were found, and the cell is intact."

"Useless!"

Centurion Zhao Wuji drew his long saber. A flash of light passed, and a deep cut appeared on the hard stone wall nearby.

"A feint to attack in the east while striking in the west! These Red Lotus rats never intended to break out of prison tonight; they created chaos, likely just to probe us!"

Lin Wan nodded slightly.

Centurion Zhao Wuji's gaze swept across the corridor and landed on Chen Ran in the corner.

Centurion Zhao Wuji walked up to Chen Ran and examined him carefully several times.

"You're the only survivor left?"

Chen Ran leaned against the wall and nodded.

"Reporting to you, sir, I am the only one left."

Centurion Zhao Wuji looked Chen Ran up and down. Although he held a high position, he had some impression of this little jailer.

If he remembered correctly, this was the jailer who guarded the Red Lotus Witch.

Centurion Zhao Wuji reached out with his right hand. His five fingers, like iron pincers, grabbed Chen Ran's wrist.

"Clap!"

Centurion Zhao Wuji clamped onto his pulse point.

A domineering Internal Energy forced its way into Chen Ran's body along his Meridians.

Chen Ran groaned, and fine beads of cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

After a few breaths.

Centurion Zhao Wuji withdrew his hand.

"Ninth Grade Skin Refining? You have a bit of a foundation," Centurion Zhao Wuji said, shaking his hand.

Lin Wan looked at Chen Ran upon hearing this.

"You flatter me, sir. It's just some crude family techniques, used to save my life in this place," Chen Ran said, rubbing his wrist and standing straight.

Centurion Zhao Wuji turned to his subordinates.

"Captain Wang is dead, and now this has happened. The Cell Block D cannot be left without supervision."

Centurion Zhao Wuji pointed at Chen Ran, who was leaning against the wall.

"Since you are the only survivor from the Cell Block D and have some skills, from today on, you will be in charge of the Cell Block D temporarily. Don't cause any more trouble for me!"

"This subordinate obeys. I will guard the Cell Block D with my life," Chen Ran said, bowing his head and cupping his hands.

"Withdraw!" Centurion Zhao Wuji waved his hand, turned with the Black Armored Guards, and walked out the gate.

The heavy footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

The people from the Demon Suppression Division left completely.

Lin Wan looked at Centurion Zhao Wuji's back, then at Chen Ran.

Lin Wan stepped closer, stopping in front of Chen Ran.

"Your name is Chen Ran?"

"Yes, Constable Lin," Chen Ran replied.

"The Six Doors will investigate the matter of Liu Haifeng to the end. Since you have taken charge here, do your job well. Be careful."

Lin Wan turned and strode away. Old Zhou and the other constables followed.

The torchlight faded, and the light in the corridor dimmed.

The Cell Block D returned to silence.

Chen Ran stood alone in the corridor, surrounded by cold corpses.

Chen Ran straightened his back, his hunched shoulders relaxing.

"That should have passed the test."

Chen Ran pulled a rag from his bosom and wiped the blood from his hands.

"The people from the Demon Suppression Division are harder to fool than I imagined."