Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 325: Chapter 129: Pretending to be the First Generation Masked Strange Person

(As a Silver Covenant, his bonus updates were random and couldn’t be used, completion progress 30/100.)

Bai Yuan had done many things.

Earlier on, he was interested in chasing criminals from the Otherworld, but eventually found it uninteresting and turned to child-rearing instead.

Hidden within the human Inner World were various "parameters" about humans; modifying some could turn people into complete monsters.

Emotionless, insensible to pain, taking cruelty as desire and killing for pleasure, or having muddled logic, spouting madness.

For Bai Yuan, to thoroughly ponder these matters was definitely more interesting than playing mind games with someone from the Otherworld.

So later on, Bai Yuan stopped involving himself in certain cases because they were not interesting.

It was like a painter who no longer wished to paint suddenly fell in love with sculpting, and from then on, he constantly sculpted his children.

Despite the process being cruel, it didn’t matter to him; in his words, "As long as I’m happy, it’s good enough."

Under the guidance of such a "loving father," Bai Wu had many characteristics that were unusual for normal people.

For example, the more pain he felt, the clearer his mind; the more critical the moment, the faster his brain responded. He had no negative emotions, but having once been a complete emotional person who had feared pain, he knew how to make suitable expressions.

This was acting; he had truly experienced extreme pain and knew how to make his body express the appearance of such suffering.

The biggest problem in deceiving the doctor was that the latter could not detect the scent of his negative emotions.

Being subjected to such excruciating torture, Bai Wu was very worried that the doctor, as an Evil Fallen, might become suspicious upon not smelling negative emotions on him.

In laboratory sixteen, however, there was a human who had experienced unprecedented, soul-deep pain in recent days, generating many negative emotions.

These emotions did not turn him into an Evil Fallen, because he had a pride and integrity difficult for ordinary people to reach.

Also due to the doctor—who consistently intended to keep him in a human form.

In any case, when dealing with Bai Wu, the doctor did not notice any discomfort, because, thanks to Yan Zizai, the second layer was already filled with negative emotions.

Bai Wu completely calmed down, shook his neck although his upper body was tightly bound, his hands actually had about one to two centimeters of wiggle room. He lifted his head, straightened his back, stretched lazily, and started to observe the room.

The door was not closed, he was not locked in a cage, and the doctor had said he would come for him the next day.

This suggested that Yan Zizai had drawn significant firepower.

"Knowing that I might be connected to Jing Wu, the other side did not continue to torture me but focused on Yan Zizai instead. That’s quite interesting. It seems that stripping Yan Zizai of his Sequence is of great importance to the doctor. In that case... Yan Zizai can still provide me with a cover."

"Now that my legs can move, it seems the doctor left them free to test me; he must truly hope that I still have the desire to escape. That way, inflicting violence would bring a greater sense of pleasure, tsk tsk."

"It’s still one night until six in the morning; time is pressing. I won’t be able to leave High Tower immediately after returning there, which means... once I get here, I must take Yan Zizai away as quickly as possible and break the shackles that bind him."

"So far, I haven’t met the Warden or the judge, and although the Priest has revealed an ability, I can’t infer its full combat strength from that alone. The prison guards are all useless... hardly a concern."

"However, it’s not a big problem. Coming back here, I can use the Angel Envoy’s power."

"All I can do now is pray... that there are no problems on the first floor."

From afar, Yan Zizai’s pained howling reached Bai Wu, who closed his eyes and patiently waited as time passed.

...

...

Shudu Prison, the next day, early morning.

The sky was still dim, with the prison entering its quietest moment. Some of the inmates on the lower level were awake, some were still succumbing to the Priest’s beguilement, giving up the humanity they clung to.

The Evil Fallen on the second level finally had a moment to breathe, but this so-called respite was nothing more than a slight decrease from the unbearable suffering they had been enduring.

At least that tormenting doctor was no longer present. Every patient here wished for the Priest to appear in their dreams.

But amidst such immense suffering, not to mention falling into dreams, even basic sleep was an impossibility.

Even Bai Wu had to admit that this kind of pain wouldn’t break him, but it was indeed enough to keep him from sleeping. From this aspect, the doctor did have some skill.

All afternoon and evening, Bai Wu had been coordinating with the howls coming from the other rooms, where the Evil Fallen were kept, issuing his own cries of pain in response.

When there was a call from across the way, he would follow after a different interval each time, creating the impression that he was indeed in great pain and utterly exhausted. Although Bai Wu found it tedious, he treated it as practice for his acting skills.

The doctor also relied on these sounds to determine whether the prisoners were "enjoying" the torment.

It wasn’t until three or four in the morning when the Evil Fallen no longer had the strength to cry out that Bai Wu followed suit and stopped as well.

Having sustained this tiresome mimicry performance throughout the night, he was indeed somewhat fatigued, but fortunately, by the silence surrounding him, he was convinced that the doctor had left the floor.

He started to sneak away, and although his upper body was bound, Bai Wu still managed to find some paper and a pen on the injection table with the extremely limited range of motion he had.

The doctor would often record the characteristics of the subjects there, so there were files and pens on these tables in every laboratory.

Bai Wu would have liked to take a look, but he didn’t have the time. With limited mobility in his hands, he couldn’t hold the pen in a normal position, but Yan Jiu had taught him a method of drawing by pinching the end of the pen to sketch lines when he had shown him how to draw.

Holding the pen lightly with just three fingers, this technique allowed for flexible adjustment of the brush’s pressure, suitable for light colors and detailed rendering in small areas, such as the highlights in a drawing.

It was a basic skill in art courses and it came in handy now for Bai Wu, whose hands were not free to move and who could only rely on his wrist for power.

On a blank page of the file, Bai Wu began to leave a message thanking the doctor for his cooperation. He had to leave a piece of information for the doctor, not only to mock him but mainly to confuse him.

After leaving the message, he began to make his escape. The door of the room with the hidden passageway for escape was open, but the Evil Fallen inside was unlucky, trapped in a cage.

When Bai Wu approached the room, the Evil Fallen was already delirious, completely unaware of Bai Wu’s arrival.

Pain had the power to awaken it, but too much pain prevented absolute clarity. As it heard Bai Wu moving the table, it even thought that the devilish doctor had returned.

Since entering the second layer, Bai Wu had seen remarks about several Evil Fallen, and as he had heard when he was on the first layer of the prison, most of those who came to the second layer were indeed "better" in some way than those on the first.

These Evil Fallen had not been devoured by their grudges. They still retained their humanity and, in fact, possessed more of it than most of the inhabitants of the High Tower whom Bai Wu had met.

Indeed, behind the injection table, there was a passageway. It was clear that the prison personnel had also tried to block it, but interestingly enough, no matter what they filled in any part of the prison, those things would eventually disappear and return to their original place.

Looking at the passageway, Bai Wu smiled and crawled in. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

...

...

When the erased carvings reappeared on the prison cell walls that day, Qian Yixin opened her eyes:

"Time to get to work."

"You’re quite punctual," said Yuan Ye.

It wasn’t unusual for men and women to be housed together in this cell, after all, the Evil Fallen had long lost their sense of gender.

"I can tell he’s a man whose views on money resonate with mine."

"The guards might kill you for that."

"As long as they don’t kill me, I can make Bai Wu pay more. This deal, it’s worth it."

"According to what he said, we need to wait roughly ten more hours, and do you really think he can escape? Are you so certain he’ll find the path out? In these uncertain ten-plus hours, what awaits us is probably hellish torment."

Yuan Ye had actually made up her mind but still tested her partner’s resolve.

"If there’s extra money, it’s all fine," replied Qian Yixin, who had no such thing as resolve. Her mind was single-mindedly devoted to money, undistracted by external affairs or situations.

The spirit of the contract naturally required integrity.

Yuan Ye could imagine that once Bai Wu escaped, their "coincidental commotion" would surely be linked by the guards to his breakout. freewebnσvel.cѳm

If Bai Wu did return, so be it; it would just be the most painful day of their prison life.

But if Bai Wu lacked integrity... if he didn’t come back, then that kind of pain would occur every single day thereafter.

Yet even so... Yuan Ye, Qian Yixin, Colt and Lu Yan on the other side, along with all the prisoners in the prison, decided to join in.

They wanted to survive, to live on with their humanity!

The cell doors opened, and as usual, it wouldn’t be long before the prison guards would arrive to dispatch the prisoners to the outer yard for labor.

But today, as the prisoners emerged from their cells, they didn’t hurry to leave the cellblock area. Instead, they all gathered together, slapping their hands against the railings that surrounded the cellblock.

Clap clap clap clap, clap clap clap clap, clap clap clap clap. The rhythm that suddenly stopped represented a form of protest within the prison.

The prison guards, who were once prisoners themselves, naturally understood these coded messages of the prison. They all became excited and each grabbed a baton, for although oppressing prisoners didn’t require a reason, chances like this, to exert force under justifiable pretenses, were few.

Six Eyes charged to the front:

"You want to die? Why are you all gathered together like this?"

"Dada dada dada dada dada dada!" Colt issued a greeting that nobody understood.

Lu Yan translated expressively:

"Getting up so early every day to work, doing your mother’s work, were your family members in the underworld dismissed and visited you in dreams to hurry you to the grave? Or are you so early because you’re rushing to be reincarnated?"

Lu Yan’s second mouth was also very spirited as it said:

"We demand an extension of rest time! Extend! Rest! Time!"

"Extend the rest time!" Yuan Ye also said.

Bai Wu needed time to leave.

The number of prison guards was actually quite small. Typically, their first task was ensuring the number of lower-level prisoners, then to take the prisoners to the outer yard and laundry room for work.

The whole process took less than five minutes. Within that time, Bai Wu had to crawl from the second floor lab through complex sewer pipes to get below the library, which was nearly impossible.

But he had Prayle’s Eye, and with the correct route provided through the eye, he could save a lot of time.

Even so, after emerging from the library, Bai Wu would face the challenge of moving past the sweeping searchlights.

To find the exact rhythm when the lights separated and stealthily make his way through, that would require luck, and the time it took could not be estimated.

Therefore, Bai Wu had to entrust the prisoners to create an opportunity for him.

"Lu Yan, I was thinking yesterday, is there a chance to bet one of your mouths forever?"

Six Eyes pointed his baton at Lu Yan, and also addressed the crowd:

"Get out there and start working immediately, or else, I’ll have every one of you lying flat here today!"

"Da!" Colt replied with just a word!

"Scram!" Lu Yan roared.

"I’ll do your motherf*cking work, I’m not leaving today, what can you do about it!" Yuan Ye furiously slapped the railing.

"Sure, we can work, but you’ll have to pay more," Qian Yixin maintained his refined composure, then added:

"A lot more."

"Revolted, are you? Looking for death! Beat them!"

Six Eyes led the five prison guards into the cellblock area, their goal was straightforward—two faction systems on a united front surely had a reason.

As long as they captured the leaders of the two factions, they could figure out what they were up to.

Six Eyes and his men tackled Colt and Yuan Ye, while the other four guards beat up Colt and Lu Yan, with two others continuously abusing the Evil Fallen around them.

The sound of bones cracking and flesh tearing could be heard.

Colt’s "revolver head" was struck so hard that the chamber caved in, just as Qian Yixin’s bald head also became distorted.

Yuan Ye pounced at the prison guards with bared teeth and claws, but unfortunately, the handcuffs rendered her completely unable to pose any threat to the guards.

Instead, her once beautiful face became somewhat ugly due to a broken nose. The mouth that Lu Yan used to curse with had shattered teeth, as the guards raised their batons and kept smashing them down onto Lu Yan’s mouth!

She wanted to curse, but with her face and tongue battered, the words that came out were rather indistinct—a careful listener could barely make out a national curse.

"Fuck, your, mother!"

With no way out, Lu Yan had long since lost any desire to stay here. He considered if Bai Wu hadn’t escaped, he’d admit defeat, but if Bai Wu had escaped and failed to return as promised, he would curse that guy day and night, without restraint.

Even so, he was still willing to bet on that option that no one had achieved in seven hundred years!

Because he, like everyone else here, wanted to live, to live with complete humanity!

The guards struck harder and harder, well aware that the prisoners wouldn’t be beaten to death because of the prison rules, which prevented the guards from killing the inmates directly.

But under the relentless battering of baton after baton, few could remain defiant with the knowledge of ’not dying’.

...

...

Second level of the prison.

The ruckus from below reached the second level. When the doctor woke up, it frowned.

It hadn’t heard such a commotion in a long time and subconsciously wondered if someone was attempting a breakout.

Quickly heading to Yan Zizai’s room, the doctor sighed in relief after seeing the barely breathing Yan Zizai.

The two reasons why no one had successfully escaped in seven hundred years were firstly, the escape route was unknown to anyone.

Secondly, one had to endure the torture of the doctor on the second level.

Bai Wu overcame these challenges thanks to the ’cheats’ obtained after coming to this world as well as those from before.

All of this, the doctor did not know.

Yan Zizai’s perception was cut off, his body restrained; compared to other inmates, the doctor’s imprisonment of Yan Zizai was the most stringent.

Assured that Yan Zizai had not escaped, the doctor was puzzled about what was happening below. Out of caution, it began patrolling each room.

When it finally reached the room where Bai Wu was supposed to be, Bai Wu had not yet escaped the prison. The hole in the high wall was only a very short distance away.

Therefore, the "soul" extracted from Bai Wu by the doctor was still floating above the sickbed.

Seeing this, the doctor was puzzled. Where was the person who claimed to be Jing Wu? Had he run away?

Dismissing the thought subconsciously, the doctor didn’t believe anyone could escape amid such excruciating pain.

A feeling of ’hide and seek’ had briefly amused its heart, but its attention quickly shifted to Bai Wu’s original position.

There was a page of a file.

At that moment, a bad premonition arose in the doctor’s heart. Shaking its head subconsciously, it stepped closer, picked up the file, and started to read:

"I was wondering how I would leave? This is a prison, and even if I knew the way out, I wouldn’t be able to escape from a closed environment. What I hadn’t anticipated was divine providence leading me to you."

"All these years, is this the level of your torture? You really thought that sticking a blue little man with a few needles would make me feel pain? When I was screaming in agony and I saw your satisfied smile, did you realize how I was feeling? I was thinking, it’s so easy to fool you. If all kids were this easy to fool, parents might all want a second child, and then the world’s population would see another explosion."

"Anyway, I thank you on my behalf, my old pal. The Warden and the Priest could never have imagined that a sneaky little rat like you would betray us. If it weren’t for our little feud, I might really consider you a life-saver."

"Surprised by how I’m speaking as though we’re old buddies? Remember who I am yet? I’ve looked for you in Baichuan City, but you weren’t there. Did you think I just disappeared?"

"Of course, I wouldn’t just disappear. Death is just the beginning of the next journey. By the way, you can stick a few more needles into my ’soul’, because probably a few minutes after you finish reading this letter, it will vanish."

At the end of the letter, Bai Wu drew a symbol. The moment the doctor saw this symbol, its anger, fueled by Bai Wu’s words, turned to ashen despair, and its hands started trembling.

The symbol was a smiling face mask. The mask’s owner was the Masked Strange Person who, seven hundred years ago, had terrorized countless Evil Fallen forces.