Free Web NovelChapter 10: Chapter 10: About Her Identity
[Daily Work Hours: 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM]
The work hours were written in both the employee handbook and on the wall of the Prison Director’s office.
The Prison Director’s job was a year-round position with no scheduled days off, but one could apply for thirty days of vacation per year for special circumstances.
The job seemed demanding, but the pay was truly high. Besides, after her first day, Shi Lan didn’t find it as difficult as she had imagined. She couldn’t figure out why over a dozen people had quit before her.
Rather than a Prison Director, she felt more like a zookeeper, responsible for carefully tending to the animals in her park. freёwebnovel.com
The comparison struck Shi Lan as so apt it was almost funny.
But the job was actually quite laid-back. No one was breathing down her neck, and she could eat whatever she wanted.
After dinner, Shi Lan curled up in the Prison Director’s office to binge-watch some shows. The dramas of this era were inseparable from the current social environment. More males than females watched these shows, many of which had premises like "My Woman Dotes On Me Alone" or "One Wife, One Husband."
Shi Lan felt a sense of cultural whiplash. Everything still felt hazy and unreal, just like her sudden transmigration into a book.
After watching for a while, though, she found them quite interesting. Seeing the men on TV engage in catfights, vying for favor with an endless array of schemes, made Shi Lan marvel at the brilliant drama.
It wasn’t until her shift was almost over that Shi Lan turned off the video projection from her wrist-chip.
She took another stroll through the prison, informing the esteemed gentlemen that she was about to get off work. If they needed anything, they should speak up now, otherwise she was heading back to rest.
He Hanshi spoke up. "Nothing. You should get some rest."
The corners of Shi Lan’s lips turned up. "Alright."
After saying her goodbyes, she happily clocked out.
After she left, the silence in the prison was broken once again.
"Jiang Xia, release your Talent."
Ye Ming was the first to speak.
"Okay."
Jiang Xia replied, and immediately, a layer of ice slowly crept over the robots in each cell, freezing them temporarily.
This was a Talent Ability possessed only by Beastmen with high spiritual power. While the containment doors could block their spiritual power from leaking out, their Talent Abilities could still be used to some extent. Mu Tangfeng’s Talent Ability, for example, was Invisibility.
However, constrained by their limited spiritual power, the abilities were much weaker, only functioning at one-tenth of their usual strength.
"The ice will last for about five minutes this time."
"That’s enough."
A pair of green eyes flashed in the darkness as Ye Ming spoke. The expressions of all the Beastmen grew intent.
Whenever Jiang Xia was asked to use his Talent Skill, it meant they were about to discuss something important. This was a tacit understanding they had developed during their time imprisoned on Black Star. Even Mu Tangfeng no longer had the mind to dwell on the melancholy that usually lingered in his heart at night.
Ye Ming began his report calmly. "I had my subordinates investigate. This female’s family background is simple—she’s an orphan and doesn’t belong to any faction. She came to Black Star by her own initiative, applying for a job and getting transferred here by chance."
The Empire’s job application system has a special mechanism: females get priority.
Most of the time, applicants still have to meet certain criteria, but in a situation like Black Star, where no one actively applies, even someone who doesn’t meet the basic qualifications will be hired.
"Shi Lan, a student at the Imperial Capital Academy, has F-rank spiritual power and a Fertility Value of 0. Based on the current information, she doesn’t pose any risk..."
Ye Ming relayed the details of his subordinates’ investigation to the others.
"F-rank spiritual power and a Fertility Value of 0?"
Yan Huoshui repeated under his breath. After a moment, he let out a soft laugh. "So she’s a useless female."
"However, we still need to observe her to see if she was deliberately planted here."
"This female isn’t so simple, either. She was able to resist my Fox Clan’s Talent Skill. Perhaps the information you saw, Eldest Prince, was fabricated by someone with ulterior motives."
Hearing that Yan Huoshui had indeed used his Talent Skill on Shi Lan, Jiang Xia couldn’t help but shout, "Yan Huoshui, you male fox! How dare you use that kind of skill on a female? And you have the nerve to bring it up?"
"What? Do you want me to use it on you?"
Yan Huoshui’s eyes glinted seductively. From across the barrier, his dazzling red figure gazed at the opposite cell. Jiang Xia quickly covered his eyes with his paws. "Shameless."
"Tch! It’s only been a day. Don’t tell me you’ve already been bought off by her small favors, Jiang Xia? For all we know, she was sent by someone in the Empire to watch us, to poison us."
Hearing this, Jiang Xia flew into a rage out of embarrassment. "Nonsense! Do you take me for a fool? I just can’t stand the way you seduce females."
"Oh? She’s not *your* female. Why are you getting so worked up?"
"You... you..."
Jiang Xia couldn’t win the argument. His face, hidden beneath thick fur, grew hot and flushed, though it was unclear which sensitive words had triggered the reaction.
Seeing that the two were about to come to blows through the containment doors, He Hanshi, who had been resting with his eyes closed while receiving information, suddenly opened them. Visibly displeased, he barked, "Now is not the time to be arguing."
In the military, He Hanshi was a strict Major General, once known for his iron-fisted methods. But in private, he was actually a gentle person who rarely lost his temper.
However, the moment he became serious, the full force of his Major General’s aura would be unleashed.
Sensing the icy gravity in his tone, Jiang Xia and Yan Huoshui finally stopped bickering.
He Hanshi summarized, "Since we can’t be sure of Shi Lan’s true identity for now, no one is to deliberately make things difficult for her during this time."
Previously, He Hanshi would have turned a blind eye. That was because the former Prison Directors were all more or less connected to certain people in the Empire, making them tools for surveillance.
No one wants to be constantly monitored, so even when Mu Tangfeng and the others did some rather nasty things to intimidate those people, He Hanshi never said a word.
But... this time was different.
Shi Lan might be innocent. Moreover, she was a respected female of the Empire, even if her spiritual power and Fertility Value were poor.
No one had any objections to this. Besides, the time limit on Jiang Xia’s Talent Skill was almost up; the ice on the robots was already melting.
By tacit agreement, they stopped discussing the matter of Shi Lan’s identity.
Shi Lan remained completely unaware of what had transpired in the prison.
After getting past the initial awkwardness of her first day, Shi Lan had a general understanding of the few men in the prison, and her work became much smoother and more comfortable.
Mu Tangfeng and Jiang Xia were the ones who caused the most trouble in the prison. Yan Huoshui would also occasionally ring for her, but He Hanshi and Ye Ming never did.
Yan Huoshui’s requests were relatively simple. He liked flowers, so he would have Shi Lan pick some fresh ones for him from the garden on the prison grounds.
He also liked to take hot baths, and he often used the flowers for petal baths. He truly knew how to enjoy life.
Mu Tangfeng’s and Jiang Xia’s requests were more unpredictable, but they were all small things. As long as they weren’t deliberately trying to mess with her, she could handle them.
Moreover, perhaps because she thoughtfully prepared after-dinner desserts for everyone each day, their attitudes toward her had improved significantly. They were no longer as confrontational and hostile as Mu Tangfeng had been on the first day.
A month passed peacefully. He Hanshi, who received extra portions of her cooking, hadn’t had another spiritual power collapse. The changes in the others were less obvious, but they were there.
All was calm at Black Ming Star Prison. With only the six of them on the entire planet, Shi Lan felt as if she were living a life completely isolated from the world. For a time, she felt that life was peaceful and good, and the anxiety that had caused her nightmares after first realizing she had transmigrated into a book finally faded away.
However, two days later, a Teleportation Spaceship landed on Black Star, bringing Shi Lan’s first visitor since she took the job.
