Tian Xingjian stumbled and stood pitifully aside, looking helplessly at the foreman with furrowed brows and angry eyes. Tou’er reacted quickly, smiling apologetically to the foreman, "Third Brother, this is my roommate, new here and doesn’t know the rules. Please don’t be mad." He nudged Fatty and said, "Newcomers can’t just take tools. You have to register at the management office over there and get a number tag. Only with the tag can you get tools." He pointed to the small oval tag pinned to his clothes, "See, ."
Seeing Tou’er speak, Third Brother let out a cold snort and said no more, turning back to watch as inmates lined up one after another to pass through the detection gate and receive their tools. Tou’er whispered to Tian Xingjian, "This foreman is one of the inmates promoted by the prison. Everyone who becomes a foreman has some connections. Here, except for the guards, their words are law, so never provoke them." Glancing at the imposing Third Brother maintaining order in front of the inmate line, he lowered his voice and added, "If you offend them, they can easily accuse you of stealing or worse, sabotage. If they accuse you of sabotage, you might get shot on the spot by the guards."
Fatty was startled, his whole body trembling as he exclaimed, "Is that really the case?"
Tou’er smiled bitterly, "These foremen are protected by the guards, and they only supervise our work assignments. Offending them can be worse than offending some guards." Glancing again at Third Brother, he continued, "Being a foreman is already a breakthrough; even the big shots give them face. But they don’t dare to provoke those big shots either. As long as you don’t cross paths with them, they generally won’t make things difficult for us. Alright, I have to go to work now. You go register, see what job you get assigned to, and get your tag before collecting any tools. After work, I’ll introduce you to the boss."
After saying this, Tou’er pointed Fatty in the direction of the registration area and walked away. Fatty, under Third Brother’s cold gaze, nodded obsequiously and waddled towards the management office.
The management office was in the west corner of the workshop, surrounded by pre-formed partition walls. As it was morning, there were not many people in the workshop, making the office in the corner seem even more secluded. Fatty knocked lightly on the door, which was opened by a middle-aged man who looked Fatty over and coldly asked, "What’s your business?"
Fatty squeezed into the room while saying, "My name is Zhang Yuan. I’m a new mechanic here to register for work and collect my tools."
The middle-aged man stepped aside slightly, allowing Fatty to enter, then cautiously looked outside before closing the door. He asked, "You said your name is Zhang Yuan?"
Fatty chuckled sheepishly, "Yes, that’s right. My name is Zhang Yuan."
The middle-aged man looked puzzled for a moment, then suddenly changed his expression and said, "I don’t care if you’re Zhang Yuan or Zhang Fang. What do you want here? I don’t have time to waste on you."
Fatty sighed and said, "The lands rise steeply, the streams and hills are ancient and proud."
"The gate faces the ocean, the river flows forever!" The middle-aged man exclaimed with joy, "Messenger, it is really you!" He shook Fatty’s hand tightly, his face glowing with excitement as if he had found his comrade, "If you hadn’t said the code, I wouldn’t have believed it. Finally, we’ve been waiting for you!"
Fatty sighed again, "Alright, just call me Zhang Yuan. This ’Messenger’ stuff feels awkward, like some cult leader! I thought we could skip this corny code. Every time I exchange the code, I feel my IQ drop."
The middle-aged man laughed, "Memorizing these ancient Earth Chinese codes took me a lot of time. Not confirming them would have left me unsatisfied." The two strangers exchanged a smile, like long-lost friends reunited, instantly eliminating their initial wariness and distance. This feeling was genuinely fascinating.
This middle-aged man was Elliot, Russell’s hidden informant in Abnosk Prison, sentenced to six hundred years for dereliction of duty. Of course, if he could live to be eight hundred, then it would be a determinate sentence. If Fatty hadn’t arrived, Elliot would have remained in this prison forever, just for a mission that might or might not ever be carried out.
According to Russell, Elliot was the most trustworthy warrior in the Freedom Front. He was an idealist, willing to give up everything, including his freedom and life, for his ideals. It could be said that Elliot’s role in the entire operation plan was even more significant than Tian Xingjian’s!
Such a person was someone Tian Xingjian couldn’t truly understand. However, this did not diminish his admiration for Elliot. Since seeing Elliot’s photo and information at Russell’s place, Fatty had been comparing himself to Elliot, with the inevitable conclusion that they were entirely different types of people. He would never push himself to the brink for an ideal, and certainly would not invest everything he had in a seemingly impossible mission. His arrival at Abnosk Prison was a result of being pushed step by step by fate or responsibility; it was never his voluntary decision. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ N(o)vᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt
Elliot, on the other hand, came here of his own accord. He was a member of the Kak Clan, skilled in calculations and schemes. Through over a decade of dedicated service in the Military Department, he had risen to an esteemed position that brought honor to his mid-tier clan—Tanville Military District Guard Forces Combat Department Chief of Staff, with the rank of Colonel.