17 Jailer

Dalvin blearily opened his eyes and tried to make sense of his existence. Everything felt slow and garbled, his eyes filled with mucus and viscous water that prevented him from seeing anything, while his entire body felt cold.

He could somehow feel his body, but he could also feel that he did not possess the energy to move at all. He was well and truly out of gas, and even as he was conscious, there was a strong sense of panic as his survival instinct kicked in.

Dalvin did not know how he knew, since he was neither good at biology nor was he a survival expert, but he just knew that his current state was the so-called 'last blaze' before the end.

In other words, he was dying, or at the cusp of death, and his body forcibly burned the last of its reserves to wake him up in order to make a last-ditch attempt at survival. If he couldn't find a way to sustain himself, when this burst of energy ran out and he closed his eyes, it would be for the final time.

Dalvin's cold and bleary eyes quickly brightened as they became bloodshot instead. He was not willing to die here, not like this where he couldn't even get a burial nor see his loved ones again.

He forced himself to raise his hand and opened the bottle of xueqi pills beside his body, slowly and shakily popping one down his throat. Immediately, Dalvin's entire body felt like heat was coursing through as life and power returned to him.

He did not see it, but previously his body was like a drained husk with sunken skin and thinning flesh, as well as pale lips and dull eyes. However, once he pooped the pill, he returned to normal quickly and even had flush skin, showing that he was extremely healthy.

Dalvin pushed himself to his feet and sighed, knowing that this was an extremely close call. His actions had been too reckless and the price he had paid would forever remind him to make sure every action he took had a safety net in case something went wrong.

He first decided to check the time using the simulation.

"System, please start a simulation."

[6.36 am. You woke up and feel the threat of death. Immediately, you popped a xueqi pill and knew that you had a limited amount of time before its effects would expire, and you would likely die on the spot.]

[6.37 am. You blinked out of your cell and walked briskly towards the familiar place where the door to the courtyard was. However, when you passed by the junction that led towards your destination, you casually glanced towards the right and realized that the expanse of darkness that blocked the passageway like foreboding void was gone. In its place was the familiar inspection area and office before what you assumed to be the exit of the prison.]

[6.38 pm. Seeing this, you stopped your trek towards the Cooking and Dining Area, hesitantly turning around and glancing down this new passageway. While it had been slated to cause a terrible death, you actually did not know what caused it. Feng Qi never stated the exact time the young master and his lackeys escaped, nor what threat they encountered.]

[6.39 pm. You pondered the situation. Yesternight, there had been a black void here but now the place was as clear as glass. When you first came here too, it had been clear just like this and the black ass that blocked the way came later. Clearly, there must be a rule here at play, and you were interested in figuring it out.]

[6.40 pm. Naturally, it did not take your imaginative mind to quickly draw up a sensible hypothesis. The black mass must have times in which it came. If it was split into a day and night schedule, then that would mean that it was morning, right?]

[6.41 pm. Still, you were hesitant to try walking down in case it was a smokescreen. In the end, you decided to be clever and use blink to escape through the door. The first transmission got you through the office and reception/inspection area, and the second one was just about to put you through the door when you felt a searing pain all over your body.]

[6.42 pm. You looked around and realized you were right in front of the large double doors that led out of the prison, the runes on them glowing brightly as they seemed to target you. You recoiled and tried to teleport back, but your bloodline felt heavy and unresponsive as if weighed down by hundreds of pounds.]

[6.43 pm. Just as you were confused on what to do next, you heard a clanking sound like a bunch of keys hitting each other on a rather large keychain. Following that were a pair of footfalls that were heavy and full of authority despite not being disciplined.]

[6.44 pm. A rather mature male voice spoke in a cold voice that caused your body to freeze. "Huh, another one trying to escape the prison. I didn't think I'd be lucky today too, not after so many years."]

[6.45 pm. You turned to regard a rather strange-looking guard who wore a set of brocade robes that were a mixture of white, red, and blue, with white being the outer robe, red being the inner robes, and blue covering all the lines and seams. He had a clean-shaven face and graying hair that was tied into a ponytail at his back using a thin rope. His amber-colored eyes were filled with disregard for life as well as obvious emotional indifference.]

[6.46 pm. You were not even able to utter a single word before him before your neck appeared in his grip, as if you yourself had willingly walked into this fatal embrace. You were shocked and tried to struggle out of it, but your measly increased strength was not even able to shake his hand in the slightest.]

[6.47 pm. "Hmm? Another martial artist who has no cultivation has broken out? And you're quite weak, without having ever taken in spirit energy into your body. How did a weakling like you even get in here in the first place?" The guard was puzzled as he tilted his head.]

[6.47 pm. Then he placed a finger on your forehead casually. "Oh well, the best way to find out is to see for myself."]

[6.47 pm. The next instant, you felt a tearing pain in your mind as if someone had carved open your scalp and was mixing up your brain with a scalding hot knife while you were still alive. The kind of agony you felt was transcendent, beyond what anyone should experience, and your ensuing screams reflected that.]

[6.48 pm. After a few seconds, the torment came to an end, but you had long become braindead due to the forceful search of your mind and memories. Despite this, the one with the look of terror was not you, but the guard who now knew the long and short of your situation and most importantly,… your abilities.]

[6.49 pm. Realizing the danger he was in, he tried to gauge whether this was the real you or a simulated version of you, but he would never be able to know since you died the next instant.]

[An hour has passed, the simulation comes to an end.]