Heroes' Prison

This was a cell, dark and damp, with a musty smell pervading the air.

A figure sat cross-legged in the center of the darkness, their expression serene, as undisturbed as an ancient well.

The cell was devoid of anything, even someone to talk to; day after day, year after year, until death, many prisoners chose to end their own lives in despair.

But this person did not despair. They were waiting for an opportunity.

Just then, the first light of dawn rose, streaming through a palm-sized window in the wall, casting a hazy light inside, like a Holy Light piercing the darkness of the cell, covering them, dyeing their hair golden yellow, warm and divine, like a Buddha achieving Nirvana.

Suddenly, the person opened their eyes, as if the Buddha had completed Nirvana and come back to life, and the dark cell seemed to brighten!

"Mealtime!" As if expected, a cold voice came from outside the door, and a plate was slid through the bars, placed on the floor by the entrance.

The corner of the figure's mouth curved slightly upward. The opportunity they had been waiting for had finally arrived!

They stood up and calmly walked out from the deep darkness, gradually revealing their full appearance. They were rather thin, not old, in fact, just a youth.

The youth glanced at the plate on the floor, with a bowl of white rice and a dish of greens, plain and simple, nothing extra, but to a criminal starving the whole night, it was an ultimate delicacy. They picked up the bowl of rice and began eating in small bites, each mouthful slow as if savouring the taste of each grain.

Outside the iron door, two guards watched the youth intently, their batons ready at all times, eyeing every movement as if guarding against a ferocious beast, even though this beast was now caged.

After a while, the youth suddenly stopped eating, put down the bowl, and retreated back into the cell, merging again with the darkness, everything returning to peaceful quiet.

Having starved all night, the youth had only eaten half a bowl of rice, not even touching the dish of vegetables.

The two guards finally breathed a sigh of relief, quickly picked up the plate, and left as if fleeing, seemingly unwilling to stay there a moment longer.

The youth walked back into the depths of darkness and sat down cross-legged once more, a strange smile suddenly appearing on their delicate face.

The next moment, they made a move—extending their palm below their mouth, opening up and giving a slight exhale.

Instantly, a small grain of rice landed gently on their palm.

That grain of rice was so ordinary, identical to the countless other grains, hiding in the bowl of rice, having passed through the scans of three machines and the rotating surveillance of five prison guards, ultimately slipping past the watch of two guards and into the youth's mouth. But the youth kept it between their teeth, not swallowing.

Because this grain of rice tasted slightly different, they had not touched that delicious dish of vegetables to avoid muddling the taste.

This grain of rice was a hope, many people had cooperated closely for a long time, implemented many plans, to finally break through the layers of security and deliver it to their hands.

The youth pinched the grain of rice with their fingers and twisted gently.

The grain of rice immediately crumbled, revealing a sesame-sized ball of paper within!

The youth smiled slightly, their slender fingers gently massaging the paper ball.

After a while, the paper ball finally unfolded into a piece of paper smaller than a fingernail. The youth took a deep breath, brought the paper close, and concentrated on reading.

There was only one word on the paper—"Bird".

"What use is this 'bird'?" the youth furrowed their brows, motionless in the darkness, like a contemplative sage pondering the meaning of the word "bird".

Bird typically has two meanings: one is the animal, the other is an organ on the animal's body.

This "bird" clearly wasn't referring to an organ, leaving only the animal as the explanation.

"Puff puff puff!" Just then, a faint sound came from the small window up high.

It was a very faint sound, almost like the flapping of moth wings, and would have been imperceptible without keen hearing.

The youth naturally heard it and lifted his head to look toward the small window.

At the window, an incredibly tiny bird was swiftly beating its wings as it flew in, a small ring dangling from its long beak.

Upon seeing the little ring, the youth froze, staring upward, motionless, his eyes slowly welling up with tears.

No one knew how many people's sacrifices, meticulous plans, and cautious attempts it had taken to finally bring this little bird before his eyes!

This prison was called Rose Prison, and it had another identity—it was the world's number one prison.

The youth, named Huang Yi, also had another identity—he was Rose Prison's top criminal.

Rose Prison housed the world's top-level criminals: super hackers, political giants, nuclear experts, financial sharks, top assassins... To keep these madmen confined, Rose Prison employed the most stringent security measures available, strictly forbidding any contact between prisoners and the outside world!

The prison was located on a desolate Rose Island in the Pacific Ocean, which had nothing but wild roses, surrounded on all sides by the boundless sea. Patrol cruisers sailed within ten sea miles, their surveillance unceasing, twenty-four hours a day. The desolate island was difficult to navigate; with guards stationed every five steps, and watch posts every ten, no outsiders were allowed on the island, not even for prison visits. The only way to breach this layer was from the sky!

The second layer of defense at Rose Prison—metal detection zones. As soon as metal was detected in the airspace, even a piece as small as a fingernail, the system would automatically launch a laser attack, cutting off all man-made aircraft. To break through this layer, only birds and insects could manage!

Rose Prison's 3rd Stage of defense measures—Bird-Prevention Nets. The entire Rose Prison was surrounded by three layers of dense bird-prevention nets, ten times more secure than the ones at France's new Charles de Gaulle Airport, with mesh openings only five centimeters wide, allowing only small insects like moths, butterflies, and flies to enter!

The prison itself was a minefield of danger. In order to prevent escapes, various concealed mechanisms were placed throughout the prison that would indiscriminately attack any object passing by. In the entire prison, only harmless small insects were allowed to come and go!

Even insects were reluctant to fly into Rose Prison because its building materials were mixed with realgar stone found in abundance on the island, and this exterior golden Realgar Stone was the natural enemy of insects and snakes!

It could be said that Huang Yi was in a state of complete isolation. It was nearly impossible for outsiders to make contact with him, let alone get something into his hands!

But nature is wondrous, and it has given birth to millions of unique creatures, including a very special bird— the Honey-sucking Hummingbird!

The Honey-sucking Hummingbird is the smallest of the hummingbird species, weighing just 2 grams, almost the same as a moth, unremarkable and easily mistaken for an insect, yet it possesses many abilities that neither other insects nor birds have.

Hummingbirds are the only birds that can hover and fly backward, allowing them to navigate through the myriad obstacles within Rose Prison.

What's more, hummingbirds have the most powerful memory among all birds and insects. After being trained by humans, they can accurately locate Huang Yi's cell out of the thousands in Rose Prison and deliver an object inside.

This was nature's masterpiece and, in Huang Yi's eyes, an angel.

Just then, as if it was trained, the hummingbird tilted its beak down, letting the small ring slide off.

Huang Yi promptly extended his hand, catching the little ring securely.

An item from the outside world had thus fallen into this isolated cell!

At this moment, there are ten billion stories happening in the world, and this is just one of them.

But this story has the potential to change the world.

—————