17 Prison Story

A week later,

After a day of classes, Zhang Yaoyang returned to his dormitory, wiping sweat from his brow.

The dormitory felt stuffy, so he opened the window, letting in the breeze of approaching summer.

Though still warm, the airflow made a noticeable difference, relieving the previous stuffiness.

With no one in the dorm, Zhang Yaoyang's mind stirred, and he opened the dialogue interface once again.

Fantasy Creation: 2370.

SAN: 155.

Abilities: Dream Detection (Novice), Dream Intrusion (Novice), Dream Disguise (Novice), Dream Interference (Novice).

Dreamscape: Not activated.

Over the past week, his Fantasy Creation value had increased by over three hundred points. Moreover, due to his calm state of mind, his SAN value kept rising, reaching 155, a figure that hadn't increased since.

Clearly, as a quantification of his own sanity, this value had reached its limit.

If a normal person's SAN value is 100, then the extra 55 points represent his innate talent.

Furthermore, he discovered that he didn't need to intrude into others' dreams; as long as their dreams were within his detection range, he could automatically absorb their dream power.

Now, his dream detection range was about a five-meter radius, covering the entire dormitory and half of the adjacent ones on both sides. Every night, eleven people's dreams were within his detection range, and with each person having four to six dreams per night, he absorbed over three hundred Fantasy Creation points in total over the week.

In his boredom, Zhang Yaoyang had once done the math.

If he could gain three hundred Fantasy Creation points per week, that would be twelve hundred per month, equivalent to fifteen grams of gold. Assuming the price of gold is three hundred RMB per gram, he could earn four thousand five hundred RMB per month, barely reaching a middle-income level.

This was probably the cheapest superpower in the world...

Zhang Yaoyang sighed.

As for the still elusive Dreamspace, he had ignored it. No matter what method he tried, he couldn't figure out how to activate it.

Zhang Yaoyang shook his head. Ever since he speculated about the truth of this world, he had been plagued by one question—

"If my speculations are true, and this world is indeed becoming increasingly strange and dangerous, what can I use to protect myself and my family?"

This question had become a constant worry for him.

As far as he knew, even the police and the government were powerless against these supernatural phenomena. So what could he, himself, use to protect what he wanted to protect?

Clearly, it was a despairing question.

However, last night, his ability to enter dreams had suddenly sparked an idea.

While detecting the dreams around him, he suddenly realized that he could adjust his dream detection skills.

Normally, his detection range was a spherical radius of five meters, but if he controlled this range to extend, it could reach up to fifty meters, meaning he could detect the dreams of someone fifty meters away.

The distance had increased, but he could only detect one person at a time.

However, based on this ability, Zhang Yaoyang gradually developed a bold idea...

In the evening, at the final stop of the last bus to the outskirts, a tall figure wearing a medical mask stepped off the bus.

"Here it is."

The young man glanced at his Baidu Maps on his phone, then looked towards a vast cluster of buildings several tens of meters away. On the massive iron gate, he saw the bold letters, "Yanzhou City First Prison."

Having researched online, Zhang Yaoyang knew that the Yanzhou City First Prison was one of the third batch of highly guarded prison projects in the country, housing high-risk criminals such as those on death row, with life sentences, or awaiting execution. For him, if there was anywhere in the world where he could rack up illusion points without feeling guilty, it was these prisons.

As dusk settled, he had dinner at a nearby farmhouse and then began to scout the area. Peering over the tall walls, Zhang Yaoyang quickly located the prison's inmate housing facility, a three-story, fifty to sixty-meter-long red brick building situated in the southern part of the prison. It looked gloomy, emitting a sense of deathly stillness in the darkness of the night.

To avoid drawing attention, Zhang Yaoyang deliberately estimated the distance and sat down about forty meters away from the wall.

Apart from the main entrance facing National Highway 108, the other three sides were barren land with weeds nearly a meter high. Coupled with the darkness of night, it was hard to spot Zhang Yaoyang unless someone was intentionally looking for him.

This time, Zhang Yaoyang came prepared. He applied a bottle of mosquito repellent all over his body, then took out an oilcloth from his backpack to lay beneath him. Only then did he lay down, feeling somewhat exhausted, quietly awaiting the arrival of late night.

Soon, the sky dimmed. After playing a few rounds of Honor of Kings, the time had fully transitioned into night. By now, Zhang Yaoyang could sense numerous dream fluctuations emanating from the building. He rubbed his temples, lay on the oilcloth with his clothes on, and swiftly drifted into a semi-conscious state.

Then, his sensing ability extended towards the prison like tentacles, quickly scanning over a dozen dream screens firmly guarded by dreams.

Randomly selecting one dream screen, Zhang Yaoyang stepped in, embarking on his journey to rack up points...

Inside cell 302, Wang Jianren groggily opened his eyes on the cold, hard iron bunk. The glaring energy-saving light emitted a cold, bright light, causing his eyes to ache.

"What time is it?" Wang Jianren instinctively shielded his eyes with his hand, but received no response for what felt like ages.

He turned his head in confusion and realized both the upper and opposite bunk beds were empty, devoid of any presence.

Having somewhat adjusted to the bright light, he skillfully rolled out of bed from the top bunk.

"Did everyone go for recreation?" Wang Jianren felt something amiss. He walked to the iron door, peered through the bars, and noticed the entire prison was deserted.

With no windows in the prison, and only energy-saving lights serving as illumination, he had no idea whether it was day or night.

"Hey, is anyone there?" Wang Jianren tentatively called out into the corridor. But the once bustling prison was now eerily silent, with only his echo reverberating in the emptiness, accentuating the eerie atmosphere.

"Gulp..."

Instinctively swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he suddenly felt a creeping sensation, as if something was fixated on him. Wang Jianren quickly turned around, but found nothing behind him.

"What's going on?" Wang Jianren cursed under his breath, frustration evident as he pounded the iron door. Unexpectedly, with each strike, the sturdy manganese steel door creaked, and the lock gave way!

Seeing this, Wang Jianren was startled. Quickly, he closed the door again, then anxiously glanced down the corridor, expecting guards to come and punish him.

But after waiting for several minutes, no one appeared in the corridor.

An impulse surged from deep within. Wang Jianren felt his whole body trembling with excitement. He clenched his trembling arms and, once again, pushed against the door!

With a creak, the iron door that had held him captive for countless nights swung open again!

"Not my fault. It's the prison's fault for malfunctioning, not mine for wanting to escape," Wang Jianren murmured to himself, trying to justify his actions. Then, tentatively, he took a step forward. Suddenly, deep footfalls echoed through the corridor.

"Darn it, because it's too quiet, are the footsteps magnified infinitely?" Wang Jianren broke into a cold sweat, desperately trying to lighten his steps. Yet no matter what, echoes persisted, prompting him to remove his shoes, minimizing the sound of his footsteps.