Subverting The World [Cyber] - Chapter 3
[Rust Shark Prison Special Transport]
The name was boldly displayed on the prison vehicle that swallowed her up.
Shi Xu’s holding platform was sunk into the vehicle floor and locked tight. Two slender cages were placed side by side, creating two solitary compartments.
Other occupants had already arrived in the carriage.
Through a small window, the driver shouted: “Any more prisoners? Six more trips to go!”
The co-pilot responded loudly: “Easy, don’t rush — I’m lining up orders. Why are these prisoners coming in so fast?”
“Switch the court to fish mode; this place has been packed lately, no way to grab more.” The driver exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke, which drifted back into the prison compartment. Shi Xu caught him saying, “Can’t wait for low-altitude flights, so they drove down and scooped up a few on the ground. Few people with cases around here. If you sweep once, you’ll find a handful of runners online.”
“Oh, look over there — is someone trying to break out?” The cab lit up, the entire vehicle body flashing streams of light, its roof and sides turning transparent.
Shi Xu glimpsed a luxurious flying shuttle just behind the courtroom they’d left. It sped past, snatching up a newly released defendant platform.
A figure stood on that platform, unclear from a distance.
The shuttle didn’t slow; instead, it collided with another prison transport that had just lifted off, grabbing the person onboard and zooming away.
The angel statues guarding the courtroom triggered an alarm; a blinding red light bathed the shuttle’s tail.
“License plate 2135, stop immediately! Warning three times! Unauthorized prison break attempts can be shot down on sight inside court jurisdiction!”
“Warning one!”
“Warning two!”
“Warning three!”
A missile fired with surgical precision, weaving through evasive maneuvers from surrounding vehicles, then detonated spectacularly like fireworks.
The driver admired the display and switched the screen back to normal.
The co-pilot commented, “System reports it was an accountant just now.”
The driver sighed, “A 30-million vehicle to take down an accountant — I wonder if that’s worth it.”
The prisoner next to Shi Xu opened his mouth. “These days, law forbids death sentences for accountants. Even if the companies stage jailbreaks, the accountant is the first to fall without any evidence. Tsk.”
He was a black man with curly hair. Noticing Shi Xu, he smiled, his teeth brightly colored.
“Yo, hey — how did you end up here?”
Before she could reply, he added, “Let me tell you, I’ve been through hell.”
“Why don’t you tell me what you did?” He paused two seconds, saw Shi Xu wasn’t eager to hear, then pressed again.
Shi Xu, uninterested in more chatter, asked bluntly, “What did you do?”
“My parents pushed me to marry, so I planned to customize a non-wedding parent at the fertility factory. That got me sent here.” He looked embarrassed. “Does that sound ridiculous to you?”
“You’re lying,” a mocking voice came from the adjacent cab, “You obviously killed your parents before you tried customizing one.”
“Ah, don’t expose me!” the cellmate said. “What’s your name? We’re jailmates now.”
Shi Xu didn’t answer, instead asking, “What’s your name?”
“SB250,” he replied cheerfully, “My parents named me that!”
Shi Xu wanted to respond but couldn’t find the words, so she stayed silent.
SB250 paid no mind. He was used to the name. “First time in prison?”
“You seem unlucky.”
“How so?”
“Rust Shark Prison’s reputation’s terrible. Full of gangs, hardly any corporate types.” He grinned. “It’s my first time here, though.”
“Do you get in and out often?”
SB250 shrugged. “I drop in every few months. Down here, there are two kinds: those who’ve been in, and those yet to go in.”
“And those who never get out once they go in.” The driver slammed the wheel, the sudden tilt forcing Shi Xu to hold her cage tight.
“We’re here. Looks like just the two of you today. Get out. I’ve got to hit the station to settle.”
Shi Xu couldn’t get out before a strong anesthetic gas knocked her out.
When she awoke, she lay on the cold prison floor.
Behind her, iron gates slammed shut, blocking her view of the entry.
She stood up on the freezing steel floor, surrounded by steel walls.
No one was around, only flashing cameras overhead.
“Name! Three seconds to respond! No nicknames! False answers trigger shocks!”
“Time narrative.”
Luckily, she had confirmed her identity at the trial; otherwise, she’d be stuck.
“Certification complete.” A beep sounded, then a voice: “Prisoner registered as number 1001. Remember, from now on, you have only one name: prisoner 1001!”
“Prisoner 1001, strip and surrender all belongings for inspection.”
A distorted metallic female voice issued commands: “No claims of psychological gender, ABO status, mechanical or high-dimensional identities. Guards of matching gender unavailable. You are now classified solely by biological s3x.”
“One minute countdown! Prisoner 1001, you cease to be human upon entry!”
Shi Xu froze briefly, then smiled.
An interesting thought came to her.
A month prior, upon crossing to the White Tower for its opening ceremony, all newcomers—teachers and students alike—had to wait for their turn to undergo “face-changing” surgery.
After that, teachers wore their “teacher faces,” and students their “student faces.”
Female students had flawless oval faces, radiant eyes, thick trustworthy brows, plump lips, and styled hair.
Male students bore moderately broad foreheads, defined chins, sharp brows, deep eyes, full lips, and neat short cuts.
They were stripped of individuality, turned into “types.”
Now, she was to be stripped of her “name.”
Reflecting on it, since losing her face, her sense of existence had been steadily fading.
She noticed no shackles on her hands—probably to ease undressing while locked inside the metal cage.
She spotted tiny holes in the walls—likely gun barrels.
Such tight control… What was so special about this world?
She removed her clothes and stood before the X-ray scanner protruding from the wall.
After completing the scan, the voice softened: “Prisoner 1001, put your clothes on.”
Her previous clothes were confiscated by a robot. A gray prison uniform was handed to her, marked “1001” still fresh with ink scent.
Shi Xu put on the clothes, understanding this ritual was meant to reinforce her identity as a number.
A process to strip away her “name.”
Once she laced her shoes and stood, she felt as if a heavy weight dragged her down, sinking rapidly.
Her “depth” settled at 1.
Precariously low.
Shi Xu exhaled softly and stepped through the cold iron gates.
How could such a confined space leave any impression?
Lost in thought, two heavily armed figures suddenly appeared before her.
Their faces obscured, eyes hidden behind gear.
They were the guards assigned to escort her.
Shi Xu stretched out her hands; cold shackles snapped on.
She followed silently.
The prison’s color scheme was bleak—corridors and doors all looked the same.
Doors opened and closed endlessly.
Noise escalated, matching her heartbeat.
Counting three hundred beats, she arrived at a courtyard.
Suddenly, her escort yanked her aside as a bullet whizzed past her ear.
“Damn it! Command, what’s going on? We’re following the route you gave, why are we still in the riot zone?”
Another guard angrily tore off his earpiece. “What about the suppression squad? Isn’t this over?”
A faint electrical buzz answered in the headset: “Not our fault. The gangs broke through too fast. Internal prison management has been handed over to them.”
“What are they after this time?”
“How should I know? They riot three times a week!”
Ahead, reinforcements arrived—guards rushing to support.
Opposite them, prisoners gathered with makeshift weapons.
At their front, a man kneaded a ball of mud, shaped it, and launched it like a bullet.
“Who gave this guy the spotlight?” Shi Xu muttered to the guard beside her, pulling out a demon dung cigarette from a hidden chest pocket.
She took a drag, then tossed the highly addictive item to the prisoners opposite.
“Here, settle down!” she called.
The prisoners snatched the cigarettes, nodded respectfully, and stepped back.
“Minor issue,” the guard wiped his brow. “These guys always stir up trouble. Good thing they got a D this time.”
“Not so minor,” another voice crackled in the headset. “The warden is dead.”
“How’d that happen again?”