Subverting The World [Cyber] - Chapter 7
Everyone who showed up at the cafeteria was furious.
How long had it been since they’d eaten anything like this?
Who would want to eat just nutritional cream?
No one wanted to be stuck in the lowest gang, surviving only on nutritional paste. The warden standing there knew better than to try and change the food arrangements alone. All previous wardens understood that to survive here, they had to play by the gangs’ rules. Any changes had to be approved by the gang leaders first.
And that all depended on the gangs’ mood.
No one dared to change prison policy without gang approval. Every warden who tried ended up dead. The only reason this one changed anything was because she had a direct order.
And she didn’t even hide it!
She wore her white warden uniform and walked through the cells like she owned the place, defiant.
It was only because it wasn’t yet unlock time that she dared to wander freely, even walking through electric shock punishment zones.
So ignorant, so arrogant.
After being shocked, the prisoners’ anger simmered and became focused.
They remembered her face and swore to kill her before escaping prison—to teach her a lesson, to make sure she didn’t die happily but in despair.
The first prisoner to enter had a flicker of hope. But as they reached the buffet table, they saw that all the dinner plates were gone, replaced by baskets filled with neat servings of nutritional cream.
Just a bit better than the disgusting nutrient solution they hated so much.
The first prisoner picked up the paste and threw it against the wall.
The slimy mess slid down, and the other prisoners cheered.
【Prisoner No. 765, one disciplinary warning, food waste, behavior score reduced!】
The prison AI’s cold voice rang out, adding fuel to the fire for prisoner No. 765.
“F*** you! I’m your grandpa!” he shouted, flicking off the AI as he threw nutritional paste around.
Soon the cafeteria turned into a wild mess.
They threw paste at each other like snowballs and even competed to see who could spit it the farthest.
The AI kept announcing warnings unemotionally, almost like it was encouraging the chaos.
As the prisoners’ anger cooled, the young woman with the rabbit mask stood up and reignited their fury.
“Folks, we can’t let that warden fool us,” Siba said, standing on the cafeteria table, the thick paste below wiped away by her comrades.
She yelled, “Why did she dare provoke us earlier? Because of this damn neck ring bomb—but in just three minutes—”
“The bomb will be defused! The 12-hour immunity she has will be lifted!”
The red-eyed rabbit smiled fiercely: “How can we kill her now if we don’t kill her then!”
Her ears twitched, and her enhanced radar picked up footsteps outside the door.
“Everyone! The bionic guards are coming! But don’t be afraid! The cowardly warden’s probably hiding in her office!”
“Let’s open the door after the countdown!”
She started counting loudly.
“10!”
“9!”
At first alone, but then others joined.
“3!”
“2!”
“1!”
At the final count, two sounds came at once:
One, a “click”—the door locking.
The other, a “touch!”—gunfire.
They watched helplessly as a bullet punched a hole in Siba’s forehead.
She collapsed.
The red glow in her eyes faded.
Siba was dead. The heir to the [list], just a scapegoat sent in to calm trouble in prison.
Everyone’s countdown ended with her fall.
She didn’t lower her gun.
She kept aiming.
Gunfire erupted.
Before the gang members could respond, the shooter began a ruthless barrage, aiming at the ten-meter-high ceiling.
Everyone’s first reaction was to kick tables and chairs down to shield themselves, but they quickly realized the seats were welded in place.
They had to jump on the spot.
Then they hid under tables and chairs, only to see the tabletops fold down, leaving just two columns.
No hiding spots under the chairs.
The first target was the armed prisoner, who dropped his weapon immediately.
Some tried to keep fighting, dragging dead comrades for cover, waiting for the gunfire to stop.
They were overjoyed when the shooter stopped and began reloading.
They pushed away bodies and prepared to fight back, but suddenly gunfire resumed.
No escape.
In his last moments, he saw the ceiling covered in a dense network of guns.
No need to reload.
“Stop fighting! We surrender! Prison rules protect prisoners who surrender and don’t fight back!”
In the chaos, someone shouted, urging others to lay down their arms.
Few still held weapons; they dropped them one by one.
Shi Xu hovered on the ceiling.
Her targeting rules were simple: first, anyone with weapons; second, aim for the head.
With no weapons left, continuing to kill would break the rules.
Below lay bl00d, bodies, and the mashed nutritional paste, a disgusting mix of mud.
First impressions are hard to change unless there’s a big reversal.
Show them you’re weak and arrogant; show them you’re ruthless and cold-blooded.
That was the first impression Shi Xu made.
Personality was her tool, her weapon.
They had to fear her; fear was her only form of control.
From everything she learned in the White Tower, fear equals domination.
The AI scanned the ground, identifying corpses and collecting data into a timeline.
Shi Xu moved among them, then suddenly stopped.
“Turn on mimicry,” she whispered.
The lights in the cafeteria went out, plunging everything into darkness.
Shi Xu’s figure melted into the shadows as she slipped away from the ceiling rigging.
In the darkness, sound echoed wildly; it was impossible to tell where anything came from.
There was no sign of Siba on the death list.
Only her deputy appeared.
Shi Xu reacted fast.
In the past twelve hours, Siba had switched places with her deputy!
Because she was too far away, she didn’t see clearly.
Because she had always associated Siba with the rabbit mask, she assumed the person on stage was Siba.
That was her mistake.
Shi Xu gasped.
That was the first impression she had given herself.
That was the meaning behind the rabbit mask.
So, who was she really now?
The darkness concealed bloodlines still unrecovered.
Here, the challenges were equal.
Whoever fired first risked retaliation from dozens of guns above, while Shi Xu only had one.
Type Zero had night vision mode, but it showed a bright interface when activated.
Gunfire sporadically struck the iron ceiling sheets.
Shi Xu whispered orders to the bionic guards outside to restore the cafeteria lights.
Soon, shots came close.
Under her feet, a gentle female voice said, “I recognize you.”
“You’re the one who forced me into this role of warden. I think we should talk,” Siba said, conceding, “Restore our food supply and we’ll leave you alone.”
But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t try to escape.
Shi Xu quickly saw the flaw in that promise.
Someone was climbing the cafeteria wall to the ceiling.
Time was running out.
Shi Xu bit her lip and thought.
She hadn’t brought the bionic guards just to make a show.
She needed absolute strength and absolute courage.
If they sensed her fear, everything she did before would be wasted.
Darkness breeds fear and eats away courage.
Whispers echoed below.
The time narration connected to the prison loudspeaker turned up to max volume.
“I am the warden here, Siba.”
“Remember the one who forced you here. My name is Shi Xu.”
She wanted to claim her name.
【Leaving your mark in the deep sea lets your original name become your power.】
【Undergoing a test…】
【This name isn’t deep enough and is rejected. The name deep within you answers instead.】
【The warden’s name is now [?????] Devour.】
【Ability activated.】
【Testimony: You can see everything—what you want to see and what you can.】
【Rewrite: This ability is not fully explained.】
Shi Xu’s eyes scanned downward.
She saw words floating in the darkness.
Each prisoner’s number and name.
[plus one]
[bursting]
…Descending continuously, Shi Xu found the name she sought.
[Siba].
The timer hit the trigger.
She saw that Siba held no gun, but that didn’t matter.
“Wait!” Siba shouted, but couldn’t finish.
The lights flickered on.
Everyone saw the real Siba fall.
Bl00d smeared her face, blurring her features.
“I can’t kill a prisoner who surrenders, but your death sentence is over.”
Shi Xu lowered her gun.
“I’m carrying out the sentence, not killing a prisoner.”
“Anyone else want to complain about the nutritional cream?”
Shi Xu stood tall, lifting her invisibility.
“This is the reality.”
The former wardens saw themselves as Rust Shark Prison’s guests.
Only guests needed permission.
The owner needs no approval.
The owner holds all the rights.
The prisoners looked up at her and shook their heads at her words.
Shi Xu stood amid bl00d flowing below, her clothes still pristine white.
She glanced at the words appearing in front of her and lightly tapped her collar.
【Every moment spent in the deep sea drains your presence.】
【You exist as a [name].**
Fame, reputation, good or bad, common or rare.
【Either die name by name or die nameless.】