“The celestial decree has spoken. In three months, you shall face the Sky Thunder Execution. Ah, how pitiful—you’ll endure eight hundred heavenly thunderbolts. Even if you die midway, the strikes will continue until your soul scatters to the winds.”
…The electricity bill for that must be astronomical.
“?”
The Guard’s gloating expression froze. He shot Yun Ji an exasperated look, finding her calm demeanor utterly boring, then turned and left.
Yun Ji lowered her head, silently staring at the prison meal with its two wilted vegetable leaves, then lifted her gaze to the row of bars radiating a bone-chilling cold before her.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
A true warrior dares to face a bleak existence.
A true wretch can only crawl through the shadows, hoarsely screaming.
She buried her face in the rice bowl, writhing and howling, devouring the food like a whirlwind while emitting piercing shrieks: “Oooaaoaoaoaoaoaoa!!!”
Damn it all! She’d transmigrated into a death row inmate!!!
And a swollen one at that!
Why swollen?
Because she’d been administered a potent poison that bloated her entire body.
Her eyelids couldn’t fully open, her fingers were too swollen to form fists, and even her tongue was too enlarged to form words—leaving her capable only of incoherent wailing.
The Guard said she was tenacious—miraculously surviving a lethal poison.
But there was no miracle involved. The original host had truly been poisoned to death!
By the time Yun Ji transmigrated over, the original had been dead for a while, her body already stiff.
Yun Ji could only squirm vigorously to generate warmth.
The Guard who came to collect the corpse even admired her wriggling performance.
That’s when she learned she was in the Death Row Prison.
Misfortune never comes alone.
She soon realized she hadn’t inherited any of the original host’s memories.
None at all!
Why was this different from the transmigration novels she’d read? Other transmigrators gained memories upon arrival—either surrounded by handsome men or blessed with overpowered golden fingers.
How did she end up as a worthless death row inmate instead?
What kind of world was this anyway? Was it still a society governed by law?
Who was she now?
To understand her situation, she could only desperately try to question the Guard these past few days.
Her: “Ooaaoaoaoo?” [What crime did I even commit? Is there any hope? Can illness exempt me from punishment?]
Guard, suspicious: “You say one bowl of rice isn’t enough to fill you?”
Her: “Ooaoaoaooao!” [Can you at least tell me my name?]
Guard, shocked: “You claim you can eat ten large bowls? Damn, you’re boasting without even blinking!”
Her: ?
No good. This Guard only had food on his mind.
But he was her only means of communication.
The entire Death Row Prison contained no other living souls besides her and the Guard!
When the Guard visited, he’d bring a lantern. The moment he left, the prison would plunge into lightless darkness where keeping her eyes open or closed made little difference—only the sounds of her own heartbeat and breathing remained.
She remained alone in this oppressive darkness for what felt like an eternity.
At first, she could still fantasize about being a novel’s female lead, imagining some dashing male protagonist would descend from the heavens to rescue her.
Or perhaps this was actually a wish-fulfillment story—a system would appear, granting her super strength so she could punch through the prison walls and escape.
But as time stretched endlessly in the darkness, loneliness and fear… countless negative emotions overwhelmed her until her thoughts grew increasingly muddled.
Maybe this was all just a nightmare. If she ended her own life, would she finally wake up?
Thoughts of suicide swarmed like insects, only to be suppressed by her lingering rationality.
Now that she knew she only had three months to live, she crawled upside down on the ground, her miserable wails echoing incessantly—enough to move anyone who heard them to tears.
How wretched she was! How utterly wretched!
Not a single handsome man in sight, her entire transmigration journey spent in the Death Row Prison, and even after leaving this prison she’d still get struck by lightning.
Her pitiful cries drew the Guard back before he had gone far.
Seeing the Guard return, she immediately sprang up like a carp leaping from water, hugged her feet, and looked up at him with snot bubbles puffing from her nose:
“Ow ow!” [Talk to me!]
If she didn’t speak with someone soon, she would truly go mad.
Although this Guard only seemed to care about food, he was exceptionally good-looking. Even in this dimly lit environment, one could see his upturned eye corners. Tall and broad-shouldered, he completely defied the stereotypical image of a fierce, menacing prison guard.
However, his expression was always particularly punchable.
Like right now, he raised the corner of his mouth in a smug, gloating manner: “What, scared of dying? Being scared won’t help! If you want to make noise, go bother someone else. Stop howling like a ghost here and disturbing my rest.”
Huh?
Go bother someone else?
“Ow ow ow ow?” [Where is anyone else?]
The Guard looked disgusted: “Are you hungry again?”
Yun Ji frantically waved her hands, pointing into the pitch-black darkness behind her: “Ow ow ah ow!” [Where is anyone else!]
The Guard’s look shifted from disgust to utter exasperation:
“You alone have eaten the food meant for four other prisoners, and you’re still hungry? Even pigs aren’t as gluttonous as you!”
Yun Ji: ?
What? That tiny portion of rice was meant for five people?
The Guard: “I’m going to prepare food. Stop howling. If you make another sound, you won’t get a single bite for the next few days. Starve to death for all I care!”
The Guard waved his hand irritably and stomped away angrily.
Yun Ji stared blankly as he disappeared from view, then turned to look into the impenetrable darkness.
So she wasn’t alone after all.
There were four other prisoners suffering alongside her!
Her eyes lit up with wild joy!
She’d heard before that if a person is locked alone in darkness, they’d start going mad in less than twenty-four hours.
Yun Ji had indeed been driven crazy by the isolation. As long as she didn’t have to be alone anymore, she’d accept even alien cellmates!
“Ow ow ow?” [Is anyone there?]
She called out into the darkness.
No response.
Her cellmates must be shy.
Yun Ji decided to take the initiative.
She struggled to her feet. Her swollen soles sent shooting pains with every step, but fortunately she had a high pain tolerance. Staggering unsteadily, she took small steps into the darkness.
Previously too afraid of the dark to explore, she now discovered the cell was surprisingly large. She had already taken over a dozen steps but still hadn’t reached the end.
She stopped to look around.
Everything was uniformly pitch black.
Great. Not only had she failed to find her cellmates, but she’d also lost her way back.
What kind of Death Row Prison is so big you can’t reach the end after a dozen steps!
If she’d known the cell was this large, she should have followed the wall.
But it was too late for regrets now. She didn’t dare wander further, afraid she might lose sight of the Guard’s lantern light completely.
She simply sat down where she was, hugged her knees, and called out for her cellmates:
“Ow oh?” [Anyone there?]
“Ow ah?” [Answer me?]
“Ow ow ow!” [Ow ow ow!]
“…”
She had no idea how long she kept calling, until her throat hurt and her voice turned hoarse, but not a single response came.
Once again, she began letting her imagination run wild in the darkness.
Under normal circumstances, she shouldn’t be the only one driven mad by the darkness.
Yet despite her screaming like this, there was not a single response from the others.
Their calmness was almost pathological.
Come to think of it, when she first transmigrated, her body had already gone stiff, yet none of her cellmates approached.
This cell was so large—perhaps her cellmates had already—
Her thoughts abruptly halted there.
A bone-chilling sensation instantly spread throughout her entire body.
She might be sharing this cell with four corpses.
Perhaps it was psychological, but the moment she realized this, she faintly detected a putrid stench of decay, as if a corpse was lying right beside her.
Her stomach churned violently. The pitch-black environment amplified her senses and imagination infinitely, and an indescribable fear exploded in her mind, shattering her rationality into mush.
Scrambling to her feet, she desperately tried to escape the darkness.
If her cellmates had died quietly here, what about her?
Would she end up like the original owner of this body—lying stiff and undiscovered?
She went mad, her hoarse throat emitting blood-curdling screams as she frantically dashed around in the dark like a headless fly.
Let me out.
She didn’t want to die.
She had done nothing wrong!
Suddenly, her foot stepped on something round and somewhat soft. Slipping, she fell forward, tumbling clumsily before smashing headfirst into the wall.
The impact made her see stars. Curled on the ground, she clutched the swelling lump on her forehead, forcing down the sour sob rising in her throat.
Luck couldn’t stay bad forever.
See? Her luck had already turned—though she’d hit the wall, following it would surely lead back to the bars.
So it was fine. Don’t panic. She wasn’t afraid. She needed to stay calm.
She expertly soothed herself.
Taking a deep breath, she rallied her spirits and tried to stand up while leaning against the wall.
But as she reached out, her hand first touched something cold with distinct contours.
…It felt like a human face.