“What?” Qin Hao asked.
“Let me give you an example, and you’ll understand. There was a man named Night Owl, a three-star. He took pleasure in torturing women and children to death. The number of women and children who died at his hands probably exceeded a hundred. He was sentenced to death three times, yet escaped three times. Even now, he remains at large!” Jinx said.
Qin Hao frowned when he heard this.
“That doesn’t make sense. Why wasn’t such a butcher, with so much blood on his hands, imprisoned here?”
Jinx nodded. “Exactly. That’s the point. Despite committing such heinous crimes, he wasn’t sent here. Instead, he went through the ordinary judicial process, allowing him to escape time and time again.”
“What about you?” Qin Hao asked.
“Me? I was ambushed that day. After being knocked unconscious, I woke up to find myself already imprisoned here.” Jinx shrugged.
Qin Hao pondered. “Judging by the crimes alone, that man’s crimes were far more serious than yours. Yet he isn’t here, while you are—even though you didn’t go through any judicial process. Clearly, this is unreasonable.”
Jinx nodded. “Exactly. And this isn’t an isolated case. As far as I know, there are nearly dozens of people like that.”
“It seems that the prisoners of the Netherworld Death Prison aren’t selected solely based on their crimes. There must be another standard—and that standard may even rank above criminal offenses,” Qin Hao said.
“What could it be?” Jinx asked.
Qin Hao shook his head lightly. “It’s still unclear. There are too few samples to analyze.”
“Mm, there’s no need to rush.”
“Do you know about the three great taboos here?” Qin Hao asked.
Jinx nodded. “Of course. You want to ask about the third taboo, right?”
“Yes.”
Jinx thought for a moment. “This matter really is rather sinister. I heard about it after arriving here. At the time, someone refused to believe in it and actually sang in the early hours of the morning.”
At this, a trace of fright flashed through her eyes.
“But as he sang, he suddenly collapsed onto the ground. His body rapidly aged and decayed, changing from young and vigorous into a withered skeleton in an instant, before finally turning to dust.”
“Something like that actually happened?” A trace of surprise flashed through Qin Hao’s eyes. “Still, the end of the month is only a few days away. Perhaps we’ll make some special discovery.”
Jinx hurriedly said, “Whatever you do, don’t do anything foolish. It’ll cost you your life.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not stubborn or stupid, and I’m not going to court death.” Qin Hao smiled.
“That’s good.” Jinx breathed a sigh of relief.
“By the way, I heard that your prisoner chip was destroyed?” Qin Hao asked.
“Yes. I was supposed to die, but thanks to you, I survived.” Jinx looked at Qin Hao, her eyes filled with gratitude.
Qin Hao had not only saved her life; he had also redeemed her soul—even the souls of her parents and grandparents.
“Can it still be installed?”
“No. The prison doesn’t have that kind of technology. But whether it’s installed or not actually doesn’t matter. I don’t want to escape either.” Jinx shook her head.
“What? Don’t tell me you’ve developed a sense of belonging here?” Qin Hao joked.
“Of course not. If I leave, what happens if someone gets you beaten to death?” Jinx glanced at him.
After this incident, Qin Hao had entered her world and become the person she valued most.
“Then, thank you for protecting me.” Qin Hao smiled at her. “Could you tell me about the levels of strength and their specific capabilities?”
He needed a sufficiently clear understanding of this world’s hierarchy of strength.
Jinx did not hide anything either, telling him everything she knew.
Generally speaking, star rating was determined by how much energy an individual could unleash. The more energy one could release, the higher their star rating.
That was also why Qin Hao had been assessed as a half-star. In terms of physical constitution, people from Earth were far inferior to the ordinary person here.
As for the specific capabilities, take Jinx herself as an example. She couldn’t fly, but could easily run across walls and leap over rooftops. She could snap steel plates with her bare hands, lift a small car, and throw it away.
Ordinary firearms were ineffective against her. She could dodge bullets, and her body could directly withstand fire from small-caliber firearms.
Such strength existed on Earth only among superheroes in movies and television, but in this world, it was merely four-star.
As for five-star, Jinx had encountered one only once. The result was that she couldn’t mount any effective resistance before being knocked unconscious and imprisoned here.
Moreover, there were levels above five stars. As for how they were divided and what specific abilities they possessed, that was beyond her knowledge.
After listening to her explanation, Qin Hao gained a much clearer understanding of this world’s hierarchy of strength. At the same time, he realized one thing:
If they were talking solely about physical combat ability, he was the weakest. Even an ordinary person could utterly crush him head-on.
“So, little weakling, do you understand how important Big Sis is to you now?” Jinx raised Qin Hao’s chin with one hand and asked.
“I understand. That’s why I thanked you just now.”
Jinx leaned close to him and whispered, “Saying it isn’t enough.”
“Then is there something else I need to do?” Qin Hao asked.
“How about…” Jinx giggled softly as she moved close to him.
Just then, a voice sounded from the doorway:
“How about what?”
Jinx was startled and hurriedly turned around, only to see a familiar figure.
“Warden!” she exclaimed softly.
The newcomer was Wang Ling. She glanced at Jinx, entered the room, and said blandly:
“I have something to discuss with him.”
Jinx panicked, thinking Wang Ling intended to reprimand Qin Hao, and hurriedly said:
“Warden, it has nothing to do with him. I…”
“Leave.” Wang Ling interrupted her.
Jinx was somewhat helpless. She cast Qin Hao a worried, apologetic glance.
Qin Hao stood up and smiled at her. “Don’t worry. The warden is very gentle. You should go back first.”
Jinx nodded and left, but she did not go far. She merely moved a short distance away so that, if anything happened to Qin Hao, she could rush over immediately.
After Jinx left, Wang Ling stared straight at Qin Hao.
“What are you doing?”
“Chatting with her,” Qin Hao replied.
“What are you doing?” Wang Ling asked again.
This time, Qin Hao said nothing. He merely waited for Wang Ling to continue, having sensed her emotions.
Sure enough, the next moment, Wang Ling said coldly:
“Is risking your life to play the hero and save a beauty really that satisfying?”
“No, you’ve misunderstood.” Qin Hao shook his head.
“Regardless of your motives, I’ll remind you of one thing: do not develop any feelings for the prisoners here.”
Qin Hao frowned slightly. “Why?”
“Because they are all destined to die!”