Florida, United States — 1980s
"Ding... ding..."
The urgent prison bell rang through the cellblock, and the steel doors of every cell opened almost simultaneously. Inmates stepped into the corridor and formed several orderly lines under the watchful eyes of the corrections officers. A few guards quickly moved into position and began directing the crowd toward the chow hall.
"Keep the line moving. Enter the chow hall one at a time," one of the officers ordered. The inmates shuffled forward while exchanging insults and quiet conversations. Near the back of the line, Axel Vance kept his head lowered and silently followed the prisoners ahead of him.
Nearly every inmate who passed nearby gave Axel a hostile look. Some deliberately bumped his shoulder as they walked past, while one particularly bold prisoner stopped beside him and spat directly at his feet. "Fucking snitch. Who are you planning to rat out to your cop buddies today?"
A nearby corrections officer immediately approached with a baton and forced the prisoner to keep moving. Unfortunately, the intervention did nothing to improve Axel’s situation. If anything, having the guards step in only made the other prisoners even more certain that he was working for the authorities.
Axel could only sigh inwardly because they were not exactly wrong. He really was an informant, although undercover police officer would have been the more accurate description. Half a month earlier, several high-profile criminals had mysteriously died inside this prison.
The deaths had already started attracting unwanted attention, so the warden quietly contacted the police department and requested someone be placed inside to investigate. Axel’s predecessor had been one of the most outstanding graduates of his police academy class and had volunteered almost immediately. His superiors approved the operation without much hesitation.
Unfortunately, everyone involved had overlooked one fatal problem. Axel’s predecessor did not know how to keep a low profile and had spent his first several days cheerfully talking to inmates while constantly asking questions. For a supposedly ordinary prisoner, he had been far too interested in everyone else’s business.
Then several more inmates mysteriously died after his arrival. That was enough for suspicion to spread through the prison, and before long everyone had decided the new guy had to be a police informant. Once prisoners reached that conclusion, there was almost nothing he could have said to convince them otherwise.
By the time the current Axel transmigrated into this body, his predecessor had already been cornered in an isolated part of the prison and beaten nearly to death by several furious inmates. Somehow, Axel had awakened inside the dying man’s body instead. He inherited the undercover assignment along with all the enemies his predecessor had managed to make.
Axel could only admit that his predecessor had been brave but terrible at undercover work. Walking around a prison asking obvious questions was practically an invitation to get labeled a snitch. In a place filled with violent criminals, that reputation could easily become a death sentence.
After entering the chow hall, Axel collected a metal tray filled with something resembling mashed potatoes and watery gravy. He found an empty seat and sat down, preparing himself to endure another terrible prison dinner. Before he could take his first bite, a metal tray suddenly slammed onto the table.
Clang!
Food scraps and soup splashed across Axel’s clothes. He slowly looked up and saw a tall, bald Black inmate staring down at him with undisguised hostility. The man’s broad shoulders and scarred knuckles made his intentions obvious.
"Hey, asshole," the man said. "Who the hell told you that you could sit here?"
Axel recognized him immediately. The inmate was nicknamed Hammer, and he had been one of the most loyal followers of Mad Dog, a prisoner who had mysteriously died several days earlier. Judging from Hammer’s expression, he had probably already decided that Axel was somehow responsible for his boss’s death.
Several of Hammer’s friends gathered behind him and quietly blocked Axel’s escape route. They flexed their wrists and watched with malicious smiles, clearly hoping Axel would lose his temper first. Once he fought back, they could claim he had started the confrontation and beat him without worrying about appearances.
Prison had its own brutal social order. Being isolated meant having nobody watching your back, and appearing weak invited every predator nearby to take advantage of you. Axel’s predecessor had already demonstrated exactly how badly that could end.
This time, however, they had chosen the wrong target.
Axel showed none of the fear Hammer expected. Instead, he stared at an empty point in front of him as a translucent panel appeared within his vision. Nobody else in the chow hall could see it.
Name: Axel Vance
Physique: 1.2
Psionic Power: 1
Specialization: Prisoner Fitness Lv. 2 — 114/1000
Effect: Physique +0.2
This was the strange ability Axel had received after transmigrating into this world. He had unlocked his first specialization after coming across a fitness book belonging to another prisoner. As long as he repeatedly trained the corresponding skill, he would gain experience points and gradually increase its level.
Every specialization level also provided an attribute bonus. Axel had spent the last half month exercising whenever possible, and Prisoner Fitness had already reached Level 2. His current physique was noticeably stronger than that of an ordinary man.
"Asshole, are you ignoring me?" Hammer growled when Axel still failed to respond.
The large inmate reached across the table and tried to grab Axel by the collar. Axel immediately moved first, catching Hammer’s wrist before the man could touch him. He twisted downward while shifting his body forward and used the strength granted by his specialization.
Hammer immediately lost his balance and crashed chest-first onto the metal table. His eyes widened as he tried to push himself upright, but Axel kept his wrist locked and forced him back down. The larger inmate had clearly never expected Axel to overpower him so easily.
"Shit! You actually dare fight back?" Hammer shouted.
Axel glanced around and noticed dozens of prisoners watching them. If he backed down now, everyone would see him as easy prey, and his remaining time inside the prison would become even more dangerous. If he wanted some peace while investigating the mysterious deaths, he needed to make an example out of someone.
"I hate people making noise while I’m eating."
Axel grabbed Hammer by the back of the head and slammed his face hard against the table. The impact rattled every tray nearby and sent food spilling across the metal surface. Hammer groaned in pain as his companions stared in shock.
"You wanted my seat so badly?" Axel asked coldly. "Then eat."
He swept the spilled food together with his free hand and gathered the disgusting mixture into his palm. Before Hammer could struggle free, Axel shoved the entire handful directly into his open mouth. He then struck the man hard across the jaw.
Crack!
Hammer’s jaw popped out of place. Axel released him, and the large inmate immediately collapsed beside the table while clutching his face and groaning in pain. His miserable condition instantly silenced the prisoners who had accompanied him.
Axel turned toward them without saying another word. Hammer’s friends quickly avoided his gaze and returned to their seats, suddenly finding their own dinners extremely interesting. The message had been delivered clearly enough.
Axel quietly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he solved the mysterious deaths soon, he could complete the undercover assignment and leave this hellhole behind. Unfortunately, he had underestimated how quickly Florida prisoners could turn a small confrontation into complete chaos.
The tense silence lasted exactly three seconds.
"Hell yeah! Food fight!"
An excited scream suddenly erupted from somewhere in the corner of the chow hall. Before Axel could even identify who had shouted, another inmate grabbed his tray and smashed it directly into someone else’s face. Food exploded everywhere, and the victim immediately tackled him across the table.
"I’ve been sick of this garbage food anyway! Let’s go!"
Years of gang rivalries, personal grudges, gambling debts, racial hatred, and ordinary prison resentment exploded all at once. Prisoners began jumping across tables while fists, trays, cups, and food flew through the air. Within seconds, the entire chow hall had transformed into a full-scale brawl.
"Fuck you!"
"Get those bastards!"
Men tackled each other between the tables as corrections officers near the entrance desperately called for backup. Someone threw a cup across the room and struck an uninvolved inmate in the head, immediately dragging another group into the fight. The situation spread faster than the few guards inside could control it.
Strangely, a completely empty area formed around Axel’s table. Every prisoner who came close noticed Hammer lying on the floor with his dislocated jaw and immediately decided to fight someone else instead. Nobody seemed eager to test whether Axel could do the same thing twice.
Axel looked around before calmly sitting back down. He found a relatively clean piece of bread and began eating while the chow hall collapsed into chaos around him. His goal of establishing some authority had already been achieved, and he had absolutely no interest in participating in the riot.
"Ding... ding..."
The emergency alarm finally screamed through the prison. A large group of corrections officers rushed into the chow hall carrying riot shields and batons, quickly forming a line and forcing the fighting inmates onto the floor. The riot was brought under control through overwhelming force.
Axel remained at his table until two corrections officers appeared beside him. Apparently, quietly eating bread during most of the riot did not erase the fact that he had dislocated another inmate’s jaw immediately before it started. One officer looked down at him and gestured toward the exit.
"Vance. On your feet."
Axel stood without resistance and glanced around the chow hall. The contemptuous looks from earlier had changed considerably, and most prisoners now watched him with obvious caution. With one corrections officer on each side, Axel was escorted away from the dining hall.
His destination was the warden’s office.