The iron gray fences stood coldly on the hard concrete floor, their intersecting shadows falling across the ground like a rigid cross on a coffin. At the diagonal corners, surveillance cameras blinked with red lights. The cameras, fences, and electric grids completely eliminated any possibility of a forced jailbreak.
Enclosed within these fences were rows of silent, solemn prison blocks resembling graves. Detained inside were criminals who had violated the law, paying with their years and time to wash away the sins upon them.
Clank, clank, clank!
The iron fence slid open to the left. The guards on duty checked the trio’s identification documents and let them pass. A menacing-looking, sturdily built prison guard was responsible for leading them inside.
After passing through the strict security checkpoint, the three of them arrived at a long corridor enclosed by iron fences. Crossing this area meant they officially left the prison’s outer perimeter and reached the administrative office area, though they had no need to stay there.
The prison guard led them all the way through the administrative area, and then their field of vision opened up.
“Over here is the outdoor recreation area. Right now, prisoners from the cellblocks happen to be out for activities. Don’t look over there,” the leading guard warned, slightly turning his head toward them.
Compared to the guard’s severity, the sampling team leader’s expression was much more relaxed. “Every time our sampling team comes, they stare at us like we’re monkeys in a zoo. Director Lin, if it makes you uncomfortable, just don’t look at those people.”
Lin Wanshuang nodded and said nothing, silently following the two forward without looking sideways. On the contrary, Ming Jiao, who lagged half a step behind, turned her head to look at the recreating prisoners as if she didn’t care at all.
They all wore the same prison uniforms, had the same hairstyles, and bore unfriendly glances and expressions when looking over.
Something’s wrong.
Ming Jiao furrowed her brows and retracted her gaze, suspicion growing like wild weeds in her mind.
Logically speaking, these people were just ordinary prisoners. Xinsong Prison wasn’t some specialized facility for high-risk, violent offenders. Furthermore, they were merely staff members who had come to collect Alpha/Omega pheromone samples.
These people shouldn’t have such strong hostility toward them.
“Those people look so fierce, it’s terrifying. Could they all be murderers?” Ming Jiao muttered in a low voice, pretending to be frightened.
Hearing this, the leading prison guard let out a scoff. “Where would we get so many murderers who don’t pay with their lives and get kept here instead? They are all ordinary economic criminals.”
Lin Wanshuang cast a sideways glance at Ming Jiao. “It’s your first time in a prison, look how scared you are. If you’re afraid, stop looking.”
“Yes, Director Lin.”
The team leader assumed Ming Jiao was Lin Wanshuang’s assistant. Seeing her get scolded, the leader instinctively tried to smooth things over by changing the topic, eventually striking up a casual conversation with the guard in front.
The team leader was likely well-acquainted with the guard. Although they didn’t talk excessively, the occasional relaxed tone in their conversation was still noticed by Lin Wanshuang.
The four of them bypassed the outdoor recreation ground, and the leading guard said, “It’s right ahead. You can just head over by yourselves. I have other duties so I won’t accompany you further.”
Team Leader: “Alright, alright. Thank you for your hard work.”
The guard nodded. Just as he was about to turn and leave, Ming Jiao called out to him, “Excuse me, may I ask where the restroom is?”
The guard pointed out the direction, and only then did Ming Jiao thank him.
“Director Lin, I’m going to the restroom,” Ming Jiao said, looking apologetically at Lin Wanshuang and the team leader.
Lin Wanshuang paused for half a second, frowning with a hint of disdain. “Forget it, I’ll go with you, lest you get scared again.”
Turning around, she instructed the team leader, “Have them provide a few assistant robots. The Dean granted me external authorization to use the smart assistants; I’ll install the chips shortly.”
The team leader looked delighted. “That’s wonderful! With the smart assistants helping out, we can finish the work early! I’ll go find them right away.”
The three of them split up to act.
Originally, Ming Jiao and Lin Wanshuang should have gone to restrooms of different genders, but right now, they couldn’t afford to care about that.
After entering the female Alpha restroom, Ming Jiao quickly checked all four stalls. Once she confirmed no one was inside, she let Lin Wanshuang in and promptly closed the door.
“My Lady, something isn’t right here,” Ming Jiao said with a serious expression. She continued, “Those people out on the recreation ground just now didn’t look like ordinary economic criminals, they looked more like murderers who have blood on their hands. Furthermore, the sudden tiger sighting on Xinsong Mountain is highly suspicious, almost as if the mountain behind the prison was deliberately cleared to wait for something to happen.”
“So looking at it now, the Sang family is indeed planning to strike while I am away on this business trip.”
Before coming, Ming Jiao and Lin Wanshuang had already considered that once the news of their marriage spread, the Sang family would definitely be the first to panic. The best time to disrupt this wedding would be during the period Lin Wanshuang was here in Songyang.
Whether they targeted Lin Wanshuang herself or Ming Jiao, the marriage partner, this place was an excellent location.
Ming Jiao pondered for a moment, still hesitant to make a definitive conclusion. “I’m not sure if it’s the Sang family, but things inside the prison are definitely off. You must not leave my sight later.”
Lin Wanshuang nodded obediently. “Then should I contact Captain Li and the others first?”
Captain Li was the leader of Lin Wanshuang’s bodyguard detail. This time, they hadn’t set out together with Lin Wanshuang, instead, they had arrived in Songyang two days early to stay and wait for Lin Wanshuang’s signal.
After thinking it over, Ming Jiao temporarily held back her action. “Have them check into hotels in separate groups for now. There’s no need to come to the prison yet.”
Whether it was them or the people lurking in the dark, everyone needed time to plan. Tonight was not the best time.
Lin Wanshuang nodded. “Alright.”
A few minutes later, Lin Wanshuang and Ming Jiao returned to the pheromone sampling location without drawing anyone’s attention.
The collective pheromone sampling of the prisoners was being conducted in the prison’s grand auditorium. Because they were severely short-staffed, there were quite a lot of people queuing up and waiting for their samples to be taken.
Ming Jiao and Lin Wanshuang entered through the side door. Both of them possessed outstanding appearances, making them look far more interesting than the sampling technicians wearing masks. Consequently, as soon as they entered, they received looks of undivided attention from the prisoners.
With a cold face and looking straight ahead, Lin Wanshuang walked toward the team leader, with Ming Jiao following half a step behind her.
Seeing this, Ming Jiao whispered discreetly, “Director Lin, look. This is the normal attitude these prisoners should have when they see us.”
After all, for the prisoners, this was a rare opportunity to get fresh air and see outsiders. Therefore, these people shouldn’t harbor such deep hostility toward them.
The prison provided ten assistant robots. Lin Wanshuang took out Xiao Ba’s chip and inserted it into the port on the back of one robot’s neck. Before long, all ten assistant robots were activated and networked under Xiao Ba’s full control.
Xiao Ba: “Phew! I was suffocating. Director Lin, you let me out way too late!”
Ming Jiao merrily approached and squatted down. “You’re so enthusiastic about working. Comrade Xiao Ba, you’re putting in way too much effort.”
Lin Wanshuang interrupted their small talk, giving Xiao Ba a light kick. “Go on and get to work. When we return from this trip, I’ll buy you the best cleaning agent to wipe down your mainframe.”
Xiao Ba:?
“Understood!”
Xiao Ba quickly threw itself into the assisting work, while Lin Wanshuang herself intended to first learn about the situation regarding that B-grade Alpha.
Holding a notebook and a pen she had acquired from who knows where, Ming Jiao followed Lin Wanshuang while pretending to take notes. Her ears listened to the conversation between Lin Wanshuang and the team leader, while her eyes continuously scanned the entire auditorium.
After listening for a while, Ming Jiao finally learned that the team leader’s surname was Yu, with the single given name Xiu.
While introducing the specific conditions inside the grand auditorium to Lin Wanshuang, Yu Xiu was also fretting over the matter regarding the violent offender.
“Director Lin, we are familiar with Xinsong Prison, and some of the prisoners are old faces who don’t resist the pheromone sampling. However, the batch that just arrived is highly uncooperative.”
Yu Xiu paused before adding, “Especially that violent offender.”
“This is her basic profile. The prison doesn’t have the authority to provide anything more than this. They mentioned that if we want her full file, we have to submit an application to the Review Tribunal in the name of the Dean.” After saying this, Yu Xiu secretly observed the young director’s expression. Fortunately, there was no expression at all.
Lin Wanshuang took the document and skimmed through it casually.
Name: Qiu Danqiu
Gender: Female, B-grade Alpha Pheromone: Heavy Fragrance Type. Amorphophallus titanum (Titan Arum) ……
When Lin Wanshuang’s gaze landed on the subject’s pheromone type, her expression momentarily turned extraordinarily vivid.
This piqued Ming Jiao’s curiosity. She leaned over next to her, stretching her neck to look at the document. After reading it, her expression became equally vivid.
Ming Jiao looked up at Yu Xiu and asked tentatively, “When you collect pheromones, the subjects need to voluntarily release them, right?”
Yu Xiu stiffened her neck, closed her eyes, and nodded.
Heaven knew what she felt when she first saw this file, that was a titan arum! And a heavy fragrance type at that!
The titan arum was a pheromone scent that made people pale at the mere mention of it, literally, the mere smell of it.
It was a sickly sweet, fishy stench of deep protein decomposition, like a dead rat or rotting fish and shrimp left in a sealed room for days during the height of summer, accompanied by a strong odor of hydrogen sulfide. It was pungent and nauseating.
This kind of scent possessed a heavy, viscous texture, capable of quickly clinging to a person’s nasal cavity, clothes, and even hair, refusing to dissipate for a long time.
Calling it a “heavy fragrance type” was far less accurate than calling it a “heavy stench type.”
Lin Wanshuang took a deep breath, snapping out of the imaginary odor. She licked her dry lips and asked, “Even if the smell is less than desirable, the sampling can still be done by wearing protective suits. Is there something else going on with her?”
Yu Xiu nodded. “She said she wants to see you.”
Ming Jiao’s movements froze. The expression on her face cooled down, and a pair of platinum-gold eyes silently gazed at Yu Xiu.
Lin Wanshuang stopped flipping through the file. Utterly perplexed, she knitted her brows and looked suspiciously at Yu Xiu, asking, “See me? Why?”
For a moment, the area became so quiet that only the breathing of the three individuals could be heard. Yu Xiu scratched her cheek, her earlobes turning a bit red as she forced herself to say, “Somehow, she found out that the leader of the sampling team this time is an A-grade Omega. She said she must personally catch a whiff of your pheromone scent.”
“In exchange, she will tell you the secret of Alpha/Omega gland differentiation.”