Chapter 243: Why Are You So Dense? Is This Something You Can Meddle In?
In this stage, if a Chosen One obtained the patrol uniform, they would encounter prisoners they needed to actively seek out. These prisoners weren’t very dangerous.
The prisoners appearing here were on the level of ordinary people; otherwise, they would have long since resorted to murder and robbery.
According to this prisoner, he was originally a traveler passing through this place. Blinded by a momentary temptation, he agreed to help a beautiful, weak female prisoner escape, only to be caught in a sting operation.
A patrol team that seemingly appeared out of nowhere apprehended him, marked him, and locked him up.
If you didn’t get a patrol officer’s uniform, you would encounter this type of sting operation yourself.
Because many town staff members mentioned that harboring criminals was a grave sin here.
At this point, you just need to follow Rule 6 and refuse directly, and you’ll be safe.
Rule 7 serves as a reminder to the Chosen One to carefully inspect things when leaving.
During this phase, if you take the initiative to ask the prisoner for information, you fall into a passive position.
Because whether it involves emotions or transactions, the one who makes the first move loses.
Taking the initiative shows that you need something from him.
Zhang Yangqing chatted with him for a bit and then prepared to leave.
At that moment, the prisoner became anxious. He didn’t know what Zhang Yangqing’s goal was, but Zhang Yangqing knew he was desperate to get out.
The prisoner asked Zhang Yangqing if there was any information he wanted to know, mentioning he had been locked up here for a while.
Or, he asked if Zhang Yangqing needed any help saying he could assist with odd jobs.
But the condition was that Zhang Yangqing agreed to take him out.
This made Zhang Yangqing pause. Could this be another trap? If I agree, a few big guys might jump out of the bushes.
But he dismissed the thought. After all, he was wearing this uniform; even if the guy was slow, he must have guessed that Zhang Yangqing had killed a patrol officer.
What crime is greater than killing a patrol officer here?
If there was an ambush, they would have come already.
This guy seemed even weaker than the one-eyed kid, and Zhang Yangqing’s team certainly didn’t need such dead weight.
So, Zhang Yangqing said, “I still have things to do here, so I won’t be leaving immediately. However, I have a car key, a pass, and even two sets of patrol uniforms. If you tell me what I want to know, I can provide you with a way out.”
Zhang Yangqing was betting that the prisoner definitely didn’t know about the strange bird. If he did, he wouldn’t be in this situation.
Also, with this statement, Zhang Yangqing didn’t actually promise to take him out, so it didn’t violate the rules.
Sure enough, the prisoner took the bait. He immediately made a deal with Zhang Yangqing.
After Zhang Yangqing gave him the car key and a pass, the prisoner had to share his information, and then Zhang Yangqing would find him the clothes.
The parking lot wasn’t very safe, so Zhang Yangqing and the prisoner exchanged information inside a car while the one-eyed kid kept watch outside.
Zhang Yangqing first asked about the special cell.
According to the prisoner, a huge black egg was being held in that special cell.
At this point, the prisoner showed the black skull mark on his arm.
“That egg produces a black liquid periodically. Once you smear that liquid on yourself, you can’t wash it off. Plus, your body develops a strange odor. Even if you cut off your hand, the smell remains.”
Having hung around the western side of the prison town for a while, he only knew that the black liquid wasn’t poisonous; he knew nothing else.
Based on the information he provided and other intelligence, Zhang Yangqing could make some deductions: prisoners were basically all smeared with this liquid. It acted like a virus, penetrating the body and emitting a specific odor through some reaction.
The End Bird outside absolutely hated the smell this liquid gave off. The prison town seemed protected by special rules, so the bird wouldn’t attack here.
Anyone outside the prison town who had been smeared with this black liquid would trigger the rule of being attacked by the End Bird.
The rules suggested that the Chosen One needed to obtain this liquid, but the specific reason was still unknown.
However, Zhang Yangqing had a theory: in the upcoming stages, they would likely encounter some strange entity that would require the End Bird’s power to resolve.
For instance, if a Chosen One wanted to kill someone but couldn’t beat them, they could just smear this stuff on them, and then the End Bird would attack them.
To complete the hidden mission, obtaining this liquid was necessary.
“Do you know when the crows here appear, and how to catch them?”
Zhang Yangqing asked his second question.
“The crows in this town usually appear around 1 a.m. But how to catch them, I don’t know.”
The prisoner replied thoughtfully.
After getting the information, Zhang Yangqing, as agreed, took him to the warehouse where they had previously killed the four patrol officers. Two sets of patrol uniforms were still there.
“You guys are pretty impressive, killing this many.”
In fact, the prisoner had guessed they must have killed patrol officers to get the uniforms, but he hadn’t guessed they’d killed this many.
He really wanted to latch onto Zhang Yangqing, but Zhang Yangqing seemed unwilling to take him along, so he planned to figure things out himself.
“It’s nothing. I’ll see you off here.”
With that, Zhang Yangqing handed the steel pipe to the one-eyed kid.
At that moment, the prisoner was taking off his clothes, his back to them.
The one-eyed kid said nothing, just raised the pipe and struck down hard.
A sound of a cracking skull echoed, and another body lay in the warehouse.
As he died, the prisoner’s eyes widened, as if silently asking why they had attacked him.
What he saw were two pairs of eyes, cold to the extreme. Terrified, he quickly closed his eyes, not daring to meet their gazes.
You often see people dying with their eyes open in anger, but this was the first time seeing someone scared so badly they died with their eyes closed.
The one-eyed kid understood Zhang Yangqing’s reasoning.
At that point, the checkpoint for entry and exit was still simple; you just needed a pass to get through.
If this guy messed up their cover, leading to stricter checks later on, their identities as “sick individuals” would be easily exposed.
So, taking him out at this moment was the most foolproof solution.
After confirming the prisoner was dead, the one-eyed kid cleaned the weapon and handed it back to Zhang Yangqing.
Against an opponent of this level, Zhang Yangqing truly couldn’t be bothered to act.
After closing the warehouse door, Zhang Yangqing and the one-eyed kid went to the western entrance.
Zhang Yangqing wasn’t going to take him inside; his strength wasn’t sufficient.
If Zhang Yangqing ran into trouble, he could still escape. That was the advantage a top-tier transcendent being had.
If the one-eyed kid got lost here, who would drive the car for him later? Who would carry his things?
After giving his instructions, Zhang Yangqing straightened his clothes and walked over.
Since there were so many patrol officers here, as long as he had a patrol pass and wore the uniform, he could pass the inspection and enter.
The buildings on the western side of the prison town consisted partly of rest areas for patrol officers and partly of large cell blocks. The Chosen Ones needed to enter the tallest of those cell blocks.
The area leading to the large cell block was where the danger lay.
Besides the lighthouse’s searchlights, four-man patrol teams appeared frequently here.
When other novice transcendent beings came here, they felt like imposters, instinctively shrinking back and hiding whenever possible.
They would carefully observe the searchlight patterns and find a route forward.
They also had to avoid the patrol routes. Since it was a world governed by rules, everything followed a pattern.
Sneaking into a prison late at night to steal something was something many dreamed of but could never actually do.
Viewers from Sakura Country lamented that if their ninja were still alive, this stage would have been his specialty.
Who was better at sneaky stuff like this than a ninja?
Actually, viewers from Sakura Country weren’t wrong. Not just for this stage, but for this entire Strange Tale, the one with the biggest advantage was indeed that ninja. However, his advantage was so huge he could skip levels, and in the end, he played himself.
During the period when the Chosen Ones were infiltrating the western side of the prison town, their biggest fear was making a mistake and getting locked in by a searchlight.
At that point, they had to force themselves to stay calm; there might still be a slim chance of survival.
If they panicked, they would surely be investigated by the patrol team.
Whether it was bad luck or something else, the transcendent being from Hans Country almost got killed in the previous stage. In this stage, after dodging a patrol team, he was observing the searchlight path.
He could have waited for the searchlight to pass first, then crossed the area ahead.
But he was impatient. He felt he could cover the distance before the searchlight swept back over.
Maybe it was the confidence of a transcendent being, or maybe he just wanted to leave sooner.
So, he made a dash for it.
Because it was a dark area, he stepped in a mud puddle while sprinting and instantly started to fall backward.
If he hit the ground hard, it would definitely make a noise.
Here, the transcendent being from Hans Country showed his exceptional skill. He forcefully twisted his upper body mid-air and braced his hands on the ground as he landed, preventing any sound.
But because he rushed that one step, he ended up being caught by the searchlight.
His awkward posture caught the attention of the person controlling the searchlight in the watchtower, who shouted at him, asking what was going on.
This also alerted the nearby patrol team.
If they got close, the Hans Country transcendent being felt he was doomed.
What if they used some kind of password he didn’t know? Surrounded like that, wouldn’t he be trapped?
So, he simply dashed behind a building to avoid the searchlight.
Because of him, an alarm sounded in the western part of the prison town. Many patrol officers woke from their sleep and rushed at full speed to the area to investigate.
Also, the number of searchlights doubled, sweeping the area for suspicious people.
If he hadn’t run fast, memorized the escape route beforehand, and used his transcendent abilities, he wouldn’t have been able to escape while the entire western side was on alert.
Having narrowly escaped, the Hans Country transcendent being looked at the endless stream of patrol teams inside and felt a chill of fear. He had felt so many signs of death closing in. It was thrilling, but terrifying.
“The Strange Tale world isn’t as simple as it seems.”
Sighing, the Hans Country transcendent being left the area.
But failure meant he was no longer qualified to obtain the special item, theoretically unable to complete the hidden mission.
Actually, there was another way to play after failing here. Since the Chosen One was wearing a patrol uniform anyway, when they saw a patrol team approaching, they could directly find an opportunity to blend in and pretend they were also on patrol.
This tactic played with the Chosen One’s mental fortitude. It was also the only way the Strange Tale world gave ordinary Chosen Ones to survive after a mistake.
Gelieko, who also arrived here, struggled and crawled his way through, moving like a cat with his agile physique.
Given his skill, mental state, and cautious approach, naturally, he wasn’t discovered.
Arriving near the tallest cell block, he climbed quickly up the protruding parts of the wall like ivy.
After climbing for a while, he reached a window, observed the situation inside, carefully opened it, and slipped in.
This was the advantage of being a repeat offender; he knew there would be ventilation windows higher up.
Other Chosen Ones, even if they got near, would need time to observe and figure out a route.
Zhang Yangqing was different. Experience? Who could match him?
Before entering this stage, Zhang Yangqing had observed from outside for a while.
He felt that if he walked around inside alone, he’d definitely arouse suspicion.
Because patrol teams were always in groups of four.
So, when he passed the guard room, he said he’d received a report that a prisoner had escaped.
Then, he picked three patrol officers who were on duty to accompany him to check it out.
This seemed logical. Since there were four officers on duty at that post, leaving one behind was fine.
And so, the audience witnessed an astonishing scene.
A Chosen One strutted through the area with such swagger, his aura like that of a leader on an inspection tour. Passing patrol teams even greeted him, showing no suspicion.
Even when caught by a searchlight, the operators saw it was a group of four and immediately swept past.
After inspecting four or five cells, they indeed found one cell missing a prisoner.
Zhang Yangqing even gave a harsh scolding to the patrol officer responsible for guarding that cell.
His authoritative demeanor made the three officers behind him even more convinced he was their superior.
After having his fun, Zhang Yangqing headed straight for his target.
The place was heavily guarded, with two patrol officers at the main entrance.
Zhang Yangqing led his group straight there.
Before the guards could speak, Zhang Yangqing said, “Open the door. I need to inspect.”
The guard on the left started to reply, “Yes, si—”
Before he could finish, Zhang Yangqing, visibly impatient, slapped him hard across the face.
The sudden force sent him crashing to the ground, his head ringing.
Zhang Yangqing glared at him and snapped, “I told you to open the door. Did you hear me?”
The guard who was hit was initially angry, but was suppressed by Zhang Yangqing’s commanding presence and didn’t dare talk back.
Meanwhile, the three officers behind Zhang Yangqing started chiming in.
“When the boss says open it, open it. This is a leader.”
“We just found an escaped prisoner ahead. We need to check if there’s any problem here.”
“Why are you so dense? Is this something you can meddle in?”
Under the bullying threats of the three officers, the beaten guard got up and opened the cell door.
The guard standing beside him remained ramrod straight, not daring to say a word, afraid he might get slapped too.
After all, if Zhang Yangqing had been alone, he would have sounded the alarm, but since this was a standard four-man team, the guard didn’t think too much about it.
Unlike other Chosen Ones who sneaked in, Zhang Yangqing wasn’t fond of crawling through holes.
He perfectly demonstrated the principle: in the Strange Tale world, there’s nothing a good, hard slap can’t solve.
