Evolution - Chapter 100
Chapter 100
We’re all convicts doing time here. Why should we be the ones to back down?!
Ji Changqing didn’t hesitate for a second. She banged on the door and yelled, “Help! They’re hitting me! It’s a gang assault!”
That voice, that volume, that attitude—it stunned her seven cellmates.
Even the level-eleven, who had been completely indifferent, couldn’t help but spare her a couple of glances.
Damn it. They’d thought this one had some substance, especially after she’d cleverly dodged their sneak attack, dashed to the door, and squared up as if she were about to fight back with all her might.
For a new inmate, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. They were often a bit naive, holding onto things like backbone and dignity, so a fierce counterattack wouldn’t have surprised them.
In fact, resistance was good. The harder they fought back, the more satisfying it was to bully them!
But who could tell them what the hell this was?
What kind of naive schoolkid tactic was this? Crying to the teacher when you can’t win a fight?!
The problem was, while her methods were childish, her skills were anything but. Four level-nines had teamed up to grab her, planning to muffle her mouth and then beat her down.
This was an eight-person cell. Aside from the bunk beds lining the two walls, there wasn’t much space in the middle—not even enough for four people to stand shoulder to shoulder. Yet she had managed to slip through every attack like a slippery fish.
Now, this was getting interesting.
The patrolling guards weren’t slow to arrive. After only a few exchanges, during which Ji Changqing either dodged or deviously used her positioning to make them hit each other, the guards were there.
As long as she wasn’t the one getting hit, it was fine by her.
But these were prison guards, not teachers. They weren’t about to waste time figuring out what happened or giving a schoolkid some tender loving care. A guard glanced at their positions and banged heavily on the door. “Quiet! Any more noise and you’re all going to solitary!”
In other words: I don’t care if you beat each other to death, just keep it quiet!
If you can’t do it silently, then knock it off!
Ji Changqing wasn’t scared. Taking seven down with her? A huge win!
The level-eleven inmate glanced at her again, then pulled the blanket over her head, rolled over, and went to sleep.
Her stance was clear: she wasn’t getting involved.
The level-ten inmate gave Ji Changqing a deep look, then waved a dismissive hand. “Everyone, go to sleep.”
The four level-nines and the level-eight were reluctant, but circumstances were stronger than they were. The boss had spoken, and Ji Changqing was too damn slippery.
Muttering under their breath, they went to bed.
Ji Changqing climbed into her bunk. She wasn’t naive enough to believe they would keep their word. She sat cross-legged against the wall, remaining vigilant.
But the night passed without incident.
Ji Changqing keenly noticed that the others paid far more attention to her that day than they had in the previous three.
Recalling what they had blurted out yesterday, it seemed the three-day mark was indeed some kind of trigger.
The day followed the same routine: morning drills, absorbing and retaining a tiny bit of the primordial energy of the dawn, and then, during the brick-moving work, painfully yet joyfully refining it to open her acupoints and store it away.
When work ended, she numbly endured being hosed down by a fire hose, washed clean inside and out, before heading to the changing area to swap her miner’s uniform for a prison jumpsuit.
Even on the transport back, they made no move.
Ji Changqing grew thoughtful. It seemed they couldn’t make a move in the mining area. That made sense. Wasting precious work time on fighting instead of creating value for the capitalists? The capitalists would teach you a lesson in minutes!
Back in the prison block, after dinner, as they returned to their cell, the level-ten inmate attacked without warning!
Ji Changqing’s eyes darkened.
After more than three years of rough-and-tumble training at the Fourth Military, her growth was visible to the naked eye. Before enrolling, she had been thrashed by Major General Xie'er's level-ten subordinates. After enrolling, most of her instructors were level-ten or higher, and she’d had plenty of opportunities to spar with them.
Of course, the instructors never used their full strength during training, and under normal circumstances, she could last about ten minutes against them.
Having spent so long at one of the top military academies, she had also developed a keen eye.
This level-ten walked the path of an assassin; her moves were sinister and cunning. It was clear she didn’t intend to kill Ji Changqing, instead aiming for places that would cause pain but weren’t fatal.
Ji Changqing figured she could still resort to her mutually assured destruction tactic. She never fought head-on unless she had the absolute strength to crush her opponent.
While nimbly dodging, she continued her soulless performance: “Help! They’re hitting me! It’s a gang assault!”
The noise outside continued unabated, as if no one heard her.
The period after dinner until eight o’clock was a rare bit of free time for the inmates, though it amounted to less than an hour in total.
It had to be said, her opponent had chosen the perfect time. The prison block was noisy, and the guards were busy with their shift change.
Even if the guards did notice something, by the time they arrived, the beating would be over.
Today, her cellmates had clearly learned from last night’s mistake, where having too many people in the fray had only resulted in them hitting each other. This time, the others stood outside the cell, leaving the space to the two of them.
They had even thoughtfully closed the door from the outside.
The space was limited, and this kind of environment clearly favored her opponent. Sparks flew as one launched a stormy barrage of attacks while the other dodged like a phantom. A dozen moves were exchanged in an instant.
The level-ten let out a surprised “Yi,” then intensified her assault. The pressure on Ji Changqing immediately multiplied, and her soulless cries for help naturally ceased.
Drawing on her rich combat experience, the level-ten sensed something suspicious about Ji Changqing and instinctively grew wary. Setting aside whether an ordinary level-eight would even have the guts to face her, Ji Changqing was the only one who, despite appearing to be in a desperate situation, showed no signs of panic.
This meant the other party either had an ace up her sleeve or was utterly ignorant.
And Ji Changqing didn’t look like the latter.
So, trusting her instincts, she unleashed her strongest move, hoping to end the fight quickly.
The move was ethereal and nimble. All of Ji Changqing’s attempts to dodge and block missed their mark.
It looked as graceful as a butterfly flitting through flowers, yet it radiated killing intent.
Should she take it, or fight back?
Ji Changqing hesitated for two seconds. Should she continue playing the part of a pitiful, bullied level-eight, or should she reveal her strength? Revealing it might still lead to being bullied, but it could also make them wary of her power, leading to a peaceful coexistence.
Her opponent’s fingertips were already touching her neck. In another second, those long fingers would close around her throat, and her life and death would rest on the other’s whim.
And then, her opponent saw it: her eyes changed, and so did her aura.
In that instant, all of Ji Changqing’s acupoints burst open. In the first second, her right hand shot out, grabbing her opponent’s wrist and pulling it toward her. Her left arm bent into an elbow strike that landed squarely on the other woman’s torso.
In the second second, she took a step back and launched a flying kick, viciously slamming it into her opponent’s bent back!
With a loud bang, the partially closed door was thrown open. Her opponent fell heavily outside, taking down two others who had been leaning against the door to listen in.
Ji Changqing stood her ground, looking impassively at the three people tangled in a heap on the floor.
Her fingertips trembled slightly—a sign of complete exhaustion.
Unleashing her full power in a single burst had taken a massive toll on her.
It wouldn’t be good if someone realized her energy was completely drained and that a single push could knock her over.
The other four inmates were stunned, still reeling from the shock of a level-eight sending a level-ten flying. After a moment, the lackeys scrambled to help their leader up.
At the same time, they yelled, “She’s hitting people! Help!”
The line was identical to the one Ji Changqing had used earlier.
Perhaps they had been brainwashed by her repeated cries, because the words tumbled out without a second thought.
A flash of astonishment crossed the level-eleven’s face before she quickly masked it, adopting the same deadpan expression Ji Changqing had worn.
The level-ten who had been kicked down was so furious she couldn’t stop herself from spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Ji Changqing’s kick to her back had caused some internal injuries, but she had been holding it in—letting people know she’d been beaten to the point of coughing up blood by a level-eight weakling was not something she could stomach.
And now these idiots were shouting like this? Did they want everyone to think she couldn’t even handle a level-eight weakling and had gotten beaten half to death instead?!
No, if they let her go, she could still fight!
But a prison guard had already appeared at the far end of the corridor.
She was so angry her liver ached!
“What’s going on?” The guard first glanced at the level-ten who had spat blood. So she spat blood. She wasn’t dead.
Another level-eight from cell 1011 eagerly answered, “She was bullying me! The cell leader tried to reason with her, but she attacked!”
The level-ten was the leader of cell 1011.
The guard shot an inscrutable look at Ji Changqing. “Is that so?”
Ji Changqing looked up, her expression changing in a second. Her voice was melancholic and helpless, tinged with a hint of unspoken grievance. “They tried to beat me up yesterday, but a patrolling officer heard my cries for help and stopped them. Today, as soon as I got back to the cell, they locked the door from the outside. The cell leader attacked me. I called for help, but no one came.”
The corner of the guard’s mouth twitched. These inmates had limited entertainment and couldn’t watch the military academy league, but she could.
Who would have thought that Ji Changqing, who was ruthless when beating people up and merciless when plotting against her enemies, could put on such a perfect “damsel in distress” act?!
Still, she enjoyed watching these once-arrogant prodigies fall from grace and grovel pitifully.
She gave a noncommittal response to Ji Changqing’s story. Pressing the intercom on her shoulder, she said, “Block D, cell 1011. Disturbance and assault. One person seriously injured. Send a stretcher to take her to the medical bay.”
The level-ten felt even more aggrieved, but she couldn’t very well announce that her injuries were minor, that she was perfectly fine, and that she could go another round.
She wasn’t a clueless rookie. The guard’s words were a clear attempt to absolve them of blame and pin it all on Ji Changqing.
Sure enough, after turning off the intercom, the guard’s face hardened. “220702, for bullying an inmate and assaulting the cell leader, you will take her away for three days in solitary confinement!”
Ji Changqing raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. She clutched her chest, bent over slightly, and said in a pained voice, “I’m seriously injured too. I need medical treatment!”
The guard who had spoken turned pale. She was certain Ji Changqing was acting. What was she trying to do? Accuse her of an unjust punishment?!
Hmph, what good would that do? She shot Ji Changqing a contemptuous glance and impatiently ordered the two guards behind her to take her to solitary.
The two guards reached for Ji Changqing. The moment they touched her arms, she collapsed straight to the ground, looking weak and gasping intermittently, “I… I’m really… badly hurt… so hurt… I can’t even… stand!”
What she said was ninety percent true and ten percent false. She was injured, that was true, but not seriously. She was just too exhausted to walk to the solitary cell on her own. She might as well lie down and let them drag her.
The guard, convinced this was a blatant attempt at faking an injury, flew into a rage. “Drag her there!”
Her two subordinates weren’t quite so harsh as to actually drag her all the way. Flanking her on either side, they hoisted her up between them and carried her away at a brisk pace.
Ji Changqing let her body go limp, allowing them to carry her.
The inmates who had gathered to watch looked on with interest, whispering and snickering. Most of them thought this newcomer was really committed to the act—claiming to be seriously injured and then putting on such a convincing show of weakness. She was determined to see her performance through to the end.
But a heavy feeling settled in Ji Changqing’s heart.
She thought of the message Tao Jun had someone pass to her—that someone had tampered with her prison assignment, which was how she ended up in Huantu Prison.
It was true. Someone wanted to make her life in prison a living hell. Or perhaps, they wanted her dead.
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