Li Ming agreed nervously, then followed Lin Xi to the main gate of the prison. This was the same entrance he had walked through when he first arrived, the words "Black Mountain Women's Prison" gleaming brightly above the door.
"Everyone’s here today, and we have things to do later, so I’ll keep it brief. Some of you have already met him yesterday, while others haven’t. This is our new prison warden—Li Ming! Let’s give him a warm welcome!" Lin Xi led the applause.
Clap clap clap! A flurry of applause erupted, and curious eyes turned toward Li Ming. The prison guards couldn’t help but feel intimidated by his stern, cool demeanor, instinctively avoiding his gaze as if facing a strict school principal from their younger days.
This time, Li Ming had experience. He raised his hand slightly, and the applause quieted down.
"Hello everyone, my name is Li Ming. From now on, I’ll be the warden here. Since I’m new, and many of you have been here much longer than me, I welcome any suggestions or feedback. I’m not one for formalities—I hope we can get along like friends. Thank you!"
As Li Ming finished speaking, everyone except the armed guards applauded again.
Seeing that Li Ming had said his piece, Lin Xi wasted no time.
"Alright! Dismissed! Return to your posts! A new batch of inmates will be arriving in the next couple of days—stay sharp!"
"Yes, Deputy Warden!" The guards responded in unison before dispersing to their stations.
"What about you? Are you coming with me to inspect the cellblocks, or do you want to keep looking around?" Lin Xi asked Li Ming once the guards had left.
"I… if I need to leave, to go back to the city, what paperwork do I have to complete?" Li Ming thought of Wang Xin’s situation and got straight to the point.
"You want to leave? What for?" Lin Xi asked curiously.
Had he only been here a day or two and already wanted out? Was he planning to bail because he couldn’t handle the environment?
"I have some personal matters to take care of. I should be back within a day," Li Ming replied vaguely. He didn’t mention Wang Xin—he just wanted to check on her, and it wouldn’t take long.
"Well, if you’re leaving, that’s fine. Just sign out at the gate. You can take that car," Lin Xi pointed to the jeep she had driven last time. "But if you’re coming back tomorrow, would you mind doing me a favor and picking up a batch of inmates from another prison?"
"Bring back a batch of inmates? I can do that, but what exactly do I need to do?"
"Nothing complicated. I’ve already arranged everything. Just take the files with you, verify the headcount and identities when you get there, sign the paperwork, and escort them back with the assigned officers. If you can’t make it tomorrow, the day after is fine too." Lin Xi led Li Ming to the office and handed him a file folder.
Perfect—she didn’t feel like going herself, and since Li Ming was heading out, this was the ideal task to assign him!
"Got it. Leave it to me!" Li Ming tucked the folder away, took the keys from Lin Xi, grabbed a set of casual clothes from his room, and drove out of the prison.
Once again, he passed through the forest. Last time, it had been dark, and he hadn’t been able to see the surroundings clearly. Now, he realized that Black Mountain Women’s Prison was actually situated on a desolate mountain far from the city!
No wonder Lin Xi had driven for so long. When Li Ming checked his GPS, he discovered they weren’t even in City A—the prison was located in the middle of nowhere between City A and City S.
He quietly noted the prison’s coordinates so he wouldn’t get lost later, then focused on driving.
By afternoon, Li Ming finally arrived in City S, where Wang Xin’s sister lived. Following the address she had provided, he stood outside her apartment building before nightfall.
He rang the intercom, but no one answered—clearly, no one was home. Looking up, he saw the lights were off in her apartment.
But he didn’t have Wang Xin’s sister’s phone number. With nothing else to do, Li Ming wandered around the neighborhood.
He strolled to a small park nearby, where many elderly residents were exercising despite the season. A few women were walking their dogs, and Li Ming’s eyes lit up. Casually, he approached them.
"Hey, did you hear? That old man from Unit 5—apparently he died from overexertion during sex! Serves him right! Retired and still couldn’t settle down, marrying some young wife. Barely enjoyed a peaceful life before kicking the bucket like that! Don’t you think he deserved it?" One woman munched on sunflower seeds as she gossiped with the others.
"Where’d you hear that? I heard the young wife kept him up every night, literally worked him to death!"
"Pfft! Like that old man had the stamina for that! Don’t believe that nonsense—he definitely died from overexertion! And I heard he was on pills too! My source is the colleague of his son’s third aunt’s own sister—she told me herself! No way it’s wrong!"
"Tch, what kind of relatives spread stuff like that? Can’t even let the dead rest in peace!"
"Hah! At least he died on top of a woman—not a bad way to go!"
Listening to the women animatedly discussing other people’s business, Li Ming felt more confident. He stepped forward and asked,
"Excuse me, aunties. I’d like to ask about someone. She lives in this building—third floor, east side. Her name’s Wang Keyan, 20 years old. Do you know her?"
Hearing his question, the women turned to look at him. "And you are…?"
"I… I’m an old classmate of hers. Haven’t seen her in years, so I thought I’d ask around," Li Ming replied smoothly.
"Oh! Her classmate, huh? She doesn’t seem to live here anymore. She used to be around a lot, but I haven’t seen her in ages," one woman shook her head, clueless.
"I know, I know! Heard her mother’s a criminal, so her family never treated her well. I used to hear them yelling at her all the time—really nasty stuff. But now that she’s grown up, it’s a bit better. Last month, her family tried to marry her off to some man. They fought like crazy—she absolutely refused. Then she ran away from home. Haven’t seen her since."
"Hey, I know more about that! The man her family picked for her was in his forties, some rich guy who owned a karaoke bar. Offered 200,000 to marry her. That girl’s usually so meek, but she actually stood her ground this time—wouldn’t agree no matter what. Ended up jumping out the third-floor window! Luckily, she landed on a vegetable stall downstairs, so she wasn’t badly hurt. Limped away right after—I saw it with my own eyes!" A curly-haired woman recounted the scene vividly.
"What?! She jumped from the third floor?" Li Ming exclaimed.
"Yeah, she hit the stall on the way down—that’s the only reason she wasn’t seriously hurt. Otherwise, she’d have been in real trouble."
Beyond that, the women didn’t know anything else. All they knew was that Wang Keyan had never returned after that day.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
