Punishment

As soon as Xia Hong finished speaking, the curtain of the shower room was pulled open.

The prison guard led the way out, followed by a line of completely naked female inmates.

Li Ming was slightly startled, wondering if his presence here was inappropriate. Just as he was about to turn and leave, Lin Xi grabbed his arm.

"Why leave? This is how prisons are. They should’ve expected this when they committed crimes. Stay and watch. You’re the warden, after all," Lin Xi said coolly.

Li Ming hesitated. He didn’t believe all inmates were irredeemable criminals—they still had human rights. Being forced to stand naked in front of a strange man seemed excessively harsh.

His gaze swept over the group of female inmates who had already entered the examination room. Strangely, they appeared unfazed, as if they didn’t mind Li Ming’s presence—perhaps this wasn’t their first time enduring such humiliation.

Xia Hong stepped forward, holding the inmates’ identification records, and instructed them to stand one by one on the examination platform.

"Listen to my commands. Do as you’re told, and you’ll finish the checkup sooner and return to your cells."

"Li Yanan, step forward!"

At the call of her name, the inmate named Li Yanan trembled and hurriedly moved to the examination platform.

"Open your mouth! Wider!"

"Hmm… tilt your head back…"

"Turn around! Spread your legs."

"Bend over!"

Seeing the inmate comply, Xia Hong set down the file, put on disposable gloves, and performed a digital examination.

A moment later, she removed the gloves, picked up the file, marked a check, and allowed the inmate to rejoin the line.

"Those who’ve finished can get dressed. And behave yourselves!" A guard nearby warned, brandishing a baton.

Watching the procedure, Li Ming realized his own earlier examination had been gentle by comparison.

In prison, inmates had no choice but to obey. Any resistance would be met with brutal consequences. Concepts like dignity didn’t apply here.

The inmates understood this well, submitting meekly to Xia Hong’s commands.

Until the last one—the most unusual among them—Tan Qingqing.

"Tan Qingqing! Your turn." Xia Hong changed gloves and pointed at the examination platform.

She was now the only inmate left standing naked in the room.

Tan Qingqing covered her chest with one hand and her lower abdomen with the other. At Xia Hong’s command, she didn’t move, her face flushed with panic.

"Doctor… I… I’ve never… Can we skip that part?" Tan Qingqing pleaded, clutching her body tightly.

"Oh? The examination is mandatory. You should’ve thought of this before breaking the law. Come here. I’ll be gentle," Xia Hong said indifferently, raising an eyebrow.

"No… no! Warden Li, I need to speak with you! Alone!" Tan Qingqing grew frantic, turning desperately to Li Ming.

"Whatever you have to say can wait until after the examination. This is a prison, not some game! If you refuse to cooperate, we’ll force you," Lin Xi snapped.

"But it’s urgent! Extremely urgent! Warden, you have to believe me!" Tan Qingqing’s eyes welled with tears.

"No exceptions. You two—restrain her!" Lin Xi ordered, gesturing to the guards.

"No! Help! Warden, save me! You’ll regret this! Waaah!" Tan Qingqing stumbled backward in terror, no longer caring about her exposed body—giving Li Ming an eyeful.

Ding!

Mission issued: The inmate seems to have a secret. As the warden, it’s your duty to investigate any suspicious circumstances. Rescue her before the examination concludes and uncover the truth.

Failure penalty: Earn the title Heartless Warden. Effect: Lose all emotions, adopt robotic thinking—no more desires, only ruthless adherence to rules.

Reward: One-time use Get Out of Jail Free Card. Effect: Nullify one mission failure penalty.

The mission prompt echoed in Li Ming’s mind. Having experienced this before, he remained calm, quickly assessing the stakes.

Save Tan Qingqing? The penalty for failure was severe—losing all emotions would turn him into a machine. Life wouldn’t be worth living like that.

The reward, however, was tempting. A failure exemption could be invaluable at a critical moment.

Li Ming weighed his options swiftly. As usual, the mission gave him no real choice—it wasn’t designed to be refused.

Tan Qingqing was already pinned to the examination table by two guards, her lower body fully exposed. Her legs kicked helplessly as she sobbed and cursed.

Xia Hong, freshly gloved, stepped forward—

"Wait! Xia Hong!"

All eyes turned to Li Ming. Lin Xi frowned—was he seriously considering helping her?

Xia Hong paused, waiting for him to continue.

"Let her go. If she says it’s important, we can hear her out first. Take the others back to their cells. Leave her here. We’ll proceed after our talk," Li Ming said evenly.

"Deputy Warden Lin, any objections?" He turned to Lin Xi with a smile.

Lin Xi glared at his gleaming white teeth, fighting the urge to punch them out.

Is he really this weak for a pretty face? Even an inmate? Disrupting protocol for her? What’s so special about a virgin? It’s not like I’m not one either!

Her expression darkened. "You’re the warden. Why ask me?"

Li Ming took that as reluctant approval, though her irritation was obvious. He’d deal with her later—right now, the mission couldn’t wait.

"Good. Everyone out—except her. Xia Hong, wait outside. I’ll need you afterward."

"Of course, Warden~" Xia Hong winked playfully, her eyes darting between Tan Qingqing and Li Ming with unmistakable gossipy glee.

...