Due to the unique location of South Tooth Island Prison, the chances of the prisoners escaping were extremely slim. They could only persevere and survive until their sentences were over. However, the prisoners assigned here were all felons with sentences of at least ten years. The gladiator fights could be said to be their only chance to rise above others.
Of course, Luo Kai was also very envious, but he did not know how to fight. Furthermore, fighting and risking one's life were two completely different things. When it came to fighting for the championship, the participating prisoners were completely like animals. They used all the means they could to defeat each other, such as biting, scratching, and so on. The victors usually won by a small margin, while the losers would not be able to see the sun rise tomorrow.
Furthermore, there were many dark secrets. The prison bullies cultivated forces among the prisoners, secretly colluding with each other, and even manipulating the competition. Anyone who hoped to challenge them would not be able to escape their persecution.
In order to facilitate control, the prison management did not stop them. Instead, they encouraged the prisoners to participate in the gladiator fights. This was because they only needed to control five prison bullies. Anyone who wanted to escape or had other thoughts would not be able to escape the prison bullies' eyes and ears.
Of course, Luo Kai did not know all of this. It was the white-haired old man, Li Gui, who told him. The five prisoners on death row had gradually become familiar with each other because they often "went to work" together. Strictly speaking, they were not familiar with each other because they only knew each other's names.
Li Gui was very understanding and mingled well with the prisoners. It was unknown what methods he used to become brothers with one of the prison bullies.
The four-armed giant did not have a name, only a code name. He was called Thirteen. He was a man of few words and did not participate in any of the prisoners' activities. He even rejected the recruitment of the Inhumans' small group. Even the guards wanted to promote him to be the sixth prison bully, but he also rejected them. He was like a hard reef. No matter how the waves battered him, he remained the same from beginning to end. Only his bell-sized eyes occasionally revealed a hint of loneliness, revealing a little of his inner feelings.
The black man was called Grant. He was also very popular. Now, he was one of the prison bullies' important fighters. He was in charge of helping the prison bullies eliminate potential opponents.
The last one was called Dickie. Because of his size, he was bullied by the prisoners when he first arrived. However, the next day, the prisoner who bullied him suddenly fell to his death from the mountain. This happened three times in a row. All the prisoners who bullied him died for unknown reasons. Although there was no evidence pointing to him, no one dared to bully him anymore.
Luo Kai didn't like Dickie very much, because he had seen Dickie hit a prisoner's ankle with a pebble, causing the prisoner to slide down the hillside and die from his injuries. That time, Dickie had deliberately let him see it. After it was over, he smiled at him, and the cruelty in his eyes reminded him of the wolves in the animal world.
In comparison, Luo Kai was the most inconspicuous of the five. No matter what kind of provocation he faced, he would first endure it. He would only fight when he had no other choice. When he fought, he was always the one who was beaten. Perhaps it was because his soul came from the civilized world, but he was not used to the cruel laws of survival here. He had no choice but to become cold-blooded and cruel. However, it was still difficult to change his nature in a short period of time.
Every midnight, Luo Kai still insisted on digging the tunnel. Because he had changed the direction of the tunnel, half of the tunnel he had dug before had become useless. During this period of time, not only did he not see Shui Sou, even the big grey rat did not come looking for him. Everything that had happened in the past few days was like a dream.
The work of digging the tunnel was heavy and long. In the past year, Luo Kai's heart had been tempered to become incomparably tough. Now, he had nothing but time. He hoped that time would not only heal the scars on his body, but also fade away the longing for his family in his previous life.
…
Today was the founding day of Higashimogami Province. Seongma Province was a vassal state of Higashimogami Province, so it was also celebrating. For the first time ever, the mine had an extra meal. The chopping board in the open-air canteen was piled with steamed rice balls. One could see that there were not only vegetables in the rice balls, but also snow-white fish meat.
The prisoners eagerly lined up in a long line. Luo Kai was also holding an old iron bowl and looking at the fragrant rice balls, swallowing his saliva. There had always been thin soup here, and he had almost forgotten what dry rice tasted like.
Finally, it was his turn. The burly chef glanced at him. Perhaps because they were both Asians, he added a large piece of browned salted fish to his bowl. It should be known that this kind of food was only enjoyed by supervisors and guards. Luo Kai nodded gratefully at the fat chef. He hurriedly took his bowl and found a corner with fewer people to eat.
Another group of prisoners in the corner had finished eating and were about to leave. When they saw the grilled fish in Luo Kai's bowl, their eyes turned green. One of the tall white prisoners snatched Luo Kai's iron bowl and walked away.
Luo Kai was stunned. He recognized that this white man was a famous rogue in the mine, nicknamed Crooked Dog. He often bullied the new prisoners because he was one of the earliest followers of the Fat Dragon. Luo Kai hurriedly stood up, grabbed his clothes, and shouted angrily, "Give it back to me!"
Crooked Dog slowly turned around with a sneer on his face. He slandered, "Stinky dog shit, how dare you steal my things!"
Before his voice died away, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped Luo Kai in the face. Then, he slammed the iron bowl on Luo Kai's head.
Luo Kai was a little stunned by this slap. Before he could react, half a bowl of unfinished rice balls was thrown on his head. Crooked Dog did not give up. He raised his foot and kicked Luo Kai in the stomach.
Luo Kai clutched his stomach and fell to the ground. He never bullied others, but these people liked to bully him. A surge of anger rose from the bottom of his heart. He roared and slammed into Crooked Dog.
Crooked Dog did not expect this skinny monkey to dare to fight back. He raised his fist and wildly punched Luo Kai in the face.
In this way, the two people quickly fought. Luo Kai did not know how to fight. He only relied on brute force to hold onto Crooked Dog's waist and wanted to knock him down.
Crooked Dog was very experienced in fighting. In addition, his body was much stronger than Luo Kai's. In a short while, he pressed Luo Kai to the ground and hammered Luo Kai's face with heavy punches. Blood splattered everywhere. Luo Kai's face was instantly swollen like a pig's head.
When the prisoners saw that there was a fight, they immediately gathered excitedly. No one tried to stop the fight. Instead, they all cheered.
Luo Kai was pressed to the ground and did not have the slightest strength to fight back. After a while, Crooked Dog seemed to be a little tired. He fiercely spat at Luo Kai and proudly stood up. He was about to swagger away. Just as he turned around, his waist tightened. The stinking brat on the ground had actually pounced on him again. This made him very angry. "You motherf * cker, are you looking for death!" He immediately punched back.
The two people once again wrestled together. Crooked Dog's strength was clearly not enough. He was no longer able to crush Luo Kai like before. This time, Luo Kai learned his lesson. He was not as strong as his opponent and could only take a beating. He simply used one hand to hold onto Crooked Dog's waist. He completely ignored the rain of punches on his body and used his other hand to greet Crooked Dog's waist.
After a long time, Luo Kai spat out a mouthful of blood from his nose. He stood up shakily and looked at Crooked Dog who had already fainted from the pain. He fiercely spat at Crooked Dog's face and then lowered his head to look for his rice bowl. Being beaten up was nothing, but losing his rice bowl would be troublesome.