607: 10.2 Pandora

10.2 Pandora

Just as he expected, the plot in this world would take place in a prison. And it was not an ordinary prison either.  1

Nightingale Prison was the most terrifying and mysterious prison in the world which was built a few hundred meters underground. At first, it was only an ordinary prison used to confine the most vicious criminals sentenced with life imprisonment or death-row prisoners. 

However, it was unknown what happened one day but a great chaos suddenly broke out inside. Everyone — including the prisoners, wardens and staff — seemed to have been possessed by a ghost and started to attack each other in the most brutal way. 

The prison was already isolated to begin with and hence, when this tragedy happened, it did not rouse any attention whatsoever despite the huge ruckus. It was not until a few weeks later that the higher-ups noticed that something was off and went to check. But it was already too late. Crimson blood splattered all over the walls, the floor was littered with rotten corpses and broken limbs, and the thick stench of death was soaked so deep in the air, creating a terrifying sight that frightened everyone into fainting.

The government was alarmed by this dreadful accident and an official investigation was swiftly formed. However, it did not bear any fruit because this kind of thing was really unprecedented before. Nobody could find out the reason why everyone started killing each other because everyone involved in the matter already died. Even when it appeared in headline news, it did not attract much attention from the citizens. 

They were all criminals who deserved death anyway, who knew what kind of twisted thoughts were in their mind? To let those people suddenly go crazy and kill each other could be considered as a suitable retribution. 

In the end, the government could only sweep this tragic matter under the rug and let it slowly be forgotten through the passage of time. After that, Nightingale Prison was closed for maintenance for a few years but because this was an isolated prison which had cost a large hole in the government's fund to begin with, it was opened to operation once again after the fervor died down.

Between the time when the accident happened and now, almost ten years had already passed. Everyone had forgotten about this piece of seemingly inconsequential news and even if they heard of it, they would only think that this was a story created by the government to scare the prisoners into submission. This legend shrouded Nightingale Prison with a thick air of mystery.

Lu Yizhou could not help frowning as he skimmed through the world's background.

There was an important piece of news which the government did not divulge in public regarding the bloody accident ten years ago.

Amidst the brutal purgatory, there was actually a lone survivor who was suspected to be the mastermind behind everything. This was highly confidential information that only a few personnel in the government knew, and Lu Yizhou only discovered it because he was reading everything through God's perspective. 

Even then, nothing much was explained about this lone survivor, except that the higher-ups who wanted to execute him ended up dying by mysterious causes one after another. Nobody dared to touch this person for fear that they would also be affected by the same predicament. Helpless, the government could only decide to lock him up in the bottommost level of Nightingale prison where sunlight could not reach. 

Lu Yizhou's frown deepened. The original plot would not elaborate about unimportant people, he was certain of it after getting through nine worlds. Previously, except for the protagonists and the villain, practically everyone was treated as cannon fodder, and that included the character Lu Yizhou was occupying. The fact that it had gone through such a length to describe this 'mysterious lone survivor' indicated that this person should hold a crucial position in the original plot.

However, the information regarding this person was really too little. No name, no age, no explanation about the bloody tragedy ten years ago… this was even worse than the hidden plot Lu Yizhou had encountered before!

[Is he the villain?] Lu Yizhou expressed his doubt. If there was someone who could be the mastermind behind the tragedy, then it could only be the villain.

[666: Err… 666 is not certain either. Perhaps you should finish reading the plot first?]

Lu Yizhou's instinct told him that this must be his lover. However, judging by the usual style, the system would at least give him the person's name. Skeptical, he could only shelve the doubt to the back of his mind and continued reading the original plot.

He did not expect that the further he read, the more confused he would become.

One of the protagonists in this world, Percy Snyder, entered Nightingale Prison at the same time as Lu Yizhou. Snyder Family was a renowned and reputable aristocrat whose wealth was enough to sustain more than a hundred people for generations. As the young master of the Snyder Family, Percy lived a carefree and luxurious life… until a few months ago when his mother succumbed to her long-term illness and died.

Ever since then, Percy's life turned into a nightmare. 

His mother was the legitimate successor of the Snyder Family and his father was the son-in-law who married in. Percy was very close to his mother and in return disdained his father who relied on the family's reputation to sire children from his mistresses outside. He actually had no idea what kind of spell his mother was in to be so head over heels for his father, enough to turn a blind eye to the infidelity he committed. 

When his mother was still alive, that man did not dare to act untoward and show an appropriate act of a loving husband and father. But once his mother was out of the picture, that man immediately showed his true color. Not only did he intend to bring his illegitimate children and mistresses into the family, he even wanted to snatch the inheritance from Percy's hands! 

Percy was never close to his father to begin with, but he never expected that the man would be so cruel. In order to achieve his goal, he collaborated with Snyder Family's enemies and framed Percy of forging confidential documents, money laundering, fraud and many other heinous crimes. Usually, such crimes would not warrant for life imprisonment, but it was unknown how much money he had bribed the higher-ups, and in the end, the final verdict actually sent him into Nightingale Prison! His father simply wanted to condemn him to death!

Resentment and hatred filled Percy's heart. He vowed that he would definitely find a way out of Nightingale Prison and take revenge on those who had harmed him!

There was a story that his mother used to tell him a long time ago, and it was not until he was going to be sent into Nightingale Prison that he recalled this piece of distant memory. According to his mother, there existed a very powerful and mysterious figure in the prison. That person was locked in the bottommost level where the sunlight could not reach. It was said that he could grant one wish for you, whatever it was, but in exchange, you had to pay a great price for it.

That person had a nickname — Pandora.

In Greek mythology, Pandora was a woman who was gifted with curiosity. She was entrusted with a box which contained all the misery and evil in this world. One thing led to another, and Pandora ended up opening the box and unleashed suffering upon humankind. Once she realized what was happening, she immediately closed the lid and only hope remained on the bottom of the box. 

There were a lot of interpretations regarding this mythology, but Percy recalled his mother saying that Pandora was both good and evil. Opening the Pandora's Box might release evil, but hope would always remain. 

As long as one could get through Pandora's test, then they would be granted a wish which would definitely come true. Even though he needed to pay a great price in exchange for revenge, Percy did not care. His life could be considered to be over anyway, he might as well bet everything on Pandora. If he failed, then it was just his bad luck. But what if he succeeded? At this rate, he had nothing to lose!

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Mini theater (this is supposed to be included in the previous chapter but I forgot orz)

After being pulled as an accomplice by Lu Yizhou, 666 had been afraid of appearing in the system forum for fear that other systems would find out about its treacherous deed. However, 666 was a gossipy system to begin with. Now that it had encountered a great dilemma, it could not help but create another post in the forum for help.

[My Host has finally reached his last simulation…]

666's Host had long been famous in the forum due to 666's pompous and boasting posts back in the days. Every system more or less knew that 666's Host did not play by the usual rules. In addition to the shocking content of 666's post this time, it immediately garnered a lot of likes and comments.

[*shock* Is this still 666's Host we are talking about? That Host who vowed that his willmeter will not be filled no matter what?]

[Aaaah, it's 666!!]

[That's about time! I've said it, how can someone go against the simulator created by Admin God? See, he still succumbed to Admin God's formidable might in the end!]

[Admin God is omnipotent!!]

[Congratulations, 666! You're going to complete your first mission and graduate from being a beginner system!]

[666, long time no see! Where have you been? Without you, there has been no interesting posts in the forum *sigh*]

[Am I the only one who wants to hear the continuation of 666's Host's love story with the villains?]

[Congratulations, 666! We should celebrate this!!]

[What's wrong, 666? Why do you sound kinda unhappy about this ah?]

[It can't be… have you been too attached to your Host? That's not a good thing at all, 666. Perhaps you should ask the Maintenance Department to fix your data.]

666, who was scrolling through the comments, fell into a momentary silence when it saw this. That's right… this should be a joyful event. Everyone was very happy for 666's success and logically, 666 should be the happiest one among all. But… what was this subtle sense of unwillingness it was feeling? 666 was just a system made of a bunch of complicated 0s and 1s after all; such a complicated emotion was already enough to create a few glaring errors in its virtual body.

To actually be unwilling to leave Host, was 666 really an abnormal system that needed to be fixed…?

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