Star Trace Gate

The Little Bad King was very busy this morning. He had to clean the more than ten prison corridors in the entire Death Prison; he also had to clear the garbage in the service room; and even the toilet on the ground floor that was dedicated to the Death Prison needed him to deodorize and clean.

In short, in the entire death row, anyone can command the "blind man" and force him to do the work he doesn't want to do, as if all this is natural.

Ren accepted all the suggestions, and then around noon, he boiled warm water for Yin Ping, cleaned the bath tub, and sprinkled bath spices.

After everything was done, as expected, his behavioral compatibility value increased by 3 points, totaling 79 points.

The slow increase in the value further demonstrated that the blind man was a passive and compliant punching bag in this prison. Not only had he lost his eyes and contracted a strange disease, but his survival in this illusory village was far more difficult than that of other stray dogs.

As the old saying goes, even a clay figure still has some temper. Working in such a high-pressure, even oppressive, environment for a long time would have broken the mentality of most people. Even if they didn't resist, they would definitely try every possible way to escape from here.

Therefore, Ren is not sure for the time being whether his past self was a lowly "wild dog" who was servile and only wanted to survive; or a hibernating dragon lurking in the death prison with unknown purpose.

It was almost noon, and the Little Bad King took advantage of the fact that the other jailers went to the dining room to eat, and secretly came to the ground floor and changed into a new set of clothes in the toilet.

He had to do a lot of work for others for free every day, his activities were carried out in various places, and his meal times were not fixed, so his brief disappearance would not arouse anyone's suspicion.

The new clothes he changed into in the restroom were ordinary cloth clothes that a death row inmate would wear before being escorted to the death row. Although they were a bit big, they didn't look garish or anything special.

There are at least hundreds of these death row inmates' clothes in the storage room. This is because the rule here is that when a death row inmate enters prison, he must change into a prison uniform with obvious markings, so that he can be easily identified in the event of an accident.

The lunch break in the Death Prison is one hour. During this time, most people will go to the dining room to eat, and then find a quiet place to rest, but there are also a small number of people who have to be on duty in the Death Prison.

Although it was called a duty shift, it actually meant finding a place to eat, rest, and relax in the work area. After all, this prison had been built for countless years, and the number of people who had successfully escaped from the Illusion Village could be counted on one hand.

If you don't make any mistakes, the jailers will be much less wary.

Ren Ye was very thoughtful. He went to the utility room to steal clothes in order to avoid any accidents when sneaking into the archive room, so as to avoid being identified as a thief. Therefore, he also deliberately untied the black cloth that was wrapped around his eyes, ready to wear a mask at any time.

After everything was ready, he relied on his memory and quietly rushed to the archive room.

……

One quarter after noon.

Yin Ping, the eldest son of the Yin Family Pharmacy, had a sumptuous lunch in his own office, then slowly got up and prepared to take a bath and take a nap.

A young master is a young master; his food, clothing, and daily expenses are certainly different from those of ordinary people. His lunch is delivered by the family's dedicated cook, and he never eats from the communal kitchen. The spices used in his afternoon bath are all precious and nourishing. This allows him to rest and also allows him to improve himself in the midst of his busy schedule.

In short, he has pushed the limits of what the rules allow.

After Yin Ping stood up, he gently pushed open the door of his office and shouted outside, "Hey, Xiao Fengtong, tell Lao Zhang to send it over directly after he finishes recording. I'll take care of the rest."

"Got it, Prison Commander!" The jailer who was eating not far away stood up and replied.

Yin Ping closed the door and walked into the inner room of the office. He took off his tight uniform and his oversized light pink shorts, ready to wash himself clean and relax.

……

At three quarters after noon, Ren Ye's action went smoothly. He first walked out of the courtyard on the ground of the Death Prison, and then avoided people all the way. He walked through three public areas in succession and came to the archive room at the back of the punishment hall.

After arriving here, he did not sneak in rashly. Instead, he carefully observed the situation in front, behind, left and right, and deliberately made some noise. After confirming that there was no response in the archive room, he slowly approached, used a black knife to cut open the wooden bolt of the window, and jumped in with a neat movement.

Just as he guessed, there was no one in the archive room, and the house manager was probably out for lunch.

Time waits for no one. He must return to his work area after the lunch break, and it would be best if he could appear in the dining room to provide an "alibi".

The archives room is roughly divided into three areas: the death row case library, the file library, and the miscellaneous case library.

Little Bad King speculated that although there were many jailers and servants in the prison, there was definitely not a separate case file library. Therefore, the files of the staff here were most likely in the miscellaneous case library.

He followed the instructions on the wooden sign and quickly began searching the miscellaneous case library.

This process was not easy because he did not know his own name and could not find what he wanted by checking his name. This made the scope of screening infinitely larger.

However, as everyone knows, the Little Bad King has an unparalleled talent in doing these sneaky things.

He concluded that his lack of a name was actually a very special piece of information. If his file was really here, it would definitely be a very special existence.

So, if you want to find it quickly, you have to look for the differences.

This idea was brilliant, and he quickly received correct feedback.

He flipped through the file bags in order and soon found a file bag among a group of ordinary prison guard files. The file bag had no name on it and no notes on it.

He stood beside the case and tried to pry open the wax seal, but only managed to open a gap in the file bag and carefully pulled out the papers inside.

"Crack...!"

At this moment, a slight noise came from outside the door, as if something was rubbing against the ground.

Ren was immediately frightened out of his wits, thinking it was the housing manager returning from dinner. He quickly darted behind the case, hiding in the shadows, clutching the black knife tightly, and muttered fiercely in his heart, "I advise you to be sensible. I really don't mind having another pangolin in Qingliang Mansion..."

He held his breath, sweating profusely, and waited for a long time, but he never heard any unusual noise outside.

"call……!"

He let out a nervous breath, then squatted in a secluded corner and lowered his head to "read" the contents of the case file.

As light and shadow intertwined, the Little Bad King sensed it for just a moment before recognizing that this was what he was looking for. He was so excited that even his hands were shaking.

His file consists of only one piece of paper, and the wording is very strange. It is actually a bystander's perspective of narration, which is easy to identify.

You and Aunt Tianwei stood outside the Zhao family's door, quietly waiting for the gift of life.

[The four major families in Xuwang Village are the Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li families.]

The Zhao family's head, Zhao Mi, has taken the initiative to gather the heads of the three families, Qian, Sun, and Li, to discuss your errand. He claims that, despite your blindness and disability, your surname alone qualifies you for a relatively good position.

The Qian, Sun, and Li families all approved Zhao Mi's proposal with a unanimous vote.

[Afterwards, you were exceptionally selected to serve in the Heavenly Prison and became a member of this place.]

[This is the only time in twenty years that the four major families of Xuhuang Village have used their privileges, and it's for you.]

[You seem to have a secret with the Zhao family's head, as you go to the Zhao family every night, last night, tonight, tomorrow night...without exception.]

[You trigger a new quest—"One Hour of Quiet": Every day at the beginning of the evening hour, you must secretly rush to the Zhao residence, enter through the back door, and meet Zhao Mi alone.]

Ren Ye looked at the case file in his hand, his brows furrowed, and he was stunned.

He was curious. Why did this case clue have to be presented in this perspective and tone? It was as if the heavens, or a storyteller, were narrating it directly to him. But wouldn't this create a sense of disconnection?

Wouldn’t it be good for Heaven to evolve a normal file that suits its own circumstances?

He pondered over it for a long time, and felt that the reason why this clue was presented in this way was probably because Heaven was intentionally letting him immerse himself in the blind man's story, allowing him to experience many things personally and investigate his past personally, just like listening to an old man telling everything about "himself".

Following this line of thought, he discovered that although the contents of the case file were very small and concise, it contained a huge amount of information.

I lost my eyes and became a cripple, so I became a worthless stray dog?

That means, before I lost my eyes, I was probably a young man with great talent and unlimited potential. It's a pity... this talent was lost, or was it "taken away" by someone?

Losing the eye is not an accident, is it a conspiracy?

Secondly, even if I lost my eyes and became a cripple, the four major families could still use their privileges that they had not used in the past twenty years just because of my surname.

From this perspective, my surname is extremely important, and it is also something that can be treated differently in the illusory village.

As everyone knows, the people here believe in "the winners are respected, the law of the jungle", so the fact that they look at me differently means... my background must be extraordinary.

Oh, this is why all the jailers in the prison are "black energy players", but I am the only one who is a white energy player.

Because with my abilities, I'm not even qualified to be a jailer in the Heavenly Prison. I'm not even qualified to clean the toilets here. It was Zhao Mi who took the lead, united the other three families, and used a privilege to force me into this job through the backdoor.

That's why my colleagues here look down on me, exploit me, and despise me, because the four major families used their privileges for me and broke some rules, which made everyone very dissatisfied.

After all, privilege does not make people here respect the weak.

At this point, Ren's "portrait" of himself in his mind gradually became clearer.

He could conclude that he once held a very special identity in the Illusion Village, and most likely had an extraordinary background. However, due to the loss of his eyes, that identity was no longer there, and he had completely become a stray dog, living a harder life than others.

Furthermore, the case file clearly stated that he and Zhao Mi, the head of the Zhao family, had a secret. This might also be a hint from Heaven that Zhao Mi had taken the lead in proposing a better job for him, perhaps not just because of his surname, but for other reasons.

Well, the Zhao family is the main focus of the investigation. Zhao Mi may know why I lost my eyes, or even that it's related to him. After all... among all the details, my most valuable thing is my eyes...

Ren also secretly decided on the direction of the investigation in his mind, and slowly put the case file in his hand back to its original place.

[Congratulations, you have found an important clue about your life experience.]

[Your wisdom has enabled you to successfully obtain the reward of "Heaven's Enlightenment Talisman".]

[Heavenly Enlightenment Talisman: Before you activate the Three Thousand Secret Treasures, you may kneel on the ground, ignite the talisman, and piteously pray for Heavenly Favor. If successful, you will have a chance to draw a rare divine technique from the Three Thousand Secret Treasures, once only.]