Five days later, in Cell 13 of the core area...
The succubus, Fei, sat idly on her bed, reading a novel. Just then, the cell door swung open, and her roommate - Inmate 3340 - was brought in.
"Sis, you finally came out," greeted Faye.
"Yeah, i'm finally out. These five days are like a hell. I had to sleep next to the toilet every day," Meirujinu, collapsing onto her bed with a sigh.
"You sure have guts, leaving a bottle of pills out in the open like that," Fei glanced at her, "They're really strict about medication in this prison."
"I didn't expect a sudden inspection. I had an understanding with the guards before, but it was no use at all," Meirujinu said with a helpless look.
"This time it was the warden's sudden decision. Even if you're on good terms with other guards, there's no way to prevent this kind of thing"
Fei understood what she meant. For inmates like her, who weren't short on money, they would always find a ways to bribe the guards for some convenience. Although Aiden wasn't swayed, it didn't mean that every person under his command was clean.
The large sums of cash and precious metals that she kept hidden were actually for bribing the guards. In the prison, this money couldn't buy contraband easily and was not considered very valuable among the inmates. However, it could grease the palms of guards who was looking to make some extra gains.
By bribing the guards, you could get them to assign you easier tasks or get advance notice of large-scale inspections. In short, there were many benefits.
"You really seem familiar with this prison," Meirujinu smiled at Fei, "You must have quite the network here, right?"
"I guess so," Fei replied casually.
"Well..." Meirujinu smiled with a hidden meaning, "Are you interested in making some money together in here?"
"What do you want to do?" Fei asked, looked on alert.
"When I was outside, I heard some rumors that certain medicines can fetch several times the profit inside the prison compared to outside. I don't know if it's true or not..." Meirujinu said tentatively.
But Fei, being an experienced inmate, quickly caught on to her intentions. "You're thinking of becoming a 'drug lord' here, aren't you?"
"Just Making some Making money, no shame in that," Meirujinu smiled.
"Don't involve me. Let me be clear, I'm not short on money," Fei firmly refused. "Whatever you do is your business, but don't drag me into it. Let's keep our waters separate!"
When her roommate, who claimed to be a wandering alchemist named Mary, first arrived, she seemed easygoing. Fei thought she was relatively easy to get along with, but she didn't have any plans to build a stronger relationship.
Firstly, she thought this inmate seemed quite ordinary, not having the high utility value that her previous roommate, the death row inmate Veronica, had.
Secondly, this new roommate had only half a year left on her sentence.
But now, it seemed she had underestimated this new roommate. On the day of the surprise inspection, this person was able to take out a concealed bottle of medicine, something even Fei hadn't anticipated.
Based on her experience, having such resources at one's disposal could easily make them a big player in the prison.
And it seemed this roommate had that intention as well.
But Fei didn't want to attach herself to this opportunity.
"Just a word of advice, your sentence is only half a year. It's better to avoid those kinds of moves. The warden here isn't a fool," Fei earnestly advised Meirujinu.
Although she always acted cheeky and stubborn in front of Aiden, in reality, Fei knew the way to survive in this prison.
She could tell that Aiden putting Inmate 3340 in solitary confinement for five days was a warning. If Inmate 3340 continued to act defiantly, it would undoubtedly be a challenge to Aiden. Fei definitely didn't want to be caught up in the fallout.
Going against that warden was not a wise choice.
Meirujinu fell silent for a moment, then finally mustered a smile and nodded. "Alright, I've learned my lesson."
I Thought this succubus was relatively naive, but it seems she's not as easy to manipulate as I imagined...
Her original plan was to push other inmates to the forefront, using their connections in the prison to distribute drugs and build influence. But now, it seems that It's easier to handle things directly.
Well, having the drugs discovered earlier was a bit unexpected, but it turned out to be a good "advertisement" - soon, inmates in need of drugs will come to her on their own.
However, she can't make any hasty moves now. If her actions are too conspicuous, she's bound to attract attention - the succubus is right about this, that warden does seem a bit tricky to deal with.
She needs to divert his attention with something else.
Fortunately, the pawns that can help are on their way.
Meanwhile, in the Warden's office...
"...These are the applications submitted today," Franda stood in front of the desk reported respectfully, .
"Hmm, alright." Aiden casually placed his processed documents aside and looked up at Franda. "How's our newcomer doing in the core area?"
"She's doing good..." Franda paused for a moment, then smiled and corrected herself, "I should say, this girl is really great!"
"Oh?" Aiden leaned back in his chair, intrigued.
"When there was a scuffle before, Inmate 3319 provoked her, and she just picked him up with one hand and hung him on a pillar," Franda said with a smile. "Now, whenever she patrols and supervises, the inmates behave themselves."
"Not bad," Aiden nodded in approval.
Veronica is learning faster than he thought. Clearly, she has established a certain level of deterrence among the inmates.
As a pure-blooded werewolf who has undergone standard combat training, her fighting ability is top-notch even compared to the inmates in the core area. With this, she has unique potential in managing the core area inmates.
Having such a promising newcomer come in to work is truly like finding a treasure.
"There's one more thing to report, two new inmates have been transferred into the core area," Franda said, handing over two files. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveI-Fire.ɴet
Aiden frowned as soon as he saw the files - they bore the mark of the Inquisition bureau, indicating that these inmates were directly apprehended by the Inquisition and sent here after internal trial.
"What kind of troublemakers are they again?" He glanced at Franda.
"They're both juvenile offenders, and their crimes are the same - attempted murder," France said in a low voice. "These two kids seem to be professional killers..."
Aiden immediately opened the file folders and scanned through the documents, his eyes widening.
His gaze landed on the last sentence of the inmates' files, which was the same for both:
"...Based on the examination results, it is speculated that they are one of the 'children of meirujinu'."