My Cell Prison

4. Chapter 4 The Hanged Youth · Chapter 4: The Hanged Youth · What Han Dong did not know was this: · Even though they had successfully escaped back to the Holy City, the situation for the people in the carriage was grim. · Because they had witnessed the form of the monster pursuing them at close range during their flight... despite wearing goggles, strange dark patterns had begun to manifest around their eyes. · They had no time to worry about the body bags now, racing at full speed toward The Chapel to undergo a mandatory week-long decompression protocol. · ………… · Within a grim and damp dark alley. · A human head was moving slowly. · "The architectural style leans toward nineteenth-century Europe, yet the hundred-meter-high giant walls and the high-rise buildings in the city are inconsistent with that era. · Furthermore, this world possesses magical powers and bizarre creatures that I do not understand... which is also a significant factor affecting the development of science." · What Han Dong saw now was merely the tip of the iceberg of this world, or perhaps even less... his deductions were not necessarily correct. · However, Han Dong felt excitement, and even a touch of madness, toward these novelties... he felt an urgent desire to understand this world and its scientific system. · "The priority is still to find the body of an ordinary person and try to understand everything from the ground up... and, of course, I must appropriately explore methods to return to my original world." · In truth, regarding Han Dong's circumstances, there was nothing worth worrying about in his original world except for several uncompleted National Natural Science Foundation projects. · His parents had passed away during his childhood, and he was raised by his grandfather. By the time he completed his doctoral defense, his grandfather had also passed away peacefully. · Furthermore, with 'research projects' requiring his companionship day and night, plus the small social circles within the academy, Han Dong had no 'lover' to speak of. · He remembered the hospital room being filled with bouquets, all sent by his students. · But he did not enjoy dealing with students; if the school had not forced the arrangement, he would have spent all his teaching hours on cytological research. · With no lingering attachments, he had died under the torment of cancer. · Upon confirming his rebirth, Han Dong's first reaction was not how to find a way back, but rather excitement at arriving in a new world filled with unknowns. · He wanted to 'explore,' he wanted to 'research.' · Currently, the area he was in was near the city walls. · It belonged to a civilian residential area. To maximize land utilization, apartment-style buildings capable of housing a large number of civilians were tightly packed together. The materials used were primarily red brick, combined with copper plating, vaulted designs, and stained glass windows featuring mostly diamond patterns. · Due to the adhesive nature of his mycelium tentacles. · Han Dong's head could easily crawl across vertical wall surfaces, observing the interior of rooms through the windows. · After a period of observation, a major point of suspicion emerged. · "Strange... why are most of them middle-aged or elderly, or children under ten? The young adults are almost never home." · "Could it be that the young people have been forcibly conscripted? · Based on what I know so far, humans living in the Holy City seem to be under the threat of 'monsters,' forced to remain strictly within the city walls... · The possibility of civilian youth being conscripted is high, but what about wealthy families?" · Han Dong intended to use the cover of night to move toward the city center, heading toward the ornately decorated homes of the wealthy to find a 'target.' · If he could occupy a body and directly become a scion of a wealthy family, it would save a lot of trouble. · But there was a certain risk involved. · The 'soldiers' he encountered on the road back to the city could spot Han Dong lurking in the grass even while moving at high speed... if he encountered such people again in the city, he would likely be discovered once more. · He had to find a body as soon as possible. · Just as Han Dong escaped the dark alley and tried to make a stealthy transit, he suddenly discovered something. · Between the rows of buildings, due to a design flaw, a piece of 'redundant' empty land had appeared. · This clearing happened to be situated behind the surrounding buildings and could only be reached through dark alleys overflowing with sewage and scurrying rats... consequently, almost no one ever came here. · In the center of the overgrown clearing stood a giant oak tree with numerous branches. · Unluckily. · On a thick branch of the oak tree, a youth was 'hanging.' · Staying within the shadows, Han Dong's head moved slowly to the bottom of the corpse for a close-range observation. · The youth showed no signs of life. · Disheveled brown hair was paired with 'beautiful' sea-blue eyes, which were bloodshot and bulging outward due to the agony of suffocation. · He was dressed in a rather rough and simple linen shirt and a pair of slightly oversized linen trousers. · His leather shoes were stained with mud; one had fallen off during his frantic, agonizing kicking, leaving only one shoe still on his foot. · Chapter 4: The Hanging Youth · What Han Dong didn't know was this. · Even though the group on the carriage had successfully escaped back to the Holy City, their situation was not ideal. · During their flight, they had witnessed the monsters pursuing them from a close distance... Even though they wore 'goggles,' strange, dark patterns had appeared around their eyes. · Right now, they had no time to worry about the contents of the body bag. They were headed at full speed toward 'The Chapel' to undergo a mandatory week-long decompression protocol. · ............ · In a gloomy and damp alleyway. · A human head was slowly moving within the shadows. · "The architectural style leans toward nineteenth-century Europe, but the giant city walls reaching a hundred meters high and the towering buildings within the city are inconsistent with that era." · "Furthermore, there are magical forces and strange creatures in this world that I don't understand... which must also be a significant factor affecting scientific development." · What Han Dong saw at the moment was just the tip of the iceberg of this world—perhaps even less. His deductions were not necessarily accurate. · However, Han Dong felt excited by these novelties, even bordering on a certain madness... he felt an urgent desire to understand this world and its scientific systems. · "The priority is still to find a normal person's body and try to understand things slowly from the grassroots level... Of course, I must also properly investigate a way to return to my original world." · In truth, as far as Han Dong's situation was concerned, there was nothing for him to miss in his former world, except for a few unfinished National Natural Science Foundation projects. · During his childhood, his parents had passed away, and he was raised by his grandfather. By the time he completed his doctoral defense, his grandfather had also passed away peacefully. · Moreover, his 'research projects' required his constant, day-and-night presence, and the academic circle was too small. Han Dong didn't have a so-called 'lover.' · He remembered that the bouquets filling his hospital room were all sent by his students. · But he didn't enjoy interacting with students. If the school hadn't forced him, he would have spent all his teaching time on cellular research. · With no attachments, he died under the torment of cancer. · Upon confirming his reincarnation, Han Dong's first reaction wasn't how to find a way back, but rather excitement at arriving in a new world filled with unknowns. · He wanted to 'explore,' and he wanted to 'research.' · Currently, the area he was in was near the city walls. · It belonged to a residential area for commoners. To increase land utilization, apartment-style buildings capable of housing a large number of civilians were tightly packed together. The materials used were primarily red brick, complemented by copper plating, arched designs, and stained-glass windows, mostly in diamond shapes. · Because of the adhesive nature of his fungal tentacles, Han Dong's head could easily crawl along vertical walls, allowing him to observe the interior of the rooms through the windows. · After a period of observation, a major point of doubt emerged. · "Strange... why are most of them middle-aged or elderly people, or children under ten? Young people are almost never at home." · "Is it possible that the young people have been forcibly conscripted?" · "Based on what I know so far, the humans residing in the Holy City seem to be under the threat of 'monsters' and can only hold their ground within the city walls..." · "There's a high probability that commoner youths are forcibly conscripted, but what about wealthy families?" · Han Dong intended to use the cover of night to move toward the inner city districts, heading for those lavishly decorated noble households to find a 'target.' · If he could occupy a body and directly become a scion of a wealthy family, it would save him a lot of trouble. · But there was also a certain degree of risk involved. · The 'soldiers' he encountered on the way back to the city had been able to spot Han Dong lurking in the grass at a single glance while traveling at high speeds... If he encountered such people again in the urban area, he would likely be discovered once more. · He had to find a physical body as soon as possible. · Just as Han Dong was escaping the dark alley and attempting a stealthy relocation, he suddenly made a discovery. · Among the densely packed buildings, due to a design flaw, a 'redundant' patch of empty land had appeared. · This empty plot happened to be located behind the surrounding buildings and could only be reached through dark alleys overflowing with sewage and infested with rats and insects... consequently, almost no one ever came here. · In the center of the overgrown clearing grew a relatively giant oak tree with numerous branches. · Unluckily. · From a thick branch of the oak tree, a youth was 'hanging.' · Staying close to the shadows, Han Dong's head slowly moved beneath the corpse for a close-range observation. · The youth no longer showed any signs of life. · Disheveled brown hair was paired with a set of 'beautiful' sea-blue eyes, which were bloodshot and bulging outward due to the agony of suffocation. · He wore a coarse and simple linen shirt, along with a pair of slightly oversized linen trousers. · Leather shoes were stained with mud; one had fallen off during his frantic, agonizing struggles, leaving only one shoe still on his foot. · Han Dong also noticed that the youth's wrist seemed to be wearing some kind of black bracelet. · "Age between 16 and 20. There are no calluses on his hands, which at least indicates the youth likely hasn't engaged in any physical labor... His sallow and emaciated body is clearly the result of a lack of exogenous amino acids... Does he come from a poor family that can't even achieve basic satiety?" · "Occupying such a body might cause some trouble in the future." · "But this is also the most prudent approach." · Han Dong suddenly closed his eyes. · He conducted a comprehensive analysis based on the information gathered so far, weighing it from the perspectives of fundamental interest and safety. · Finally, he made a decision. · In a world teeming with unknown dangers, prudence was the best way to act. · Such a precious opportunity for rebirth, especially since Han Dong had spent a full seven years in prison to find this unique skull. · Given that he was unfamiliar with the Holy City and that the perception of the internal guards exceeded that of ordinary people to some extent, it wasn't worth the risk. · "According to the 'Load Value' setting, there should be some way to increase the upper limit of the Load Value." · "When that time comes, I'll choose a better body." · "For now, I'll temporarily borrow this commoner's body. To some extent, it might actually save me from some 'potential exposure' troubles." · He crawled onto the corpse. · The moment his head made contact with the corpse's skin, similar to the situation in the prison, information regarding this body immediately surfaced in Han Dong's consciousness. · 『Valen Nicholas. Deceased. No diseases. Physical attributes below average for a normal person. Proceed with occupation?』 · Yes. · Skin-to-skin contact. · The tentacles growing from the opening of Han Dong's neck burrowed into any 'orifice' available on the youth's body surface, performing a full-body occupation. · Life signs activated! · He removed the hemp rope looped around his neck. · Thud! · His feet were only about a meter from the ground. · However, landing from such a height caused Han Dong's body to lose balance and pitch forward, nearly causing him to tumble to the ground. · "These physical attributes are way too poor, aren't they?" · This kind of body couldn't be compared at all to the ones in the prison... Han Dong still remembered the first 'mentally disabled' body he occupied; the speed and power of its punches had been truly satisfying. · However. · This youth's punch was weak and limp. If he were to strike an object that was even slightly hard, he would very likely break his entire arm. · "Tick, tick, tick..." · Suddenly, a slight vibration came from the clockwork bracelet worn on his wrist. · The precision clockwork timer displayed a piece of digital information. · "A one-hour countdown?" · Intuition told Han Dong that this youth's suicide might not have stemmed from family or personal factors, but was related to the countdown on the clockwork bracelet. · (End of Chapter) · [END]