Chapter 2

Overcast sky, wilderness, heavy fog.

In the fog, the ancient and dilapidated road had become bumpy and difficult to navigate after a heavy rain, resembling a wounded snake coiled on the damp earth, struggling in its final throes.

When Lin Zhi first saw the road, he had a bad feeling. Now, seeing a row of jeeps parked by the roadside, he finally realized that things were not good.

In today’s world of advanced human technology, such green jeeps could only be found hundreds of years ago. Their sudden appearance here would make anyone feel uneasy.

What was abnormal was not just the cars, but also the people.

The police officer leading the convoy was in plain clothes, unarmed, and had a smiling face. If Lin Zhi didn’t know better, anyone else would think this was a kind and gentle uncle.

Unfortunately, the words from the uncle’s mouth were anything but gentle: "It’s time, we should hit the road!"

The tone of his sigh made it sound like he was about to leave the human world and step into the gates of hell.

If it’s not a blessing, it’s a curse, and if it’s a curse, you can’t avoid it. Lin Zhi knew this day would come, but he still pretended to be ignorant: "Where are we going?"

The uncle’s smile grew wider: "An interesting place, guaranteed to be unforgettable."

Seeing his eerie smile, Lin Zhi felt a chill. Before he could ask, the uncle sighed deeply: "That place is indeed unforgettable, but you are even more unforgettable. It took a whole year, spanning two star systems, mobilizing over a thousand police officers, several spaceships, and two warships to finally apprehend you."

Lin Zhi sneered: "That proves not only your inefficiency but also your low IQ."

The uncle laughed heartily: "Haha, it’s precisely because of our low IQ that we caught you, a high-IQ prodigy. Stop talking nonsense and get in the car, something interesting is coming."

Lin Zhi had no choice but to be stuffed into the back of the jeep like an orange. Objectively speaking, for a criminal to be treated this way by the police was already quite courteous.

The convoy slowly drove through the wilderness. To Lin Zhi’s surprise, he was not the only one in the transport vehicle; another man was curled up in a dark corner, seemingly unconscious.

Lin Zhi’s nerves immediately tightened. He knew this was a convoy for transporting dangerous criminals. Despite the small number of people, each of the twenty or so individuals was an elite from the Federal Government’s Space Police, each capable of taking on ten people. For example, the uncle didn’t even use energy cuffs on Lin Zhi. Once you were in his hands, there was no escape. He could even give you weapons and tools, let you run, and still catch you within twenty minutes, unarmed.

Such high standards and treatment clearly indicated that this convoy was transporting the most dangerous criminals in the Federation. But now, there was more than just Lin Zhi.

So, who was this man? Which star system did he come from? What was his background? What did he do?

Lin Zhi could only guess, not ask. As a high-IQ criminal, he had an instinctive distrust and caution towards others.

Lin Zhi’s crime was significant, but not too significant. He had a technical team that hacked into the central computer of a branch of the Cambrian Star Federation Bank, causing a system failure for a brief half-minute during which they drained all the credit points from the bank’s accounts.

To avoid leaving any traces, they took a very simple and brutal approach. While robbing the bank, his team also hacked into the International Space Station, remotely controlling a defense satellite to fire a "Trident" energy beam, destroying the bank completely.

Fortunately, the theft and explosion occurred at 3:30 AM, and no one was killed. Otherwise, he would not be sitting calmly in the transport vehicle; he would have been sentenced to hanging by the Federal Court.

Even so, his crime had alarmed the Federal Government, and he now faced a 28-year sentence.

Given the severity of his crime, it was clear that the other criminal in the vehicle had committed something equally, if not more, serious.

Just as Lin Zhi was lost in thought, the unconscious man woke up. Lin Zhi finally got a good look at his face.

This was definitely a face for committing major crimes, at least that’s what Lin Zhi thought. The face was too ordinary, neither attractive nor unattractive, the kind that would blend into a crowd.

A major criminal going to "do something big" must not attract attention and needed a face like this.

But Lin Zhi also felt this man didn’t look like a major criminal. When the man sat up, Lin Zhi estimated he was about 1.7 meters tall, weighing around 150 pounds, wearing an old shirt, a pair of linen pants, and a pair of worn-out leather shoes. He looked dirty and disheveled, as if he had rolled in the mud.

From his appearance, Lin Zhi couldn’t determine what the man had done, but from Lin Zhi’s appearance, others could easily guess his profession. Even in the transport vehicle, Lin Zhi was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt, a bright orange bow tie, and a silver lapel pin. His hair was neatly combed, and he looked fresh and spirited, clearly a high-IQ criminal in finance, hacking, or politics.

As for this man, people would likely think he was a rapist.

But would a rapist, one of the most dangerous federal criminals, warrant such a grand escort by the space police?

Fortunately, the man spoke up: "Where are we?"

Lin Zhi didn’t answer, partly due to his sense of superiority and partly due to caution.

The man’s eyes shifted, and he smiled: "Hehe, sir, may I ask where we are?"

Surprisingly, the man was good at reading people and understanding their thoughts. Lin Zhi couldn’t avoid answering, so he replied coolly: "We’re in a car."

The man was puzzled: "What kind of car?"

"An automobile!" Lin Zhi answered irritably, finding the question absurd, but the man’s question made him laugh and cry: "An automobile? Why are we in an automobile?"

The question was so absurd that Lin Zhi didn’t know how to answer. He narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the man, suspecting he was faking it or perhaps an undercover police officer trying to extract information.

However, the man’s confusion and bewilderment didn’t seem fake. Lin Zhi was confident in his ability to read people, honed from years of criminal experience. But he couldn’t read this man. It seemed the man didn’t know he was on a car heading to prison. So, he cautiously asked: "What did you do before this?"

"Did something?" The man looked confused, thinking for a while before honestly answering, "I remember now. I was in Chengma, and I accidentally hit a double win, making two families win big with a clear hand."

This answer made Lin Zhi want to bleed. But he patiently continued: "How big were the stakes?"

He suspected the man was a political criminal, and "playing cards" might be a euphemism for bribery.

"Hehe." The man laughed awkwardly, "Small stakes, one credit point per game."

Lin Zhi held back. Even on the poorest Earth, one credit point could only buy a bottle of nutrient solution, not even half a slice of the cheapest bread.

"How many games did you play?" Lin Zhi asked.

The man said, "Not many, just one round."

Lin Zhi asked, "What happened after that?"

The man said, "I felt very tired, so I went to sleep."

Lin Zhi asked, "Then what?"

The man said, "Then I woke up!"

Lin Zhi wanted to slap himself, feeling his questions were absurd: "What happened next?"

The man said, "Nothing happened next!"

Lin Zhi asked, "How did you get in this car?"

The man’s confusion was genuine: "I don’t know."

Lin Zhi laughed bitterly, realizing talking to this man was unwise.

If they could see outside, they would notice the road had ended, and a strange black building loomed ahead, constructed from what looked like pure black steel or some advanced material.

From above, the building resembled an eight-legged spider lurking in the wilderness, staring intently at the prey on the road.

Its gray-black skin, bizarre shape, and massive size were eerie and terrifying.

As the convoy stopped, the black spider emitted a harsh mechanical hum. Its head slowly lowered, and its large mouth slowly opened, revealing sharp teeth that were actually iron gates. Inside the mouth was a brightly lit white corridor, the harsh white light making it hard not to think of the gates of hell.

Could this be the legendary underworld, the netherworld?

At this point, the conversation between the two men in the vehicle came to an end:

"By the way, may I ask your surname?"

The man immediately became confident: "I am Li, Li Dalong, the 'Da' in 'big' and the 'Long' in 'dragon'!"