Chapter 1

Chunan looked through the small window in the middle of the iron door, his gaze fixed on the corridor outside, his eyes vacant, his heart filled with anger and fear of the unknown.

This was the Jiangtian City First Detention Center, and Chunan had been locked up here for two weeks.

"Slap!"

Suddenly, someone slapped him hard on the head, and Chunan, caught off guard, hit his head against the iron door.

"What are you staring at? Hurry up and clean the floor, and wash the clothes we've changed into," a hoarse and fierce voice called from behind.

Chunan lowered his head, the back of his head burning with pain. He suppressed his anger, not daring to show it on his face, and turned to clean the floor and wash the clothes.

This was Cell 7 in the male ward, a large dormitory that housed eighteen people, and Chunan was one of them.

Next to the large dormitory was a squat toilet, crudely enclosed, serving as the bathroom.

Chunan was the last to arrive among the eighteen people, so he slept in the spot closest to the squat toilet. All the dirty and tiring jobs, such as mopping the floor, cleaning the bathroom, washing dishes, and doing laundry, were his responsibility.

Among these cellmates, there were all kinds of people: drug dealers, thieves, brawlers, loan sharks, and more.

They were ranked based on the length of their stay and the crimes they committed. The head of Cell 7 was a drug dealer, around forty years old, who had been in the detention center for over a year. His name was Tang Sanli, and the others in the cell respectfully called him Brother Tang.

The one who had just slapped Chunan and ordered him to clean the floor and wash the clothes was a burly man, about thirty years old, with a bald head and a scar on his forehead that looked like a third eye, making him look very intimidating.

He was imprisoned for severely injuring someone in a fight. His real name was Chen Qianbing, but he was known as "Three Eyes" because of the vertical scar on his forehead that looked like a third eye.

"Three Eyes" had a good relationship with Tang Sanli and was the second most powerful person in Cell 7, bullying everyone else.

The other sixteen people in the cell had to report to "Three Eyes" if they wanted to drink water or use the toilet, and they needed his approval. Although Tang Sanli was the head, he did not handle the day-to-day management.

Now, cameras were installed in each cell, making things less chaotic than before, but new inmates were still often bullied.

While washing the clothes that Tang Sanli and "Three Eyes" had changed into, Chunan's mind was filled with the image of a slender, beautiful woman.

This woman was named Li Feng, his girlfriend, who worked at a bank. Chunan was a veterinarian. They had been dating for over a year, and their relationship was deep, reaching the point of discussing marriage.

Half a month ago, when Chunan went to Li Feng's rented apartment, he found the floor covered in blood, and a man lying in a pool of it.

Li Feng was holding a fruit knife, her clothes torn, and she was trembling all over.

Chunan recognized the man on the ground. His name was Lin Tianyang, Li Feng's superior at the bank, a young and capable man with a significant family background. His father was the deputy district chief of Jiangtian City's Baiyun District.

Seeing Chunan, Li Feng cried and rushed over, her face full of fear and panic. She sobbed, "Chunan... I... I didn't mean to kill him... He... He wanted to... I... I lost control... I don't know..."

Chunan's mind buzzed, and he could roughly guess what had happened.

Lin Tianyang had always had designs on Li Feng. Today, he had come to her place with ill intentions, but Li Feng had accidentally killed him in self-defense.

In a state of panic, they made the worst decision: Chunan helped Li Feng clean up the scene and then tried to escape with her.

However, on the third day of their escape, they were caught at a small hotel.

After being brought back to Jiangtian City, Chunan was shocked by a piece of news at the police station.

Li Feng had confessed that Lin Tianyang had tried to rape her, and she had fought back. At that moment, Chunan had burst in, and in a fit of rage, he had picked up a fruit knife and stabbed Lin Tianyang.

Lin Tianyang was killed by Chunan, and she was just a victim. Because she loved Chunan, she had fled with him.

Their testimonies were completely opposite, and the police could not determine the true killer, so they treated both Chunan and Li Feng as suspects and put them in the detention center.

Before entering the detention center, they had to undergo a full-body examination at the hospital. It was then that Li Feng was found to be nearly a month pregnant. According to the law, she could not be detained, so the police placed her under house arrest, allowing her to stay at home but with supervision.

Chunan, however, was sent to the detention center.

The murder of the deputy district chief's only son caused a huge uproar.

Although it had been half a month, Chunan's mind was still in chaos. He couldn't believe that he had loved Li Feng so much that he had risked being charged with harboring a criminal to help her escape, only to find out that she had blamed everything on him after they were caught.

His heart felt heavy, a mix of pain and fear. When the detective told him this news, his mind went blank.

"Confess early. You should know the victim's identity. This case is so big that neither of you can escape responsibility. Confess early to avoid unnecessary suffering."

The detective said this coldly, then slapped him several times.

That scene was unforgettable to Chunan.

Reflecting on the past half month, it felt like a nightmare.

Suddenly, he was kicked hard from behind, jolting him out of his thoughts.

"Motherfucker, I told you to wash the clothes, and you're daydreaming. Do you want to die? Do you want a beating?"

"Slap!" Another slap landed on Chunan's face.

Chunan was furious and looked up to see "Three Eyes" with a vicious face, the scar on his forehead looking particularly menacing.

"What, do you want to fight back? Have you lost your mind?" "Three Eyes" grabbed Chunan by the collar, raised his other hand, and was about to slap him again.

The others in the cell just watched. A few, like Chunan, who were often bullied, showed a look of sympathy but dared not say anything. The rest looked on with a mix of amusement and malice.

Chunan, though furious, clenched his fists but did not fight back. He knew that if he did, he would be beaten even more severely by a group of people.

A few days ago, someone had fought back in a similar situation and was beaten half to death by "Three Eyes" and others. The victim was later transferred to another cell, while "Three Eyes" and the others only received a verbal reprimand.

Just as "Three Eyes" was about to slap Chunan again, the entire cell shook.

Everyone was stunned, and "Three Eyes" forgot about hitting Chunan, looking up in shock. Then, he let out a terrified scream.

"Ah—"

Almost everyone screamed instinctively. Although many were hardened criminals, the scene was too terrifying and shocking.

Chunan's anger turned to despair and fear in an instant.

The ground was shaking, the walls, ceiling, and everything else were swaying, cracking, and collapsing...

"Earthquake, earthquake!" Tang Sanli screamed in terror, trying to climb off the large dormitory bed to escape. Then, with a loud crash and screams, the cell collapsed.

It was too sudden, too fast. In just a few seconds, the entire cell crumbled, burying everyone and silencing all sounds.

In the moment Chunan realized it was an earthquake, his first reaction was to dive to the corner of the large dormitory bed.

He knew that this corner was the nearest safe triangle area, though the survival rate was only about thirty percent, it was much safer than hiding elsewhere.

As Chunan curled up in the corner, he felt the entire world shaking, the terrifying roar, and the dust choking his nose. Large pieces of brick and ceiling were falling and collapsing.

In the cell, some people were crushed, their bodies bent in half, their internal organs and bones exposed, blood splattering high.

This terrifying scene was unforgettable.

Almost instantly, Chunan felt something hit his head, and his mind went blank. He lost consciousness.

This was a terrifying super earthquake.

Chunan, who had fainted, felt as if he was in a long dream. In the dream, there were many noises and white lights. Gradually, the noises became clearer, and words entered his mind.

"…new world… Adam… Eve…"

"…eliminate all… old humans… select… the strongest… men as Adam… women as… Eve… they will… create… a new human… world…"

"…the rest… all… eliminated…