The Devil's Cage

Old Tom was unconscious in the infirmary on the third floor. The passageway that led to the cells was also on the third floor.

These two reasons were enough for Kieran to want to visit the third floor again and Jack accompanied him there.

He would have preferred to go alone, but once he thought about the cameras in the corridors, he frowned.

Even with his Pro Level [Undercover] Skill, he still would not have been able to move freely. He was not invisible after all.

The arrangement of the guards had been changed as well, because the Warden wanted to catch Old Tom’s accomplices.

Two guards were standing there without the slightest hint of a smile on their faces. They inspected everyone that set foot on the third floor, hoping to catch the culprits.

Looking at the new arrangement, Kieran shook his head in silent disagreement. He doubted that this method would lead to the arrest of Old Tom’s accomplices.

Not the very men who had caused all that chaos back there and succeeded in luring the Deputy Warden out and killing him. Those men were nothing if not vigilant.

Even if they knew that Old Tom was still alive, they would not just show up there without a reason.

The presence of the two guards at the entrance didn’t matter at all. Kieran, who had only visited the third floor once, still remembered all the security there, let alone the culprits, who had carefully planned how to lure the Deputy Warden out and kill him.

They would definitely use a different way to approach Old Tom. Kieran was sure of it. Even if it was for their own safety, or just to make sure that Old Tom would protect their secret against the Warden’s interrogation methods.

Kieran leaned more towards the latter. If the accomplices had decided to kill off Old Tom, why would he choose to protect them once he realized he’d been betrayed?

If Kieran had been in Old Tom’s place and he’d been betrayed by his own accomplices, he would have dragged them down to hell with him.

As for the extreme, merciless interrogation methods of the Warden, Kieran believed he would use them. The Warden had been holding himself back, but his sense of blood was not fooling Kieran’s senses.

After two times in a dungeon and enough bloody scenes, Kieran had already familiarized himself with the smell of blood and had a sharp nose for it. It had almost become a second instinct to him.

"What method will they use? Create more chaos to divert everyone’s attention? No, it wouldn’t work. After the last incident, everyone has been on high alert, and the two guards by the entrance must have definitely been ordered by the Warden not to leave their post, no matter what. Even if they could successfully get rid of the guards though, the cameras would still record them!"

Kieran could not think of any way for someone to sneak into the third floor unnoticed. No matter the method he tried to entertain, anyone would eventually get caught.

Unless it was someone who could become invisible, or some kind of ghost killer. But how was that even possible?

Kieran dismissed his thoughts without confirming his speculations.

The [Knitted Talisman] caused even more doubts to form inside his mind.

Without any more proof to back up his speculations, he was stuck in a void. He took a long, deep breath before another thought popped up into his mind.

It was about the Warden.

"The Warden is definitely not stupid. He has to know that he will never catch the accomplices with that new measure. Yet, he still ordered it, because... He does not need to do anything! All he has to do is wait for Old Tom to regain his consciousness and then the truth will be revealed!"

"So Old Tom’s accomplices only have two options, either run or surrender! The Warden is forcing them to make a choice, and neither choice will have a good outcome for them!"

There would be no need for words if the accomplices were caught by the Warden. It would not be possible for them to make amends with the Warden.

As for escaping? If the Warden had already taken such a measure, then he would definitely have taken countermeasures as well.

Kieran realized that a big net was closing up around Old Tom’s accomplices.

"Then how will I be able to complete my Sub Mission?" Kieran thought to himself as he walked.

The Sub Mission [Hidden Accomplices]’s goal was to find out who Old Tom’s accomplices were, but if the Warden discovered them himself, Kieran would fail.

Failing a Sub Mission would not just affect the dungeon rating, but it would also affect the NPC’s fondness of him.

Kieran did not care much about the Warden’s fondness of him.

His main concern was the final rating of the dungeon, which was related to the Points and Skill Points he would get rewarded.

As he thought about what his next move should be, he realized he had already reached the iron fences.

With Jack on his side, Kieran passed through the armed guards with ease. They barely even bothered with them. All they did was simply scan them over.

Kieran was carrying a big backpack, but they did not check it. The security was loose to non-existent. It definitely was not as tight as it looked.

Kieran quickly scanned over the two guards, who were slacking. If anything were to happen, what use could these two be of? Would they scream to alert everyone?

"The guards over here are considered the luckiest in Alcatraz. Truth be told, even if they were not here, nothing would have happened. Everyone wants this position, but you need to be extremely lucky to get picked. Every year, six lucky winners are picked to routinely guard this particular area. It’s an easy job, plus they get an extra allowance! Really lucky, right?" Jack started explaining to Kieran after they passed through the iron fence.

Kieran replied with a smile.

According to Jack, this was the position everyone wanted, but he had not been lucky enough to get picked for it himself.

Kieran was more concerned about the other thing Jack had mentioned.

"Jack, you said that even if there were no guards here, it would still be okay?" Kieran asked.

"Of course. This is Alcatraz, the world’s most cruel and tightly-guarded prison!" Jack said as he pointed at a place not far away. Kieran looked in the direction Jack was pointing at.

It was a completely isolated cell room. The lights in the corridor shed a little light on the side of the cell. A row of heavy steel doors had been installed on the wall, the lock on them the size of a palm.

The distance between each steel door was three meters, and every door had a 20-by-10 valve that could only be opened from the outside.

"These two gates are used for watching the prisoners and delivering food to them. The prisoners only get one meal per day and trust me, even a girl on a diet would be surprised by how small the amount of food they get is!"

"The place is not air-vented. They’re only allowed to come out for a bath once a week. That’s their only chance to leave their cell. Other than that, they’re in their cells 24 hours a day!" Jack said as he walked Kieran to the end of the third floor corridor, where even the lights did not shine through.

"This is Gilfren Hatch’s cell. It’s the worst cell in Alcatraz. I hope you can tolerate the smell. We tried really hard to clean it up, but the smell was too strong!"

Jack opened the door of the cell with a key. Just as he’d said, the foul stench assaulted Kieran’s senses right away. Kieran could not help but frown.

It was pitch dark inside. If it were not for his D+ Rank Intuition and his exceptional vision, he would not have been able to see.

There was a toilet bowl and a broken mat. No lights or furniture. That was everything there was inside the cell.

Jack covered his nose and switched on the flashlight. He walked in first, and Kieran followed him.

"It’s really living up to its name!"

As the foul stench got even stronger, Kieran activated his [Tracking].

The room turned a blood-red color, appearing in an orderly manner before Kieran’s eyes.

What was that? Kieran could not help but widen his eyes.