Xiang Yi awoke in the middle of the night, just in time to see the doctor unlock the sealed door and enter his room.
Xiang Yi sat up immediately. "Sorry to have you come all the way here. I should've gone to the infirmary."
"It's no trouble."
The doctor's reply was brief. He seemed both wary of and curious about Xiang Yi.
His wariness was justified. Even though they'd gotten somewhat acquainted over the last few days, Xiang Yi had killed two more people down in the mining tunnels just the other day. Anyone would be unnerved by that.
But the doctor had a strong stomach. He was able to treat the new wound on Xiang Yi's arm while making small talk. "I hear you've run into some trouble."
"Yeah. It couldn't be helped. My old roommates seemed to have a problem with me, and they were apparently on good terms with Long and his people, so... Well, let's just say the prison won't be short on certain supplies for a while."
The doctor was accustomed to hearing such things from Xiang Yi and showed no particular reaction.
Apparently, everyone in the prison was well aware of the situation inside. No one's hands were truly clean.
The doctor made idle small talk with Xiang Yi as he quickly finished treating the wound.
But instead of packing up his medical tools as he usually did, he quietly took a syringe from the kit beside him and injected it into the back of Xiang Yi's neck.
Xiang Yi suddenly felt a slight sting on the back of his neck. His expression hardened. "What is this?"
In a flash, the doctor had emptied the syringe into Xiang Yi's body and withdrawn the needle.
"An anti-parasitic. You were directly exposed to a Blood Crystal environment the other day. This will help suppress any potential infection, for now."
"I was never in close contact with any Blood Crystals..."
"It's a precaution. Besides, you were injured in that environment."
The doctor pressed a sterile cotton swab to the back of Xiang Yi's neck, wiped the spot, and finally began to pack up his tools.
"Oh, I see. Alright."
Looking as if he hadn't felt a thing, Xiang Yi got up and helped the doctor pack his tools, his expression as placid as ever.
Inside, however, a storm of emotion was raging.
'I know what he just injected me with.'
He touched the back of his neck. There were no machines anywhere near him, yet a brand-new panel had just appeared before his eyes.
["Worker Bee" Nanometer Positioning Chip]
[Energy Core: "Biological Pollen" Biological Magnetic Field Conversion Device]
[Functional Module: "Pheromone-N" Signal Expansion Transmitter]
[Control System: "Microcell-N" Nanometer-Level Central Control System]
[Structural Framework: "Bee Egg-N-1" Nanomechanical Units]
[Additional Attachment: "Bee Sting-N" Electric Stimulation Nerve Signal Blockage Acupuncture]
This was the third piece of advanced technology Xiang Yi had encountered since arriving in this world, far surpassing anything from his own time.
A chip made of nanomachines, delivered by the doctor's syringe, had just been injected into the subcutaneous tissue of his neck.
'This has to be He Dong's doing.'
'It seems my actions during the day were a bit too extreme, making He Dong suspicious of me.'
'The chip isn't too big of a problem, though. Since I can see it on my panel, my Spiritual Energy should be able to affect it, even if I don't have anywhere near the knowledge to understand its technology.'
The doctor had already left, unlocking the door on his way out so Xiang Yi could go get dinner.
Xiang Yi didn't move, though. Even after the doctor was gone, he remained sitting motionless on the edge of his bed.
He was thinking.
Thinking about his escape.
Xiang Yi had already made his preliminary preparations during the day. He just needed to pick the right moment to put his plan into action.
The best opportunity would be in a few days, when Mining Tunnel 21 was scheduled to reopen.
But now, he suddenly realized he was out of time. He Dong's suspicion had reached its peak. He couldn't afford to gamble on getting another chance.
This chip, injected under his skin, was the final straw.
He had to make a decision.
It had to be tonight.
Even though he wasn't fully prepared, he knew he never could be as long as he was in this prison.
This wasn't some well-planned expedition. This was a desperate search for a sliver of freedom in an incredibly dangerous prison.
Freedom or death.
'Of course, I could also get caught and thrown onto an operating table. Same difference, really.'
Mulling over his own gallows humor, Xiang Yi lay back on the bed, closed his eyes, and began to conserve his strength.
He had decided to escape, but the time wasn't right just yet.
「Two hours later.」
Deep in the prison's night, Xiang Yi finally climbed out of bed. A clear escape route had already formed in his mind.
Without a moment's hesitation, Xiang Yi got up and walked straight toward the elevator that led to the prison's inner levels.
Even though he had planned out every step, Xiang Yi couldn't help but feel a surge of anxiety as he put his plan into motion. His heart began to pound, and his mind involuntarily conjured up grim images of what would happen if he failed.
He desperately tried to stop his mind from racing, but his thoughts had become too fast to control since awakening his Spiritual Energy. The only way to manage it was to force himself to think about other things as a distraction.
Amid the chaos in his head, Xiang Yi took the elevator through the inmate residential area, arriving unimpeded at Mining Tunnel 22, which had been sealed off earlier in the day.
It was sealed, but that just meant the entrance and exit were closed. During the day, the Blood Crystal Worms had either been killed or driven back into the deepest part of the tunnel. The tunnel would be reopened after a routine inspection of its equipment.
A lone prison guard was still on duty, watching over the tunnel.
Xiang Yi walked up to the window of the security office next to the decontamination chamber and knocked on the glass.
When the guard inside looked up, Xiang Yi held up his work ID. "I left some tools down in the tunnel earlier today. Can you open the door so I can go grab them?"
The guard gave Xiang Yi's work ID a cursory glance and opened the door to the decontamination chamber.
"Remember to put on a protective suit. Make it quick."
"Thanks."
The guard didn't know Xiang Yi, but there was no need to pick a fight over something so trivial. Besides, he might need Xiang Yi to fix some equipment for him one day.
The moment the guard let him slip into the mining tunnel so easily, Xiang Yi finally relaxed completely.
'There's nothing to be nervous about. Everything is going according to plan.'
Xiang Yi quickly made a round trip into the tunnel and returned to the decontamination chamber.
He was now holding a Mining Gun, and the small backpack he wore was bulging slightly.
Through a gap in the pack, another Mining Gun could be seen, along with a few tools that looked like they were for repairs.
The guard didn't give it a second thought and waved Xiang Yi through. No one could have possibly guessed that hidden within the shell of that Mining Gun was the most dangerous entity on the entire space station.
After leaving the mining area, Xiang Yi retraced his steps to the most densely populated inmate residential area. He paused there for a moment before taking the elevator again, this time to the prison's middle level.
He purposefully returned to the workshop where he had spent most of his time over the past few days.
Pushing the door open, he saw Mao Yu, who happened to be on duty again tonight.
Mao Yu was already asleep, slumped over the workbench, so Xiang Yi didn't disturb him.
He simply placed the Mind Pulse Generator into his backpack. Then, using his Spiritual Energy, he created a small hole in the surface of the Mining Gun-shaped container he was holding and sprinkled a bit of blood-red gravel into a corner of the workshop.
He then grabbed a sharp tool from nearby, cut his index finger, and let a few drops of his blood fall near the pile of gravel.
Xiang Yi gave his workstation one last look, his gaze lingering reluctantly on the computer embedded in the wall.
The technical manuals on it had truly opened his eyes, but he had more important things to do now.