Rousi couldn't believe the message from Guding had just sent, so she immediately dialed Cavill's communicator.
As soon as the communicator rang, Cavill answered it immediately, "Sister Rousi, what's going on?"
"Did that guy Cain escape?" Rousi asked directly.
Cain took the communicator, "Sister, it's me..."
"You really escaped?" Rousi was stunned when she heard Cain's voice.
"I don't know why, but there was a serious malfunction in the prison system, and that kid Guding took the opportunity to get me out," Cain said with a hearty laugh.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, they hung up.
Only then did Rousi realize that everything Guding had said was true. At the same time, she was a bit puzzled that a system failure in the Sea Blue Star Prison occurred at such a coincidental time. She had watched Guding grow up, and she didn't know when Guding had acquired such hacking skills.
Rousi immediately sent a message to Guding, "The Rose Tavern is reopening tonight. Come back to work. If you're late, your salary for the month will be halved!"
When it was time for the night shift, Guding returned to the Rose Tavern as if nothing had happened. Although there were fewer people coming in and out of the tavern than usual, it was still bustling with noise from afar.
Guding stepped into the tavern, and Aunt "Meat Floss" and the others were already sitting in a circle, raising their glasses in celebration. When Rousi saw Guding come in, she waved to him, leaving an empty seat to her left.
Guding looked around and saw only that one empty seat, so he braced himself and sat down.
The Bartender handed over a glass of Milka. Normally, if Aunt "Meat Floss" saw someone order such a nonalcoholic drink in her tavern, she would say, "sissy." But today, unexpectedly, she said nothing. She just smiled and raised her glass. "Here's to young Cain's successful escape from Sea Blue Star Prison. Everyone, drink up tonight; all drinks are on Cain's tab. Next year, I'll make him pay back with interest."
Everyone cheerfully raised their glasses. Besides the Rose Tavern staff, there were also some outsiders in the tavern. What Guding had done was meant to be an internal secret. Revealing it to outsiders would only bring trouble to Guding, so no one mentioned it in the tavern.
The merry party lasted until the early hours of the morning before all the guests were sent away. Aunt "Meat Floss" had downed an unknown number of barrels of alcohol but showed no signs of drunkenness. She once more filled everyone's glasses and raised hers to Guding, "Cain told me everything. I, Rousi Jinger, thank you on behalf of my brothers!"
The other staff at the Rose Tavern also raised their glasses high.
Guding just grinned and said nothing, tipping back the glass of Milka and gulping it down.
The others at the Rose Tavern followed suit, downing the strong liquor with a smile.
With the Sea Emperor no longer in control, the prison system of the Tianhe Star Domain quickly returned to normal, and the virus was contained within hours.
What Guding didn't know was that the virus invasion and system malfunction at Tianhe Prison triggered a strong response not only from the headquarters of Tianhe Prison but also garnered significant attention from the Federation Government.
Over eighty percent of the escaped criminals were recaptured in less than a day, including the two that Guding had seen escape from Sea Blue Star. Sea Blue Star conducted an inventory of the escaped inmates they were unable to capture, and found three missing, the most infamous among them being the interstellar pirate Cain, who had been sentenced to death and carried a bounty over three billion.
The following afternoon, the system malfunction and virus on Lanwo Star were finally and thoroughly resolved. Preston indeed had no desire to stay on this planet any longer. He already knew that other branches had experienced similar issues and that Cain, his archenemy on Sea Blue Star, had successfully broken out. Unwillingly, he took an interstellar transmission to Sea Blue Star, intending to investigate the situation further.
Late at night, the moonlight on Sea Blue Star was cool.
In the interrogation room of Sea Blue Star Prison, the sounds of pained screams and pleas for mercy had been echoing for more than half the night. After interrogating the last captured prisoner, Preston, with a heavily scarred face, pushed open the door and exited.
Two prison guards dragged out a prisoner from inside, the man barely recognizable from the torment he had endured. The fingers on both hands were broken into more than twenty segments, and not a single fingernail was intact. The bare upper body bore marks of skin surface burns from intense electric shocks. A foul stench emanated from his trousers, with faint wet traces suggesting he'd lost control due to the torture.
After leaving the interrogation room, Preston dialed the communicator of the Prison Director of Sea Blue Star. As the deputy director from headquarters, he had direct authority over these divisional prison directors.
At three thirty in the morning, Old Henry was awoken by the sound of the communicator. As the Prison Director of Sea Blue Star Prison, he was a prominent figure on Sea Blue Star. The virus attack on the prison system, causing a total system failure, had kept him busy all day, nearly up to the early morning when he finally got home.
Barely a few hours into his sleep, someone disturb his peaceful dream; he picked up the communicator with some irritation. Just as he pressed the answer button and was about to launch into a tirade, Preston's voice came from the other side, causing him to quickly cover his mouth. A hint of cold sweat seeped from his forehead.
Preston was the deputy director at headquarters, Old Henry's superior within the division, but more importantly, Preston had a particularly vendetta-fueled nature.
Old Henry had worked in Tianhe Prison for over three decades and had a fair understanding of Preston. Once, seven or eight years ago in a meeting at headquarters, a newly appointed divisional prison director couldn't suppress a chuckle at Preston's ridiculous appearance. Less than a month later, that prison director was not only dismissed but also had a slew of charges against him, and Preston had him sent to the sexual crime section of Tianhe Prison Headquarters on charges of embezzlement and bribery. That prison director could not endure the abuse inside the prison and took his own life within less than a week.
"I heard you recruited an intern named Guding the day before yesterday?" Preston's voice was somewhat icy.
"Intern?" Old Henry was taken aback for a moment, but then quickly recalled, "Oh, I remember now. He's a final year student from the Basic Military Students class. I've reviewed his resume; he's excellent."
"I want all his information," Preston's voice remained cold.
"Rig...right now?" Glancing at the time on the wall clock, it was three forty-one in the morning, so he reluctantly asked.
"Are you planning on making me wait another five hours and nineteen minutes?" The interrogative tone made Preston's voice seem even colder.
Old Henry shivered, "I'll be right there!"
"Who is it? So late?" Old Henry's movement as he got out of bed had awakened his wife.
"There's something urgent at the prison. I need to head out," Old Henry forced a small smile, quickly dressing himself, leaned down to kiss his wife's forehead, and left in haste.
When Old Henry arrived at his office, Preston was already sitting at his desk, legs propped up on the table. In his hand was a photograph of Old Henry and his wife.
Old Henry frowned slightly, "I keep the resume in the bottom drawer."
He walked to the desk and placed his fingerprint on the recognition system embedded into the table. After a moment, the system confirmed his identity, and the drawer was unlocked. He retrieved Guding's resume from the drawer and handed it to Preston, "Is there a problem with this kid?"
Preston ignored Old Henry's question, setting down the photo frame and picking up Guding's resume to flip through it. After a moment, he squinted his eyes, which were already the size of mung beans, "Rose Tavern? Who owns it?"
"It's Rousi Jinger and her subordinates," Old Henry did not hide anything.
"Rousi Jinger of the Rose Pirate Group? Cain's former boss?" A flash of cold light appeared in Preston's eyes.
"Yes." Old Henry nodded, "The bounty order for Rousi and her group was issued over thirty years ago. Ever since they disbanded their pirate group more than twenty years ago, the Federation Government has officially withdrawn their bounty. For the past twenty-plus years, they've been residing on Sea Blue Star, and the Federation Government Military Department has never bothered them."
"Pirates are always pirates; it's ingrained in their very bones," Preston slammed Guding's resume onto the desk forcefully, "Inform the Federation Government Tianhe Branch that I've found the person who released Cain. Tell them to send someone to arrest this kid named Guding right after breakfast and take him straight to the Federation Court for trial."
(Sigh, I mailed the contract on Friday, and it hasn't arrived by Monday. The efficiency of this courier really makes one anxious ~ Wondering when the contract status will change...)