"Villanelle, are you alright?" Ames looked at Villanelle, who hobbled out of the adjacent cell, and found it amusing.
"It's normal for them to be a bit rough, being Russian," Villanelle twisted her mouth. "Besides, they threatened to use the baton on me if I don't behave... They're two wild beauties, actually."
After being registered, both were taken to a lobby to meet with other prisoners. There, they received their personal items and were escorted to their respective cells.
The lobby was empty, with some people dressed as guards and a woman in a gray suit standing by the door. Next to her was a stack of boxes that likely contained various supplies.
When the last prisoner entered, the tallest guard cleared his throat and said, "Good morning, everyone. I am Captain Peter Boltneekov, head of the White Dolphin Prison security team. In this country that advocates for equality and freedom, these are also the principles of this prison. Therefore, in this prison, everything is based on the principle of voluntariness. As long as it's within the designated time or area, you can move around and exercise freely. There are no restrictions on making phone calls, but you must request them in advance. You can also shower and read at any time, except during curfew. If you wish to work in the factory area, simply register. The money earned from working in the factory can be used to buy items in the store. By the way, our prison has an excellent cafeteria specializing in Russian dishes..."
Piotr explained the rules and guidelines of the prison in detail to the astonished prisoners. Were the conditions in this prison really that good?
There was no forced labor, unlimited food during meal times, freedom to walk at any time, and a wide range of entertainment facilities... Wasn't this a prison? It was paradise! However, many things required advance requests, such as making phone calls or working in the factory.
Eve, standing next to Peter, frowned several times. She was now certain that this prison was a stepping stone for the hidden owner who sought to enter politics. These wretched people had obtained such a good life in prison... Eve felt a deep contempt for the existence of this prison toward all law-abiding citizens.
She had read the files of the first prisoners transferred to White Dolphin before arriving, and each of them had deserved to die, if not guilty, and each of them had destroyed dozens, if not thousands, of families. But who would have thought they could live so well in jail?
Eva felt from the bottom of her heart that the existence of this prison was a desecration of all law-abiding citizens.
After Peter finished reading the prison rules, he said, "Alright, that's it. Each of you, come forward to receive your life items, and then my colleagues will take you to your cells. If anyone is interested in working in the factory area, you can sign up now."
After Peter finished speaking, surprisingly, none of the prisoners moved. Eve didn't find this surprising at all. Who would be willing to work in the factory when they had these comfortable living conditions?
Peter waited for a few seconds, and as expected, no one responded, so he shrugged and decided to take the prisoners to their cells. At that moment, one of the women raised her hand.
"I want to work in the factory area," Villanelle raised her hand amidst the perplexed looks of the others.
Peter turned his head upon hearing the voice and, after pausing on her for a moment, said, "Very well, I'll take you to the factory area. The rest... Anna, you and Mrs. Eve will take them to the cells."
Seeing her newly acquainted companion's strange choice, Ames felt a bit puzzled. She didn't think Villanelle was the type to volunteer, and she didn't know what had come over her to actively want to work or gain favor with the prison guards.
Ames chose not to go to work with Villanelle. In her opinion, work was exhausting. The conditions the prison offered were quite good, there was no need to earn favor through work. The head of the guards had said that, as long as they didn't cause trouble, they might not even see the jailers.
Ames chose to simply rest. She kept her distance from Villanelle, the queen of curls.
Peter left with Villanelle. The female jailer who had examined Villanelle's body before left the group and began carrying out Captain Peter's orders.
First, she handed each prisoner a cardboard box containing mattresses and personal hygiene items, then she led them to the designated cells.
The cells were located in another "back" area, next to the library and other activities.
As soon as Ames entered the cell area, she shivered. It was so cold here! Hadn't they turned on the heating? Damn!
Upon stepping into the cell area, Ames' mood seemed to significantly worsen.
"M014, this is your cell! Remember it well! It is strictly forbidden to secretly change cells. If I find out... you'll regret it!" said the female jailer maliciously. Apparently, the repetition of the job had made her lose patience, and her language had become rude.
She led Ames to cell number 14 and then assigned cells to the others.
Ames entered her own cell and found the conditions to be acceptable: there was a desk and a chair, a single hard plank bed, a wardrobe, and surprisingly, a sink! Moreover, this was an individual cell! This was really comfortable. If the experience of living in a room for four people was one, and for two people was two, then an individual room was at least ten, it was a qualitative leap. What? A room for eight people? There was no experience of living in a room for eight people.
The advantage of an individual cell was privacy. In your own cell, you could stay up late without worry, do things without having to cover up with a blanket. It was a small world of your own, even in prison.
However, something strange was that there was no lamp in the room, there was only a chandelier with white candles and a flint lighter. Ames had noticed this before; there was no electrical device in the entire cell area. It wasn't very obvious during the day, but probably the only source of light at night would be the kerosene lamp on the wall.
That's strange. Ames scratched her head, having no clues. Maybe when they built the building, they didn't install electrical wires here. Complicated problems were bothering Ames, and a nameless sense of negativity arose in her mind.
She didn't know that the reason there were no electronic devices was that the "back" was an area frequented by Dementors, and any electronic device would have a much shorter lifespan if they interfered, so there was no need to install them.
As she tidied up, a Dementor floated past her door, enjoying the rich and fresh atmosphere of the cell.
It was a delicacy unlike anything it had experienced in Azkaban.
Before, even if new prisoners were brought to Azkaban, that prisoner's emotions would have to be shared by hundreds of Dementors. It wouldn't be long before the prisoner became as boring as chewed gum. Now it was different; on average, each specter could have a new prisoner all to itself, what bliss!
Save your food, and you'll eat for a long time.
But in the room, Ames didn't feel any happiness. She felt that the room was getting colder and couldn't help but wrap herself in the blanket, trembling in the corner of the bed. Along with the chill, a sense of hopelessness welled up from the depths of her being.
After an indeterminate amount of time, she heard footsteps in the hallway; it was Villanelle, who had returned.
Due to the lack of prisoners, the factory was not operational at the moment, so Villanelle could only work in the kitchen. Of course, Peter promised her that once the factory received an order, Villanelle would have priority.
After Villanelle entered her own cell, she also frowned, "It's so cold here," and suddenly, many unpleasant memories came to her mind. She realized that she and Ames were cell neighbors, but she had no desire to engage in a conversation with Ames now. Her mind was filled with dreadful things... the day they took her to the training camp... the day she saw blood for the first time...
Unbeknownst to them, the hallway outside their cells was filled with Dementors, eagerly absorbing the positive emotions emanating from the people inside. And the leader of those specters, Tom Yodel, had a satisfied smile on his face.
[Title Obtained: King of the Dementors]
[Usage Effects: Immunity to negative effects of Dementors, strengthening of soul attacks]
[Passive: Each Dementor has a daily chance of generating a magical stone x 1]
"Oh? Tom was a bit surprised. He didn't expect to officially obtain the title of King of the Dementors until now. It seems that after fulfilling his promise, he finally became the King of the Dementors.
This title was excellent; it came with three effects. If titles were also ranked, this would undoubtedly be a five-star title. It granted a passive ability that strengthened his power, as well as accelerated the acquisition of magical stones. It was like killing three birds with one stone.
Before, the speed at which Tom obtained magical stones was so slow that he couldn't even afford to buy a lottery ticket. But now, he could finally speed things up a bit.
Tom looked at the Dementors in the hallway like a farmer looking at his pigs. With a satisfied smile, he walked away.
...
Villanelle fell asleep in a confused state, dreaming of scenes of being captured and tortured by the enemy. When she woke up, she couldn't even tell if she was still in a dream. The quality of her sleep last night was terrible, and after sleeping, she felt even more dispirited.
The other prisoners had a similar experience. They all remained silent and dazed in the corners of their individual cells. Only when the sun shone on their faces did they feel a little better.
The sunrise brought good news: it was breakfast time.
The group of prisoners left their cells expressionlessly and arrived at the first-floor lobby like a group of the walking dead. By that time, the guards had already opened the passage to the work area.
The moment they stepped out of the building, the sun illuminated their faces, dispersing all the negative emotions. All the misfortunes and hopelessness remained locked inside that building.
Each person felt as if they had been reborn, remembering all kinds of beautiful things. Those nightmarish memories faded into oblivion. Now, they felt that basking in the sunlight was the most wonderful feeling in the world.
What they couldn't see were the countless Dementors silently floating in the cell area, watching that group of prisoners. They didn't dare to cross the boundaries set by the King, but they knew that those people would return sooner or later.
"Let's have breakfast!" Ames exclaimed excitedly as she dragged Villanelle to the dining hall.
Upon reaching the dining hall, they were moved by the abundance of dishes: a large plate of fried eggs, unlimited! A large barrel of strange soup, unlimited. Bread, unlimited. Roast ribs, also unlimited.
Even as the food ran out, the dining hall lady hurriedly replenished them with a smile on her face.
It was a happiness that didn't seem fitting for a prison.
"This is how breakfasts are here; I can't even imagine how abundant lunch will be," Ames said as she filled her plate with food and sat in front of Villanelle.
Ames took three rib steaks, two fried eggs, some slices of bread, a little butter, a spoonful of jam, and a bowl of thick soup.
"It seems that the food here is very Russian," commented Villanelle, who restrained herself and took a more moderate amount of each item. She tasted a spoonful of soup and found it to be a thick Russian-style soup.
"And those guards... they all have snake tongues," said Ames as she stuffed her mouth with food, as if she wanted to make up for the fatigue accumulated from the previous night with food.
Villanelle ignored her and continued eating in silence.
Fifteen minutes later, the breakfast in front of the two had completely disappeared. Ames went back to get another plate, this time lighter, and it even included some fruits.
"However, the rooms are also too cold," she said while peeling an orange. "I froze and had nightmares, and my mood was very low. It wasn't until I exposed myself to the morning sun that I felt better."
Villanelle frowned, feeling that it had nothing to do with the sunlight.
At that moment, a loud bell rang in the cafeteria; breakfast time was over.
"M013, step forward," said a guard approaching Villanelle's table, ordering her to stand up. "Today, you will start working. The rest of the people, return immediately to the cell area."
Ames grimaced upon hearing that she had to return to her bedroom. Internally, she fiercely resisted obeying that order, but she had no choice along with the other prisoners.
Under the gaze of the guards, the prisoners stood up one by one, returned their plates, and before leaving the dining hall, they cast an envious look at Villanelle's expression, showing barely perceptible jealousy.
They envied that Villanelle didn't have to return to the bedroom area.
Meanwhile, Villanelle stayed behind to help the dining lady clean up, disposing of the leftovers left by the prisoners and the guards. Then she was taken to the kitchen to peel potatoes.
She was busy until noon.
"Why do you look so bad?" Villanelle looked at Ames, sitting in front of her, with a face as pale as paper, feeling curious.
"Desperation... there is only desperation when returning to the bedroom area," Ames recalled her morning experience when she returned to the bedrooms and shivered.
"Villanelle, can I stay in the dining hall and work with you? I really don't want to go back," she said as her gaze filled with longing when remembering something.
Soon, all the prisoners in the White Dolphin prison fell in love with their work.