Over the Western Pacific, the weather was splendid and warm sunlight bathed everything.
In the azure waves, a military ship sailed toward an island.
"Number HA99674748, Gao Xin?"
"Hmm..."
"Stand at your designated spot!"
A young man with short hair, wearing a prison uniform, was escorted on deck by the soldiers, resembling a walking corpse.
He, along with more than three hundred prisoners, stood in line, watching the tropical island approaching in the distance, shivering slightly.
"Is it all over just like this."
His pupils trembled, fear mingled with anger, his lips bitten to bleeding.
Why? He hadn't done anything yet he was being deported to Crime Prison Island for a ten-year sentence.
"Forget ten years... Can I survive a year on this island?"
"Probably never getting out again."
Gao Xin murmured, a shadow cast over his heart, knowing it was too hard, too hard.
The island ahead had dense forests, beautiful beaches, and flocks of birds, seeming like an untouched sanctuary.
But all the prisoners on deck had no interest in appreciating this scenic beauty, their faces looked as if they were heading to their deaths.
Next to Gao Xin, a prisoner was shaking non-stop, cursing with a face full of despair, "Damn AI, that goddamn artificial imbecile, on what grounds did it sentence me to be exiled to Crime Prison Island? I just committed a robbery..."
"Wah wah wah, you at least committed robbery, I was sent here just for stealing a bit of money..." Another voice started crying, seemingly filled with grievances.
Gao Xin looked over and saw that some prisoners had even wet themselves, a foul smell wafting over the deck.
"Who the hell pissed themselves? So useless!" A hoarse-voiced man complained loudly from the front.
The prisoner who had wet himself replied tremblingly, "It makes sense for you felony criminals to be deported, but why me... why me..."
The hoarse-voiced man said indifferently, "No matter what crime you committed, once you're sentenced and can't afford the prison fees, you'll be sent to this island... There are so many criminals these days, how can the officials afford to keep them? Heh, they'd rather have us rot away on the island than deal with us."
The faces of several prisoners present turned pale.
They spoke all at once, "Wasn't it just a threat? They're actually enforcing it... How could they... Sending ordinary people here is a death sentence, isn't it?"
"Exactly... Being exiled here is worse than being sentenced to death."
"Right, for an ordinary person like me, arriving on the island means a life of slavery, how can I endure ten years?"
Hearing this, the man with the hoarse voice let out a strange laugh, "Heh, still thinking of surviving? Ten years? What does the sentence matter? No one has ever been released after serving their time on the island."
At his words, the surrounding prisoners shivered.
No one had ever been released after serving their time? Many prisoners seemed unable to believe their ears.
About the horrors of Crime Prison Island, they had heard a bit. They knew it was a place without law, gathering the most vicious criminals from around the world, powerful Radiations, countless cyborgs, and even if they killed other prisoners on the island, no guards would watch them.
Because, it was said that apart from nearby naval forces, no such profession as prison guards existed.
Essentially, this island was an enormous open-air prison established to save on expenses.
Around ten thousand square kilometers, where prisoners could move freely, as long as they didn't leave the island and harm society outside.
The prisoners did as they pleased on the island, suggesting a paradise for the strong, Hell for the weak, a chaotic realm of their own.
Previously, only powerful Radiations and the worst criminals were detained, and people had cheered, thinking the cruelty didn't affect the ordinary folks, treating it as a kind of implicit death sentence.
But now, even ordinary criminals were being deported, wasn't that giving an advantage to those powerful criminals?
Xia Heng stared at the man, "You're talking nonsense, right? That's just online conspiracy theories, Crime Prison Island has been established for over twenty years, surely some must have left."
Some prisoners also looked over hopefully, wishing it was mere nonsense; after all, if no one had left alive, it would be utterly hopeless.
However, the man with the hoarse voice turned with narrowed eyes and said, "Conspiracy theories? Hah, have you ever heard of someone leaving?"
Xia Heng shook his head silently, having heard nothing; if someone had been released after serving their time in the twenty-plus years of Crime Prison Island's existence, it would have been news.
The hoarse-voiced man continued, "See? On this island, the weak don't survive their sentences, and the strong don't want to leave..."
"If you're powerful enough to rule over the island, isn't that more comfortable than living outside?"
As he spoke, he glanced at the tag on Xia Heng's chest, "Oh... you're a 'Glass Person,' no worries then."
His smile had a hint of cruelty, and his eyes were full of amusement.
Xia Heng's expression faltered, not wanting to speak further with this man who was clearly a vicious criminal.
And indeed, on the blue and white prison uniform's chest tag, beside the name Xia Heng, an 'R' character was prominently embossed!
This was a Radiation... one who had suffered excessive exposure to radiation during the nuclear war and undergone genetic reconstitution.
Would a full-scale nuclear war destroy humanity? The answer was no.
Humanity had proven through World War that even if all nuclear weapons were launched and the world was shrouded in chaos, more than half of the human population, around five billion, survived.
Remote rural areas and even some small country towns were unaffected by the nuclear blasts.
Many people didn't even sense that the nuclear explosions had anything to do with them, and the war ended...
However, the real cost was the subsequent spread of nuclear radiation via the wind and water.