[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world":3,"chapter-level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-648":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Level 4 Human in a Ruined World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1848700,2454,"Chapter 648","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-648",648,"\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chapter 648: Space Police Bureau (4)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pahalufe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A high-level detention facility under the Cosmic Police Bureau, capable of imprisoning even Grade-3 beings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of this, everything Yeongwoo saw and heard in Pahalufe felt far from someone else’s problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Pahalufe could imprison a Grade-3 being, then in other words, wouldn’t it also be possible to imprison the Chairman here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If the Chairman were dragged here… would he be treated like this too?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his head crushed against the floor, Yeongwoo rolled his eyes upward to look at his opponent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first thing that entered his view was a large hand wrapped in steel bands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same rude hand that was currently gripping his head with brutal force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond the raging wind that was blowing so fiercely it turned his vision gray, he saw three colors shining vividly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Red… blue, and green?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were none other than the three primary colors of light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why the primary colors—purely a human concept—existed here was unknown, but that wasn’t what mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three lights in question were being emitted from the gems embedded in the belt around Ketu’s waist, and soon each gem trailed a long arc as they rose into the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ketu had stood up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, from behind the steel mask completely covering his face, he spoke in that same terrifying voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>■ Move. We’re heading to the Closed Ward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With those words, the wardens waiting on either side of Yeongwoo forcibly hauled him to his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Yeongwoo turned his head to the side, he saw wardens wearing steel masks just like Ketu’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s with that? You guys are all from the Police Bureau, right? Then why bother hiding your faces? Don’t tell me it’s because you don’t want the prisoners learning your identities?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considering that the main inmates here were cosmic powerhouses—Grade-3 beings, the guess sounded plausible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, no one here—including Ketu—gave him an answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>■ Be grateful you are not an inmate of Pahalufe. Under normal circumstances, you would have been thrown into the Punishment Ward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Punishment Ward? And what the hell is that supposed to be, you bastard? This is supposed to be a tour, isn’t it? Isn’t it a bit much to throw around terms only you people understand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo spoke while leaning against the wardens holding him up, he saw Ketu reflexively place a hand on his waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, beside the belt, hung the thick handle of a whip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘So it’s the kind of prison where beatings are allowed.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, whenever prisoners started spouting nonsense, Ketu would simply lash that whip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, Shero pushed through the wardens and took hold of Yeongwoo, supporting him instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—The Punishment Ward… is a sort of communal dormitory where prisoners are allowed to move freely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A place where they can move freely? Then why is it called punishment?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Once you enter the Punishment Ward, you are guaranteed to encounter at least one inmate who holds a grudge against you. On top of that, the use of power—which has been restricted until then—is partially permitted…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shero’s explanation was that, in nine cases out of ten, vicious fights would break out between inmates in the Punishment Ward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But what if someone ends up there and just doesn’t have any connections with the other inmates?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shero shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Prisoners confined in Pahalufe are individuals who have accumulated cosmic-scale evil deeds over long periods of time. It is extremely rare for someone not to receive their “punishment” in the Punishment Ward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, the karma they had accumulated would return to them as punishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Hmm… In my case, that would be like going into the Punishment Ward and finding guys like Shirach or Kardal swarming the place.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo nodded to himself internally, Ketu—who had already moved ahead—shouted through the biting wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>■ Move!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wardens began advancing forward, and Shero practically half-embraced Yeongwoo as they walked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while, Shero stared directly at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—By now, you should actually be able to move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was whispered so softly that only Yeongwoo could hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Yeongwoo gave a sly grin and put strength back into his dangling legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, so it’s already time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he suddenly began walking perfectly fine, Shero stepped slightly aside and muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—You’re an interesting person, Mr. Yeongwoo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s this hard just surviving in space as a petty criminal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as everyone continued trudging through the slicing wind for quite some time, Shero never reported anything to Ketu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not even until a massive gray wall finally appeared ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—That is the outer wall of the Closed Ward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s the Closed Ward?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—It is a facility located at the outermost perimeter of Pahalufe. It serves as a barrier to prevent intrusions from outside and escapes from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Shero added one more thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—It is also where the lowest-security prisoners—‘petty criminals’—are detained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The petty criminals are locked up right inside that wall?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo stared at the Closed Ward’s outer wall with wide eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wall itself was enormous, but because of the dust storm obscuring the view, it was impossible to even estimate the height of its top with the naked eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>■ Open!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last, Ketu raised his whip toward the air and shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon the gems embedded in his belt flickered—and the very center of the outer wall began to split apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Krrrrrrrk…!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sight of the outer wall—resembling a mountain itself—splitting left and right was truly astonishing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the entrance passage created by Ketu’s command was only ten meters wide, meaning that compared to the wall’s enormous scale, it was little more than a tiny crack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Breaking out of prison definitely wouldn’t be easy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo followed Ketu and the wardens into the passage, Shero spoke in a startled voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—A prison break? Please refrain from saying such things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that considered criminal speech too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Only criminals need to break out of prison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Can’t argue with that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Closed Ward’s outer wall was absurdly thick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even after walking nearly a hundred meters, the walls on either side showed no sign of ending.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, the cutting wind from outside gradually faded, and another sound began rising from deep beyond the passage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Goooooo…!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It sounded like the operation of a massive machine, yet also like wind roaring through a canyon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the strange sound continued without pause, Yeongwoo finally asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What exactly is that sound?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Ketu answered instead of Shero.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>■ The sound of the prisoners in the Closed Ward waiting for you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The prisoners…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>■ For them, the opening and closing of the entrance passage is the greatest change in their daily lives. By now, they’re probably clinging to the ‘window frames’ like insects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the mysterious sound grew even louder, and its texture diversified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Ah.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was when Yeongwoo realized the sound was actually the cheers of countless prisoners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Ooooh…!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—WAAAAAAAH!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Hiiiyaaa!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shouts of every kind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No—if anything, they were closer to screams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the echoes shattered into tens of thousands of fragments between the outer walls of the Closed Ward, goosebumps rose on Yeongwoo’s skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when he realized that, the further they walked, the source of the sound was shifting downward, a strange sense of dread began creeping into him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The sound… seems like it’s coming from below?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Yeongwoo muttered this, the entrance passage of the outer wall ended, and the floor beneath them changed from solid stone to iron that produced a thinner sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kwiing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the strange metallic noise, Yeongwoo looked down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The floor was made of densely woven iron bars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And beneath those bars were countless prisoners staring upward with wild eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—GRAAAAAAH!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—AAAAAAAH…!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The screams rose again like steam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with the eyes each of them possessed, they desperately tried to convey something to Yeongwoo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…What.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling an odd sense of dissonance, Yeongwoo hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ketu let out a low laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>■ All prisoners in the Closed Ward are forbidden from speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’re forbidden from speaking? Then how do they communicate?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>■ The way your kind originally does.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like villains who let blades speak before words, they conveyed meaning by fighting with their bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it didn’t seem to be only that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking closely at the prisoners screaming beneath the bars, Yeongwoo noticed that some of them were using their hands—or something resembling hands—to perform a type of sign language.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Sign language? That’s definitely sign language.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prisoners were repeatedly displaying specific patterns, but since Yeongwoo didn’t know the language used in this prison, he couldn’t even guess their meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Let’s go. Visitors are also prohibited from remaining in the Closed Ward for long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shero lightly pushed Yeongwoo, who still couldn’t take his eyes off the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Yeongwoo lifted his head, he saw that Ketu and the wardens had already opened another barrier on the opposite side of the Closed Ward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And what kind of hellhole does that door lead to?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—The Security Ward. It’s an area equipped with forces and traps meant to subdue high-risk inmates. Once we pass through there, we will immediately enter the Containment Ward, the highest-security sealed zone in Pahalufe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Containment Ward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That absurd prison where Grade-3 beings were confined lay somewhere beyond that barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait. Then the ones we saw earlier in the Closed Ward…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Mostly Grade-4 to Grade-5 prisoners. Grade-6 prisoners do come in as well, but they don’t last long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which probably meant that Grade-6 beings almost always died after arriving here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘There are really that many Grade-4 villains who deserve to be locked up in a place like this?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo turned to look back in disbelief, Shero pointed ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—We must board the transport path before it’s too late. Hurry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Shero said, beyond the second barrier—now wide open—stretched a massive corridor that extended endlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Near its entrance floated a large stone slab in midair, like a platform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s the transport route?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Yes. Walking through the Security Ward would be madness—something only escapees would attempt. We’ll be taking a transport device.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Shero said this and stepped toward the slab where Ketu and the wardens had already climbed aboard, Yeongwoo suddenly felt a warmth near his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first he thought it was simply tension without realizing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after blinking a few times, he realized that wasn’t the case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The letter…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blood-colored letter that Chancellor Herisa had given him was slowly heating up inside his clothes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>",1753,"2026-06-09T07:04:16.329Z",1,"novelbin.me","59ac207380da2e55b4dcffcc136f9eee8869200f8d4931906e6879e8e21fda7d","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-649","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-647",688,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flevel-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-cover.jpg"]