Chapter 118: Narrative Prison (Fifteen)

On the transport, the last female soldier to die was Angelina, and her daughter Anna was the creator of this painting.

Li Cheng showed the child's drawing and said: "The trajectory isn't hard to guess—after retiring with the rank of Colonel, Elsa returned to Proxima A Star, adopted Anna—the daughter left behind by her comrade Angelina—there was no father figure in that final photo; presumably Angelina's husband had died long ago.

The bond between adoptive mother and daughter was strong, but an accident occurred midway.

He pulled out the newspapers titled 【Food Poisoning Incident at Proxima A Star City School】 and 【Terrorist Detonates Nuclear Bomb in City】, and said: "Anna died under unnatural circumstances, which profoundly shocked the once highly decorated veteran Elsa, driving her to extremes—she launched attacks and detonated nuclear bombs against Proxima A Star's government, organizations, or individuals.

After that, the storyline becomes relatively simple: she escaped the star system where the Zelos civilization resided, shed her former human shell, and took on a skeletal form, becoming the interstellar pirate Isaac.

Only at the end of the Iron Plague War did she return to her homeland and rescue a small group of Zelos civilization survivors.

Afterwards, due to some accident, she was arrested by the Crystal Wall System Residential Committee and imprisoned in this Narrative Prison.

From the televisions on all four walls came the warden's mechanical voice: "Perfectly correct."

Li Cheng showed no change in expression despite the affirmation, and said calmly: "But in this hypothesis, there is one problem. From the recollection of the transport scene, Elsa—or rather, Isaac—is not a veteran suffering from severe PTSD or emotional instability.

If Anna died accidentally from school food poisoning, she would hardly have resorted to such violent means for revenge.

There must be another hidden truth. Could you please clarify this for me?"

"Hmm?" The warden chuckled lightly: "You have no missing information, and with your reasoning ability, you can fully deduce the outcome—why would you need me to explain?"

Li Cheng shook his head: "Deducing it is one thing; hearing the answer from someone else is another."

"Alright."

The warden didn't hide anything, speaking openly: "In the first room you visited, the flat-shaped monster hidden inside is actually a native species of Proxima A Star—voracious appetite, extremely strong digestion—used by the Zelos people in waste processing plants.

Anna's backpack falling out of its mouth proves her true cause of death—she didn't die from food poisoning, but was murdered by wealthy classmates who bullied her, then dumped into the waste plant to be fed to the monster."

As expected.

Confirming his suspicion, Li Cheng nodded. The Zelos civilization's living space was constantly eroded by the Iron Plague; the people's quality of life must have steadily declined.

As a decorated veteran, Elsa had the right to secure housing on a relatively safe colonial planet to raise Anna, but her status was likely modest—she certainly couldn't compare to the new elite class who had grown fat and bloated during the war.

As for underage students murdering classmates and disposing of bodies—well, juvenile crime isn't rare in the real world; in the Zelos civilization, with more advanced technology and explosive information, it's even more normal.

"There's another question."

He raised his hand: "Why was Isaac wanted by the Crystal Wall System Residential Committee? From her rescuing a shipload of Zelos civilization refugees, she hardly seems to have committed crimes like genocide."

"I don't know."

"Huh? Aren't you the warden?"

"Does being the warden mean I must know every prisoner's specific situation? Besides, this Narrative Prison isn't just this one area—there are far more prisoners in other zones. No single person could possibly manage them all; automation systems are used. I'm just a figurehead."

The warden said matter-of-factly: "As for charges… she's an interstellar pirate—looting merchant ships is perfectly reasonable."

"Don't give me that nonsense."

Gray Rain, who had been listening silently, finally couldn't hold back: "I just want to know when we can leave!"

All of the warden's eyes turned simultaneously to look at Gray Rain: "She doesn't know?"

Li Cheng shook his head.

"Alright." The warden sighed: "Elsa, Isaac, the unnamed prisoner in the bottom-right cell, and you—who believe yourself to be Gray Rain—are all the same person."

". What?"

"Still not clear? You are merely one 'life slice' split off by Isaac using the Narrative Prison. The true Isaac is the unnamed prisoner in the bottom-right cell, infected by the Iron Plague."

The warden said coldly: "When she saw the white rabbit doll, she briefly regained some awareness, and became extremely emotional.

That rabbit doll was the one Elsa bought for Anna after her comrade Angelina died.

In terms of life stages, Elsa's journey can be divided into: 【Mechanical Soldier—War Hero—Single Mother Raising Her Comrade's Orphan—Vengeful Terrorist—Interstellar Pirate Isaac—Narrative Prison Inmate】.

The unnamed prisoner is Isaac No. 1—her life experience is the most complete, and she has been imprisoned the longest.

During repeated escape attempts, her self-awareness gradually eroded, and she accidentally became infected by the Iron Plague in one of the engine rooms.

To preserve a spark of hope, she severed a part of herself and created Isaac No. 2—the version preserved only in the interstellar pirate phase, locked in the top-left cell."

Gray Rain instinctively tried to deny it: "That's impossible—"

"Nothing is impossible."

Li Cheng shook his head: "It's not difficult for the unnamed prisoner. First, during her long pirate career, she mastered liquid metal technology and can split off physical clones. Second, certain engine rooms in the Narrative Prison inherently possess memory-cutting functions.

After completing this, Isaac No. 1 became useless. The Isaac No. 2 who awoke in the top-left cell believed herself to be the original and continued the escape process.

But like No. 1, she failed to escape, and was forced six months ago to split off a third version of herself—namely, you."

Looking at Gray Rain's stunned disbelief, the warden smiled faintly: "You have no memories of life before imprisonment, correct? That's not because you forgot them during escape attempts—it's because you were never programmed to have any past memories.

If you recall carefully, when you added facial muscles to the skeletal form of Isaac in Engine Room No. 3, you'd realize she looks exactly like you."

I'm just a life slice?

Gray Rain instinctively looked down at her hands, her pupils trembling violently.

"Back to the point,"

The warden didn't pause to attend to Gray Rain's psychological state, continuing: "After splitting off you, Isaac No. 2 continued her escape—but unfortunately, she became trapped in Engine Room No. 3, in a half-dead state: unable to escape, unable to die.

Under these conditions, pressing the Protagonist Effect Room button doesn't count; when time runs out, it will still be deemed a failed escape, and the entire prison resets.

Unless you kill her."

The warden's tone carried an odd note of mockery: "Kill her, and the Protagonist Effect Room will shed its 'occupied' status—only then can you escape successfully. With the power of the gun you hold, you should be able to do it."

"Or I could just threaten you with this gun and force you to let us go."

Li Cheng said nothing, suddenly raising End Redemption and aiming it at the warden.

Swish—

In the same instant,

All hundreds of thousands of mechanical eyeballs on the warden's body lit up with the "Handsome Rogue" brand trademark, countless lasers charging and simultaneously aimed at Li Cheng: "Go ahead—see if your gun is faster than my lasers."

(End of Chapter)