Yan Chuan’s eyelashes trembled as he recognized that it was the warden’s room. Leone had told him that the warden was named Ariel. One of his tasks today was to obtain Ariel’s seal. Yan Chuan touched his still flushed cheek, feeling a bit dizzy. Fortunately, that strange sensation had faded away.
Before Hesse interrupted him, Yan Chuan could still feel something crawling into his clothes. His outfit was loose, and because the fabric was coarse and his skin particularly sensitive, it had been causing a bit of irritation for the past few days. So he didn’t realize that coming into sudden contact with something cold and soft would elicit such a strong reaction from him. If he hadn’t held it in, he definitely would have made an embarrassing sound.
Fear was more tormenting than discomfort. Yan Chuan had no idea what was troubling him, but all the signs in this place pointed to the boss in the script. The “monster” that had come out of the laboratory. The ticking sound echoed in Yan Chuan’s ears, but Hesse beside him seemed to hear nothing and displayed no signs of confusion. Only he heard the dripping sound.
In other words, that “monster” made sure only he could hear it. Yan Chuan felt that the past few minutes stretched out like several hours. He didn’t dare make a sound, his face flushed crimson, and he could only hug himself, biting his lip in silent endurance. The fine sweat on his forehead dampened his hair slightly. Thankfully, Hesse finally decided to leave.
At the moment Hesse stood up, Yan Chuan felt the icy touch disappear. Just like when it had come, there was no sign before it vanished. Yan Chuan’s legs felt a bit weak, but he finally let out a breath of relief. Hesse supported his shoulder, looking at him with concern, but Yan Chuan merely shook his head. The movements of the “monster” could not be measured by logic; they were beyond the control of a poor, innocent little thief and a prisoner.
Telling Hesse why his face was red… Yan Chuan pursed his lips, and it was better not to say anything at all. It would be strange to explain that a monster had come, done nothing, and just crawled into his clothes to do something unpleasant to him, right? Was it a monster or a pervert?
Yan Chuan rehearsed Hesse’s reaction and decided to swallow the matter for now. Not only was it difficult to explain, but it would also be poor for Hesse to know. After much consideration, he had already missed the best moment to explain. Yan Chuan had no choice but to keep his mouth shut and follow Hesse with his head down.
As they left, Yan Chuan caught a glimpse of the room out of the corner of his eye, only seeing the chaotic arrangements and the stark white dust sheets. There was nothing inside.
The warden’s office. Hesse opened the door to the office with the same approach, carefully stepping inside. The space inside was much more spacious, and as Yan Chuan looked around, he noticed there were no security cameras still operating. This made it convenient for him to complete his task.
Yan Chuan watched as Hesse gestured for him to find something and nodded in response. He also had to maintain his persona as a “little thief” by looking for something in the warden’s office. Yan Chuan wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, feeling a bit disdainful as he frowned.
He needed to find out what kind of monster could be so perverse. It didn’t reveal itself, specifically targeting the pitiable and helpless players. The room’s space was quite large. Hesse only turned on a small lamp; he remembered not to disturb the room’s furnishings, making his searching actions very cautious.
Yan Chuan quickly spotted the desk and chairs placed in the corner. Logically speaking… important items should be in the drawers, right? On the desk was a file containing information about the warden. Yan Chuan hurriedly flipped through it.
Inside was a formal photograph, depicting the warden of the confinement island prison. It showed a surprisingly young face. It had platinum hair, more silver than anything else, shimmering faintly under the light. His eyes resembled purple crystals, looking very mysterious. With prominent features and a smooth jawline, he was quite handsome. However, based on his experience in the script, Yan Chuan felt he didn’t appear to be a good person.
As he thought this, Yan Chuan restored the document to its original state. He tugged at his sleeves, covering his fingertips, and then opened the drawer. Fortunately, the drawer wasn’t locked.
After a slight noise, Yan Chuan began to search through the items in the drawer. There was a stack of signed documents, a pen with a name engraved on it, an ink bottle… and a small seal. Yan Chuan carefully pulled the seal out.
It was small, merely a few centimeters wide, yet exquisitely crafted. Using the light, he examined it and noticed a series of names engraved on it. “Ariel.” This was probably the seal mentioned in the side quest.
Using the cover of his body, Yan Chuan restored the other items in the drawer to their original places and clutched the cold seal in his palm. Hesse seemed to have finished searching as well. However, he didn’t appear to have found anything, frowning.
Hesse also knew they couldn’t stay too long, so he gritted his teeth and took Yan Chuan out of there. The warden’s office would have someone come in, and they didn’t want to be discovered the next day. They couldn’t remain there for too long.
“Let’s go.” Hesse nodded towards Yan Chuan, signaling that they needed to leave quickly. The slender, beautiful Eastern beauty obediently nodded, but in his palm, he was hiding a small seal that he had just snuck from the warden’s office. The seal was cold and hard, absorbing a bit of warm body heat. It lay in his fair, soft palm.
Even Hesse, who was with him, had no idea that this seemingly soft and harmless Eastern beauty had the audacity to steal something from the warden’s office.