radicalducati Chapter 23 Chrysalis
Chapter 23 Chrysalis
In the afternoon, Ron and Sissan went to the laundry room together, since the junior guard had already informed the others to take them there, which saved them the trouble of dealing with the guards.
After each of them took a cart, Ron explained his plan to Sissan: "We need the key, but stealing it directly won't work."
"I noticed yesterday that there are surveillance cameras in some areas here. If we go to Quaid's office rashly, we will definitely be discovered."
"Besides, even if we stole the key, we couldn't take it with us. Once the key leaves the office, he'll definitely notice."
"To make the key, we need tin foil, soap, and a lighter. Do you know where we can get these three things?"
"Aluminum foil... or chewing gum wrappers? As for soap, that's easy; there's some in the storage room next to the bathroom, but a prison guard will need to open the door."
"A lighter... prisoners aren't allowed to smoke, but the guards should have them, right?" Sissan thought for a moment. He wasn't sure how to get these things, but he still offered Ron his help.
Ron pushed the cart behind Sissan, and the two moved between the cells in Section 2.
Chewing gum, as a form of hard currency in prisons, is very popular among inmates.
So, under Xisang's guidance, the two of them would clean the trash cans in the house while tidying up the bedding.
Ron carefully unfolded the foil wrappings containing the chewing gum with disgust, and then slowly removed the chewing gum stuck to them with his fingers.
The job was disgusting, but it required patience, because Ron had instructed Sissan that he needed as much high-purity tin foil as possible.
After searching two entire floors, the two decided to rest for a while.
During this time, Ron asked Sissan, "You've lived with Lawson for so long, has he always been taken away during the day?"
Xisang rested his head on his hand, looking down, seemingly reluctant to discuss the topic.
"Actually, I could tell yesterday morning that you still cared about him a lot," Ron continued, trying to steer the conversation toward Lawson.
"You guys are really suspicious." Sissan raised his head, and seeing that Ron was about to speak, he interrupted him and continued, "I roughly understand what you're up to, but I don't really care."
"I'm working for you only to save up some money so I can get medical treatment for my mother when I get out. If you're thinking of taking down Quaid, I advise you to give up on that idea; it's impossible."
"Why not?" Ron astutely seized on the loophole in Sissan's words.
If this person has never met Quaid, then they shouldn't have such a precise understanding of Quaid's abilities or strength.
Therefore, based on what he just said, he was 80% certain that something must have happened between the two of them, or that there was some hidden story.
Just like Xisang's avoidance of them last night, that change in attitude seemed very abrupt and strange.
Meeting Ron's gaze, Sissan felt as if his thoughts had been read.
After hesitating for a moment, Sissan gave up struggling and told everyone that he had been planted by Quaid as an informant and that he was living with Lawson to monitor him.
"Who is this Lawson?" Ron wasn't particularly surprised by Sissan's frankness.
"I don't know. Every time Quaid asks me about Lawson, he just asks if he's still mentally impaired as usual..." Sissan felt like he'd grasped something, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. "It's like..."
"It's as if he doesn't want Lawson to wake up," Ron said, voicing what he was thinking.
............
Basement level, inside the laundry room.
After collecting enough tin foil scraps, Ron and Sissan returned to the laundry room with the sheets and duvet covers that needed changing.
After several trips back and forth, Ron's back was already soaked with sweat. Meanwhile, the hum of the washing machine was making his head throb.
Perhaps because multiple machines were working at the same time, the already poorly ventilated basement became even more stuffy and hot.
Xisang was steam-ironing the last batch of bed sheets, large beads of sweat seeping from his forehead and sliding into his eyes.
Xisang squeezed his eyelids shut, the stinging sensation forcing him to turn off the iron and raise his arm to rub his face vigorously. But then, realizing something, he gradually stopped.
Xisang sniffed carefully: "What's that smell? Can you smell it? It smells musty."
Ron, who was resting against the wall, thought it was normal and explained to Sissan, "It's just a musty smell. It's dark and damp here, so it's normal to have mold."
Seeing that Sissan had already ironed the sheets, Ron got up to go to the dryer inside to get another batch of sheets. But as he got closer, he noticed something was wrong.
Ron noticed that some dried sheets had slipped off the conveyor belt, and that they were covered with scattered orange-red stains the size of fingernails.
His brow furrowed slightly as he slowly approached, then crouched down to examine it closely: "Mold spots?"
Ron's doubts grew, and combined with Sissan's earlier comment that he smelled a musty odor, a sense of unease began to creep into his heart.
Following the trail of mold growth, Ron finally arrived at a wall. "Sissan! Get me a flashlight! Hurry!" The light was too dim; Ron needed illumination to make further observations.
Xisang jogged to the warehouse, grabbed an old flashlight, patted it, and quickly handed it over once the light came on.
The beam of light shone on the wall, and the sight before him gave Ron goosebumps.
Orange-red mold spots were seen winding their way up the wall, layer upon layer, with sticky liquid oozing from them.
As if stimulated by strong light, the dense mold spots suddenly burst open, and the originally hair-like mycelium suddenly began to expand at a speed visible to the naked eye, gradually becoming about the thickness of a little finger.
Ron grabbed Sissan and quickly backed away, shouting, "Whatever you do, don't let them touch this mold!"
"what!"
In the chaos, Xisang's arm brushed against the sticky substance hanging on the outside of a nearby washing machine. The substance instantly corroded the skin and flesh on Xisang's arm, and Xisang screamed in pain.
At this point, the mold had only spread to the innermost wall of the laundry room, as well as the dryer and two washing machines near the wall.
Ron's mind raced, and he dashed toward the storage room on the right. Sissan hurriedly followed, but Ron stopped him.
"Quick! Go to the bathroom and get some water! Find a few empty basins, wash yourself, collect the water and bring it over! Hurry!" Ron said urgently.
Ron vaguely remembered seeing a disinfectant in the storage room before, which, when mixed with salt water, could kill mold.
"Gurgle—gurgle—", as soon as Ron entered the storage room, he heard a faint wriggling sound, followed by a sweet and fishy smell that filled his nostrils.
Following the sound, Ron arrived at a corner of the storage room. Mold had already climbed all over the shelves on both sides, and the shelves were not flush with the wall, so you could vaguely see something hidden at the bottom of the gap.
As Ron slowly lowered his body, he saw three spherical objects, each about half the size of a person, tucked between the storage room and the shelf. They were insect pupae.
"Gurgle—gurgle—", the translucent brown pupa's outer membrane is covered with spiderweb-like dark red blood vessels.
Ron could vaguely see the outline of the larva curled up inside. At this moment, the larva's hooked legs were struggling to scratch at the gelatinous layer that enveloped it.
The shock of the sights and smells made Ron dizzy and his stomach churn.
But for some reason, his first feeling upon seeing the pupa was not disgust, but despair—a very pure despair that arose from within.
Fortunately, Sissan, who had brought water from the bathroom, shouted Ron's name, and it was thanks to these calls that Ron was able to pull himself out of that indescribable emotion.
He suppressed the discomfort in his stomach and rushed out of the storage room with as much disinfectant as possible.
After wiping the sweat off his body with water from the basin, Ron poured all the disinfectant into it. Then he rushed forward and splashed the prepared solution onto the mold spots.
Sisang kept fetching water, and soon Ron's anxious voice came again: "Go to the canteen and get salt! We don't have enough sweat on us!" Ron shouted as he splashed the medicine.
The effect is indeed significant, but it only slows down the growth rate of mold spots and cannot eradicate them.
After going back and forth several times, when Ron arrived at the wall with the prepared potion, he suddenly stopped.
He stepped back slightly, closed his eyes, and mentally constructed a floor plan of the men's prison area. He discovered that behind this wall was the basement of Zone 3.