Otherworldly Affairs Office

Pei Yan looked at the fruit in his hand and then raised his head to look at Gu Shenghui, who was sitting opposite him with a blank expression. He lowered his head, picked up the fruit, and smelled it, finding no scent. It looked like a plum in size and appearance, but the color was frighteningly red.

"Gu Chu, is this the fruit you told me about earlier? If I eat this, I'll gain the ability to absorb others' supernatural powers?" Pei Yan asked in confusion after examining the fruit for a long time.

Gu Shenghui nodded at him, acknowledging it.

Pei Yan continuously rubbed the fruit in his hand, asking curiously, "Will eating this fruit allow me to absorb others' abilities just once, or can I do it continuously after eating it?"

"I don't know. I've only successfully absorbed once, and even then, it was a close call. How dare I try a second time? I urge you not to try recklessly under the supervision of the hall; don't play with your life." Gu Shenghui frowned slightly and reminded Pei Yan with a serious expression.

Pei Yan shrugged indifferently, stopped talking, and was about to put the fruit into his mouth when Gu Shenghui grabbed his wrist. Facing Pei Yan's questioning gaze, Gu Shenghui advised, "When you swallow, be cautious. It'll taste terrible, so don't chew it too finely. Bite it open and swallow it whole like a date. Do not spit it out."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yan lowered his head to look at the fruit again, nodded with partial understanding, and when Gu Shenghui released his grip, he opened his mouth, closed his eyes, and tossed the fruit into his mouth. Unexpectedly, the skin was quite tender, and as soon as he bit down, vibrant red juice sprayed out, followed by an overwhelming bloody taste. Pei Yan's tightly shut eyes snapped open as he hurriedly covered his mouth to prevent himself from vomiting in disgust.

Seeing this, Gu Shenghui stepped forward to help him cover his mouth, sternly commanding, "Swallow it down, swallow it all!"

Pei Yan craned his neck, his throat making a sound, and pushed Gu Shenghui away, opened his mouth wide, and, reacting to the intense foul odor emanating from his mouth, shouted, "Water! Water!"

Having prepared in advance, Gu Shenghui grabbed a whole box of bottled water from beside his feet, quickly unscrewed a bottle, and handed it over, one bottle after another. Pei Yan drank seven to eight bottles before suppressing the nausea in his chest, then placed his hand in front of his mouth to exhale and sniffed, finding the dreadful smell lingering in his mouth, refusing to dissipate.

"What is this, a devil fruit?" Pei Yan burped from the water, endured his nausea, and began to chew the gum handed over by Gu Shenghui.

"If you say so, then it is. So, how do you feel now?"

Upon Gu Shenghui's inquiry, Pei Yan finally turned his attention away from the initial nausea and back to himself. He felt his body gradually heating up and looked down at his two arms, watching the muscles twitch uncontrollably. Beneath his skin, it seemed as if countless tiny bugs were continuously surging through his muscle and blood vessels. Lifting his shirt to look at his chest and thighs, he saw the same phenomenon.

"Is this considered normal?" Pei Yan asked calmly, buttoning his shirt.

"I think so. I looked the same after eating it at that time."

"Then when do we start integrating?" Pei Yan secretly commanded the system to monitor his body's condition while asking verbally.

"Today, everything is ready there. Let's go!"

Following Gu Shenghui out of the barracks, this time, it was only the two of them, with Hu Wenjun and General Ni not accompanying. The two entered the teleportation chamber, but unlike previous times where they would reach the destination directly, this time they teleported three times consecutively, traveling to different locations before reaching the final destination.

"Are we there yet?" Pei Yan asked curiously, observing the surroundings as he followed Gu Shenghui out of the Teleportation Array.

"Yes, now the teleportation method of Shen Yu has been identified, and the hall is working on clearing their secret arrays. Now the hall's Teleportation Array will cover the path each time with fake messages sent outward, automatically. You and I operated three times consecutively and basically won't be tracked to the new position of the Secret Prison." Walking in front, Gu Shenghui explained without turning his head.

This Secret Prison holds criminals with supernatural abilities. Observing the dark sky with high walls surrounded by electric fences, machine guns elevated on watchtowers, and continuously patrolling armed police soldiers, all indicate how different this place is from an ordinary prison.

Walking behind Gu Shenghui, Pei Yan could distinctly feel himself being watched by countless eyes, feeling uneasy, he shook his shoulders and questioned, "Is this Jiezhi Space? Are those normal people? Is it really okay?"

"This is similar to the office hall in the headquarters, much more advanced than a typical Jiezhi Space—it can be considered an independent small world. The weather changes here too. Those armed police soldiers only oversee perimeter alert; they're the final line of defense. Though they may be curious about the inside, they won't know the truth. If a prisoner genuinely breaks through to this line, then this prison is finished," said Gu Shenghui, leading Pei Yan to a large iron gate, and upon careful examination by prison guards, they were granted entry.

Just as Pei Yan stepped into the gate, his body trembled, and the velocity of his body's origin operation instantly slowed by half. He turned back to look at the gate behind him in confusion and couldn't help touching it. As suspected, this door indeed had a similar effect as the confinement ring.

"You felt it, right? Inside the prison, every wall and door incorporates materials and arrays like these. No matter whether the person is a cultivator or has supernatural abilities, once inside, their strength will suppress by about thirty to forty percent."

Listening to Gu Shenghui's introducing words, Pei Yan quickly followed behind into the second gate—nothing but a vast open area appeared ahead as he walked over the grass field.

Pei Yan felt his ability being suppressed a little more with every step across the field. This sensation was quite uncomfortable; evidently, even below this field, sealing-capable materials were mixed in. Glancing back at the dense machine-gun mouths on the interior prison high walls, the supernatural beings whose abilities are restricted would likely be shot before reaching the gate.

Finally crossing the field and following Gu Shenghui into the prison's main building, the feeling of suppression decreased slightly upon pushing the door open. Pei Yan let out a sigh of relief for that.

"You're here. Everyone is waiting!"

When Pei Yan saw and heard the person speaking, it was a familiar face—the leader of the capture team during the Chinese New Year mission. Later, Jiang Feiyang revealed that the person was surnamed Wei, a manager inside the Secret Prison.

"Great! You lead the way!"

After Gu Shenghui spoke, he wasted no time as he followed Pei Yan behind Director Wei further into the depths of the prison. Passing by cell after cell with sporadic cries and curses from prisoners inside, Pei Yan recalled his teammates describing the rumored conditions of living inside the Secret Prison as worse than death. He couldn't help being intrigued by what exactly lay behind those barred doors.