Chapter Fifty-Six: A Weighty Responsibility

"Is that all?" After listening to Zhao Li, the old warden asked calmly, his expression unchanging.

"Yes, sir. That is all I can think of for now." Zhao Li nodded. He didn't have any further thoughts; everything he had proposed was based on previous management methods and didn't differ much from the past—he had simply deduced certain hidden facts. More importantly, he was trying to discern the underlying meaning behind the old warden's question.

"Very good!" The old warden clapped his hands, commending him. "If I were to have you face the other prison guards—I mean all the ones you know—in a battle, what are the odds of you defeating them?"

"A battle?" Zhao Li had never imagined that he would one day fight those around him. The question left him visibly surprised. "I apologize, sir, but I have never thought about fighting them, so I haven't estimated my chances."

"Why? You trust your teammates implicitly, don't you?" The old warden returned to his relaxed, indifferent posture, feet propped high up on his desk. Zhao Li had seen this pose too many times; he was used to it.

"Yes, sir!" If one couldn't trust their own comrades, who else was there to trust? Though there was a slight hesitation in his voice, Zhao Li answered quickly.

"Then why, during that tsunami, did you not trust your comrades' judgment, but instead made your own decision?" The old warden's slow, deliberate words shattered Zhao Li's resolve. "And it seems that, in the end, it was the prisoners you trusted, wasn't it? Your aircraft was piloted by James. And the raft you relied on to return to the camp was built by those prisoners. Did you never consider the consequences if they hadn't been worthy of your trust?"

"This..." Zhao Li was rendered speechless, unsure how to respond. In truth, the old warden's question struck at his greatest weakness. If he trusted his comrades, why act on his own? If he trusted them, why did he end up trusting the prisoners more?

Zhao Li couldn't even explain it to himself. Why had things turned out this way? Was everything he had insisted upon wrong? Or was it that, deep down, he never truly trusted his fellow guards? This question had been buried in his heart for a long time, unresolved.

Or perhaps their behavior had crossed his moral bottom line, forcing him to act as he did? But even if that were the case, the prisoners were hardened criminals who posed a far greater threat to society. How could he have bonded with them, even risking his life to save them amidst the raging storm?

Zhao Li couldn't say. He hadn't even figured out if his own nature was fundamentally flawed, leading him to favor the company of prisoners, or if he had simply been assimilated and influenced by them.

"I think you should give it some serious thought." The old warden didn't pressure him, opting instead to let him reflect. As he spoke, he picked up his glass and took a slow sip. Zhao Li sat there clutching his own glass, and a silence fell over the room.

Time passed until the spacecraft began its slow descent. A slight tremor jolted Zhao Li from his contemplation. Looking down, he saw that half his juice remained; he had been lost in thought before the warden for a long time.

He looked up to see the old warden watching him with an inscrutable smile. The wine bottle on the table was nearly empty. Given the warden’s drinking pace, nearly two hours must have passed. "I apologize, sir. I was distracted!"

They had arrived? Was it this close? Was it on the same planet? Zhao Li had his doubts but didn't ask. The Montgomery Special Prison was of such high security that even the name of the planet was classified; he assumed this new prison was the same—some things were better left unasked.

"It's no matter; I enjoyed the drink. Come, let's head down." The old warden raised his glass, clinked it gently against Zhao Li's, and they finished their drinks. Zhao Li stood up, awaiting his orders.

Stepping out of the open hatch, Zhao Li gazed at the unique facility. It seemed this level of prison, whether on Montgomery or here, followed a design and specification completely different from anything he had studied in his management training.

The entire prison looked like a luxury resort. Surrounded by lush greenery, low-rise buildings were nestled within the foliage. There were smooth paths paved with pebbles, pavilions, and towers—it was truly an ancient, garden-style landscape.

"Environments like this are most likely to make people feel detached from the world, and most likely to make them abandon the things they hold onto in their hearts. The cultural atmosphere of our ancient East is truly magical." After dropping the two of them off, the luxury warship took off, revealing that they were standing in a massive sports field that doubled as a landing pad. The old warden walked with Zhao Li toward the garden-like structures, speaking as they went.

"Of course, living in an environment like this for too long only makes one yearn for freedom even more." The old warden seemed to have transformed into a tour guide. "Designing a prison like this—it's quite a contradictory design, isn't it?"

"It is fascinating to use this style for a prison." When Zhao Li had guessed at certain things earlier and the warden hadn't refuted him, he knew his deductions were mostly correct. Thus, he had a clear understanding of the purpose behind this layout.

"It's a form of psychological warfare, a subtle influence, aimed primarily at those prisoners with particularly strong will and stubborn personalities. Everything here is built on an oasis in the middle of a desert. Outside this oasis, there is no water source for hundreds of kilometers." It seemed most prisons were built in deserts for security reasons; that much was not surprising.

"In the three surrounding directions, an infantry company is stationed at each to handle emergencies," the old warden said, as if to confirm Zhao Li's earlier suspicions. "Furthermore, there is a militarized town hundreds of kilometers away. That serves as the logistics base; all supplies will pass through there."

"The outer perimeter is the living and office area for the guards and me. This time, your living conditions have been improved. At least the rooms are much better than those at Montgomery." The Montgomery prison had been on an offshore platform, expensive to build and relatively cramped. While the prisoners' conditions had been improved, the guards had been squeezed. It seemed this time, everything had been overhauled.

"We flew fast; the others won't arrive for another half hour," the warden explained patiently, noticing Zhao Li scanning the area for prisoners.

"Those guards you mentioned, the ones responsible for the 'loose' management, are already in place. Everything is ready, waiting to receive the prisoners." Wherever they walked, doors opened automatically—clearly, someone was monitoring them in real-time. Moreover, the doors could only be opened from the outside, ensuring absolute safety and reliability.

"Everything is prepared: an excellent environment, a location from which escape is difficult, the surrounding emergency response units, and the guards for the loose management." The old warden led him to the room marked as the Warden's Office. "Now, all that's missing is someone who can command respect and keep them from having any unruly ideas. Are you interested?"

"Me?" Zhao Li couldn't believe that he was the person the warden had in mind for such a crucial role. "Why me?"

"Because, in every respect, you can hold your own against them." The old warden looked into Zhao Li's eyes and explained earnestly. "First, you saved all of their lives. There is no doubt about that. People with military backgrounds value that highly. Although many of those guys still treat you with cold indifference, they have a yardstick in their hearts—every one of them owes you."

"Secondly, your personal combat skills, while not yet world-class, are sufficient to suppress those guys whose internal energy has been sealed." This second point was purely a consideration of brute force.

"Why not someone else?" Zhao Li still found it hard to believe he was the candidate. "They have served much longer than I have and hold higher ranks. Although I don't know about their combat skills, I imagine that with your training, they wouldn't be bad either."

"You mean the previous group?" The old warden glanced at Zhao Li. "Haven't you noticed that they are no longer suitable for this work?"

"Not suitable?" Zhao Li was astonished. In his view, those people had extensive experience in prison management, especially for high-security facilities; they should have been the perfect choice!

"Although I didn't tell them the importance of these prisoners, I didn't tell you either." The old warden seemed deeply disappointed in them, his tone weary. "Yet, in that situation, almost everyone made that choice, except for you."

Zhao Li tried to interject, but the old warden stopped him.

"If that were all, it wouldn't be a major failure. Under normal circumstances, making that choice isn't necessarily a mistake." The old warden, though angry at their dereliction of duty, admitted it was human nature.

"However, they shouldn't have started targeting and plotting against you afterward." The old warden smiled at Zhao Li's surprised expression. "Did you not feel that you were being isolated?"

"There was a time when that was the case." Under the warden's steady gaze, Zhao Li felt a bit guilty; he didn't dare try to cover for them. The warden might not have been present, but he was certainly observant. "But later, things returned to normal, and we got along quite well." This was true; ever since Zhao Li had single-handedly quelled that riot, everyone seemed to have re-accepted him, though Zhao Li himself didn't understand why.

"That's because you helped everyone save face and secured their right to enjoy normal treatment in that standard prison." The old warden didn't fear wounding Zhao Li’s pride, dissecting the reason directly. "In the eyes of outsiders, you are one unit. If they ostracized you—the one who performed so well—they would have drawn more scrutiny from the authorities. So, in that situation, they had to accept you."

"Do you really think it was your efforts that earned their recognition?" The warden's words pierced Zhao Li’s heart like a needle. Was it really like that? Why would it be?

"Naive boy, did you really think that riot was a coincidence?" Seeing that Zhao Li was still holding onto hope, the warden dealt a heavier blow. "The riot broke out while you were resting, and you had inspected that iron gate during your shift. Is it possible for that thing to open on its own?"

Zhao Li had suspected this at the time. However, since the higher-ups had labeled it a management loophole, he had accepted it without deeper analysis. Now that the warden mentioned it, he realized that "loophole" had been far too convenient.

"Did you never wonder why, when you charged down there alone, no one else went to help you?" This was the crux of the matter. One sentence from the old warden obliterated all of Zhao Li's internal justifications.

Although Zhao Li had gained an excellent training opportunity at the time, he couldn't help but feel a knot in his heart over their inaction. Later, they had been solicitous and helped him handle the aftermath of the riot, so he had buried these feelings. Now, the old warden was reopening the old wounds.

Reminded by Kang Hongyuan, Zhao Li had already known his position in their hearts, but he hadn't wanted to admit it. Now, he had to acknowledge that he had been a failure in his social dealings over the past few months—ostracized, framed, and yet still cleaning up their messes.

"But if I take this position, will they not be resentful? Will they plot against me again?" Realizing this, Zhao Li's stubborn, never-say-die spirit flared up. When it came down to it, it was just that he held the lowest rank, yet he had accomplished what no one else could, making everyone else feel unbalanced. If it had been that major in charge, the result would have been completely different.

The old warden had offered a chance; he had to take it. Kang Hongyuan had inadvertently revealed that the old warden had immense influence, and this was the best ladder to climb.

"I said they are no longer suitable for this work." The old warden looked at Zhao Li, explaining patiently once more.

"They aren't suitable?" Only the old warden and Zhao Li had stepped off the warship. Now Zhao Li understood why the warden had summoned only him to his private vessel. It seemed the others had been sent elsewhere—perhaps to ordinary prisons or active military units. In any case, they would have no chance to return to this high-security facility.

"Yes, everyone here is a new recruit." The old warden clarified.

"But, sir, I am only a corporal..." The rest didn't need to be said; the warden would understand. If the new recruits were like the last group of officers, Zhao Li still wouldn't be able to do his job.

"Everyone this time is completely reliable, but they all made minor mistakes during their previous service, so they are all here to redeem themselves through merit." The old warden smiled to put Zhao Li at ease. "Given the circumstances, their ranks have been temporarily stripped. There are seventeen of them, and all are now privates."

With the old warden having arranged everything so thoroughly, Zhao Li couldn't refuse. He wasn't a fool; he just hadn't wanted to overthink things.

"Yes, sir! Mission accomplished!" Facing the old warden's kind smile, Zhao Li stood at attention and gave a standard military salute.