I am a proud prison administrator. My father was a prison administrator, my grandfather was a prison administrator, and my grandfather’s grandfather was also a prison administrator.
Tracing back through our family record, all ancestors were prison administrators, so I beca a prison administrator as well, commonly known as the Prison Warden.
The work of a Prison Warden consists of just one task, which is to manage the prison.
There are only two types of people in the prison: the prison guards and the prisoners.
Coincidentally, there are only two types of people in the universe: winners and losers.
Winners beco kings, losers beco prisoners, so the prison contains both winners and losers. Winners who choose to enter the prison and beco guards can escape the endless battles.
Losers, regardless of their will, will be sent to the prison, divided according to strict classifications, and then sent to different levels of prisons to serve their sentences, the worst being exiled to the Little Universe.
Since I grew up in the prison, I’ve seen many prisoners and guards. As a child, I liked those prisoners because they had many stories. Those stories were all very different, so were splendid and strange, so deeply moving, and each prisoner’s story was not quite the sa, as if there were always new stories, never-ending.
But as I grew older, I realized that the prisoners’ stories, after all, consist of just one character: ’loss.’ The beginning or end of all stories is a story of failure, so these stories are all quite sad.
Maybe because I listened for too long and heard too many, I gradually disliked listening to those sad stories. I wanted to hear stories that brought joy.
So, I started enjoying listening to stories told by the prison guards. They were the winners, the ones who possessed victory.
Their stories were indeed much more joyous than those of the prisoners: passionate battles, blood-boiling revelry, clashes of friendship, youthful arrogance, the solitude of invincibility.
I sowhat regretted not listening to guards’ stories sooner; these were truly the good stories.
Perhaps due to my naturally heavy curiosity or lack of constancy—in other words, lacking patience and being fickle—it didn’t take long for these victorious stories to beco sowhat boring too. So, I asked the guards, besides these victorious stories, if they had any sad stories.
Many guards then told a common sad tale: there are no eternal winners in this world, yet the battles between victory and defeat are endless.
That day, I learned why they chose to beco prison guards, for under the protection of the prison, they no longer needed to participate in endless wars.
And after that day, I no longer liked listening to stories because I suddenly realized one thing: whether it was the guards or the prisoners, regardless of whether their stories were sad or happy, they were all just the sa story.
This made feel sowhat bored, even confused, not understanding the point of such wars.
I thought perhaps I was too young to understand such issues, so I went to my grandfather and asked about this confusion.
After hearing my question, my grandfather laughed heartily, reached out to rub my head, and didn’t give an answer. He just said I would understand when I grew up.
I grew up day by day, yet I never could understand, even when I beca the Prison Warden. I still didn’t understand why, but I had my responsibility—to manage the prison.
Grandfather often said that the prison does not ddle with matters outside, but the affairs within the prison do not allow outsiders to interfere.
I think this makes a lot of sense; it’s a matter of course.
But within this, there was a troubleso matter. Outside the prison, there was a guy who was not a loser and yet did not want to beco a guard but loved running into the prison.
Inside the prison, there was also a strange guy who always wanted to run out of the prison.
As the Prison Warden, I naturally couldn’t let them break the rules of the prison, so I could only keep that winner who liked running into the prison at bay and closely watch the prisoner who loved breaking out.
For this, I fought many battles. I neither won nor lost.
Because I am the Prison Warden, I cannot partake in the endless war; otherwise, the prison would be dragged into the warfare too, so I cannot win, and likewise, I cannot lose.
I am soone with little patience; over ti, such a life made feel tedious and dull, and I highly doubted how my ancestors could live such a repetitive life every day over such long years without feeling bored.
Anyway, I am not very fond of it, probably because I’m still young.
In the repetitive and tedious daily life, suddenly a fun event happened.
A winner ca to the prison, and this winner actually asked to beco a prisoner, sothing that hadn’t happened since I beca the Prison Warden.
So I decided to et this interesting winner, but when I saw him, I was sowhat disappointed.
Because he was neither a handso guy nor a beauty, but rather a shabby old man.
Well, I’m soone who values looks, usually having no patience for unattractive people.
Initially, I intended to dismiss him casually, but who knew this shabby old man would tell a string of nonsensical theories.
He said that I was only successful and had my current achievents because of my good heritage; if I had been born in the Little Universe, I might be nothing at all, with no achievents whatsoever, possibly without even the chance to walk out of the Little Universe as a loser.
In the past, when encountering people this brave, I would give them a set of the top ten tortures of the prison to see how tough they really are, over and over if once wasn’t enough.
Perhaps because of the recent boredom, I actually felt a sudden whimsy to say a few words with that shabby old man.
Despite being unimpressive in appearance, the old man wanted to play a mind ga with , using reverse psychology, saying he wanted to make a bet with : let use the Returning Youth Technique, return to infancy, and self-strip my level, talent, and comprehension to enter the Little Universe to restart, and see if I could reopen the Gate of the Universe and return to the Great Universe.
Well, the old man was treacherous, but the proposal was very interesting. The life of a Prison Warden was too dull. I hadn’t been to the Little Universe before, so as a diversion, it was quite intriguing.
However, just stripping level, talent, and comprehension seed way too unfair to the people within the Little Universe, with no fun.
No matter about bets and wagers, I’m there for fun. I’m sure to win the bet, but for the ga to be fun, it has to be thrilling and dangerous. If I go to the Little Universe as the old man suggested and co back, what’s the difficulty in that? So I decided to self-strip three heavenly abilities: talent, Heavenly Bone, and Heavenly Enlightennt, in addition to capping the ceiling and being imperfectly limited, mory Sealing.
Alas, being too excellent is also a hassle; give the people of the Little Universe a chance.
The old man didn’t look too happy at that ti, he actually feared I might not co back.
I am the Prison King after all, how could I not co back?
In a bet, naturally there needs to be a stake. The old man proposed that if I lost, I would help him with sothing within my power.
Doesn’t matter, anyway, I’m impossible to lose.
As for what I wanted if I won, it seed like there was nothing I desired. So, I just noted it down; maybe, inspired one day, I’d think of so good punishnt.
We selected a Little Universe; that Little Universe was very interesting, surprisingly, its cosmic ecosystem was dominated by six Smart Brains, yet the main component of the ecosystem was humans, not silicon-based life forms.
Interestingly, the Smart Brains actually wanted to transform themselves into carbon-based human beings.
Even more interestingly, there was a human who was secretly playing a ga of chess with the Smart Brains; those brains thought they had thoroughly calculated that human but didn’t expect the human had likewise calculated them thoroughly.
This Little Universe was quite interesting; I would start anew from here.
"Take care, Prison King. I’ll be awaiting your successful return," the old man said when I left, an obligatory polite farewell.
Though he said nice words, he actually placed ten Destiny Locks on the Gate of the Universe, clearly preventing from using my current Strength secretly.
What do they take for? Would I need to use such ans?
Ah!
In the end, I still used it, and lost the bet.
To make the illusory Reverse World truly descend and rge with the real world had surpassed what that Little Universe could bear. The energy was insufficient; I had to use so energy. There was no other way unless the real universe completely vanished, replaced by the Reverse World. But in that case, Tian Xun and Wei couldn’t have survived; they would disappear forever.
"Prison King is compassionate," the old man didn’t say any mocking words.
"Lost is lost. Whatever you want to do, let it be within my capability." In our family, when we say sothing, we an it. Otherwise, how can we manage the prison? Naturally, we won’t search for any excuses.
However, if what the old man asks exceeds my bottom line, I’ll naturally make sure he doesn’t get his way.
Unexpectedly, the old man bowed deeply, proposing a request that left very troubled.
"Prison King, I implore your compassion. Only you can break the rules of victory and defeat, defy fate, restart the Endless War, and give all sentient beings a chance to end this unending war."
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