Volume 1 Chapter 1: Death Row Inmate

Prologue

Year 506 of the New Era, autumn.

Huaxia District, Human Federation, Handan, the capital of Hebei Province.

“…This is HDC reporting from Handan Television: The chief judge of the Handan Intermediate Court signed the death warrant today. Eleven death row inmates will be executed at 7 PM this evening. Notably, the serial killer Qin Lun is also on the death list…”

Above the floating car lanes, a silver screen billboard suddenly displayed a beautiful news anchor from Handan Television News Channel. At the same time, the radio in the endless stream of various maglev cars broadcast this attention-grabbing, heavy news.

After entering the New Era, the humans on Earth formed a unified Federation country. Productivity greatly increased, and material life became more superior. However, the increase in productivity did not lead to a reduction in the wealth gap, and the lack of spiritual life gave rise to rampant criminal activities.

The serial killer Qin Lun attracted widespread public attention not only because of his cruel murder methods and extremely bloody crime scenes, but also because the process of his descent into a serial killer had once sparked great controversy among the public.

…

Twelve years ago, in the second-level slum area of Handan, a horrifying bloodshed case shocked the entire city.

A middle-aged couple was brutally murdered on Christmas Eve. At the scene, only the unconscious five-year-old stepdaughter Irene and the eight-year-old stepson Joey, sitting in a pool of blood holding a piece of scissors blade, were found.

After a thorough police investigation, all the evidence pointed to the stepson Joey as the murderer…

Of course, accusing an eight-year-old boy of being a murderer seemed too unbelievable. This case quickly sparked major controversy throughout the Huaxia District. Handan’s child welfare agency soon intervened in the case and presented numerous pieces of evidence that the deceased Foster couple had abused Joey and his sister.

The Foster couple were of European descent, immigrants from the North American District, and not the biological parents of Joey and his sister.

Joey and his sister were of Huaxia ethnicity. The older brother Qin Lun and younger sister Qin Mei lost their biological parents in a car accident. They were later adopted by the Foster couple and renamed Joey Foster and Irene Foster.

Under pressure from public opinion, the Handan police transferred Joey and his sister to the child welfare agency. A month later, the younger sister Irene was adopted by another family. However, because Joey was under suspicion of murder, no family was willing to adopt him. The boy reverted to his original name, Qin Lun, and remained in the child welfare institution.

Four years passed in a flash. Just as this sensational murder case, which had shocked the Federation, was slowly fading from people’s memories, another murder occurred at the child welfare institution where Qin Lun stayed.

A physically strong male caretaker was found dead in Qin Lun’s room, his stomach torn open and his intestines spilled out. The twelve-year-old, skinny boy was once again found curled up in a corner, covered in blood, holding a sharp piece of scissors…

Later, a supervisor from the welfare institution revealed that the male caretaker had a previous record of child abuse and had been severely warned once by the institution. Because this person was related to the institution’s leadership, he was not expelled from the child welfare institution at that time.

Qin Lun was exempted from legal punishment on the grounds of self-defense. However, this incident seemed to open a Pandora’s box in Qin Lun’s heart. The boy, diagnosed by psychiatrists with multiple personality disorder, embarked on a path of inevitable fate.

Over the next eight years, the boy Qin Lun brutally murdered dozens of people using various methods in mental hospitals, juvenile detention centers, and heavy penalty prisons, completely becoming a true serial killer…

………………………………………………….

Clang!

The iron gate to Prison Area E swung open automatically. Seven towering prison guards entered the corridor of the cell block. All except the leader wore heavy riot gear—four carried shields and protective helmets—while the last two carried a long, locked metal box.

Area E mostly held serious offenders. Unlike other zones for lighter sentences, every cell door here was solid iron, equipped only with a small viewing window.

Humans had entered the space age, yet prisoners enjoyed none of tech’s comforts. Inside Handan Heavy Penalty Prison, no holographic entertainment existed, no radio signals, no greens from off-world hydroponics.

Stripped of citizenship, inmates ate tasteless synthetic meals and slept on ancient, century-old bunk beds. Beyond forced labor, exercise and reading remained their only pastimes.

Of course, while prisoner furniture stayed crude, the prison’s security tech was cutting-edge. Each inmate wore a titanium alloy ankle monitor—a signal device clamped shut via magnetic lock. Removal required either the code…or the foot it bound.

Every corridor, every corner overflowed with surveillance. Even vents and sewage pipes crawled with patrol robots, making escape impossible. In its hundred-year history, Handan Prison boasted zero successful breakouts.

Flickering fluorescent lights cast eerie shadows across the silent hallway. Even seasoned guards felt uneasy under the suffocating gloom of Area E.

The seven guards moved swiftly. Passing multiple gates, they entered Area E’s heart: the “luxury suites” for the worst offenders. Death Row.

Tension thickened among the guards as they stepped into Death Row. Their expressions hardened. Walking its corridor, they finally reached Area E’s deepest sanctum.

The Forbidden Zone was cramped. Only three isolation cells occupied the space sunk lower than surrounding cells, where sewage pipes converged. Hallway fluorescents dimmed to an unsettling orange glow.

The air hung damp and cold, laced with faint decay. Sewage pipes cast grotesque shadows under the dim light. Deafening silence amplified everyone’s dread.

These cells punished rule-breakers. Just the journey here—from the dark halls holding violent felons and condemned men—filled even hardened murderers with terror. Weaker minds cracked completely, swearing off defiance forever.

Normally, the isolation cells stayed vacant. Yet now, by his third year, serial killer Qin Lun changed that. After slaughtering five cellmates and two guards, he became Handan Prison’s first inmate to claim an isolation cell as his permanent residence.

Stopping at the innermost cell, the guards tensed visibly. Their hands hovered near electrified batons.

Unlike high-tech cells, the isolation door had only a small viewing slit. The leading guard slid it open, peering inside.

Area E’s isolation cells differed from normal. No windows. Only a fist-sized vent linked to other rooms’ pipes. Shockingly, no stench lingered here. Instead, warmth and dryness dominated, mixed with air freshener scent.

A reinforced, bulletproof light glowed from the ceiling. Vintage bookshelves lined one wall, stacked full of paperbacks. Furniture was complete: desk, bed, sink, even a wooden chessboard beside books on the desk.

A thin young man sat with his back to the door at the desk, flipping through a thick volume.

Relieved, the guard tapped keys. The heavy door groaned. Hunched low behind shields, the four riot guards entered cautiously.

“Qin Lun!” the lead guard barked, gripping his baton firmly three meters away. “Time’s up!”

The young man gently closed his book. Bright light revealed its title: “Behavioral Psychology.” Scanning shelves and desk revealed this unique cell held an entire library on clinical psychology.

Qin Lun stood slowly, hands clasped behind his head, turning around. Light revealed an unremarkable face, slight build.

Surprisingly, Qin Lun the serial killer possessed eyes startlingly clear and pure. Years without sun left his skin ghostly pale—hands especially striking: slender, white, like polished jade. His entire form hinted only at severe malnutrition.

Entering Handan Prison, Qin Lun shattered records, crushing every unspoken rule. He killed every convict placed in his cell. Even two unlucky guards perished.

Qin Lun suffered severe trauma and a personality disorder. Terrorizing normal inmates, isolation had zero effect on him. After staggering losses, psychiatrists advised a “softer” environment.

Heat pipes warmed the floor beneath Qin Lun’s cell, battling dampness. Freshener flowed through vents. Books and chess aimed to calm him.

Qin Lun’s intelligence actually exceeded average, barring rare triggers. Given prison texts, he devoured primary through university curriculum within five years.

Yet studying Clinical Medicine and Psychology from age eighteen caused an unexpected reversal: no psychiatrist could assess his mind accurately anymore.

Seeing Qin Lun’s unsettlingly bright eyes, the lead guard sighed internally. He raised a thin, electronic black-framed screen and began reading.

This Optical Computer tablet stored Qin Lun’s death warrant. Prisoners dubbed the device a “Death Notice.”

“Name: Qin Lun,” the guard read aloud. “Male. Age: 20. Born Joey Foster. Final ruling from the Federation Supreme Court: appeal rejected, sentence upheld. Found guilty of multiple homicide. Citizenship permanently revoked. Execution scheduled for 19:00 this evening!”

As his voice echoed, the two guards unlocked the metal box. Inside lay pieces resembling mechanical armor. They assembled them onto Qin Lun. Moments later, a steel-clad figure emerged, only his eyes visible through the helm.

This Steam Restraint Device relied on steam power. It forced wearers to move excruciatingly slow. Simply sitting down took three laborious seconds.

Hiss! White steam vented from knee joints. Masked in steel, Qin Lun stepped forward into the corridor.

Encased in the harness, the serial killer lumbered awkwardly, a ridiculous metal bear hemmed between riot guards down the bleak hall of Area E.

Heavy footsteps echoed. Prisoners pressed against barred doors in the passing hallways, watching silently.

This is Handan Heavy Penalty Prison’s top dog? Each prisoner’s gaze held unreadable, complex shadows.

“Cover his head!” commanded the head guard, facing Area E’s final gate.

…

Handan Heavy Penalty Prison consisted of towers buried hundreds of feet deep. Between Tower E and Tower D stretched a colossal structure—a steel rail soaring into the clouds.

Resembling a vertical roller-coaster track, the rail grew steeper towards its summit. Its top section angled vertically, forming a perfect right angle with its base. This was Sky Rail, one of humanity’s pinnacle technologies of the Genesis Era.

Sky Rail enabled long-distance transport. Variants existed: provincial, regional, stellar… even mythical intergalactic lines. A sealed capsule at the base used the rail’s acceleration to transform itself into particles of pure light. Thrust into a rift lying between normal space and opposite matter space called Subspace, it achieved near-instantaneous travel across vast distances.

Another Sky Rail would capture it upon arrival. Federation citizens used this for cross-province journeys instead of magnetic levitation vehicles. Electric trains and passenger planes belonged only in museums now.

Sssch! The base entrance parted, revealing a wide, brightly-lit modern passage. Compared to the damp, reeking corridor near Qin Lun’s cell, this felt like another world.

Guards steered Qin Lun’s Steam Restraint Device into the Sky Rail pod, removing his hood as they did.

Qin Lun’s eyes, still visible behind his metal mask, surveyed the surroundings. They stood in an oval chamber. Touchscreen consoles lined the walls; opposite them glowed a massive display monitor.

“Transmission subject secured,” a synthesized feminine voice announced softly. “Activating particle analysis engine…”

The team entered the chamber. The Sky Rail Optical Computer continued.

“Particle scan complete. Remote guidance signal acquired. Beginning thirty-second countdown…”

“…3…2…1! Transmission commencing!”

The compartment shuddered violently. Atop Handan Prison, brilliant spiral light flared. The transmission capsule streaked skyward like a meteor, vanishing instantly into the enigma of Subspace.