Lien thought he had made himself perfectly clear. Given this woman’s usual behavior, shouldn’t she be overjoyed by now?

But after waiting a moment, he didn’t see the ecstatic expression he expected on her face. His composure began to crack.

“What’s with the silence? What’s that look supposed to mean? Isn’t this a case of me taking the loss while you reap the benefits?”

“Hey! Say something.”

Shen Ying’s silence made Lien feel like he was losing face. Was it possible that after he took the initiative, this woman was now playing hard to get?

Wouldn’t that make him seem cheap?

Just then, the warden let out a soft sigh. “Stop fooling around. This is a proper prison.”

“I may not be as upright as my father, but I would never abuse my authority to accept physical bribes from inmates.”

Lien stared at Shen Ying, his eyes practically screaming, Are you fucking kidding me?

He thought he had already thrown shame to the wind, but compared to the warden, he was just an amateur.

This woman had the audacity to outright deny it—she shamelessly refused to acknowledge what she’d done.

Lien glared at her, his face flushed with either anger or humiliation, and gritted his teeth. “Cut the act. How many times have you taken advantage of me under some flimsy excuse?”

“Now that I’m offering it, you suddenly play innocent? Wasn’t it you who forced a search on me? Wasn’t it you who deliberately manhandled me? Wasn’t it you who got handsy in the simulation pod?”

Shen Ying maintained a stern expression. “Prisoner 3077, these are baseless accusations. Every search was justified—you were hiding dangerous contraband, seriously disrupting prison order, and bypassing scanner detection. My manual inspections were a necessary last resort.”

“In the end, my actions were entirely appropriate.”

“As for the simulation pod incident, you were the one insisting the machine was faulty. Out of respect for your status as a donor, I repeatedly assisted with adjustments and repairs.”

Technically, that was true—but every time, she exploited the situation with pinpoint precision.

Lien couldn’t even protest without sounding unreasonable. Now he understood the Crown Prince’s frustration.

Even without knowing the full story, he could guess that the guy had suffered injustices he couldn’t voice, forced to swallow them in silence.

The most infuriating thing about the warden was how she could take every advantage and still come out looking righteous.

Lien scoffed. “Spare me the holier-than-thou act. If that’s the case, then what about Niu Xi?”

“Listen up—I’m getting those new sneakers today, one way or another. If you refuse the deal, I’ll report you for sexual harassment of inmates, using material incentives to turn prisoners into your playthings.”

If he couldn’t get what he wanted, he’d drag everyone down with him.

Shen Ying sighed. “To be frank, the prison is currently in a communication blackout. Any report would take a year to process.”

Lien snapped, “A year it is, then. You can’t stay cut off forever.”

Shen Ying seemed to relent, nodding. “Fine, fine. You’ll get your shoes.”

“Since when did coercion become an acceptable negotiation tactic?”

Lien was fuming. He was convinced she was secretly thrilled but putting on this “reluctant victim” act.

Emboldened, he pushed further. “Actually, I don’t just want the shoes. I want access to the full-dive VR games.”

Shen Ying raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think that’s possible?”

Lien smirked. “We can use your account. You’ll supervise me the whole time.”

Shen Ying considered it—this might be a good opportunity to expose a weakness. “...Alright.”

Having gotten his way, Lien strutted back to the bench, radiating smugness. He didn’t even bother competing with Niu Xi in their usual ball game.

Lu ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‍Yu asked, “What did you talk to the warden about?”

Lien smirked. “I demanded VR game access. She agreed.”

His gaze swept dismissively over Lu Yu, the Crown Prince, and Niu Xi—the message was clear.

He was the most privileged here, the one with real influence. Even outrageous demands like this were granted without hesitation.

Lu Yu cut straight to the point. “How many times did you have to sell yourself?”

Lien scoffed. “Are you underestimating me? A trivial request like this doesn’t require multiple transactions.”

Lu Yu was surprised. Had the warden become that lenient? She didn’t even demand anything in return?

Then Lien added, “Once was more than enough to satisfy her.”

Lu Yu: “...”

Crown Prince: “...”

Niu Xi: “...Why do you sound proud of that?”

Lien ignored him, merely casting a disdainful glance at his sneakers. The implication was obvious.

After a pause, Lu Yu’s expression shifted. “Could you arrange this again?”

Lien chuckled. “You call this a request?”

Lu Yu: “...Fine. This time, make sure you deliver a performance. Use every trick you’ve got to secure a repeat.”

Lien bristled. “‘Performance’? Niu Xi’s been getting special treatment for ages. With my looks, why would I need to put in effort?”

Lu Yu was speechless at the sheer idiocy.

He knew Lien was restless—couldn’t blame him, really. The warden’s overwhelming competence had crushed everyone’s escape plans.

Lien wasn’t stupid. In fact, he was the first to accept reality: during the blackout, unless Shen Ying slipped up, escape was impossible.

So he stopped clinging to false hope and just did whatever pleased him.

Lu Yu took a deep breath. “Fine. Just secure another session. We’ll talk details later.”

Lien guessed he was plotting something, but since it wasn’t fully formed yet, he didn’t press further.

That night, escorted by a robotic guard, he went upstairs and climbed into the simulation pod.

Remembering Niu Xi’s bizarre “reward,” Lien insisted on trying it himself.

Shen Ying had never heard such a strange request, but of course she obliged.

When Lien emerged, he was convinced Niu Xi was a masochist.

Was that guy into pain? How could anyone consider that a reward?

...Or was Lien just less resilient than Niu Xi?

No—he refused to entertain that idea. Niu Xi was clearly an abnormal freak, incompatible with normal human standards.

His “payment” for the transaction was two hours of full-dive VR gaming.

Lien knew the market rate—top-tier VR gaming lounges charged 400 starcoins per hour.

Meaning he’d essentially sold himself for eight hundred—No. Stop that train of thought.

He mentally kicked himself.

Choosing a popular shooter game, he teamed up with the warden and dominated the virtual battlefield.

As one of the universe’s top-ranked combatants, Lien was basically bullying amateurs.

Other players didn’t see it that way. Within two hours, he’d been reported for cheating dozens of times.

Lien gleefully headshot every whiner accusing him of hacking before logging off, thoroughly satisfied.

Climbing out of the pod, he leaned toward Shen Ying. “Same time next week?”

Shen Ying: “The game, or the transaction?”

Lien scowled at her unfazed expression. “The game. Do I look like I enjoy selling myself?”

"Only knowing that there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world, I’ve already prepared myself to pay the price for it."

Shen Ying: "Then maybe we should just forget it. It’s just a game, not a necessity. You don’t seem too willing anyway."

Lien: "Do you want me to report you?"

Shen Ying: "..."

The next few days in the prison were relatively calm, with almost nothing happening. The troublemakers seemed to have suddenly turned docile overnight.

However, Lu Yu appeared eager to settle his outstanding punishments. Within a couple of days, he urged the coder to create new code again.

This time, it was for a leopard-man. As a predator, the leopard-man’s appearance and modified traits were brimming with aggression.

Even its tongue was covered in fine, dense barbs, the depth of which could be adjusted according to the user’s will.

The sensation of them scraping against the skin was enough to send shivers down one’s spine.

Shen Ying had initially thought that Lu Yu’s refined demeanor would make his portrayal of a wild leopard-man seem out of place. But upon seeing it, she realized she was wrong.

Of course—this was the underground crime lord who ruled over vast star systems. His gentle and amiable facade was nothing but a disguise.

Once the mask was torn away, revealing his cruel and ruthless nature, the sheer contrast was thrilling enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

Shen Ying was quite satisfied with this. She exited the simulation pod first, not bothering to question Lu Yu’s lingering inside.

Lu Yu rose from the pod, watching the warden’s retreating figure with a complicated expression.

As expected, she had done this on purpose.

Lu Yu didn’t understand why, but he wasn’t willing to let this opportunity slip.

He returned to his cell and said to Lien, "In a week, go out and ‘sell’ yourself again. But after that, play a newly released game."

"The game is called [All-Round Player]. Don’t worry about the warden getting suspicious—by then, this game will be trending across the entire star network."

With a ready-made game purchased and slightly modified, combined with the promotional power of his and the Crown Prince’s influence, it would be enough to propel this game to the top of the star network in no time.

Lien raised an eyebrow. "Another scheme? What if it fails again?"

Lu Yu smirked at him. "If it fails, we’ll just get punished by the warden again. Are you scared of punishment?"

Lien nodded. "Fair point."

But then he gave Lu Yu a scrutinizing look. "What simulation character did you use this time?"

Lu Yu: "Leopard-man."

Lien: "Anything special about it?"

Lu Yu: "Nothing much. Just a lot of barbs on the tongue."

A surge of irritation flared in Lien’s chest, but he scoffed. "Yeah, nothing special. Cats have those too. Not exactly groundbreaking."

Lu Yu nodded. "True. Both are felines. Just a matter of depth."

Lien was fuming. He felt like the guy was showing off. A few days later, before entering the simulation pod, he sought out the coder again.

He demanded adjustments to the barb depth on the black cat’s tongue.

The coder immediately slammed his hands on the table. "Enough!"

"Do you even know who I am? I’m the greatest coder in the universe! My research on simulation pods has made unparalleled contributions. Even if I’m stuck in prison, my name will go down in history!"

"I’ve coded countless simulated worlds—grand prehistoric eras, mysterious oceanic realms, even settings capable of transporting people across millennia. I am a great artist!"

"What do you people take me for? I’m not some damn errand boy for your kinky setups—"

Before he could finish, Lien beat him up. With tears of humiliation in his eyes, the coder grudgingly adjusted the barbs on the cat’s tongue.

Life was tough.

That night, Shen Ying found the unusually wild black cat a bit too much to handle.

Once again, she requested the system to provide her with a vitality pill, but the system ignored her as usual.

After playing with the cat’s tail to her heart’s content, Shen Ying opened the holographic game and paid Lien the exorbitant internet fee in exchange for his body.

This time, Lien didn’t choose the shooting game from before, saying it would just get reported again and ruin the experience.

Instead, he picked a newly popular game from the library called [All-Round Player].

The game had a retro aesthetic, drawing inspiration from classic films from a thousand years ago—like [Iron Man], [Batman], and [Jurassic World]. That era was when movies had just emerged. Though the special effects seemed laughably primitive by modern standards, they still held a certain charm.

Hearing this, Shen Ying felt a pang of nostalgia. In her original timeline, these works were already part of a highly developed entertainment industry. But from the perspective of a thousand years later, they were no different from the earliest days of cinema.

Such was the condescension of technological advancement.

Still, for Shen Ying, these IPs weren’t that ancient, and she held some sentimental attachment to them.

So she and Lien had a great time playing together.

Truth be told, Lien’s unrestrained, carefree personality made him an excellent playmate—he did whatever came to mind without hesitation.

As a reward, Shen Ying even gave him an extra hour.

By the time Lien returned to the prison, it was already late at night, leaving no chance to debrief with Lu Yu and the others.

The next morning, Lien found Lu Yu in the cafeteria. "I played that game like you said yesterday. Nothing happened."

Lu Yu smiled. "No, that’s enough."

He glanced at the Crown Prince. "Your Highness, has everything been arranged?"

The Crown Prince gave a cold nod. "Begin."

A moment later, a deafening crash reverberated through the prison, as if the entire facility had been struck by a violent impact.