Doomsday city

The thick boots stepped through the soot and created a mist, blurring the vision and making Esses a little confused.

In the summer of [-], the iron factory building, which had been abandoned for more than half a century, exuded a gloomy and weird atmosphere. The excessive humidity in the fir forest made ferns entangled on the iron wall, and the long-term wind and rain made the factory building Mottled, as if afraid of visitors, all the railings and windows are covered with twisted iron plates, and the welding torch welds indicate that they never want anyone to peep, like a stubborn old man, who tastes loneliness and isolating from the world.

The dark corridor needs to be illuminated by a flashlight, and the white light without any temperature reflects the endless direction. Suddenly Esther feels a little cold, and the slightest breeze blows through the gap in the window and blows on the back of her neck, which is obviously the hottest day. It was a hot month, but Esther got goosebumps all over her body. Since she was only wearing a gray vest, she had to rub her arms to get rid of the discomfort.

Pa-ta-pa-ta-, every time you walk through the suspended stairs, there will be bursts of echoes in the Quiet Office. The invisible sound waves are like the echolocation of bats, like the polar radar tracking the movement of Esses. She hates this kind of thing very much The feeling of being noticed, so she will deliberately walk lightly, even if no one cares what she is doing at all.

"Abel, I'm here to change shifts with you." Putting the flashlight on the beer crate, empty wine bottles and cigarette butts were everywhere in the messy and stuffy room, Esther frowned and pushed the girl lying on the sofa. The man deliberately lowered his voice and said, "Trust me, if they find you sleeping on duty, they will definitely not let you go."

The man who was woken up rubbed his messy blond hair, and his greasy skin made him look extremely sloppy.

"Oh, Essus, you're the best talking mate on the team, can you please keep it a secret for me? I mean, gatekeepers are such a boring job, a hyperactive guy like me should go out and make a fuss, Is there something wrong with sending me here?" The man sucked his nose hard, his tone of voice sounded weird with a severe nasal voice.

"That's because you have a cold, Abel. My father will not let a sick person perform labor tasks." Esses handed him a tissue and asked him to wipe off the runny nose. "Don't forget, he is a Doctor." The pediatrician at the Walltown Clinic, at least everyone in town knew Bud Eli—Esther Eli's father.

"Thank you for the reminder. To be honest, I almost forgot." Abel's smile was a bit weird, and the words in his words made Esther feel uncomfortable. She knew that Abel was teasing herself, and most of them were malicious.

"I think it's time for you to go downstairs." Essus pulled his chair and faced a closed door, ignoring Abel.

"Well, I heard a moan of pain coming from inside about three or ten minutes ago, maybe you should prick up your ears and listen carefully, lest the 'chip' die in it, we don't want to waste our time, do we buddies?" Abel took the flashlight and threw it away and caught it again. His raised eyebrows were recognized by all the young women in the town as the most attractive, but Esther turned her back at this time and didn't care at all.

After a while, Abel's aura completely disappeared, leaving only Esther and the opposite door in the empty and dirty second floor space.

The clasped palms were a little wet. I don't know if it was because of the heat or nervousness. Essers took a breath and wiped the sweat on her loose jeans. In front of her eyes, the closed door didn't move at all, and she couldn't hear anything. She couldn't see through the door even if she stared straight at the scene, but she knew that the inside must be horrible.

Time ticked, and an hour later Esther's tense muscles trembled.

"...Save...save...me..." The words seemed to be squeezed out of the torn throat, and the weak and hoarse cry came into Esses' ears through the door panel.She's not sure it's real?Or hallucinations?After all, the sweltering temperature made her feel a little dizzy, with sweaty hair sticking to her forehead, Esther pursed her lips, and a bunch of special keys were placed within easy reach.

Her job is to keep the gate.

"...Save...save...me..." The quiet space was filled with three words. Although the volume was not loud, it was like densely packed insects and ants crawling all over the dormitory. Bloodshot, she knew that she should sit on a chair and guard the door, no matter how miserable the screams came from inside, but her conscience told her that if the person inside died, she would have to suffer from insomnia in the middle of the night for the rest of her life.

Should it be opened?Still not open?

Snapped! ——

The ear-piercing sound of the shutter and the flash brought the wandering Esses back to her senses.

"Esses Eli, 25 years old, graduated from Wall City High School, worked as an administrative assistant for Keer Technology for one year, was arrested for participating in the Gift kidnapping and extortion case, and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole," said through the reinforcement Glass, she listened to the unemotional mechanical voice coming from the speaker, "If the above information is correct, please put your hands on the scanner." I can see my own reflection, thin and haggard, the sallow skin under the fluorescent lamp looks sick and tired, the long dark brown hair that was originally long was also shaved short because of serving the sentence, and now the curly hair in the ear is a bit messy, she looks dazed with her mouth slightly open, There was only one emotion that could be read from those dull green pupils—death.

"Esther Eli, I'll say it again, if the information is correct, put your damn hand on the scanner." This time the voice from the loudspeaker was a little more impatient.She gently placed her hands on the device in front of her eyes. Two seconds later, she was told that her handprint had been registered, and her identification would be sent to the prison on Narrow Island, also known as the Hellship.

"Very good, now go out and put on your clothes, the shuttle bus will arrive in 10 minutes."

Essers is quite used to walking around naked in front of the reinforced glass with one-sided perspective. After all, this is the third time for her to establish an identity file.Wearing a navy blue prison uniform, she waited handcuffed by the iron railing like the other prisoners. The one-way car that picked them up was not bad at all. The whole process was quite quiet from the time the escort was boarded to the time when she was seated. No one lost his mind or attempted to escape. Just because the criminals on this trip were all heavy prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment just like her.

"Zangla, hum, sounds like a place for the elderly." The prisoner sitting behind Esses murmured, his tone full of sarcasm.

Esses lowered her head and looked out of the car. She knew that she would never have the chance to see the city again in this life. The people in this car, including her, knew the reputation of Narrow Island Prison. It was the end point of all prisoners, and it was There is no return.The history of its existence can even be traced back to Esther's grandparents. All the prisoners who were sent there were convicted of felony crimes, and most of them were death row. Of course, there are also life-imprisoners like Esther. In prison, or even worse, was tortured to death by inmates.

Thinking of this, Esther chuckled a few times.

In fact, she was very calm when she was told that Nyangra was being transferred.In other words, from the moment she was arrested, all the tension and fear completely dissipated. She was sentenced to serve her sentence in the municipal prison, where the prisoners were basically teenagers who caused social problems. It was quite relaxed and pleasant for her. After serving her sentence, she was transferred to a felony women's prison for half a year. In the next few years, she completely changed her personality. Values, morals, joy, anger, sorrow, and joy were worn away over the years. She learned to adapt and obey. , People with "special" criminal records like her will always receive "special" treatment in prison, so she learns how to endure pain and torture in order to survive.

Now, nothing stimulates her emotions because she has learned to keep her true feelings buried deep inside.

"Hey, I heard you are Esses? That Esses Eli who kidnapped Gift's daughter?" The woman sitting on the other side of the aisle turned her head to talk to Esses. Her skin was as white as milk, and she approached The gray hair is softly attached to the cheeks, exuding an inexplicable sense of morbidity, but the crescent-shaped blue eyes are like a bay under the summer sun, bright and penetrating.

Esther didn't want to have too much interaction with other prisoners, she just took a quick look at him, stretched her finger on the identification tag on the neckline, and her name was written in regular characters——Esther Eli, if there is someone in the world Called this name, and also kidnapped Gift's daughter, then this person is her.

"My name is Frieda, nice to meet you." Sensing the other party's refusal to talk, Frieda shrugged and sat back on her seat.

Esses kept her head down and clasped her hands. The boring drive was quite boring. After leaving the suburbs, there would be an endless straight road, and they would drive all the way to the coast.While shaking, Essers suddenly remembered a few reports, which she heard by chance from the chatting of the prison guards when she first entered the municipal prison.

——The Broken Neck Murderer surrendered himself to the Police Headquarters at midnight.

— After three days of excavation, the heads of seven victims have been recovered.

——The fingerprints match the murder weapon, the evidence is conclusive.

——The name of the murderer is "Frida".

The wheels fell into a pit while driving, and the violent jolt made all the passengers up and down for a while. Essers subconsciously grabbed the armrest behind the chair, but her forehead hit the reinforced window.She frowned and sat back in her seat, and instantly met Frieda who was across the aisle. Her gaze was like cool sea water gently caressing her body. Esther could not deny that Frieda's smile was very special, crescent moon Wan's eyes are full of childlike innocence, and she wonders if this is a disguise or a trait?

After all, the other party is a serial killer.

"Are you all right? It looked like you were knocked hard just now." Frieda expressed her concern to Esther.

"Thank you, I'm fine." She retracted her gaze politely, and returned to the original look of hanging her head.

Essus remained in the same posture for the next five hours. She ignored Frieda, let alone answered her phone.