Chapter 290: Infiltrating the Enemy's Ranks 7:00 PM, night shift, Warden's Office. Aiden sat at his desk, placing the processed documents aside. Having decided to temporarily reside in the prison, he had slightly slowed his work pace today, but by now, the necessary tasks were completed. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on ⓝovelFire.net Then, he picked up a stack of papers from the desk—these were applications submitted by inmates tonight. Normally, this would be tomorrow morning's work, but since he had free time now, he didn't mind handling them early. He flipped through them one by one, stamping some with approval, signing others with rejection, and adding extra punishment decisions for those with bizarre requests. He paused when he reached a particular sheet. This application read: Inmates in the Core Block are planning a large-scale escape. If you want details, come find me. The applicant was Inmate 3005, Ophelia Kaodo. Aiden examined the application with keen interest. But he truly hadn't expected Ophelia to voluntarily offer to snitch. He could imagine how Ophelia learned about the plan—Anne and those two lackeys must have specifically approached her about the escape. The Core Block inmates didn't know Ophelia's mindset had changed. In their eyes, she was still the 'Groundhog Princes' who hated the Warden to the bone for tormenting her relentlessly, repeatedly trying and failing to escape, one of the most restless sparks among the Core Block inmates. After pondering for a moment, he stood up, left the office, and summoned a guard, instructing her to confirm Inmate 3005's current location in the Core Block. This was the inmates' evening activity time; those with normal privilege levels could apply to be taken to the reading room, while some might be scheduled for vocational training courses. Of course, most inmates chose to stay in their cells. Soon, the guard returned. "Warden, Inmate 3005 went to the reading room." "Bring her here. I have questions for her," Aiden ordered, then added, "Oh, and when you call her out, absolutely do not say I'm looking for her. Just say there's information to update regarding her commissary account, and she needs to come out to confirm... Anyway, just make up some other reasonable excuse." If Ophelia had successfully infiltrated the group of troublemakers, abruptly summoning her in the Warden's name might alert the other inmates if they overheard. The guard saluted and left. About five minutes later, Aiden met Ophelia in the interview room. "Speak," Aiden got straight to the point as soon as she sat down across the iron table. "Telling you everything counts as meritorious service, right?" Ophelia crossed her arms and tilted her head up slightly. "Sentence reduction? Or an upgrade in privilege level?" "Wrong. Not telling me means I'll have to interrogate you properly. Failure to confess means you'll be held responsible," Aiden found her arrogant demeanor both infuriating and amusing. "Reporting illegal activities within the prison and confessing voluntarily is your duty. Don't use what you're supposed to do as a bargaining chip to make demands." "Are you trying to get something for nothing?!" Ophelia glared at him. "I helped you infiltrate the enemy's ranks and obtained first-hand information—"(TN: 空手套白狼 (Kōngshǒu tào bái láng) - Lit. 'catch a white wolf with bare hands'. Idiom meaning to gain something substantial without investing anything, often through deception or trickery.) "Those idiots approached you first, didn't they?" Aiden interrupted her. "That still counts as helping you, right? Are you going to deny me credit for that too? Are you targeting me specifically?!" Ophelia fumed, repeatedly pounding the iron table. "You think this counts as meritorious service? Do you think earning merit is that easy? Sentence reductions have to follow the basic law too," Aiden calmly tapped the table with his knuckles, signaling Ophelia to calm down. "At the very least, you need to contribute to preventing other inmates from escaping to be considered meritorious. Right, just like when Arsena hit you with that 'Wraith Howl' last time..." "Don't mention that incident. I get angry just thinking about it," Ophelia's face darkened. "My point is, if others can do it, so can you. The key is..." Aiden said earnestly, "...to find the right opportunity. When someone tries to escape, the organizers themselves become walking opportunities for sentence reduction." "I only get credit if I act at that specific moment?" Ophelia understood, her brow furrowing suspiciously. "Will you grant me permission to use magic then?" "That depends on your cooperation now," Aiden replied nonchalantly. "Actually, we were already aware they were planning an escape attempt. But since you know more specific details... I'll trouble you to confess." "Fine. Simply put, that new pirate made some bold claims, saying someone from the outside will break her out, and she plans to release all the inmates in the Core Block when that happens. Today, she even approached several others, inciting them to cause trouble after leaving the prison," Ophelia explained briefly. "Besides you, who else did they approach? You must have found out." "Good. Then make a list for me," Aiden pushed a piece of paper and a pen across to Ophelia. Ophelia hesitated only slightly before starting to write. Soon, a list emerged. Aiden scanned it, noting the number wasn't small. After all, no matter how much the atmosphere improved, this was still the Core Block, housing the most violent inmates. Many would jump at the chance to escape, even seeking revenge against the prison. Several dangerous red-alert level inmates were among them. Better deal with this in advance... Drake's jailbreak certainly required caution, but the Core Block inmates themselves were definitely not to be underestimated. Viewed this way, Ophelia's information was indeed quite important. "Don't you forget what we just agreed on," Ophelia reminded him. "I'll give you the chance. However, the 'opportunity' for meritorious service will be very limited then, likely more monks than porridge. You'll have to seize the moment yourself. Also, you absolutely must wait until I give the signal before acting. Until then, you can cooperate with them for now," Aiden gave his instructions, then smiled at her. "Regardless, evolving from being sold out while helping count the money to actively selling others out... you've certainly gotten smarter. Congratulations."(TN: 僧多粥少 (Sēng duō zhōu shǎo) - Lit. 'many monks, little porridge'. Idiom meaning demand exceeds supply, not enough to go around.) "Hmph, stop bringing up the past to mock me. I'm just looking out for my own benefit," Ophelia pouted.