“Let me introduce myself, I am David Thompson, Chief Inspector of the Major Crimes Unit. I’ve been chasing you since your arrest yesterday, but I didn’t expect Helen Reed from the South District Headquarters to steal the credit.”

“This is roast goose I specially bought from Yong Kee.”

Showing off the roast goose, David Thompson reached out, and Brian Carter happily shook his hand.

“Ding, congratulations on successfully checking in with David Thompson. Reward: double base intelligence. The host may claim it freely.”

This reward made him ecstatic. The massive boost in physique and stamina he’d gained from the teapot and Peter Clark had already delighted him, and now his intelligence could be enhanced too? Wouldn’t that mean, in the future, he could have a superhuman brain even without taking NZT-48?

“Chief Thompson is so nice, even bought roast goose? What do you want?” With a bit more goodwill toward the man in front of him, Brian Carter unceremoniously grabbed the roast goose and started eating.

David Thompson sat down on the concrete slab, amused. “I’m increasingly convinced that the Deepwater Poison Soaked Street gold shop armed robbery has nothing to do with you. You’ve been wronged.”

Brian Carter asked in surprise, “Why?”

David Thompson replied, “Since your prison break, you haven’t hurt a single person. Of course, that minor scrape on Big D doesn’t count—just a band-aid fixes it. Someone like you is nothing like the kind of violent criminal who’d rob with a gun and shoot it out with the police.”

He paused before continuing, “Originally, I was supposed to escort you back to Lai Chi Kok Detention Centre, but since you’ve repeatedly assaulted police, grabbed guns, and taken hostages, I heard the higher-ups are considering sending you to Stanley. But don’t worry, I’ll look into your file carefully. If I can clear you of the gold shop robbery, then the subsequent prison break and police assault can be dealt with leniently, since those won’t get you much jail time anyway.”

Brian Carter was curious, “Why are you helping me?”

David Thompson grinned cheekily, “Because I’m a cop.”

With that, he left.

Brian Carter silently finished the roast goose, then lay down on the stone bed to claim his intelligence boost reward.

……

Two days later, after a trial at the Hong Kong High Court, Brian Carter’s various charges were stacked together, adding three years to his sentence, and he was sent to Stanley Prison.

Just a few days later, he was back on the road to Stanley.

Brian Carter’s mindset was completely different now.

The only difference was that this time, the police van escorting him had him in solitary confinement. Last time, there were seven or eight prisoners in the van to Lai Chi Kok; this time to Stanley, he was the only prisoner, but there were five police officers.

At noon, as sunlight poured over the southern part of Hong Kong Island, at the Stanley Prison Supervision Division.

Three prison guards escorted Brian Carter, who was in handcuffs and shackles, waiting quietly. A tall young man in a prison guard uniform approached, glanced at Brian Carter, swung a plastic baton in his hand, and said sternly, “You’re Brian Carter, 52363? I’m the head of the Stanley Supervision Division. Here, I am the god of you scum. If I tell you to sit, you sit. If I tell you to kneel, you kneel!”

“Take him out. One month on the criminal investigation bed!”

Brian Carter frowned deeply. Thanks to his doubled intelligence, he recalled even more details from old Hong Kong movies—Killer Jack in Prison Storm?

In that story, what was the criminal investigation bed?

It meant you had to eat, drink, and relieve yourself all on one bed! Eating and sleeping in your own filth.

“I want to file a complaint!”

As he frowned and spoke, Killer Jack let out a disdainful snort. “Take him out. Add another week to his time on the criminal investigation bed.”

“Remember, here you’re just a prisoner—not even as good as a dog!”

Brian Carter was furious. No one had ever humiliated his dignity like this before. With a flick of his hand, the handcuffs came off. He bent down quickly to unlock the shackles, then grabbed the metal handcuffs and shackles and lunged at Killer Jack...

“Ding, congratulations on successfully checking in with Killer Jack. Reward: one hundred Hong Kong dollars. The host may claim it at any time.”

Damn, is the check-in reward this lousy? Just as useless as Vaseline and Curly. How can anyone stand this??

With triple physical strength and stamina, even though he’d never learned any fighting techniques, at over 1.8 meters tall and weighing more than 70 kilograms, tripling that made him a formidable force.

Before the prison guards escorting him could react, Brian Carter had already beaten Killer Jack into a pig’s head. Facing three prison guards? They had plastic batons, but he had handcuffs and shackles—one kick per guard, one hit per cuff, and all three were down.

Brian Carter kicked Killer Jack again, then stripped a uniform off a tall guard, put it on, and slipped out of the Supervision Division Chief’s office.

Escape?

No, this time he needed to keep a low profile. He would hide out in Stanley for now, recall more anti-surveillance and investigation techniques, and then make a move. This was Stanley—way tougher than Lai Chi Kok Detention Centre. Even Killer Jack only gave a hundred Hong Kong dollars for a check-in.

In an era without surveillance cameras everywhere, once he went into stealth mode, he could hide anywhere he wanted. Was he really worried about not making it?

……

Stanley Prison Canteen.

Groups of men sat at tables, eating, chatting, and bragging.

A big boss figure, Silly Bill, was eating while glancing at a passing prison guard. “Brother John, are you serious? That high-profile escapee Brian Carter from Lai Chi Kok is coming to Stanley?”

Prison guard John nodded nonchalantly. “This Brian Carter is a key surveillance target in Stanley. He’s being ‘trained’ in the Chief’s office right now. I reckon you won’t see him in person for at least ten days or half a month.”