The young man who had previously blocked Brian Brooks winked at him and said, “Impressive. My name is Olivia Harris, and he’s Ethan Clark. See you tomorrow.”

Brian Brooks still didn’t even know the name of the middle-aged man; he only knew the names of the two attendants. But this was undoubtedly a very good start.

The tense atmosphere in the square only gradually eased after the middle-aged man left.

The prisoners who had just been welcoming the newcomers were still dragging the new arrivals into the cells. Including Brian Brooks, there were a total of twelve newcomers, and nine had already been pulled inside.

Suddenly, a young man with mechanical legs ran up to Brian Brooks, speaking in a panic, “We’re all new here. Please help me, and I’ll listen to you from now on.”

However, Brian Brooks completely ignored the young man’s words, his expression so calm it was as if he hadn’t heard anything at all.

The prisoners burst out laughing and forcibly dragged the young man away.

The young man shouted, “My uncle is a director at Changming Corporation in City 17, you guys—”

Before he could finish, the other prisoners jeered, “Other than the five major conglomerates, no other company is worth mentioning. Forget you—even if your uncle came to Prison 18, he’d have to behave himself.”

Brian Brooks listened quietly to all of this, absorbing any useful information. Among the twelve new inmates, it seemed only that panicked young man and himself were from Earth.

But what about the old inmates? Could there be someone from his hometown?

For some reason, Brian Brooks didn’t feel the least bit discouraged. On the contrary, he was even a little excited about his completely different... life.

A completely different life.

That phrase itself sounded so tempting.

When your own life is already a mess, and someone puts a button in front of you and says: press this, and you’ll have an extraordinary life—

Brian Brooks felt he would probably press it.

On Earth, he always seemed like an extra. His father thought he was a burden, his mother had a new family, and his relatives rarely interacted with him.

So, if your past life was all darkness, then no matter how dangerous, unknown, or terrifying the new world is, it would still make you feel a bit of anticipation.

Now, he felt special.

Countdown: 39:31:29.

Brian Brooks quietly observed everything around him, determined to record all the information he could see, so he could analyze it slowly once he was back alone in his cell.

At that moment, a young man took advantage of everyone else being distracted and suddenly walked up to Brian Brooks, whispering, “You’ve finally arrived. I’m John Miller. William Brooks arranged for me to come in three months ago. You can just call me Little John.”

Brian Brooks: “???”

He stared blankly at the other man.

This John Miller looked about twenty-four or twenty-five, with short black hair. His right arm and left leg were both mechanical, and he even had a mechanical eye. Brian Brooks could see spiral patterns in the man’s eye adjusting focus.

These mechanical limbs were different from most inmates’—the streamlined design and materials looked extremely high-end.

Brian Brooks searched his memory and realized that in just over an hour, John Miller had looked at him twenty-one times.

Brian Brooks didn’t know who this person was, but the way he spoke made it clear he knew Brian Brooks.

And from what John Miller said, it seemed Brian Brooks had another purpose for coming to this prison fortress.

Brian Brooks was afraid of exposing his time-traveling: “I don’t need your help for now. There are some things I can handle myself.”

John Miller shook his head like a rattle drum. “No, no, I have to take good care of you.”

Brian Brooks was a bit confused now. He had clearly traveled here with both body and mind—so why did he have such bizarre past relationships?

In other words, in the eyes of people in this world, had he really lived here for so many years?

Seeing Brian Brooks remain silent, John Miller lowered his voice and said, “This morning I was wondering why you didn’t come find me right away. Turns out you planned to approach Emily Thompson as a newcomer—brilliant. In this Prison 18 fortress, if we can get Emily Thompson’s help, our plan will go much more smoothly.”

Brian Brooks: “……”

What plan.

What are you talking about.

Can you be a little clearer?!

John Miller continued, almost talking to himself, “I’ve been in here for over three months now. I’ve figured everything out—there won’t be any mistakes.”

The young man chattered on.

Brian Brooks just listened quietly.

It was like playing “Who’s the Undercover” and you drew a blank card—you had to wait for everyone else to speak before you could say anything. Otherwise, if everyone else’s word was “urine” and you were the first to say it’s drinkable, you’d be in big trouble.

At this moment, Brian Brooks realized that the Emily Thompson the other man mentioned was probably that middle-aged man.

John Miller saw him go straight to play chess with Emily Thompson upon arrival and mistakenly thought he was here on a mission.

But Brian Brooks’s reason for approaching Emily Thompson wasn’t for some damn plan—it was to survive.

“What instructions did you bring in this time?” John Miller suddenly asked.

Instructions...

What instructions?!