Heroes' Prison Chapter 96

After walking for a while, Huang Yi finally arrived at Slark’s cell.

The cell was dark and damp, with perpetual puddles on the ground, and housed within it a massive creature. It faintly radiated an aura of dark energy, its true form obscured; one could barely discern scales and claws, lightly undulating, shrouded in mystery.

"Slark," Huang Yi uttered slowly towards the creature.

In the darkness, the creature remained motionless, as if it had not heard or simply chose to ignore him.

Seeing this, Huang Yi immediately took out pieces of the sheepskin scroll from his storage ring and shook them through the bars of the cell.

In that moment, the creature seemed to stir as if awakened by the pieces of the scroll. It shot out two beams of purple light, scrutinizing the scroll fragments in Huang Yi’s hands with a gaze as cold as the deep sea.

Huang Yi took a step forward, meeting its gaze, and calmly said, "Slark, I know you wish to see your homeland once more. I am the Prison Warden here, and I can fulfill this desire for you."

The creature within the darkness trembled slightly, its gaze flickering, betraying an inner turmoil.

"But I will not set you free. What I can offer you is merely a glance at your homeland, to make your long future life a little less monotonous. At the very least, you’ll have that one glimpse to reminisce about. Perhaps, that single look will be the only time you see the outside world again, but just that one glimpse might be enough to indulge in for a long time."

"Why would you help me?" Finally, Slark spoke for the first time from within the cell. Its voice had a bubbly quality, as if speaking from underwater.

Huang Yi shook his head, "I’m not helping you—it’s a trade. You need to provide me with a form of payment first."

"I have nothing to give you; I have nothing left now," stated Slark.

Huang Yi eyed the dark energy surrounding it, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Although it seems you have nothing, you do have your abilities. As long as you teach them to me, I will let you have that glance at your homeland."

"My abilities cannot be learned; they are a form of mysterious power that you cannot acquire through practice."

"Then give me your mysterious power," Huang Yi persuaded, "You are imprisoned in the Heroes’ Prison, and will never get out, having great strength with nowhere to apply it. Such power is as good as meaningless. But if you give this meaningless thing to me, you will get to have a look at your homeland and fulfill your meaningful dream. Isn’t that a fair deal?"

"Why should I trust you? In order to gain these powers, I have already been deceived once. I lost everything because of it and do not want to be fooled again, losing the only strength I have left," Slark’s voice became agitated, seemingly regretful of its actions in the past.

"You have no choice but to trust me," Huang Yi did not offer any guarantees, but flatly threw out this line, now in a position to control the conversation, gripping the Achilles heel of all prisoners here.

Slark fell silent, as quiet and lifeless as the moist, dark cell it was in.

"You once raced through the darkness, never catching her departing silhouette. Now trapped here, she too has turned to dust. That homeland was where you fell in love, so why not revisit those old times and smell the soil where you both once loved," Huang Yi softly retorted, continuing to breach Slark’s psychological defenses.

Slark’s body shuddered, as if Huang Yi’s words had touched a hidden memory deep within its heart, and it choked up, "My homeland is in the desolate sands on the eastern fringes of the Eastern Continent, where there is a vast oasis. When summer comes, dandelions float across the sky; I used to chase after her through it, our laughter dispersing with the dandelions. I wonder if dandelions still flourish there, or if our old village remains..."

At the mention of the Desolate Sands, Huang Yi’s interest was piqued; it was exactly on his path to Dragon City, the once peripheral area of the Eastern Continent on the Original Continent.

The Eastern Continent was part of an ancient land, in the long river of time of the Second World. There were just two vast continents, the Eastern and Western Continents. In a great war at the end of the Ancient Times, the two continents fractured into more than two hundred pieces, marking the beginning of the City Governance Era. After countless years, Heaven-Sent Men like Huang Yi descended upon these lands.

The land Huang Yi resided on was exclusive to players in the China Region, where players who chose Chinese nationality would arrive. This China-exclusive continent alone was vast, and exploring it completely would take a lifetime. This was merely a small fragment of what the Eastern Continent used to be, underscoring how immense the original Eastern and Western Continents were.

The more than 5,000 criminals in the Heroes’ Prison were born on these expansive lands. On average, there were likely more than twenty heroes born in the Chinese Mainland where Huang Yi now lived, and Slark was one of them.

"I can first give you a part of the Shadow Dance ability. The rest, I will give to you after you arrive at my homeland..." Slark stated its demand.

"Agreed," nodded Huang Yi, satisfied with the situation thus far. To have acquired a reward before even starting was excellent; he always enjoyed getting something for nothing. At Bai Long Lake, he did the same—pinpointing the opponent’s weakness, identifying an irresistible need, and then writing an IOU to extract some rewards upfront. As for fulfilling the task, that was a matter for the future.

At this moment, the dark mist around Slark began to roil, and its body shuddered violently, emitting painful groans as if undergoing some transformation.

After a while, it finally settled down, and a drop of flickering purple blood flew out from the slit under the door, hovering in front of Huang Yi.

"This is a part of my Talent Blood·Shadow Dance. Once you absorb it, you will obtain part of the Shadow Dance ability," Slark sounded exhausted, suggesting that extracting this Talent Blood had been a considerable effort.

Huang Yi carefully inspected the drop of purple blood before him.

[Talent Blood·Shadow Dance](Grade B, Functional Treasure)

Required Level: 10

The blood containing the ability of Shadow Dance. Upon absorption, acquires the ability[Shadow Dance], which increases movement speed by 5% in a non-combat state.