Verak believed that he had no artistic talent. He had never been interested in music or literature. In order to pretend to be Chris to supplement his knowledge in this area, he only improved his superficial literacy and learned how to use some empty words to evaluate.
Song to avoid stage fright when talking to nobles.
To be honest, this was the first time that he was moved by music. He didn't know whether the song called "playing love" contained a feeling of longing, or whether it resonated with him inexplicably. In short, he had some deep feelings.
The emotions buried deep in my heart were brought out, and I couldn't help but recall the past.
The long and long sound of the cello and the clear and bright sound of the piano are intertwined, becoming the most precious thing in the prison at this moment.
The sound of the piano was not too loud, but because it was rarely so quiet during the outdoor exercise in the square, everyone present could basically hear it. Not only were all the prisoners listening quietly, but there were also several times more prison guards on guard posts than usual, and there were almost not even one.
There was no place to stay, and even the prison guards responsible for the security of several iron gates crowded into the entrance of the square, scrambling to look around.
Verak took a long breath and calmed down the surging emotions in his heart. He watched Rose close his eyes and play selflessly, feeling sincerely happy for him.
"You arranged it, right?" Just when Verak was intoxicated, Dawn's voice suddenly came to his ears. As he turned his head to the side, Dawn, who was squatting next to him, looked straight ahead and calmly turned his head.
He took out a few pieces of paper from his waist and gave them to Verak, "This is the topographic map of the prison."
"...Okay." Before Verak could react, he subconsciously pinned the map to his waist.
"I have been to all the places here, big and small, so I prepared the map I drew for you as soon as possible. It will take time for me to collect the rest of the information privately, so you have to wait a few more days," Dawn said.
Verak also pretended to continue to enjoy Rose's performance: "Okay, please, you have to be more careful so as not to be noticed by them."
"Don't worry, I'm more experienced than you in this area." Dawn glanced at Keating, who was sitting in a wheelchair next to Verak, "Did he really reveal the location of the gold?"
"No, I just revealed a small part in exchange for some convenience." Verak whispered, "Gold is our biggest support for survival, and it is also the only way to negotiate terms with Lecter and the others. We will not tell it so easily.
.”
Dawn nodded slightly and stepped back: "Waiting for your progress."
Verak looked at the sentry. Lecter was attracted by Rose's playing. They were sitting behind the prisoners, and Dawn's contact just now was not noticed by him.
"What did you say?" Keating leaned slightly towards Verak beside him.
Verak thought for a moment and quietly handed the map to Keating: "Dawn brought the map of the prison. I will probably run into Lecter when I go to the infirmary to change dressings at noon. Please take it first."
Keating stuffed the map that had been folded into a small piece under the wheelchair seat: "Hmm."
After obtaining the map and reaching preliminary cooperation with the prisoners headed by Dawn, and using music to try to arouse everyone's desire to leave, everything is developing in the direction planned by Verak and Keating.
Verak only hoped that the Equality Council would wait for him and give him enough time to implement the plan. After he really went out, on the one hand, from the government's perspective, they lost an important bargaining chip, and on the other hand, he also
You can return to Lezein and contribute your strength to the Equality Society.
Time passed quickly, and an hour seemed to pass in the blink of an eye to those present. The prison guards who were still not satisfied stopped Ross and Ennio's performance and began to organize the first group of prisoners to leave.
They were reluctant to leave and tried to stay a little longer, but Lecter refused.
Verak, Dawn and others also left with the first batch of prisoners and returned to the work area to continue working. In order to pretend in front of Keating that he was not playing specifically for him, Lecter did not end Ross and Ennio's performance.
, but waited until the second batch of prisoners arrived and performed for them again.
This time, the prison guards who were taking a break from shift also rushed over to watch, and the square became very lively for a while.
Ross, who was asked to play the piano and cello as soon as they arrived at noon yesterday, has not slept a wink all night. In order to perform at a sufficient level, he and Ennio have been rehearsing sleeplessly until now. Although they have to continue playing for an hour,
He didn't complain at all, let alone an hour, he was willing to play until he fainted.
He was afraid that after this time, he would never have the chance to touch the piano again. The instrument that had accompanied him for the entire first half of his life had become one with him. After being arrested and imprisoned, he was painfully separated from the piano, but that love
It has never subsided, so even if he has clearly adapted to being without a piano, he is likely to have to painfully adapt for a long time. He is still willing to play another song, or even just press a key and caress it once.
piano body.
That was the only way to make him feel that he was still alive.
"My daughter has always wanted to be a pianist when she grew up. Now she is probably as good as Ross and can play beautiful music."
"How old is your daughter now?"
"I should be twenty-two years old this year."
"Two or three years younger than my brother, my brother should have inherited my father's orchard now. Our family's orchard is very large and is quite famous in Raquel City..."
"Sounds good. I remember the beautiful scenery in Raquel City. My wife even mentioned visiting there before..."
After returning to the work area, Verak heard everyone talking about music for the first time since he came here for so many days, and then talked about the outside world from music. Just like Ross has always been reluctant to meet his best friend Ennio, the cello player,
Everyone knows that they will never go out in their lives, so they are unwilling to mention the outside that makes them sad. Over time, things outside have become a tacit taboo in the prison.
Today, this tacit understanding that should not have been broken.
Verak worked silently, smiling knowingly as he listened to the conversations around him. He went to great lengths to ask Lecter to bring the piano, and the purpose of the cello had been achieved.
He is willing to rush out desperately without asking everyone to listen to the music. The power of music is not that powerful. As long as the outside world is no longer a pain point that they are unwilling to mention, it is no longer a source of sadness, but hope and happiness.
The source of it is worth it. Thinking about it this way, the power of music is powerful enough.
At eleven o'clock, the second batch of prisoners who had been released returned to the work area, and there were more conversations about the outside world. The patrolling prison guards did not interfere, firstly because although the prisoners were talking about the outside world, it did not affect their work.
Secondly, they can only take a few days off every few months. They also miss the outside and hear the prisoners talking, which is very interesting.
After work, Verak had lunch with several prisoners at noon. Many prisoners were curious about whether Keating told Lecter about the whereabouts of the gold. Verak could not answer this question casually, and could only vaguely state that he did not know anything.
There was only ten minutes to eat, and Verak was busy eating his food. Without much conversation, he was taken all the way to the infirmary by the prison guards.
As expected, Lecter is among them.
"How's it going? Is what he said true?" Verak walked in, took off his prison uniform skillfully and lay down on the hospital bed, taking the initiative to verify with Lecter the clues Keating had revealed before.
"It's unclear at the moment. This will take a few days to investigate." Lecter solved the first crisis he faced and successfully stayed. He immediately returned to his nonchalant attitude, "How does Keating feel about the music?"
"I saw you on the sentry post, didn't you notice?" Verak asked.
Lecter laughed: "I'm so far away, I'm sure you don't understand me clearly."
"It's not bad. He was in tears at that time. He probably missed the outside very much." Verak said seriously.
"That's good." Lecter was quite satisfied.
If it were a week ago that he was not interested in money, it would be enough to get some clues from Keating so that he could stay. Now it is different. He wants to completely find out the whereabouts of the gold, so that he can legitimately replace Adel as the leader.
The warden, therefore, is still concerned about this matter.
"Any ideas?"
"What?"
"I told you, as long as you can ask for clues about the gold, I can meet some of your requirements." Lecter crossed his legs, waiting for Verak to make his request.
This request may help Verak escape from prison in the future. He has no plans to mention it now: "I haven't thought about it yet, and I haven't verified whether the clue is true? In case Keating tells a lie, I still
You have to bear the consequences.”
"Then just wait." Lecter didn't expect that Verak would be much calmer than him, "If you think about it, you can mention it to me at any time. As long as I don't let you go, there shouldn't be anything I can't do."
"Other demands are nothing compared to freedom." Regardless of whether Lecter believed it or not, Verak still pretended to be different from Keating, "We still have to work harder to find out all the golden clues... now
The most important thing is to wait for you to verify the clues. If it is true, it means that our method is correct. If this continues, we will know the final whereabouts of the gold sooner or later. If it is false, Keating must have seen that you and I are the same.
Guys."
"Yeah." Lecter was inclined to believe that the clues were true, "We have plenty of time."
The pain of changing the dressing made Verak close his eyes and exhale heavily: "The sooner the better, I don't want to stay here any longer."
"I will continue to provide you with all kinds of conveniences." Lecter thought of something, "By the way, you still want to continue working?"
"Of course." Verak can now completely control whether he works or not, and his body can still bear it. There will definitely be a lot of contact and cooperation with prisoners in the future, so he doesn't plan to go back. "This method is still useful and can be continued.
, I will come to you when it doesn’t work or I can’t hold it anymore.”
As Verak and Lecter were speaking, a prison guard walked into the infirmary: "Deputy Warden, the Warden wants you to meet him in his office."
"I don't know what he wants to do..." Lecter has completely broken up with Adel now, so he has no good impression of Adel at all. "You should change the dressing first, and we will talk tomorrow."
Verak warned: "Be careful."
Hearing Verak say this, Lecter laughed disdainfully as he walked.
——
Dymans Prison, Warden's Office
"Uncle Adel, what's the matter?" Lecter knocked on the door. Without waiting for Adel inside to respond, he pushed the door open and walked straight to Adel, who was working at the desk.
"What's the situation in the square today?" Adel asked.
Lecter knew that all the big and small things in the prison could not escape Adel's eyes. What he really wanted to ask was something more detailed, but in order to disgust Adel, he deliberately said nonsense: "I just found out that a prisoner used to be a pianist in a chamber orchestra.
I happened to want to listen to music, so I took advantage of the arrival of new prisoners and transported a batch of musical instruments for them to play."
"According to the prison's rules and regulations, this kind of activity must be approved by me." Adel said casually, without any intention of pursuing Lecter, "Why do you make such arbitrary decisions?"
"I told my father directly, and he agreed. Is it necessary to ask for your opinion?" Lecter moved out of his father, not giving Adel a chance to solve his own little problem.
"Then there's no need." Adel didn't have time to argue with Lecter, "...are you doing this for Keating and Gold? Tell me about the progress so far."
Lecter threw himself back on the chair, with a depressed look on his face: "I didn't ask anything, and I almost had a headache. But...my father has agreed to let me take full responsibility for interrogating Keating, Chris. If you want to find them in the future,
If you want to do anything, you have to apply to me first."
"If you can handle them, there is no need for me to interfere in this matter." Adel didn't care about the gold either.
"What do you want..." Lecter didn't understand Adel very much. He was not interested in the path to power that Lecter had arranged for him, nor was he interested in the huge wealth buried by Keating. "The warden of this prison,
I can't think of anyone else but me who would do it if there was a better option."
"It's nothing." Adel didn't intend to talk to Lecter about this. "The purpose of calling you here today is that as the warden, I want to make a routine inquiry about the square and Keating's affairs. Now that you have finished asking, you can
Got busy."
Lecter didn't move.
He always felt it was a bit too simple.
Although his father is the Minister of Justice, and he has loosened the golden thread that has been the stalemate, and is now gaining momentum, there is really nothing Adel can do against him, but if we just talk about this today, it is really unnecessary.
Based on Adel's ability, he can basically figure out what he just talked about by himself.
Lecter knows very well that Adel has never been a person who likes to talk nonsense and do meaningless things: "What on earth do you want to stay here for? Is it possible that there is more power here than my father can give you, or maybe there is more power here than what my father can give you.
Is there a treasure bigger than what Keating is hiding? Why are you guarding such a shabby place like it’s a treasure?”
"I'm just used to it." Adel's eyes were always so deep and indifferent.
"Why can't I see what's good about this position?" Lecter glanced at the warden's office, ignoring Adel's feeble explanation. "Is it possible that I can only see it after I push you down?"
"I can only remind you that this is the best thing now." Adel took advantage of the conversation and no longer had to deal with official duties to light up a cigar and relax, "One day you become the warden, you will find that some things are far away.
It’s more complicated than you think.”
Lecter knew this: "I'm just here for fun. I really don't want to do the miscellaneous things that the warden is responsible for, but now I think it's fun to replace you. I'll think about what happens after you are replaced."
"Play..." Adel leaned on the chair, facing the ceiling, and exhaled a puff of smoke.
"You are really interesting." Lecter put his chin on his hand and looked at Adel.
Adel said nothing.
"Okay, let's go." Lecter, who suddenly felt bored, stood up and left.
——
Cell 208
As soon as Verak returned, the prisoner next door called Rose, who had just returned to rest for a short time.
"Chris?" Ross squeezed in front of the door and called Verak.
Verak was also planning to study the map with Keating, but when he heard Ross calling him, he came to the door: "You play really well, how do you feel?"
"Very good...I can't describe what it feels like, it's like a dream...I never thought that I would have a chance to touch the piano while being locked up here..." Ross had not slept all night, and his voice was weak, but inexplicably.
Making Verak feel energetic, "I've been back for almost two hours, and I specifically asked my roommate to wait for you to wake me up. Chris, thank you."
"There's nothing to thank you. I know you are a pianist, so I recommended it to Lecter." Across the wall, Verak didn't know what Ross looked like now, but he guessed that the numb face must have recovered.
He lost his former glory, "How is your friend Ennio?"
"He was more excited than me. I almost fainted after playing the piano, but he was still full of energy and went to the cafeteria for a meal." Ross laughed, "He also asked me to tell you, thank you. If it hadn't been for you
, we really will never have the chance to encounter a piano or cello again in this life."
Verak leaned against the wall and grinned: "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
"I hope."
"Okay, you should take a rest quickly. You must be very tired after working for so long to perform. We will talk after you have rested." It was inconvenient to chat across the wall. Rose was very tired. Verak happened to have something to do, so he asked Rose first.
Go to sleep.
"Okay, we'll talk when I wake up." Ross thanked him and went to sleep.
Verak and Keating smiled at each other and sat on the bed: "Lecter talked to me again at noon. He is now very interested in Adel's position as warden, so he will continue to think of ways to get me to talk to you.
If there are golden clues inside, we will have many opportunities in the future.”
"It's best for him and Adel to fight among themselves. Maybe this is the entry point for our jailbreak plan."
Keating glanced outside the door. Verak understood. After going to the door to confirm that there were no prison guards training nearby, he nodded to Keating.
"This is the map of the prison." After Verak came closer, Keating spread out the map Dawn gave them and whispered, "I took a quick look at it before you came back. This map is very detailed.
Many things are clearly marked, which saves us a lot of time in observing the terrain."
Verak studied the maps. They were the floor plans of the various floors of Demans Prison. The topography of the first floor, the underground first floor, and the second floor were clearly visible. The second floor was the rest and entertainment area for the prison guards, and prisoners could not enter at all.
He didn’t want to go, but Dawn still marked out the main locations: “It seems that Dawn has also made a lot of preparations for the escape over the years. I have been to the second floor, and he mapped it much more clearly than I remembered.
"
"I thought about it. Apart from breaking through the prison guards' blockade and leaving the prison, the only other option is to dig tunnels." Keating pulled out a plan of the second underground floor. "Digging tunnels here will only lead to the next floor. When the time comes,
If you are not careful, you will be discovered by the prison guards. Therefore, if you want to dig a tunnel, you can only choose the second underground floor. But the second underground floor is a storage room and a solitary room. Even if you go in, you will only be detained for two or three days, and there is no time to dig a tunnel.
.”
"It takes too long to dig the tunnel. I don't have that much time." Verak can persist until the end of the World Exposition at most. A few months is not enough time for them to solve the various problems they face in digging the tunnel. "I can only think about how to solve it."
The front is out."
"It's almost impossible to do it from the front." Keating shook his head. He knew that Verak didn't have enough time, but at present, there was only some hope of digging tunnels, and there was no way to start from the front.
Verak sighed: "The most unlikely one is Lecter, Arnold and the others are the most assured, and that is what we have the most hope for. For example, because there is a transport ship coming over at noon on the 12th of every month, it is the mainland every month.
It is the only ship that travels to Dymans Road, so the prisoners will choose to escape on the 12th. If we choose to operate on the 13th, we will catch the prison guards by surprise."
"But when we go out on the 13th, there will be no ships for us to leave. There are dozens of sea miles between here and the mainland." Keating understood Verak's unexpected idea, but it was not unreasonable for the prison guards to relax their vigilance at that time.
"But, to escape from Damans prison is to make the impossible possible. We must overcome what they think we can't do." Verak stared at the dozens of iron gates marked on the four plans and pondered.
"I know it's hard and we have no clue, but it's the only way."
Keating patted the worried Verak: "I think you are a person who is good at making the impossible possible."
"I don't know what to do either." Verak smiled bitterly.
"We don't have time, but what we need most is time, so we have to rack our brains to make use of everything that can be used." Keating said, "Keep relaxed and don't ignore it because you are too anxious or obsessed with something.
Very important stuff.”
"Huh..." Verak took a deep breath, trying to empty his mind, put aside all the complicated thoughts, and think about the problem from the starting point again.