Zombie Apocalypse: Creation

"I still have the order that was passed down from the warden. Give me a second to find it... Oh, found it. Here, you can have a read."

As Xiaoyun began reading the paper from the nurse, he immediately realized how far this administrative order went back.

It was almost a year ago, back when Qingyuan was still under someone else's control, and his relationship with Tianci hadn't even moved at all.

He could still remember the exact time when he accepted Yuqi's suggestion after the hostage event in the hospital.

Considering it in today's view. It was a security issue back then that no longer exists ever since the implementation of a police unit inside the hospital.

Not to mention, the people who caused the hostage situation in the hospital were not ill prisoners.

They were all refugee who had no previous records, who just got sick of working manual labor and wanted a quick way to get some money.

"I'll definitely report this to the governor. He'll have this order lifted tomorrow." Xiaoyun murmured as he noted it down in his notebook.

"Thank you."

"Anything else you want to report on?"

Seeing them shaking their head, Xiaoyun closed his notebook, signaling to Jianyu to bring him to the next destination.

As the two of them headed back into the courtyard, they quickly walked across the entire field before arriving at the biggest facility in the prison.

"This is the prison cell... We bring them over here after we finish with the medical checks and everything."

Walking inside, Xiaoyun could immediately see two guards sitting in chairs, busy eating out of a bowl in front of a computer screen.

"Hey, Jianyu. Who's this person?" One of the guards curiously asked.

"Journalist from the governor. If you have any complaints, you can tell him now and he'll make a report for it."

Seeing both of the guards shaking their heads, it surprised Xiaoyun a little. Still, Jianyu didn't stop as she led him further inside.

"These are where the prisoner sleeps usually... Currently, they are in the cafeteria, so that's why most of the cells are empty."

Xiaoyun nodded as he examined each of the cells.

The insides were mostly what he expected: several bunk beds with an open toilet and sink nearby in each of the cells.

Although the air felt a little musty, the temperature was still relatively cool with fans aimed towards inside the cell.

After walking for three whole minutes, the two finally arrive at a section that actually had prisoners inside rather than just empty cells.

"Sorry if this is a little sudden, but can I interview the prisoners?" Xiaoyun asked as he readied up his pen and paper.

"Of course... Let me go get the keys."

As Jianyu headed back towards the guard's area from earlier, Xiaoyun decided to walk a little closer to the man inside the prison cell.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Xiaoyun asked.

"Who are you?" The man asked grumpily.

"I'm a journalist for the governor, conducting a feedback survey from everyone inside the prison."

"What do you want to know?" The man asked again, his tone shifting a little more positive this time.

"Give me a second... Okay, can I ask what you're in here for?"

"Robbery."

"What kind of robbery? And how many years has the judge sentenced you to prison for?"

"I stole a woman's purse on the streets. I got three years... But if I behaved well for one year."

"I see... Can I ask what's the reason behind the robbery?"

The prisoner stared towards Xiaoyun, dead in the eyes, only to see him with an innocent, curious look.

"I had no job and no money... The handout is nowhere near enough."

"Make sense... You're a pretty big guy."

Xiaoyun murmured as the prisoner in front of him looked almost like a professional weightlifter with his wide, buff shoulders.

"Ahem, so if I'm getting this right, there weren't any job opportunities, so you turned to robbing people."

"Yes." The man answered coldly.

"Mhm... Have you thought of joining the army at any point?"

"They weren't recruiting people who haven't lived here for three months. I ain't got money to live for that long."

"So you're a recent refugee."

"You got a problem with that?" The man questioned, his tone suddenly getting louder as if he was annoyed by Xiaoyun's answer.

"No problem."

"Hey, watch your damn tone. This man is the most important visitor to the prison. You better not do anything stupid."

As Jianyu came back with a handful of keys, she quickly signaled Xiaoyun to take a few steps back.

"Of course." The prisoner warmly answered, his tone instantly shifting to a side that felt like a completely different answer.

After the cell door was opened, Jianyu signalled the prisoner to follow her as she led the three of them to a private room with two chairs and a table.

"You two can chat here. I'll be in the security room... You better not do anything stupid, you understand me?"

The prisoner quickly nodded as Jianyu walked off, allowing Xiaoyun to resume the interview once again as he opened his notebook.

"Let's talk about the prison itself now... How would you rate the prison on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best?"

"3. This place has the worst prison food I have ever seen and is way too cramped... And don't let me start with the yard time."

"What about the yard time?" Xiaoyun asked, ignoring his increasingly louder and louder tone.

"We only have three hours a day in that courtyard outside, one in the morning, one at noon, and one in the evening.

The time itself is fine, but there's literally nothing to do in the courtyard. Like, do you see any equipment out there?"

Xiaoyun shook his head, his mind remembered how empty the courtyard was. Not a single equipment or any resemblance to entertainment.

"I'll note these down... Other than these issues, are there any issues with the guard's behavior?

Have they done anything inappropriate or abused their power? It doesn't have to be you, but anything that you had witnessed."

Seeing the prisoner shaking his head, Xiaoyun let out a small sigh of relief, as it was one of the biggest worries he had when he entered.

"Okay. That's good to hear... So more spaces per prisoner, better food, and more equipment in the courtyard."

The prisoner nodded before speaking up again.

"Mhm... Actually, I have a little suggestion. It's just something that had been bothering a few of my friends."

"What is it?"

"Why don't we have any reform through labor? Like, there's barely any work that we need to do at all in the prison other than cleaning."

"Huh... Wait, you want to work in a prison?"

"Of course. It's better than rotting here. I get some money when I get out, at least that's what the friends of mine told me."

Xiaoyun immediately noted it down in his notebook before realizing something. An important key thing that didn't add up.

"I'll bring this to the governor... But it's hard for refugees outside the prison to find jobs. Let alone moving factories into the prison."

The prisoner didn't reject his explanation, almost as if this was the response he expected from him.

"Okay, is there anything else you want to talk about?" Xiaoyun asked.

"I don't think so... Wait, actually, can you add a library to the prison? Or like have a teacher come over and teach us?"

Xiaoyun was a little dumbfounded, but he slowly nodded in agreement as he wrote it down in his notebook.

"Can I ask why?"

"We prisoners still want to learn. We don't want to come out of prison with no skills to call of... And a fifth of us is illiterate."

"I see. I'll tell him about it... Look like we had pretty much covered everything. Thank you for your time."

"No, I should be the one to thank you for your time."

As Xiaoyun reached out for a handshake, the prisoner happily accepted before the door was suddenly opened.

"Okay, time for you to go back to your cell——"

Before Jianyu could even finish talking, a bell suddenly started ringing before it disappeared.

"Never mind, time for your lunch... Mr.Journalist, you want to visit the cafeteria?"

"Of course."

The three of them quickly headed back to the prison cells as Jianyu started unlocking the cells one by one.

Several other guards also came into the hallway cells, unlocking each and every one of them as more guards stood by with their guns strapped to the side.

At the same time, Xiaoyun could see tons of prisoners all flooding out of a facility right outside the window.

"Everyone! Single file line. Remember, do not leave the cafeteria until the bell rings again."

As Xiaoyun walked out of the prison cells, he quickly realized that within the prison, all of the prisoners had different scheduled time blocks.