Fatty’s mouth opened and closed. Before he could respond, his men pulled him back. He forced a laugh. “I’ll pass. If I go in too, Sector Six will be empty!”

Tao Yu scoffed. “Then get back to your cell. You’re supposed to be sleeping. I have a meeting to attend!” Talking to these thugs was making her own language deteriorate.

“Fine, we’ll go back!” Fatty declared with mock dignity, his words betraying his compliance.

Tao Yu breathed a sigh of relief. After sending them off, she hurried towards the office. Passing the dining hall, she paused, ducked inside briefly, and then emerged, rushing onwards.

Everyone was already assembled when she arrived. She braced herself for a reprimand, but Old Chang seemed surprised. “You’re back early?”

“…Is that sarcasm?” Tao Yu was speechless, noticing two unfamiliar faces.

“I thought Li Xun and his lot would start a brawl. Didn’t they?” Old Chang chuckled, then introduced the newcomers. “These two are in charge of Sectors One and Two. You can call them Wang and Liu. Now that you’re here, we’re all set for the meeting.”

Due to the unique, free-range nature of the island prison, there were only a handful of actual guards. The rest were auxiliary personnel. The prison was divided into four sectors, each with a designated officer in charge.

These three, along with Tao Yu, were responsible for Sectors One, Two, and Three.

After greeting them, Tao Yu sat down, a thought striking her. Old Chang had known about the potential fight. As her mentor, he’d abandoned her. That didn’t seem right.

But she hadn’t reacted at the time, and bringing it up now would seem petty. As the newbie, she had to swallow her annoyance.

Old Chang’s eyes narrowed slightly. He smiled at her before addressing the group. “I have two pieces of news, one good, one bad. Which do you want to hear first?”

“Just tell us, Old Chang. Don’t drag it out. I need to get back to sleep.” The slightly heavier-set Liu yawned.

“Then I’ll start with the bad news, the one that’ll keep you awake.” Old Chang was lenient with his colleagues. “We’re getting an inspection team from headquarters.”

The room fell silent. Wang stared blankly, while Liu’s yawn froze mid-gape.

Tao Yu blinked. The timing was incredibly convenient. Almost as if fate was helping her clear things up with Yue Linze.

Liu, eyes still watering from his interrupted yawn, exclaimed, “Where did you hear that? When are they coming? Why now? Nobody’s bothered with us for years!”

“So many questions, which should Old Chang answer first?” Wang glared at him, then asked, “Is the news reliable?”

Old Chang chuckled. “The official notice has already arrived. How’s that for reliable?”

Wang relaxed. “At least it’s not a surprise inspection.”

“Um…” Tao Yu, feeling rather insignificant, raised her hand. “Why are you so worried about an inspection team?”

“You’ll understand when they get here.” Liu, irritated by the newcomer’s question, snapped.

Tao Yu’s lips twitched. Right, she was nobody here. Best to keep quiet.

Wang, however, patiently explained, “This place runs entirely on donations. Headquarters has never provided funding, so they’ve never interfered. Who knows why they’ve suddenly decided to inspect us. Given the state of our inmates, do you think we’ll come out of this looking good?”

Tao Yu, recalling the numerous brawls she’d witnessed that day, nodded in understanding. She was about to speak when she noticed Old Chang’s calm demeanor.

Something wasn’t right. She turned to him. “You said there was good news too. What is it?”

People rarely made themselves the target of their own jokes. Old Chang, part of their inner circle, using this kind of wordplay suggested the inspection wasn’t as serious as they were making it out to be.

As expected, Old Chang cleared his throat. “The good news is, it’s just a formality. They haven’t paid attention to us for years, so they’re probably feeling guilty. As long as we cooperate on the surface, they won’t cause any trouble.”

“Old Chang, you’re such a tease.” Liu grumbled, then asked, “What kind of cooperation?”

His question drew the attention of both Tao Yu and Wang.

Old Chang, his vanity satisfied, said, “While we don’t need to go overboard, we still need to put on a show. When the inspection team arrives, we’ll have the inmates organize a welcome event, demonstrate their excellent morale.”

“Right. We’ll get some cameras, film it all, make it look good.” Liu agreed immediately.

Wang nodded. “That’s feasible. We don’t need too many performances, just something presentable.”

“The main issue is the program itself. We’ve always had ample funds, so the stage and equipment are no problem. Leave that to me.” Old Chang smiled.

Procurement was a lucrative task, and the old fox had snagged it. Liu and Wang felt a pang of resentment, but remembering that Old Chang had brought the news, they held their tongues.