Twenty Seven Years

  Chapter 138 Progress and difficulties

Veraker thinks that he has no artistic talent. He has never been interested in music or literature. In order to impersonate Chris to make up for this knowledge, he only improved the quality of the bright side and learned how to use some empty words to evaluate Song, to avoid stage fright when talking with nobles.

   To be honest, this was the first time he was moved by music. He didn't know if the piece called 'Playing love' had a feeling of nostalgia, or if it somehow resonated with him. In short, some deep-seated emotions were drawn out, and he couldn't help but recall the past.

  The long and long cello sound intertwined with the crisp and bright piano sound became the most precious thing in the prison at this moment.

  The sound of the piano is not too loud, but because the square is rarely so quiet when the wind is released, everyone present can basically hear it. Not only were all the prisoners listening quietly, but there were several times more prison guards on the sentry post than usual, and there was almost no place to stay. Even the prison guards responsible for the security of several iron gates crowded to the entrance of the square, scrambling to look around.

  Verak took a long breath, calming down the surging emotions in his heart a little. He watched Rose close his eyes and play ecstatically, sincerely happy for it.

"It was arranged by you." Just as Veraker was intoxicated, Dawn's voice suddenly came from his ear. While he turned his head sideways, Dawn, who was squatting next to him, stared straight ahead and flipped over calmly. Prison uniform, he took out a few pieces of paper from his waist and stuffed them to Veraker, "This is the topographic map of the prison."

   "...Okay." Before he could react, Verak subconsciously pinned the map to his waist.

   "I've been to almost all the big and small places here, 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. You have to wait a few more days." Dawn said.

  Villac also pretended to continue admiring Rose's performance: "Okay, I'm sorry to trouble you, but you have to be more careful and don't be noticed by them."

   "Don't worry, I have more experience than you in this area." Dawn glanced at Keating, who was sitting next to Veraker in a wheelchair, "Did he really tell me where the gold is?"

"No, I just revealed a small part in exchange for some convenience." Verak said in a low voice, "Gold is our biggest life-saving reliance, and it is also the only means to fight for conditions with Lecter and the others, so we won't say it so easily .”

  Dawn nodded slightly and stepped back: "Wait for your progress."

  Verak looked at the sentry post. Lecter was being attracted by Rose's performance. They were sitting behind the prisoner, and they didn't notice Dawn's contact just now.

   "What did you say?" Keating leaned slightly towards Verak beside him.

  Verak thought for a while, and quietly handed the map to Keating: "Dawn brought the map of the prison. I might run into Lecter when I go to the infirmary to change my dressing at noon. You take it first."

   Keating stuffed the folded map into a small piece under the wheelchair seat: "Yes."

   After obtaining the map, we reached a 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 predicted by Verac 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 perspective of the government, they lost an important bargaining chip;

   Time passed so quickly that an hour seemed to pass in the blink of an eye to those present. The prison guards who were still not satisfied stopped the performance of Ross and Ennio, and began to organize the first batch of prisoners to leave. The prisoners were also reluctant to part, trying to fight for a little longer, but Lecter refused.

  Villac, Dawn, etc. 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 wasn't playing exclusively for him, Lecter didn't stop Ross and Ennio's performance, but waited until the second batch of prisoners arrived and started performing for them again.

  This time, the prison guards who were on shift break also rushed over to watch, and the square was very lively for a while.

  Rose, who was taken to play the piano and cello at noon yesterday, has not closed his eyes almost all night. In order to present a sufficient level of performance, he and Ennio have been rehearsing non-stop until now. Although he would continue to play for another 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. This musical instrument that accompanied him for the first half of his life has been integrated with him. After being arrested and imprisoned, he was painfully separated from the piano, but that love never faded, so even if he clearly adapted to himself without the piano After this time, it is very likely that it will take a long time to adapt painfully, and I am willing to play another song, or even just press a key and caress the body of the piano once.

   It was the only way he could feel alive.

  “My daughter wanted to grow up to be a pianist when she was a child, and now she is probably able to play as good tunes as Ross.”

   "How old is your daughter now?"

   "It 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 we are well-known in Raquel City..."

   "Sounds good, I remember the beautiful scenery in Raquel City, my wife used to mention going there to play..."

  After returning to the work area, it was the first time since Verac came here to work for so many days that everyone talked about music, and then talked about outside from music. Just as Ross was always unwilling to meet his best friend Ennio the cello, everyone knew that they would never have the chance to go out in this life, so they were unwilling to bring up the outside to make themselves sad. Over time, outside things became a tacit taboo in the prison.

   Today, this tacit understanding that should not have been broken.

  Villac was working silently, listening to the conversation around him and smiling knowingly. His goal of getting Lecter to bring the piano and cello has been achieved.

  He is willing to rush out without asking everyone to listen to the music. The power of music is not that strong. As long as the outside world is no longer a pain point that they don't want to mention, it is no longer a source of sadness, but a source of hope and happiness, it is worth it. Thinking about it this way, the power of music is strong enough.

  At eleven o'clock, the second batch of prisoners returned to the work area after the release, and there were more conversations about the outside. The patrolling prison guards did not intervene. Firstly, although the prisoners were talking outside, it did not affect their work efficiency. Secondly, they could only take a few days off for a few months. They also missed the outside and heard the prisoners talking. Also found it very interesting.

  After the work was over, Verak had lunch with several prisoners at noon. Many prisoners were curious about whether Keating had told Lecter about the whereabouts of the gold. Verac couldn't answer this question casually, and could only vaguely show that he didn't know.

   Meal time was only ten minutes. Verak was busy eating, and was taken all the way to the infirmary by the prison guards without talking much.

   Unsurprisingly, Lecter is among them.

   "How is it? Is what he said true?" Verak went in and skillfully took off his prison uniform and lay down on the hospital bed, proactively checking with Lecter the clues that Keating had revealed before.

   "I don't know for the time being, this will take a few days to investigate." Lecter resolved the first crisis he faced, managed to stay, and immediately resumed his carefree attitude, "How does Keating hear the music?"

   "I saw you were on the sentry post, didn't you notice?" Verak asked.

   Lecter laughed: "I'm so far away, I'm sure you don't understand clearly."

   "Not bad, he was in tears at the time, probably because he missed the outside very much." Verak said seriously.

   "That's good." Lecter was quite satisfied.

  If he was not interested in money a week ago, it would be enough to get some clues from Keating to keep him. It is different now. He wants to find out the whereabouts of the gold completely, so that he can justifiably replace Adel as the warden, so he still pays attention to this matter.

   "Any ideas?"

"what?"

   "I told you that as long as you can ask the gold clues, 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 didn't intend to mention it now: "I haven't thought about it yet, and haven't I verified whether the clue is true? If Keating tells a lie, I will You have to bear the consequences."

   "Then wait." Lecter didn't expect Veraker to be more calm than him. "If you think about it, tell me anytime. As long as it doesn't let you go, there should be nothing I can't do."

"Other demands are nothing compared to freedom." Verac, regardless of whether Lecter believes it or not, still pretended to be different from Keating, "We still have to work harder and ask the golden clues... Now the last The 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 I am with you people."

   "Hmm." Lecter tended to believe that the clues were true, "We have plenty of time."

  The pain of changing the dressing made Verak close his eyes and let out a heavy breath: "The sooner the better, I don't want to stay here for a second."

   "I will continue to provide you with various conveniences." Lecter remembered something, "By the way, do you still want to continue working?"

"Of course." Whether it's work or not, Verak is completely in control now, and his body is still able to handle it. He will inevitably have 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 we can continue to do it." , When it doesn’t work or I can’t hold it anymore, I will find you.”

  While Veraker and Lecter were talking, a prison guard walked into the infirmary: "Deputy warden, the warden asked you to meet him in his office."

   "I don't know what he wants to do..." Lecter has completely torn face with Adel now, so he has no affection for Adel at all, "You should change your medicine first, and we will talk tomorrow."

  Verak warned: "Be careful."

  Hearing Veraker say this, Lecter let out a disdainful laugh as he walked.

  —

  Daymans Prison, Warden's Office

   "Uncle Adel, what's the matter?" Lecter knocked on the door, and 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 Adel could not escape the eyes of major and minor matters in the prison. 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. Just because I wanted to listen to music, I took advantage of the arrival of new prisoners and shipped 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 was unhurried, without any intention of pursuing Lecter's intentions in his tone, "Why do you make such a claim?"

   "I spoke directly to my father, and he agreed. Is it still necessary to ask for your opinion?" Lecter brought up his father, not giving Adel a chance to catch his own minor problems.

   "Then there's no need." Adel didn't have the time to argue with Lecter, "...Is this for Keating and gold, right? Tell me about the current progress."

Lecter slumped back on the chair, with a depressed expression on his face: "I didn't ask anything, I almost got a headache. But... my father has agreed to let me take full charge of interrogating Keating and Chris. You want to ask them to do it in the future." What, you have to apply to me first."

   "If you can deal with them, I don't need to do anything to interfere with this matter." Adel doesn't care about gold either.

"What exactly do you want..." Lecter did not understand Adel very much. He was not interested in the road to power arranged by Lecter for him, nor was he interested in the huge wealth Keating buried. "The warden of this prison, except I, I can't think of anyone else who would do it when there were better options."

"It's nothing." Adel didn't intend to talk about this with Lecter. "The purpose of calling you here today is to, as the warden, routinely ask about the square and Keating's affairs. Now that the question is over, you can I'm busy."

  Lecter didn't move.

  He always felt a little too simple.

  Although his father is the Minister of Justice, and he has loosened the golden clues that have been stalemate, and is now gaining momentum, Adel really has nothing to do with him, but if we just talk about these things today, it is really unnecessary.

  According to Adel's ability, he can basically figure out what he just talked about by himself.

Lecter is very clear that Adel has never been a person who likes to talk nonsense and do meaningless things: "What are you staying here for? Could it be that there is more power here than my father can give you, or Is there a treasure even bigger than what Keating hid? Why are you guarding such a ruined place like a treasure?"

   "I'm just used to it." Adel's eyes are 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 weak 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 way now." Adel took advantage of the conversation and did not have to deal with official duties to light a cigar and relax, "One day you will become the warden of the prison, and you will find that there are things far away from you. It's more complicated than you think."

   Lecter is clear about 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 the replacement."

   "Playing..." Adel leaned back on the chair, with his head facing the ceiling, and exhaled a puff of smoke.

   "You are really interesting." Lecter rested his chin on one hand and looked at Adel.

  Adel didn't speak.

   "Okay, let's go." Lecter, who suddenly felt bored, got up and left.

  —

  208 Cell

   As soon as Veraker returned, the prisoner next door called Rose who had just returned to rest for a long time.

   "Chris?" Rose squeezed in front of the door and called Veraker.

  Verak also planned to study the map with Keating, and 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 felt that I would have a chance to touch the piano..." Rose stayed up all night, his voice was weak, but it was inexplicable that Verac Feeling refreshed, "I've been back almost two hours and asked my roommate to wake me up while you're back. Chris, thank you."

"There's nothing to thank, it just happened to know that you are a pianist, so I recommended it to Lecter." Across the wall, Verak didn't know what Rose looked like now, but he guessed that the numb face must have recovered lost its former glory, "How is your friend Ennio?"

"He was more excited than me. I almost passed out after playing the piano, but he went to the cafeteria to have a meal full of energy." Rose laughed, "He also asked me to tell you, thank you. If it weren't for you , We really never have the chance to touch the piano or the cello in this life.”

  Villac leaned against the wall and grinned: "There will be opportunities in the future."

   "I hope."

"Okay, you should take a rest, you must be tired after working so long on the performance, we will talk after you rest." It is not convenient to chat through the wall, Ross is very tired, and Verac happens to have something to do, so let Ross first sleep.

   "Okay, let's talk after I wake up." Ross thanked him and went to sleep peacefully.

Verac and Keating smiled at each other, and sat on the bed: "Lecter talked to me again at noon, he is very interested in Adel's job as warden, so he will continue to think of ways to get me from your mouth. With clues of gold inside, we still have many opportunities in the future.”

   "He and Adel are the best in fighting each other, maybe this is also the starting point of our escape plan."

   Keating glanced outside the door, and Verac understood it. After going to the door to confirm that there were no prison guards patrolling nearby, he nodded to Keating.

"This is the map of the prison." After Verak approached, Keating spread out the map that Dawn gave them, and whispered, "I took a rough look before you came back. This map is very detailed. A lot of things are clearly marked, which saves us a lot of time looking at the terrain."

Verac studied the maps, which were the floor plans of the various floors of Daymans Prison. Don't go, but Dawn still marked all the main locations: "It seems that Dawn has made a lot of preparations for the escape over the years. I have been to the second floor, and he drew it much more clearly than I remember. "

"I thought about it for a while. Apart from breaking through the prison guards' blockade and leaving the prison, the only way to do it is to dig a tunnel." Keating pulled out the floor plan of the second basement floor. If you are not careful, you will be discovered by the prison guards. Therefore, if you dig a tunnel, you can only choose the second basement. But the second basement is a storage room and a confinement room. Even if you go in, you can only be locked up for two or three days, and there is no time to dig a tunnel. .”

"It takes too long to dig a tunnel, and I don't have that much time." Verac can last until the closing of the World Expo at most, and a few months is not enough for them to solve the various problems they face when digging the tunnel. "I can only think about how to do it." Head out."

   "Front is almost impossible." Keating shook his head. He knew that Verac didn't have enough time, but at present, there was only hope of digging a tunnel, and it was completely impossible to start with the front.

Verak sighed: "The most unlikely thing is what Lecter, Adel and the others are most assured of, and that is what we are most hopeful for. For example, because a transport ship comes over at noon on the twelfth of every month, it is every month It is the only ship between the mainland and Daymans Road, so the prisoners will choose to escape on the 12th. If we choose to act on the 13th, the prison guards will be caught off guard."

   "But on the 13th, there is no boat for us to leave. There are tens of nautical miles away from the mainland." Keating understood Verak's unexpected thoughts, but it was not unreasonable for the prison guards to relax their vigilance at that time.

"But, trying to escape from Daimans Prison is to make the impossible possible. We have to overcome what they think we can't do." Verak stared at the dozens of iron gates marked in the four floor plans and meditated. "I know it's hard and we're clueless, but it's the only way."

   Keating patted the worried Veraker: "I think you are a person who is good at making the impossible possible."

   "I don't know what to do either." Verak smiled wryly.

"We don't have time, but what we need most is time, so we have to rack our brains to use everything we can." Keating said, "Keep relaxed, don't ignore it because you are too anxious and obsessed with something." Very important stuff."

   "Huh..." Verak took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind, put aside all the complicated thoughts, and think about the problem again from the original point.

   The extra 2,000 words are the additions that have been ordered to 800. The specific additions to the game can be found in the comment area. thanks for your support.

  (end of this chapter)