Twenty Seven Years

  Chapter 146 Preparations

  After leaving the warden's office, Verak continued to work until nine o'clock in the evening before returning to cell 208.

   Today is one of the rare days where there were not so many events. When Veracer reported to Keating, he explained the whole day in a few words. After that, the two discussed the possibility of a frontal prison escape based on the map and prison guard information provided by Dawn until late at night, and then hurriedly fell asleep.

  The next day, that is, October 18th.

  Villac found that the square was decorated with crude ball frames and white lines that were not neatly drawn when he released the wind. It seems that the football game has been completely settled, and two days later, a game that has never been played will break out in this place that has been temporarily transformed into a stadium.

  As one of the first batch of prisoners released on October 18th, Verak pushed Keating, who also came to release, and watched the prisoners pointing at the different square.

  The news that a football match will be held on the Peace Day has been widely spread, and almost none of the more than 2,000 prisoners did not know about it. But they found that even the prison guards didn't know about it, and after a delay in formal notification, they maintained a skeptical attitude towards Verak's words.

   At this time, the ball frame and the white line let the stones hanging in their hearts fall.

  Since the football games are all real, the rumor that as long as you win the game, you can write a letter to your family and friends should also be true. The prisoners cheered, even though the game had not yet started, even though the hope of victory was extremely slim.

"The matter of the football game has been settled, now it's up to us how to win the game." Veraker and Keating were separated from the crowd, watching the joy, anger, sorrow and joy of the crowd from a distance, "If we can win this game , will be exciting."

   "Have you figured it out yet?" Keating sat in a wheelchair, squinting his eyes and looking at one prisoner after another.

  Verak knew that what Keating said was that he had to participate in the game: "I already thought about it when I talked to Lecter, and even if I don't want to, I have to do it."

   "How is your body?" Keating asked about Veraker's physical condition. During this period of time, except for regular dressing changes, Veraker was basically the same as ordinary people, and he couldn't figure out how far he had recovered.

   "I don't think there's anything wrong, and the medicine should be stopped in a few days." Verak said, "At that time, I have to take a good bath. It's too inconvenient to just wipe it with a towel."

   "Don't get another serious injury in the game." Keating warned.

Verak chuckled: "No, my identity is as special as yours, even if they can attack me, they will be very measured. The most ignorant person is Lecter, and I just want to beat him up too. It depends on what the situation is at that time.”

   "Chris, this place has become completely different since you came here." Keating said.

  Ross said the same when Veraker was working. He took a leisurely walk and asked casually, "What changes do you think?"

   "It's an indescribable feeling." Apparently Keating didn't intend to list a few well-known major events on the surface. He was more concerned about the internal changes, "It's a subtle change."

"You are not the first person to say that. Before I came here, I never thought that I could do so many things. Sometimes when I lie in bed and think about it, I find it unbelievable." Verak was evaluated by many people , a little joy in my heart. Because everyone who said that to him meant he made them better.

   This is something he never felt when he was in Laizein.

Like affecting many people in Daymans Prison, Verak's rebirth this time also stirred up the situation in Laizein, but he did not use his own power to make many people better and better, but directly and indirectly killed them. Dempsey, Colin.

  If Laizein’s experience of less than two months can be attributed to causing trouble and making mistakes, then the period of being imprisoned in Daimans Prison is a burden and a burden.

   "Keep going, Chris." Keating encouraged Veraker. He witnessed many changes in Verak. This young man who didn't fit in with the prison was not assimilated or numb, but became stronger under the violent blow, which made his heart burst with hope.

   "I will." Verak gripped the handle of the wheelchair.

  When the two were emotional, Dawn, who was also assigned to the first batch of prisoners, did not lie alone in the corner basking in the sun this time, but organized the prisoners to gather and listen to his arrangements.

"Everyone, although the official notice has not been issued yet, it can be seen from the newly added items in the square today that the football game is a certainty!" Dawn said loudly, and he easily controlled the scene by himself. "Maybe some people don't know yet, so I'll say it again here! As long as we beat the prison guards in the Peace Day football match the day after tomorrow, we will have the opportunity to write letters to parents, friends, lovers, and children!"

   "It's Dawn." Hearing the yelling, Verak pushed the wheelchair and surrounded Dawn who was speaking with the crowd.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! We must grasp it no matter what, and we must win no matter what!" Dawn looked around at the prisoners who surrounded him, and glanced at the prison guards who were watching the excitement, "The game is coming soon, In order to ensure nothing goes wrong, I will select enough reliable people from among you to participate in the competition!"

   Keating smiled slightly: "This matter is really important to them."

   "Yes, otherwise Dawn would not have agreed to win the game and cooperate with us in depth, and now he is responsible for organizing everyone to fight against the prison guards." Verak nodded.

   "Has anyone among you ever played football?" Dawn asked.

   As soon as he finished speaking, many people in the crowd raised their hands.

  Dawn picked out all these people and roughly counted them. There were almost fifty people. Even if the proportion of the next batch who have played football is the same, there will only be one hundred people in total. Knowing how fast the prisoners would end if the prison guards could attack with their hands, Dawn was not satisfied with this statistic, so he selected the strong ones from among the prisoners.

  In this unfair game, the experience of playing football is very important, and it is also very important to be able to fight against the prison guards.

   "You, and you, all go over." Dawn went around the crowd, pointing out suitable candidates from time to time, ordering them to stand by and prepare for the final arrangement.

"Can I?"

  Dawn walked all the way, and finally stopped in front of Verak who was pushing the wheelchair. With a smile on his face, Verak took the initiative to ask Dawn for a place to play.

"Your body can do it?" Dawn didn't know that Veraker had a privilege on the field. He considered that Veraker himself was injured, and he was not considered strong. He didn't have an advantage in the game the day after tomorrow, so he planned to refuse directly. .

   "It's just a football game, do you think it will be better than Lecter's nine days of abuse?" Willak said.

  Dawn froze.

   How could someone who could survive nine days of inhuman torture under Lecter be easily defeated in a football match. He found that his worries were superfluous, and after a long silence, he agreed to Veraker's application: "Then you go over there and stay with them, and discuss the competition together later."

   "Okay." Verac pushed Keating and other people selected by Dawn to participate in the ball game to stand together.

  After another round of screening by Dawn, a total of more than 150 prisoners were identified as candidates for football matches.

"Many of us have never played football at all, and we don't even know what it is because we have been locked up for too long. During the game, the prison guards still have the right to beat us at will with batons. We can't fight back..." Dawn said the same More than a hundred and fifty prisoners sat down, surrounded by a circle, "The first time I heard about the football game, I thought about what advantage we have compared with the prison guards. After thinking for a long time, I found that there is no. But even if No, we have to win too..."

  Dawn is mobilizing for the game.

  Villac and Keating sat in the peripheral area of ​​the contestants, listening carefully to Dawn stirring up everyone's emotions and starting to plan how to compete.

   "I don't think there's much point in making plans. We can only adapt to the situation when the time comes. After all, we don't know anything, and we can't be sure whether Lecter will add any new rules temporarily." Willak said to Keating.

  He and Carmine watched the game, and learned some football knowledge from Carmine. In his view, although the main rule of the football match held on the Peace Day the day after tomorrow is still to kick the ball into the opponent's box, other gameplays have undergone earth-shaking changes, and many things can no longer be viewed as usual.

  After listening to Dawn's prediction of some possible outcomes in the game and roughly determining the tactics, Verak, who was noncommittal, decided to find an opportunity to have a good talk with Dawn.

At noon, he didn't share Keating's meal with Keating, but Rose, who was eating at the same table, learned that Dawn was recruiting players to participate in the competition, and discussed with Veraker whether he could participate: "Chris, what do you say?" Can I join the game?"

   "You should leave. Your physical fitness is not very good. If you participate in the competition, not only will you not be able to play much role, but you may be seriously injured." Verac directly rejected the possibility of Rose participating in the competition while eating.

   "This matter concerns everyone, it's a pity to just watch it." Rose was a little depressed by Verak's words. He knew that it was not suitable for him to participate in the competition as other prisoners with better physical fitness, but only when he really stood there and participated in it did he feel at ease and felt that he had also contributed his strength.

"Don't think too much, no one is willing to see our own people fail, so everyone will choose the most suitable and most promising person." Verac's mind is not on this matter, so it seems a bit casual to appease Ross, "Even if you can't participate, you have to know that you don't have to stand on the field to play football to be considered as contributing to the victory."

"I understand…"

   Verak, who finished his meal quickly, got up and handed the lunch box to the prison guard: "Okay, I'm going to change the medicine first, you can go back and rest after eating."

"Um."

   After being escorted to the infirmary by the prison guards, Verak took off his shirt and dismantled the bandages himself.

Lecter, who has completely replaced the doctor and is in charge of changing Verak's dressing, has already prepared the ointment and is waiting for Verak to remove the bandage: "I heard that during the release, a prisoner named Dawn began to organize prisoners How are you going to deal with the football game the day after tomorrow, huh?"

"Yes, they all want to win, so they took advantage of the wind to preliminarily select suitable candidates for the competition, and formulated tactics." This was done under the watchful eyes of the prison guards, and Verak didn't think it was a big deal The secret, when Lecter mentioned it, he took the initiative to say, "It's nothing more than some people who have played football and resisted."

   "Looks like I have to go and see for myself tomorrow." Lecter became more and more excited that the prisoners attached great importance to the game.

   "What is there to see?" Verak also planned to talk to Dawn about his ideas.

   "Looking at how hard they worked to win, and seeing their faces when they lost in the end, the sense of gap must be very interesting." Lecter was full of confidence in the result of the game, and he had already determined that the prison guards would win the final victory before it even started.

  Taking off the bandage, Verak, who was lying on the hospital bed, asked, "Listen to you, are you confident that the prison guards will win?"

   "What else?" Lecter said.

   "I don't think victory is so easy to determine." Verak didn't dare to judge the final winner, but he didn't think the prisoners were powerless to fight.

   "It doesn't really matter who wins and who loses, it's just a small event, the most important thing is to be happy." Lecter smiled and applied the ointment to Verak, "Is there any new progress in gold?"

   "No, but I think the football game is a good opportunity, and there may be any unexpected gains that day." Seeing that Lecter never mentioned the result of his negotiations with Adel, Veraker deliberately did not bring it up.

  Lecter meticulously applied ointment to Verak's major and minor injuries: "How did you talk with Adel?"

  Verak told Lecter the content of the conversation with Adel.

   Knowing that Adel has no trump card to compete with him, but only tempted Veraker with a sense of security and trust, Lecter immediately laughed: "It seems that he really has nothing to do with me."

"What he said is not unreasonable." How could Veraker watch Lecter sit up, and the balance of the warden's dispute was broken, "Compared with the two of you, he is indeed more stable and reliable. If you can give me The things are the same, I should choose him."

"First, what I can give you is far more than what he can give you. I have said this no less than ten times. There should be no need to repeat it. Second, whether I will fulfill my promise or not. No Wrong, I can't use any means to prove that I am reliable. But have you ever thought that Adel can be the warden, what kind of simple role will it be? I may not fulfill my promise, doesn't he?" Lecter listened When Verak said that he might choose to cooperate with Adel, his face immediately became colder, "As for what you said, I am keen to torture you. If I become the warden, I will not miss a toy like you."

  (end of this chapter)