Rebuilding Base is Under Construction (BASE)
The thought of "his 15,000 is gone" lingered in Zhang Dianyu's mind until a black SUV with the BOP logo slowly and laboriously made its way through the Corpse Transports to the prison gate, from which several people emerged.
The man in a suit at the forefront looked like a government official, accompanied by a few plainclothes special agents with vigilant eyes.
Don’t ask Zhang Dianyu how he knew their identities—their feet were labeled "Plainclothes Special Agents" on the map.
Next door, the lawyer knocked on the Warden's office door.
He was a middle-aged man with meticulously combed hair, and whether it was due to being cooped up in a 4x4 cubicle for too long, his expression seemed somewhat vacant.
Through the lawyer’s mechanical and repetitive explanation, Zhang Dianyu finally understood what BOP outside the prison gate stood for.
Its full name was the Federal Bureau of Prisons and under the U.S. Department of Justice.
As the name suggested, it was responsible for overseeing all federal prisons, including private ones.
Generally, incidents like prisoner deaths and escapes would be reported to the Bureau of Prisons, but it was unclear why they had sent investigators this time to hold someone accountable.
Zhang Dianyu thought for a moment then located the cafeteria on the map, and found the unfortunate transferred prisoner on the Corpse Platform by the southern wall.
He clicked on the prisoner’s profile.
The prisoner’s personality traits were still marked with question marks, as there hadn’t been enough time to interact with him deeply, but the simplest profile page listed his reason for incarceration and the crimes he had committed.
His charges included multiple counts of murder and disturbing the peace, with a note below: "Affiliated with the illegal organization Hydra."
Zhang Dianyu: "..."
What a coincidence, he knew a Hydra too.
The naming system of this game wasn’t just getting carried away—it might as well be aiming for the stars.
Zhang Dianyu took his tool-like lawyer to the gate to greet the Federal Bureau of Prisons investigators.
This "Hydra" gang member might have been an important witness, which was why he was so valuable and had drawn the attention of the Bureau.
Indeed, the 15,000 wasn’t so simple.
And he shouldn't have overslept.
When the prisoner entered the prison, he should have been marked as a high-priority protection target and isolated from other inmates.
However, the cause of death for this transferred prisoner was "shot while attacking multiple prison guards" so perhaps the main issue was—Zhang Dianyu opened the game panel and turned off Free Fire.
Temporarily.
Permanently disabling it was out of the question.
The prison’s free, democratic, and positive atmosphere relied entirely on the daily free gunfire.
Morning was free activity time in the prison, during which inmates could freely choose to study, work, shower, or eat, rather than being crammed together according to the schedule.
This was to let those weak, pitiful, and helpless kids use the facilities they couldn’t otherwise access, so they wouldn’t starve to death.
Starving to death would mean no more government subsidies.
As Zhang Dianyu walked toward the prison gate, he passed a few inmates doing custodial labor.
Small groups of orange-clad prisoners strolled, chatted, and flirted on the gravel paths—the darker shades were serious offenders, while the lighter ones were medium-term inmates.
The leaves on the trees rustled in the wind, and the watchtowers gleamed in the sunlight.
The prison was a picture of tranquility and harmony.
It even resembles a serene vacation resort.
Zhang Dianyu: "..."
Something seemed off.
The BOP investigator at the prison gate had been waiting for a while, but showed no signs of impatience.
Upon seeing Zhang Dianyu approach, he nodded before he took out his credentials, and handed them to the nearby prison guard.
"Federal Bureau of Prisons, Office of the Inspector General." the investigator said in a businesslike tone.
The guard beside him finished inspecting the credentials then handed them back with both hands, and saluted while saying, "Sir, parking is prohibited here."
Zhang Dianyu glanced at the black SUV behind the investigator: "..."
Of course, his prison didn’t have a parking lot.
Outside the gate was a one-way, two-lane road.
One side was completely occupied by Corpse Transports, while the other was reserved for daily prisoner transport vehicles, trucks, and other passing traffic.
The Bureau of Prisons driver: "..."
"—and aircraft," the guard unexpectedly added, not yet finished.
Zhang Dianyu looked up in confusion as a small jet, distinctly out of place with its surroundings, slowly appeared in the sky.
It's dark gray surface was emblazoned with a familiar emblem and resembling a spreading eagle.
The jet lowered a rope ladder, and several agile figures in uniforms quickly descended.
But the last one was unmistakable in his attire.
A long black trench coat, an eyepatch, and the look of someone collecting a debt—the bald Black man jumping down from the jet bearing the Shield logo was none other than the famous Director of Shield, Nick Fury.
Zhang Dianyu thought the mods for this game were quite interesting, though he wasn’t sure about the copyright issues.
Just as he was about to speak, the roar of an engine echoed from the rear of the road.
A red sports car screeched to a halt at the end of the road.
A driver-like figure leaned out from the driver’s seat to stare at the Corpse Transports blocking the road while speechless for a long time, before finally pulling his head back in.
Moments later, a flashy figure stepped out of the car and slowly put on sunglasses.
The guard dutifully walked over to check the credentials before informing him that parking was prohibited.
Zhang Dianyu watched the distant figures conversing but couldn’t hear their dialogue.
He opened the mini-map on the game panel.
As expected, another familiar name appeared—Tony Stark.
What’s going on with this game?
Zhang Dianyu suddenly remembered Mr. Wayne, who had inexplicably visited the prison a few days ago.
At the time, he hadn’t paid attention to the name on the mini-map, so now he couldn’t recall Mr. Wayne’s full name.
Could it be Batman?
He quickly dismissed the absurd thought.
DC and Marvel were arch-rivals and would never appear in the same game unless it was Lego.
This place was anything but Lego.
Besides, would Batman visit a prison for a $30,000 charity donation? Were the cover girls not appealing anymore, or had all the criminals in Gotham died?
From what Zhang Dianyu had learned over the past few days, his prison was indeed set in the United States, but far on the West Coast in California. It was almost an entire country away from New York and New Jersey.
He also knew that Shield’s headquarters was in New York.
So, Tony Stark and Nick Fury had traveled across the entire United States just for an obscure Hydra lieutenant?
Under the arrangement of the Guard, two cars and a plane were parked on the open ground opposite, adjacent to the garbage dumping area.
Thus, Zhang Dianyu received three suspicious glances—after all, the opposite side was not part of the prison's property, but it had completely turned into Zhang Dianyu's garbage area and parking lot.
Zhang Dianyu was not the least bit flustered.
Once he had the money, he could buy the opposite side... and then relocate the garbage dumping area next to the new property.
"Stark?" Director Fury frowned as he looked at the man who was curiously inspecting the prison gate.
"Don't look at me like that." Stark said nonchalantly, "It's always been Shield tracking others."
He smiled slightly, "Stark Industries has just participated in an investment project regarding the re-education of criminals—and coincidentally, the new industrial park of Stark Industries is under construction nearby."
Fury furrowed his brows, "This area? How come I haven't seen any industrial parks?"
"Probably because the contract was signed just half an hour ago," Stark said seriously, "Right next door."
Zhang Dianyu: "..."
His free garbage dump was gone.
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