After reviewing the footage, everyone was stunned into silence; Xiao Shu never imagined that one cautious decision could invite such immense disaster.

Just as the few of them gathered in the control room, utterly at a loss, a cascade of bell-like laughter drifted in from outside the door. They all snapped their heads around to see a woman, plump as a ball of flesh, blocking the doorway with a gleaming scythe, radiating an air of smug confidence.

"What do you think you're doing?" Xiao Shu sharply demanded. The two prison guards didn't recognize this woman, but Xiao Shu and Xiao Yu knew her all too well. It was none other than Bai Huaqian, who hadn't shown her face in a long time.

"Nothing much, just coming to protect you all," Bai Huaqian replied, glancing down at the scythe in her hand, which was still dripping faintly with blood. "Rioters in a prison aren't like ordinary civilians; they don't wait until they're bullied before fighting back. So, I made a special trip to lend you a hand, to take care of them swiftly..."

"And then they become part of Li Xiaohao's zombie army?" Xiao Shu cut in before Bai Huaqian could finish her thought.

Bai Huaqian pouted, wearing a slightly aggrieved expression. "You could put it that way. However, protecting you is half the reason, too. Otherwise, what were you planning to do? Reason with them? If reasoning worked, they wouldn't be locked up here in the first place. Or let them out? In that case, wouldn't the civilians scattered on the streets suffer?"

"Send them back to the cells," Xiao Shu stated firmly.

Bai Huaqian deliberately feigned an awkward look. "Impossible. All the access control systems have been destroyed. That means not a single door can stop them from getting here, and not a single door can lock them back inside."

Seeing Bai Huaqian's haughty demeanor made Xiao Shu grind her teeth in fury. It was clear today that they had set a trap, luring everyone inside, and now the moment to tighten the snare and capture the prey had arrived.

"Are you working with her?" Xiao Shu shot a cold glance at Li Taiming, thinking that from Jinqi Street all the way here, she had never doubted him, yet now, he and her own brother had joined forces.

"Not at all," Li Taiming waved his hand dismissively. "I don't even know her. We just happened to run into each other here at the prison." As the words left his mouth, Bai Huaqian's silvery laughter rang out again, this time echoing with unrestrained mirth. "Yes, yes, yes, we don't know each other. We just nodded when we met, both perfectly aware of what the other was thinking."

"Hmm," Bing Yu, who had been silently leaning against the wall, finally spoke up. "According to the criminal law textbooks, this is joint criminal intent without prior conspiracy. He only thought of having me kill people on the side once he saw the current situation."

"And conveniently have Xiao Yu take care of those ninety-nine people too!" Xiao Shu added coldly.

"Alright!" Li Taiming held both hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I admit I harbored that little scheme, but aside from burning the bodies, I did nothing else. Weren't you also involved in this activity?" He then pointed a finger at Xiao Shu.

"Stop arguing, everyone!" The prison guard raised his voice, trying to be heard over their constant bickering. "We should be figuring out how to quell this riot right now."

"How do we quell it? Sit down and reason with them like we're placating petitioners?" Li Taiming shot back.

The guard fell silent for a long moment before replying, "When the situation spirals out of control, against serious felons... weapons can be used!"