In this place of perpetual darkness, the guards are like gods. They find every excuse to punish the children, just to make them live in fear, numb, and eventually become puppets at their mercy.

Who invented this "black prison" punishment is already unknown.

But there is one thing for sure, it is the most terrifying punishment for the children, far scarier than being kicked and beaten.

The black prison is a completely dark space, with soundproofing cotton on all four walls, isolating outside noises and preventing those inside from committing suicide by banging against the walls.

The interior is incredibly narrow, with walls so close that one cannot lie down. The ceiling is low, making it hard to stand straight, forcing one into a semi-squat position.

Once someone is locked inside, the first sense lost is vision. It doesn’t take long before the bent limbs become numb from exhaustion, and eventually, this numbness spreads throughout the body, expanding from the physical to the mental, until one can no longer perceive their own existence.

Even the most rebellious child, when confined in the black prison for a few hours, would find their emotions collapse, never daring to commit any offense again.

And once punishment time is counted in "days," it becomes the ultimate torment that is terrifying to the core.

...

When Zero’s black prison door opened again, it had been three days. Inside, the soundproofing cotton was tattered, the walls covered with blood marks from hands desperately scratching, as if painting a chaotic picture.

Zero’s body fell out from behind the door, eyes hollow and disoriented, lying on the ground like a broken doll.

The ten fingernails of those small hands were all flipped open, crusted with thick scabs, the skin full of scratch marks, all left from self-harm within the black prison.

Most lamentable is that she was born without pain nerves, so even the feedback from self-harm was incomplete, leaving only negligible touch to combat the frenzy brought by the black prison.

The guard opened the door and tossed Zero a bottle of water and a piece of bread, then left her to rot and stink there.

Zero didn’t move, even though her body was extremely hungry and thirsty from three days of confinement, she didn’t reach for the water and food in front of her.

The wounds had dried up, tears had long dried too, and even though the ceiling light was on, it felt like the light was disappearing bit by bit, turning the whole world black.

Desperate survival, no expectation, only pain, unable to see any hope.

No meaning...

What is the point of living like this...

Zero silently picked up the piece of bread, kneaded it repeatedly in her hands, turning the originally fluffy bread into a dense ball...

Then she put it in her mouth and inhaled sharply.

The bread ball lodged in her windpipe, and suffocated Zero quickly collapsed to the ground, her face turning red, gradually turning blue-purple.

But she did not struggle, just lay there silently, allowing the darkness to cover her vision.

This is fine...

Sleep...

Continuously sleeping is very comfortable...

The suffocation spread throughout the body, and consciousness became increasingly blurred.

... no one knows how long it passed.

"Zero, Zero..."

A suppressed and urgent call came to her ear, and her body was lifted up.

Zero felt two arms encircling her front, squeezing and loosening her waist and abdomen.

"Cough—" With a sudden constriction impact, she violently coughed out the bread ball stuck in her throat, and then she lay prone on the ground, coughing and panting violently, "Cough! Cough cough cough!"

Fresh air poured into her lungs, bringing a rejuvenating sense of rebirth, her vision gradually became clear, and she saw the girl squatting in front of her.

The girl was backlit by the lamp, her face appearing faintly indistinct in the halo, yet those jewel-like eyes were filled with concern: "Zero, are you okay!"

"Xiaoqi..." Zero murmured the other’s name.

Xiaoqi looked at the bread ball covered in saliva on the ground, tentatively asked: "Were you choking or..."

Zero didn’t speak, her eyes only filled with a darkness like death.

This expression quickly made Xiaoqi realize something.

Xiaoqi didn’t mind the dirt, quickly putting the bread ball into her pocket, then came over to hug Zero, gently stroking her back: "Shh... it’s okay, it’s okay, why suddenly think things through..."

Zero weakly leaned into Xiaoqi’s embrace, softly muttering: "Why does everyone hate me..."

Xiaoqi held Zero tighter, gently stroked her head: "They hate you, that’s because they are mean, it’s not your fault."

Zero: "But they all call me a monster, say I’m ugly and disgusting..."

"Um..." Xiaoqi cupped Zero’s face and examined closely, "You have many wounds on your head, no hair, and your face is so thin it’s out of shape without much flesh... even the most beautiful person becomes ugly in this state."

"So what if people call you a monster, let them call you. They call you a monster, in truth, they are jealous of your uniqueness; it’s just a venting from the weak."

Xiaoqi sat down beside Zero, comforted: "In my opinion, once your body recovers, grows hair, gains some flesh on your face, you will definitely become so pretty, many people will like you."

Zero buried her head between her knees, whispered: "No one will like a monster..."

"Who says? I like you." Xiaoqi extended her hand towards Zero, "I spoke to the guardians about changing rooms the other day, the approval came through. From today, we’re roommates~"

Zero stared blankly.

Since she remembers, she’s been alone.

The guards hate her.

The other children loathe her.

No one wants to be with a monster.

Roommate...

She never imagined she’d have a roommate.

Zero: "Why do you want..."

Xiaoqi smiled

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