My Cell Prison-Chapter 1175 - 1174: The Middle Layer District

Han Dong had always been active in the Black Tower’s plaza and its surrounding area, which all belonged to the Lower Zone (the inpatient department corresponding to the Fight Club was set up outside the Black Tower).

Any outsiders participating in the Black Tower, upon arriving through normal channels, would appear in the Lower Zone’s plaza area.

Moreover, most of the transfer station activities (various transactions, mission handovers, reward exchanges, information queries, and the joining and activities of related organizations, etc.) could be completed on the Lower Level.

Large organizations like the Fight Club also had their main bases in the Lower Zone; even the Headless, beings equivalent to the Old King, were active in the Lower Zone.

The hierarchy of the Black Tower was not an indicator of an individual’s strength but was related to Black Tower Authority.

In many cases, there was no need to go to the Middle Level.

The Middle Level had very few free activity zones; 70% of the area was covered by the buildings of Black Tower institutions and corporations... mainly involving global issues, Black Tower management, and extremely important containment issues.

The notorious Black Tower Shelter was also located in the Middle Level Area.

Thus, the management of the Middle Level was very strict.

For non-Formal Employees wishing to go to the Middle Level, it was necessary to have a legitimate reason, pass related audits at the Lower Level, and be accompanied by a special commissioner throughout the journey.

All personnel entering the Middle Level would have their actions recorded in real-time.

Generally, those [Destiny Participants] who came to the Middle Level were there to conduct business and would not linger for an extended period.

...

"Ding Dong! Welcome to the Middle Level of the Black Tower, Mr. Han Dong.

Since this is your first visit, please follow the ’Guide’ throughout, and do not attempt any subjective exploration of the Middle Level Area without permission. For details, please refer to ’About the management of foreign personnel in the middle level area’"

Han Dong took the fully enclosed elevator set up in the Lower Level office of the Black Tower.

The elevator accelerated continuously during transportation, at one point surpassing factor.

It was only after ascending thousands of meters, even surpassing ten thousand meters in height, that Han Dong received the notification about the Middle Level.

At the same time, his body also felt as if it had crossed some kind of membrane.

When the elevator doors opened, what came into view was a steel city, bathed in intense neon colors... a stark contrast to the Lower Level.

Compared to the Lower Level’s super-large, free plaza area, this was an extremely dense steel jungle.

Rumble, rumble~ A torrential downpour.

The Middle Level was equipped with an advanced real-time weather system, and it was currently in a state of heavy rain.

"Mr. Han Dong, as you are not familiar with the rules of the Middle Level, please follow me throughout your visit and do not act independently.

If you violate the rules here, your identity and privileges will be stripped away, and you may even face execution."

"Alright... Can I ask you questions along the way?"

"Of course, you are serving the Black Tower with your life, and I will patiently answer all your questions."

With that,

the Masked Person handed Han Dong a raincoat imprinted with the Black Tower emblem, recognizable to the System, signaling him to keep up.

The heavy rain subdued the neon lights throughout the city.

On the streets, there were hardly any Loose People like those in the Lower Level Plaza area; most of the ’Residents’ shared a similar form.

They wore semi-encompassing helmets,

with numerous cables extending from the back of their helmets connecting to their spine,

and their spines were embedded with a ’metal box’ roughly equal to the size of their bodies—box and spine were connected into one through some kind of high-end biological operation, and damage to the box would result in their death.

About 80% of the ’Residents’ in the streets were of this form.

"Who are they?"

"Transporters... the basic level employees of the Middle Level.

The Black Tower institutions, corporations, and organizations set up in the Middle Level make up 70% of the entire Black Tower. Many times, item delivery cannot be performed through information transfer, machine transportation, or spatial transmission.

Many important substances must be physically transported by organisms to ensure their stability."

"Important substances? Is it materials extracted from different worlds?"

"Pretty much... Worlds that have signed agreements with the Black Tower allow the Black Tower to mine a part of their world’s materials under different circumstances for confidential research.

The substances inside the Transporters’ ’Spine Boxes’ could be worthless common fluids, or they could be precious oddities of worlds.

Of course.

If a Transporter is attacked, the attacker’s information will be instantly uploaded and subjected to a manhunt across the entire Black Tower, so this job is safe and stable."

"Even if it’s stable, I suppose most aren’t doing this voluntarily?"

Anyone who comes to the Black Tower has substantial strength; no one would willingly deliver goods here... at least Han Dong wouldn’t waste his time on such a menial task.

"That’s right, participants involved in delivery often owe a large sum of money to the Black Tower for some reason, and if the Black Tower’s assessment institution determines that it’s difficult for them to repay, they will be forcibly conscripted.

Of course, some Transporters are not participants. They are born in the Black Tower, but are cowardly and reluctant to deal with death, thus becoming Transporters."

"Hmm."

Besides the Transporters,

the rest of the individuals on the street were there for business in the Middle Level, much like Han Dong... all hidden under cloaks, with no intention of lingering.

Of course, there were also a small number of ’Patrol Officers’ exuding a powerful aura.

Apart from personnel issues, the architecture of the Middle Level was also interesting.

Most buildings were directly under the jurisdiction of Black Tower institutions, with the main doors equipped with strict identity verification devices; non-staff members could not enter.

However, Han Dong noticed a ’Top Level building’ that could not be ignored.

Even in the midst of the steel jungle, surrounded by tall buildings, one could still see a black building reaching the sky, nearly impossible to see its top.

Its height far exceeded that of other buildings in the Middle Level, even giving the impression that it led directly to the Upper Level.

"What is that?"

"The Black Tower Shelter, a building that controls, studies, and manages the Out of control.

It is the most important core building of the Middle Level, and many of the decrees here are more or less related to the Shelter.

Its existence greatly sustains the stability of the multidimensional universe."

"So this is the Shelter? The place where Pennywise escaped during the Dimensional Storm..."

No wonder Han Dong felt an underlying familiarity with this black building; he didn’t linger further, as he would naturally have the opportunity to learn more about it later.

Under the guidance of the Masked Man.

After a half-hour journey, they reached a relatively spacious intersection.

Standing before them was a silver building, second only to the Shelter in size, with hundreds of floors.

The structure of the building was like that of ’silver blocks’ assembled together like building blocks.

The exterior walls were also covered with densely packed exposed black tubes, serving as the building’s ’blood vessels,’ enabling energy transmission, magnetic field generation, and information exchange between different floors.

Through holographic projection, large circular letters were displayed on the building’s periphery

[World Search Institute - Main Office Hall]