The Hidden Game

On a weekend afternoon, Caleb Johnson was jolted awake from his nap by a series of loud thumping noises. The sound was not unfamiliar—he heard it nearly every weekend. It was the neighbor across the street practicing boxing.Caleb sat up, reaching out to pull aside the blackout curtains in his bedroom. The gentle afternoon sunlight slipped through the gap, casting a line of light and shadow across his fingers.Waking up from a nap always left him with a dry mouth, and on days when the boxing sounds were particularly loud, that dryness seemed even more pronounced.Caleb crossed his legs and stretched lazily, then slowly turned to open the nightstand drawer and retrieve a monocular telescope. The world through his eyes instantly transformed into a perfect circle, the magnified image revealing the pale yellow exterior of a building.Caleb's neighborhood was situated on the outskirts of the city. There were no high-rise buildings, only rows of two-story villas. To maintain a uniform an

On a sweltering afternoon, the asphalt road reflected the blazing sunlight, as if it were emitting suffocating waves of heat.Neighborhood workers had once again arrived at Caleb's neighbor's doorstep, grumbling about the scattered shards of glass and the black ink stains on the walls.Caleb had just gotten home from work and emerged from his garage.Upon seeing him, the two neighborhood workers approached and asked, "Mr. Johnson, do you know when Mr. Zephyr will be home?"Caleb politely shook his head, indicating that he wasn't sure.In this clean and orderly neighborhood, all residents took pride in maintaining the environment. People regularly trimmed their lawns and kept their gardens pristine. Even the public roads outside the yards were occasionally washed down.Yet, amidst this harmonious environment, one house stood out in disarray. Glass shards littered the ground, and ink stains on the walls went unaddressed. It was an eyesore, starkly contrasting with the otherwise wel

For Caleb's statement to be accurate, the correct answer should have been "of course not".In a few days, Marcus would discover that there were no cameras installed in the bathhouse and restrooms. After staying a bit longer, he would also learn that even in places with cameras, there were blind spots and instances of malfunction.It wasn't some monumental secret. The reason for not upgrading the surveillance system was that the prison was already heavily guarded by correctional officers. There were also patrolling teams who were on duty around the clock. As a result, the need for surveillance cameras was not as critical.At Southern Prison, the officers rarely relied on cameras. Only Caleb alone possessed a secret unknown to others.The library was located in a corner of the administrative building's second floor. Further in, there was a storage room that the inmates had taken over.Originally, the storage room had been filled with cleaning supplies such as mops and small carts. H

Before Caleb could respond, the patrol officers had already led Marcus away.In truth, Caleb wasn't sure how to answer.Unlike the pinhole cameras Caleb had set up, the prison's surveillance cameras were large, white, and rectangular, clearly visible and impossible to overlook. The recreational room was only about 107 square feet, with a completely empty ceiling. It was obvious that no cameras were installed there.Even if there were cameras, they would be connected to the surveillance room, not the library.When Caleb rushed over earlier, Marcus had been facing away from the door. Also, Nine's two subordinates were directly blocking the entrance. There was no way Caleb could have known it was Marcus causing the commotion the moment he opened the door.Yet, Caleb had blurted out Marcus' inmate number almost the instant he turned the doorknob.In other words, Caleb already knew what was happening in the recreational room before he even entered.Caleb prided himself on being cauti

Hector didn't comply with Marcus' request. Instead, he took him back to the infirmary across the hall.Less than ten minutes later, Hector returned, looking exasperated. "I can't handle him. You try."Caleb's mind was a swirl of question marks."I asked him if he would be punctual at social gatherings. He said he doesn't attend gatherings. I asked if he trusts intuition or experience. He said he trusts data," Hector complained.Caleb could understand why Hector was frustrated. It was just like his own experience earlier. The only difference was that Marcus had started cooperating with Caleb after just a few questions, but seemed completely unwilling to cooperate with Hector."You handle it," Hector said, placing the tablet on Caleb's desk before briskly turning and leaving. "Wrap this up quickly and send him back to solitary confinement."The correctional officer assigned to escort Marcus had been waiting in the corridor for quite a while. Caleb glanced over and saw him checking