The prisoners were led up to presumably the holding chamber having once again been bagged. Xiao Ji and Anya were brought up two floors and thrown into a prison cell. The room was empty besides a small slit that looked out into the open. Xiao Ji got the feeling that this wasn't a "modern" building. Something that Anya had told him about quite a few summers ago. She was trying to hold back tears but she looked up,
"Xiao Ji, is it really you?"
As much as he wanted to shout and scream, he instead furiously nodded and pecked up and down, even though he was still in the cramped container. Anya's eyes widened,
"Xiao Ji, since you can understand me, do you think that if I got you out of that box, we could escape and free our parents? I think you could cause enough damage that we will get a head start then we can run to the town where my school is!"
Xiao Ji stared at his small feet. As far as he could see, the exterior of this box was completely smooth on every side.
It would take some serious effort to free him from it. Anya had gently picked up the container and examined it carefully then placed it down next to her protectively. Even in times like this, her loyalty to him was unwavering and he wished that she knew he'd be the same if their situations were different.
Xiao Ji thought about last night's events and remembered the few interesting vegetables beneath him during the trip and he wondered what was happening to them now. A voice suddenly spoke, though it was far too deep to be Anya's.
"You say that he could blast us out of here?"
Anya and Xiao Ji both froze. It wasn't one of their captors. It seemed to come from the cell itself. The voice spoke again,
"Oh yeah, haha, I'm right in front of you. I'm the box that has your friend inside. Is it true that he could blast us out of here?"
Anya was the first to recover from the shock and being the only other prisoner who could talk, replied with,
"What do you want?"
The box chuckled and sighed,
"I just want to get out of here, too. I'm serving a fifty-thousand year sentence for fifteen-years of system cultivation and for being a fugitive. They told me that if I used my system to help the Guardians here, I would have my sentence cut in half. It isn't everyday that they find a system negator. Haha"
"Wait, what do you mean, 'system negator'? Were you human before?"
"Oh, come on, if we can get out of here, let's do it now! I can answer questions later. It's this time of day when the Guardians are responding to different troubles. You really want to wait all day to escape? I've been here for 2 years already!"
"Oh I'm-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm certain that Xiao Ji's missiles could help us get out of here."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go haha!"
The contained suddenly morphed fluidly into a lanky teenager boy with messy snow-white hair and a saggy white robe. It seemed as if he was once very handsome but now, he appeared to be very tired, only the thought of escape lighting his eyes. At the same time, Xiao Ji fell down, tumbling onto his left rocket launcher.
"Alright then, let's move haha! Come on, what are you doing, little chicken?"
"Wait, wait, give him some time. What is your name anyways?"
"Damn girl, why so many questions? Let's go chicken! Fire away!"
Xiao Ji looked around. He was getting a bit put-off by the boy but he figured that since he endured so long in prison, it was only fair to come out a bit moody.
Judging by the depth of the little slit that let in outside light, it appeared that the outer wall was the weakest but he didn't know how high up they were and where they would go after this.
"Wait, wait, I'm sorry for asking so many questions but where are we going after this?"
"Oh come on girl, do you really think I'd attempt to escape if I didn't know where we would be going after this haha? Just blast the wall away already."
Xiao Ji figured that at this point, it would be fine if they trusted this boy. He took aim and fired. The 8 rockets violently ripped through the wall in a bout of fire and rocks. Xiao Ji felt a bit guilty that the boy's white clothes had been somewhat darkened by the resulting smoke.
"Oh haha! We're getting out of here now! Alright girl, let's jump!"
Together, the three adolescents leaped out, landing harshly on the ground below. Behind them, furious shouting commenced.
"Alright little chicken, fire away! Back at the cell. Avoid the third floor, the one without any windows; that's where your parents are so be careful haha!"
While Anya and the boy ran into the distance, Xiao Ji stayed back and fired the newly loaded rockets back into the cell. When the rockets hit, Xiao Ji could hear a satisfying round of screaming and shouting. It must have been pretty painful for whoever wandered into the cell.
He thought about waiting for one more round of rockets to be loaded but Anya's figure was growing smaller and he was already slow enough, having been weighed down by the rocket-launchers.
As he turned to run, he nearly crashed into a large carrot. Besides the carrot was a smiling turnip who was sitting on a squash of some sort.
Between them was a large antique cannon. It seemed as if they were also looking to join in on the pleasure of taking revenge. The turnip turned to Xiao Ji as he passed and Xiao Ji suddenly realized that it was weeping in bittersweet joy,
"Hey yo, don't worry about your parents. Song told us which floor they are on already! Just run away! Get out of here! We will take care of this! Live your life! Break free! Don't ever come back! Keep going! You still have an amazing life ahead of you! Move on! Go! Go…"
Xiao Ji nodded and ran on. He never turned to look back at those vegetables.