Marvel: The Alchemist Just Wants a Peaceful Life

Clearly, the lowest part of this courtyard is the most central 'commercial area' in the entire prison, and also the comfort zone where the prison's highest-ranking 'leaders' reside.

Even though it was already dark and the prison's interior lighting had dimmed, the area under the courtyard was still brightly lit and bustling with activity.

Looking down at the bustling 'commercial district', the four of them felt a little numb.

After all, the stone hats they were wearing weren't genuine stone hats, so they probably wouldn't have attracted attention walking through those relatively sparsely populated 'residential areas'.

But if we go to that bustling 'commercial district' below, we might get spotted.

Given the Stone Hats' current abilities, once they are discovered, their functions will be rendered useless. Their attire, so different from that of the prisoners, will surely cause a riot throughout the prison.

If this attracts the attention of the prison guards, things will get complicated, which is something nobody wants to see.

Left with no other option, the four of them briefly discussed the matter and decided to resort to the safest, albeit the most rudimentary, method to resolve the current situation.

Wait!

After all, this is a prison. Even if this core area becomes relatively wealthy thanks to the support of the entire prison, it still cannot escape the reality of resource scarcity.

Therefore, the group was absolutely certain that this core area was definitely not like the area outside the prison, where people stayed up all night.

And in fact, their guess was correct.

After waiting for nearly four hours, the lights in the core area gradually dimmed, and the crowd that had gathered together began to disperse in twos and threes, leaving only a few of the highest-ranking people to go into their tents to rest.

Some of the underlings could only sit on the benches next to the core area, where the restaurant should have been, either to rest or to keep watch.

Although the beds here might not be as comfortable as those in the cells above, the temperature and environment here are far superior. Therefore, even the benches are enough to satisfy the henchmen.

The four people on the stairs witnessed firsthand the emperor-like life Alexei lived there.

With physical abilities similar to the captain, Alexei was practically the strongest king in the entire prison ward, living in a lawless environment where the law of the jungle prevailed.

As the 'king' of the prison block, Alexei's life here wasn't exactly luxurious, but it wasn't bad either.

The largest tent in the core area below belongs to Alexei!

While they were waiting, everyone clearly saw Alexei dominating the core area, enjoying not only meat but also wine brewed by the prisoners!

Compared to the emaciated prisoners on the upper floors who were tortured by hunger and cold, Alexei here was actually quite plump!

Despite his somewhat balding hair, unkempt beard, and sickly pale skin from prolonged lack of sunlight, Alexei was undoubtedly living the best life among the other prisoners.

The four men watched almost helplessly as Alexei got drunk, then laughed and scratched his backside as he walked into his tent.

Seeing that Alexei, their target, was finally ready to settle down and go to sleep, Tony, somewhat wearily, stood up, leaning on the railing at the edge of the stairs. He looked at his captain beside him and said earnestly.

"Promise me, Captain, you'll go to bed early and get up early and keep exercising from now on, okay? I don't want our Captain America to end up looking like that guy below!"

Upon hearing Tony's complaints, the captain rolled his eyes so hard they almost reached the sky, but his facial expression perfectly mirrored Tony's, his disdain completely undisguised.

The captain silently vowed to himself that he would never become like Alexei, the goofball below. Absolutely not!

Just as the captain was secretly encouraging himself, Sherlock quietly said something behind the two of them.

"Who knows, maybe that's what the captain will look like in his middle age. Midlife crisis, you know? You know what I mean, Tony."

Hearing Sherlock speak in that chilling tone, both Captain America and Tony felt a chill run down their spines. They exchanged a glance and saw a resolute look in each other's eyes.

Go back and fucking keep exercising!

Even if you're going to be a beast of burden, be a defatted beast of burden!

Yelena, however, silently covered her face as she listened to the conversation between the three men beside her. To be honest, Yelena was now starting to regret pointing out Alexei's location.

This 'dad' is really too embarrassing!

Chapter 245 Prison Break 3

Fortunately, because of the dim lighting, none of the three noticed Yelena's little actions. The three of them whispered and bickered as they made their way to the central area below.

When everyone descended the last step of the staircase leading to the central area, they were still slightly shocked by the sight before them, even though they were mentally prepared.

Directly in front of the stairs is a kitchen nestled within the wall. The entire kitchen is spacious and bright, and it doesn't look like a prison kitchen at all, but more like the back kitchen of a restaurant.

Most importantly, compared to the surrounding environment which is predominantly black, the entire kitchen is bright white, and the view inside through the huge display window is unobstructed, clean, tidy, and everything is in perfect order.

At the entrance to the kitchen, there was a bench, and a fat man covered in grease sat on it with an air of nonchalance, holding a bottle of wine and a sausage, looking every bit like a chef.

He was cursing and yelling at his subordinates who were still busy in the kitchen, while constantly giving them orders.

Strangely, despite the kitchen being quite large, the group of subordinates were all gathered in one corner, constantly busy with something.

Fortunately, everyone in the group had good eyesight, and in just a short while they figured out what the group was busy with. It was simple: they were just making breakfast.

It's worth mentioning the ingredients for this breakfast; those things have a special name outside: food waste!

That's right, the ingredients those guys busy making breakfast are kitchen waste! Leftover bones are coated with a thick batter and deep-fried again, while swill-like things are dumped directly into a big pot and the swill is masked with strong-flavored seasonings.

They wouldn't even let the swill bucket go to waste. Using the residual grease inside, they'd add some not-so-clean water and throw in a few bones with no meat on them. Once the water boiled, a pot of bone broth would be ready.

It's obvious that this stuff made from kitchen waste isn't the food for the core area. If I'm not mistaken, it's probably what the ragged lower class eats.

Despite the disgusted expressions on everyone's faces, no one said anything.

This already shows that Alexei still had a conscience. At least he ensured that the poor people wouldn't starve to death. Compared to the chaotic prisons in other places that completely disregarded the lives of others and even charged for urination, Alexei was already a rather 'benevolent' 'king'.

As everyone turned and walked towards the cluster of tents, they realized that they were still somewhat 'young' after all.

Apart from Alexei's largest tent, the rest of the tents weren't really tents; to be precise, they were more like stalls.

Most importantly, the stall sells a wide variety of things, you name it.

Cigarettes, bootleg liquor, food, clothes, mattresses, toilet paper, and all sorts of other odds and ends were sold. The most outrageous items were even televisions and generator heaters.

Of course, besides stalls selling goods, there are also stalls selling services, such as tattoo parlors, beauty salons, and even stalls selling themselves.

The numerous stalls gathered in this central area have formed their own system.

And most importantly, these stalls clearly have powerful backers, and even Alexei, the 'king,' might have to follow his own set of rules here.

Otherwise, those seemingly ordinary but absolutely luxurious items in this environment wouldn't just be on the stall; they should be inside Alexei's tent!

The four people on site were seeing the so-called disorderly prison for the first time, which was quite an eye-opener. After a brief visit, they headed towards Alexei's tent.

When they arrived at the entrance of Alexei's tent, Yelena hesitated for a moment. She didn't immediately lift the tent flap, but instead took a deep breath at the entrance before lifting the flap and leading the four people inside.

"Yelena! My precious daughter..."

Unexpectedly, Alexei was not asleep. Instead, as if he had known the group was coming, he even combed his hair and beard and stood properly in the middle of the tent waiting for everyone. The moment Yelena entered, he opened his arms to her with a joyful expression.

It was only after the group entered Alexei's tent that they discovered the differences inside.

The entire tent floor was covered with thick mattresses, and Alexei's bed was a double bed made up of dozens of mattresses stacked up to a certain height.

Inside the tent, apart from the double bed, there was only a table and a chair with a mattress sewn onto it.

Surprisingly, the 'king' inside this chaotic prison lived a rather 'simple' life.

Sherlock had just finished looking around at the interior of Alexei's tent when he noticed that Alexei hadn't said anything after greeting Yelena. The moment Sherlock looked over, his heart skipped a beat.

Although Alexei maintained his outstretched arms posture, his facial expression was extremely stiff, and his eyes were fixed on the captain, especially lingering on the Hydra symbol on the captain's chest for a long time.

Seeing that Alexei's expression was starting to look strange, Yelena was about to speak when she saw Alexei charge straight at the captain like a bull.

Their speed was so fast that no one on the scene could react in time. Amid Alexei's roar, heaven knows whether it was his father's soul that awakened or the Red Guard's soul that was targeting the captain that awakened. Alexei actually grabbed the captain and Tony, who was standing next to the captain, and rushed out of the tent.

Most importantly, Alexei didn't forget to grab Yelena and throw her onto his bed even during the charge.

Perhaps because Sherlock was too thin, Alexei did not target Sherlock, but simply led the captain and Tony to the center of the hall.

As Alexei suddenly launched his attack, the henchmen resting in the central hall were instantly awakened by his roar. When the group saw Alexei, dressed in prison clothes, lying in the center of the hall with two people who were clearly not from the prison, the entire prison erupted in chaos.

Chapter 246 Prison Break 4

"F*** you! He's always like this, he never listens!"

The moment Yelena climbed out of Alexei's double bed, she rushed out of the tent, and even Sherlock couldn't stop her.

The moment Yelena rushed out of Alexei's tent and onto the battlefield, the once-boiling prison fell silent almost instantly, and the eyes of all the criminals present were focused on Yelena.

Yelena, however, did not notice anything amiss in her surroundings. After rushing out of the tent, she pulled out a tranquilizer dart from her pocket and stabbed Alexei in the neck without any hesitation.

This sudden turn of events caught Alexei off guard, and after quickly removing the anesthetic needle from his neck, he turned to look in Yelena's direction.

"Oh, Yelena, I don't blame you for being controlled by these damned Hydras, but you should also know that these little things can't stop me..."

Puff puff puff puff puff puff puff puff puff!

Before Alexei could finish speaking, Tony, who had just been pushed away by Alexei, raised his arm and fired a barrage of tranquilizer darts at Alexei's chest.

With a dose so potent it could knock out an elephant, even Alexei could only roll his eyes and collapse to the ground.

However, at this moment, the fallen Alexei clearly could no longer arouse any emotion among the prisoners in the prison; everyone's eyes were fixed on Yelena, who was wearing a white bodysuit.

It wasn't until this point that the three people present realized the atmosphere seemed a little too quiet, but it was clear that they realized it was already a bit too late.

"A woman!!!"

No one knows which of the six men shouted first, but the entire prison immediately erupted in excitement, even more so than when Alexei, the captain, and Tony had just appeared.

The captain and Tony stood up the instant the cheers erupted and surrounded Yelena, their eyes fixed on the prisoners whose eyes were practically gleaming with lust.

"Damn it! Looks like we're in big trouble!"

Tony grumbled in annoyance, while Yelena remained relatively calm. She picked up Alexei from the ground with a look of disgust, and then awkwardly spoke to Tony and the captain.

"I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."

Upon hearing Yelena's words, the captain gave a helpless, bitter smile and said to Yelena.

"Let's think about how to get out of here first."

"That's right, you don't want to come in weighing 100 pounds and leave weighing 110 pounds, do you?"

Tony then made a joke, but upon hearing Tony's joke, Black Widow's voice rang out over the communicator.

"Tony! Watch your language! Yelena is my sister!"

Yelena, on the other hand, didn't care about Tony's complaints at all. Instead, she rolled her eyes at Black Widow's discipline with a helpless expression, pointed to her headphones at Tony, and indicated that Tony should ignore Black Widow's grumbling.

However, just as the prisoners surrounding the three were about to lose control and riot, the tent that originally belonged to Alexei was suddenly opened from the inside.

chug chug!