“Are you doing it for freedom? For revenge? Or… are you enjoying the pleasure of being against the world?”

In that instant, Shifrin felt as if she saw a strange light flickering in Asho’s pitch-black eyes. She had only seen that kind of gaze in her teacher’s eyes – a gaze that longed to see the world burn.

But Asho quickly showed his familiar playful smile, making Shifrin doubt if she had seen it wrong.

“I just want to be able to dig my ears anytime, anywhere,” he shrugged and laughed. “Instead of having to go to the bathroom just to dig my ears or pick my nose.”

“And being exploited without making any money, that’s beyond the bottom line for a worker. Every time I think about it, my hormones go out of balance and my endocrine system fails.”

Shifrin asked, “Is it worth dying for something like this?”

“Not worth it, but I might not die,” Asho smiled. “As long as I leave the Blood Moon Kingdom, I can start a new life.”

“Leave?” Shifrin was taken aback. “Where do you want to go? How do you leave?”

“I don’t know, do you have any recommendations?”

“Yes! I’ve read about many other kingdoms in books. The one I want to go to the most is the monster kingdom built in the abyss, followed by the illusory kingdom where all souls live forever, and then the star kingdom that controls the sky…”

Asho waved his hand. “No, I actually hope you can recommend a way to leave the Blood Moon Kingdom.”

“How could I know how to leave the Blood Moon… Each kingdom is a completely closed world. There’s no conventional way to travel between two kingdoms. If there was, they would have fought and become one kingdom long ago,” Shifrin said with a bit of frustration. “You don’t even know how to leave, and yet you want to leave the Blood Moon? Give up, Asho. The Bloodthirsty Hunter hurts when it hits.”

“But I’m sure I can leave the Blood Moon.”

“I really doubt your statement earlier about being the only normal person in the team. You have no hope, what miracle are you expecting?”

After thinking for a moment, Asho said, “Although it’s a bit far-fetched as evidence, I learned from the Fate Q&A that I will leave the Blood Moon in the future.”

Shifrin was stunned. “Fate Q&A? Really?”

“Really.”

“…Damn it, how did this good fortune fall on you!”

Asho blinked his eyes. “【222】, I’m escaping from prison, not going on vacation.”

“But I’m so envious!” Shifrin’s tone was sour. “People like us… as medical practitioners, our future is already predetermined. We are only allowed to live under the glory of the Blood Moon, everything we do has rules and regulations, and everywhere we go is a forbidden line.”

She said with a low voice, “Apart from exploring the Virtual Realm and performing surgeries, there’s no passion in my future. It’s like a stagnant pool of gradually rotting water.”

“Then, will you come with me?” Asho smiled. “We still need a medical practitioner in our team.”

Shifrin couldn’t remember how many times she had been stunned by Asho’s words.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course, I’m not inviting you to the bathroom. This is an escape, how can I joke about it?”

“Joking aside, I have a bright future as a… medical practitioner. Why would I want to live a life of uncertain escape with you?”

“Why are you asking me?” Asho spread his hands. “I’m just giving you a choice as a friend. You should ask yourself this question – do you want to abandon your current life and go with me?”

Shifrin hurriedly retorted, “What friend… Right! Last time, you borrowed my medical practitioner uniform for so many reasons. Were you planning to use it for the escape?”

“Yes.”

“And you still say you’re a friend? You’re clearly using me!”

“When being a friend and using you don’t conflict, although I hope you join my team, I also hope you can live the life you want. Working in a place you like is called living, working in a place you don’t like is called punishment.”

“Selfishness is inevitable, but I’m not so selfish as to think that everyone is selfless. So, I won’t say meaningless things like ‘trust me’ that even con artists are too lazy to say.”

Asho reached out his hand to Shifrin. “I will only ask you, ‘Do you want to come with me?’”

Thump.

Her stagnant heart seemed to start beating, and her cold blood seemed to warm up. Born in a top-notch nurturing institution, receiving strict education since childhood, becoming a Blood Saint Clan member before graduation without violating any rules or laws, Shifrin, who had never experienced anything like this before, was stunned by this audacious invitation.

It was like a fish living in a pond being asked by a passing bird if it wanted to go together.

“…I don’t want to.”

“What a pity.”

Asho didn’t expect to convince the medical practitioner with just a few words. He walked over and picked up the Ogre Mayor, “Then, see you next time, 【222】.”

Suddenly, Shifrin had the urge to tell him her real name, but she held back. “Will there be a next time? Even if there is, you probably won’t recognize me.”

“Then you’ll have to remind me.” Asho smiled. “By then, I’ll tell you stories about the world outside the Blood Moon Kingdom. Look forward to it.”

“Wait.”

Asho stopped and looked at Shifrin strangely. Shifrin was stunned, she didn’t know what she wanted to say – was she going to persuade him to surrender? Persuade him to stay and wait for death?

After a moment of silence, she turned her head and said softly, “If… if I have a way to absolve you of your guilt, and even allow you to leave the Broken Lake and start a new life in the Blood Moon Kingdom, would you be willing?”

There was indeed a way to absolve a heinous heresy leader of guilt and release them from prison.

That is to make the criminal become a Blood Saint Moon Shadow.

The crimes of the Blood Moon’s two clans are not subject to normal judicial procedures and are solely handled by the church and the research institute. If a criminal becomes a Blood Saint, they must be handed over to the research institute. The most common punishment for fellow members in the research institute is house arrest and compulsory labor, usually for a period of “a hundred years,” but they will indeed not be executed.However, whether it’s the Blood Saint or the Moon Shadow, changing races involves a complicated process, which is definitely not something that a death row inmate in prison could accomplish, unless…

Unless they use the most primitive method of kinship reproduction, such as the First Embrace Ritual.

But the First Embrace Ritual, besides the strong will of the Blood Saint themselves, also requires something from the one being embraced. That is, the one being embraced needs to fall in love…

Shifrin suddenly realized a problem.

Why did she want to keep Asho, even willing to give him the first embrace? Because she didn’t want Asho to leave, she wanted Asho to stay.

The fish in the pond won’t leave with the bird, but will drag the bird into the pond, hoping the bird will also become a fish.

Is the First Embrace Ritual really about the one being embraced falling in love with the Blood Saint?

In many bio-implant surgeries, there are cases where the recipient’s personality changes due to the implant. Mechanical implants reduce physical desires and turn to pursue spiritual satisfaction; abyss implants enhance destructive desires, making the recipient more irritable; eagle implants make the recipient enjoy insect cuisine…

The Blood Saints are not all mind sorcerers, how could they possibly know the true feelings of the one being embraced?

They just think that ‘the one being embraced has fallen in love with them’.

This may not be a prerequisite for the ritual, but the result of the ritual.

The term ‘First Embrace’ might originally just mean what it says, the first hug. The truth of the First Embrace Ritual might be more romantic, and more cruel, than what is recorded.

“I’m not willing.”

Shifrin looked at Asho, and Asho shrugged, “Although I don’t know what method you’re talking about, I probably won’t be willing.”

“Why?”

“Although it’s not fair for me to generalize from my own experience, from what I’ve gathered in prison, I feel that the Blood Moon Kingdom outside might just be a larger Broken Lake.” Asho sighed, “I don’t think I’m some kind of freedom terrorist, but I feel like I wouldn’t be able to breathe out there either.”

“It’s not that the Blood Moon can’t accommodate me, it’s that I can’t accommodate the Blood Moon.”

“You’re quite ambitious,” Shifrin said with a faint smile, “You really are a true heresy leader.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, sorry to disappoint your good intentions.”

“It’s okay, I kind of regretted it as soon as I said it. Luckily you didn’t agree.” Shifrin waved her hand, “See you next time, Asho Heath.”

At this moment, Asho suddenly remembered something, “Speaking of which, I still don’t know your name.”

“If I tell you my name, I’ll be breaking the rules. You said you’re not a heresy leader, but you’re trying to tempt me into committing a crime before you leave?”

“You’re right, but it doesn’t feel right to part like this, at least we should shake hands.”

Asho directly threw the ogre to the side and reached out his right hand to Shifrin.

“Although it may not mean much to you,” Asho said seriously, “I’ve always been grateful that you’ve pulled me back from death every time. I’ve felt several times that I could hear a group of people commenting that I didn’t die spectacularly enough…”

“This might be a sign of schizophrenia, I suggest you get a new brain.”

“Your comments always refresh my understanding of biotechnology…”

Shifrin looked at Asho’s hand, and suddenly felt an impulse in her heart. She walked over and hugged Asho.

In the moment of Asho’s astonishment, she let go and stepped back a few steps, murmuring softly, “It’s not that simple after all… Alright, the farewell ceremony is over, you should go.”

“Eh? This? 【222】 Are you really a woman…”

“Do you have a problem with that? The more you guess, the closer I am to committing a crime.”

“I have no objections at all, and in order to preserve the touch just now, I’ve decided not to take a bath from now on—”

“Get out of here!”

Watching Asho leave the treatment room with Fenanche, Shifrin felt somewhat down for some reason, feeling empty inside.

She shook her head, shook off the boring thoughts, and turned to go back to the rest hall.

This was just a minor episode in her thousand-year life. She couldn’t possibly accept Asho’s invitation. Her bloodline wouldn’t allow it, her soul wouldn’t allow it, her mission wouldn’t allow it.

Because she was Shifrin Gwen, the highest talented blood descendant for a thousand years.

Just as she was about to open the side door, she suddenly heard a heartbeat.

But it wasn’t her heart.

It was from below the prison, deep in the Broken Lake, from the black coffin tomb guarded by the Finger Shark!

“…Junior…your…blood lock…need help…?”

Shifrin didn’t push the door open, she looked at the shiny black door in front of her that could almost serve as a mirror.

She saw her own blood eyes painted black.

It looked like the eyes of an ordinary person, just like Asho Heath’s eyes.

“No need, continue to sleep.”

The heartbeat gradually became low, gradually disappearing into the waves of the Broken Lake.

Shifrin pushed the door open and returned to the medic’s rest hall.