“Give me a toast and a glass of milk… What’s that? Braised Lalafell? I’ll have that too.”
Asho sat down with his tray and observed the crowd in the cafeteria.
In addition to the prisoners dressed in classic skins, there were also many prison guards eating here. It seemed that this prison did not create a hierarchical system, and the guards and prisoners looked equal. Or, the guards simply did not care about the prisoners, and the prisoners did not intentionally provoke the guards, creating a harmonious prison.
It was understandable that the guards did not care about the prisoners like Asho, after all, slacking off was human nature. But why did the prisoners also stay away from the guards?
After all, people with good brains would not commit crimes. Those who could enter the prison must be fools who did not know the current situation, such as a heresy leader who was arrested by several police officers (hunters).
By the same token, those prisoners must also have poor brains, but why would they not provoke and tease the guards?
“Because it’s locked.”
Sword Girl sat next to him, poking the braised Lalafell with her finger and casually saying, “Your neck chips are locked, not allowing you to attack others, not allowing you to insult others, not allowing you to harm yourself. This is why the Broken Lake Prison is so free. Every bone and every nerve in your body is wearing shackles and handcuffs.”
“You see, there is a poster on that wall that says ‘Creating a Civilized Prison’, with a photo of a death row inmate and a student. It seems that the results of creating a civilized prison here are good, and even students come here for spring and autumn outings.”
Asho instinctively touched the back of his neck and widened his eyes. “This… is like having a bomb on my neck…”
“Do you have to speak so loudly?” Sword Girl pointed to the prisoners who had looked over at the sound.
Asho immediately covered his mouth with toast. “If I wear this chip every day, won’t it be impossible to escape? There must be a positioning function in the chip!”
“Not only that, if they want to, they can even make the chip emit a strong electric current, directly stopping your heart.” Sword Girl shrugged. “So you’re right, theoretically, you can’t escape from this prison. Not to mention escaping, even if you want to dig a tunnel with a soup spoon, the chip will stop you from damaging public property.”
“In theory, there is no way, but what about in reality?” Asho took a sip of milk and found it unexpectedly sweet.
“In reality… there is no way either.” Sword Girl rolled her eyes. “I’m not from here, how would I know so much?”
“Then where did you get the information you just said?”
“There is a ‘Broken Lake Prison Encyclopedia’ in your light screen folder. I looked at it when I was bored.”
Asho was stunned, thinking that Sword Girl was just a paper person in a game, how could she know things in this world?
But now there was trouble. She could actually look at other files in my light screen. I also want to see if there are any mysterious black and yellow websites in this world…
“I can’t help you with escaping, but if you want to become stronger, I have a few ways.” Sword Girl said, “In short, you should start by fighting others. There’s nothing better to understand than fighting, right, spectator?””Wait, so according to what you said, prisoners can’t attack others, how am I supposed to flirt and fight?” Asho finally realized that this prison fundamentally prohibited the possibility of prisoners fighting each other.
“Why are you asking me everything? Are you trying to escape or am I trying to escape?” Sword Girl sneered, “Do you have to call for your mommy when you’re hungry?”
“Mom! Grandma!”
“You’re asking for it!”
Asho rubbed his forehead and thought it was really unfair. Sword Girl was clearly an illusion, but why did it hurt so much when she hit his forehead…
Asho looked around and saw that the bald muscular man who had just drunk a glass of milk was still there. He walked over and sat opposite him – after knowing that others couldn’t fight him, Asho’s courage suddenly grew.
“Hey, I’m Asho, what’s your name?”
“Hi, Asho, I have a boyfriend.” The bald muscular man was very friendly.
Asho was suddenly confused. He felt that the nearby guards and prisoners were also looking over. He quickly explained, “I don’t mean that, I just have some questions to ask you!”
“I understand, I understand, really.” The bald muscular man nodded very understandingly. “When you’re trying to flirt and you meet someone like me who is actively honest and has a partner, it can indeed be embarrassing for you. But my love for my boyfriend is pure and sincere. I cannot tolerate any suspicion, so I made my attitude clear from the beginning. It’s good for everyone. Asho, you’re a good young man, and I believe you can find your own love too.”
“I…no…I just…”
“Ask away.” The bald muscular man encouraged him with his eyes. “You don’t have to be so embarrassed. It’s normal for flirting to fail. If you can’t think of any questions to ask for a while, I can wait. But honestly, Asho, the way you caught my attention is too old-fashioned. You deliberately spilled my milk, like a primary school student…”
Now there were witnesses and evidence, and Asho couldn’t deny it.
Asho suddenly felt that the surrounding eyes had become subtle. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only give up explaining, “I want to ask, if I want to fight, is there a way?”
The bald muscular man was slightly surprised. “Are you new here? Oh, I remember now. You’re the leader of the Four Pillar God cult that’s been popular in the news these days?”
“Um~ I’m actually quite interested in the Four Pillar God, but unfortunately, I have a boyfriend. Otherwise, I can also give you a chance…”
Asho couldn’t stand it anymore and wanted to turn around and leave, but the bald muscular man’s next words made him have to listen, “If you want to move your muscles and bones, then you’ve come to the right person – oh, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Lorna, a member of the Deathmatch Society.”
“Deathmatch Society?”
“Due to the chip, we cannot harm others. But the Deathmatch Society has obtained the permission of the warden. During the deathmatch, we can temporarily lift the chip restriction and engage in combat. This is an exclusive benefit for members of the Deathmatch Society.”
Asho was quite surprised. “Does the prison even agree to this? It’s so humane?”Langna shook his head: “But there is a price to pay for this, and the biggest price is the origin of our club’s name.”
“Deathmatch?”
“That’s right.” Langna drank the milk, stuck out his big tongue to lick the milk stains around his mouth, and looked at Asho with calm eyes.
“If you participate in a deathmatch, one side must die to end it. Deathmatch, fight to the death.”
Asho blinked: “But… with so many restrictions imposed by the prison, would they allow us to kill?”
“Someone dying doesn’t necessarily mean you killed them.” Langna laughed: “There is a medical room next to the deathmatch arena. As long as the body remains intact and the time of death does not exceed five minutes, it can be saved by dragging it to the medical room. Of course, it’s uncertain what sequelae might be left behind.”
“Besides, even if a prisoner really dies, the prison won’t care. After all, all the prisoners here are destined to die.”
This sentence had a feeling of ‘people will die when they are killed’, and Asho echoed: “Yeah, after all, people will eventually die.”
“Huh? It seems you misunderstood my meaning.” Langna was somewhat surprised: “Haven’t you heard of the reputation of Shattered Lake Prison outside? Haven’t you seen the Blood Moon Trials on the first and fifteenth of each month?”
“Huh?”
“All the prisoners in Shattered Lake Prison, all of them, are on death row.” Langna said calmly: “There is no appeal, no escape, and political rights are permanently deprived.”
“All prisoners can eat well, sleep well, exercise, watch movies and play games after entering the prison, but the only thing that is not allowed is to deprive life—even if it’s their own life. Because waiting for us, there is always only one ending—”
“Participate in the Blood Moon Trial, and die miserably under the spotlight.”