"I'll have a piece of toast and a glass of milk… What's that? Braised lalafell? I'll have one of that too."
Ash sat down with the tray of food in his hands, observing the crowd of people entering the restaurant.
In addition to the prisoners wearing classic prison skin, there were also many prison guards eating here. This prison did not seem to have a hierarchical system. The prison guards and the prisoners appeared equal. Or rather, the prison guards did not care about the prisoners at all, and the prisoners would not deliberately provoke the prison guards. Together, both sides created a harmonious prison together.
Ash could understand if the prison guards did not care about the prisoners. After all, it was human nature to slack off. But why did the prisoners also stay away from the prison guards?
After all, they wouldn't have broken the law if they were smart. Those who could wind up in prison were definitely idiots who didn't know their place, like a certain cult leader who was arrested by a few policemen (hunters).
Similarly, those prisoners were definitely not too smart, but why wouldn't they provoke and tease the prison guards?
"Because you're locked."
Sword Maiden sat beside him and poked the braised lalafell with her finger. She said casually, "The chips on the back of your necks are locked. You are not allowed to attack others, insult others, or hurt yourselves. This is why the Shattered Lake Prison gives you so much freedom—every bone and nerve in you is shackled."
"Look, there's a poster of 'Creating a Civilized Prison' on the wall over there. On the poster is a picture of a death row criminal and a student. It looks like the results of creating a civilized prison here are pretty good. There are even students coming here for spring and fall semester tours."
Ash touched the back of his neck subconsciously and his eyes widened. "That's—that's no different from having a bomb installed in my neck—"
"Do you really want to speak so loudly?" Sword Maiden pointed at the prisoners, who looked over at the sound.
Ash immediately stuffed his mouth with a piece of toast. [Then, wouldn't it be impossible for me to escape from prison at all as long as I wear this chip? The chip must have a GPS function!]
"More than that, if they want to, they can even make the chip send out strong electric currents and directly stop your heart." Sword Maiden spread out her hands. "Therefore, you are right. In theory, it is impossible for you to escape from this prison. Never mind escape, even if you want to dig a tunnel with a spoon, the chip will stop you from destroying public property."
[It's impossible in theory, but what about in practice?] Ash took a sip of milk and found it surprisingly sweet.
"In practice… it's impossible too." Sword Maiden rolled her eyes. "I'm not from here. How would I know so much?"
[Then where did the information you mentioned just now come from?]
"There's also a copy of the "Encyclopedia of Shattered Lake Prison" in your hologram files. I flipped through it when I was bored."
Ash was stunned for a moment. It made sense, though. The Sword Maiden was just a character in a game. How could she possibly know about this world?
This is going to be tricky, though. She can somehow flip through the other files in my hologram. I was hoping to find out if there are any shady pornographic websites in this world…
"I can't do anything about something like prison escape, but if you want to become stronger, I have a few ways." Sword Maiden said, "In short, you should find someone else to fight first. There's nothing easier to understand than fighting, don't you agree, Observer?"
[Wait, according to what you said, the prisoners can't even attack others? How am I supposed to provoke someone into a fight?] At this point, Ash finally realized that this prison had already eliminated the possibility of the prisoners fighting at its root.
"Why do I have to answer everything for you? Are you or am I the one escaping from prison?" Sword Maiden sneered. "Do you want to call me mommy when you're hungry too?"
[Mom! Grandma!]
"You're courting death!"
Ash touched his forehead and thought that it was really unfair. Sword Maiden was clearly an illusion, but why did it hurt so much when she flicked his forehead…
Ash looked around the room and saw that the bald man had just taken another glass of milk. He walked over and sat down across from him—after realizing that the others couldn't hit him, Ash felt bolder all of a sudden.
"Hi. My name's Ash. What's yours?"
"Hi, Ash. I already have a boyfriend." The bald guy was very friendly.
Ash was instantly stunned. He sensed that the nearby guards and prisoners also looked over upon hearing this, and he hurriedly explained, "I didn't mean that. I just have some questions to ask you!"
"I understand, I understand, I really do." The bald man nodded in understanding. "When hitting on someone, it can indeed very awkward for you to meet someone like me who takes the initiative to confess to having a partner. But my love for my boyfriend is pure and sincere, and it cannot allow the slightest degree of suspicion. So, making my attitude clear from the beginning is the best for everyone. You're also a good guy, Ash. I believe you will definitely find your own love too."
"I… no… I just…"
"Ask away." The bald man gave him an encouraging look. "You don't have to be so embarrassed. Failing to hit on someone is very normal. If you can't think of a perfunctory question for the time being, I can take my time and wait. But to be honest, Ash, the way you attract my attention was really too old-fashioned. You even deliberately knocked over my milk like an elementary school student…"
This was great. Now that both the witness and the evidence were present, there was no way for Ash to deny it.
All at once, Ash felt the eyes around him shift subtly. He opened his mouth to protest, but finally gave up trying to explain. "I want to ask if there's a way for me to fight."
The bald man was stunned for a moment. "Are you new here? Ah, I remember now. You're the one who's very popular on the news these few days… the leader of the Four Pillar Deities Cult?"
"Hmm, I'm actually quite interested in the Four Pillar Deities. It's a pity that I already have a boyfriend. Otherwise, I can give you a chance…"
Ash couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to turn and leave, but the bald man's next words forced him to keep listening. "If you want to stretch your muscles, then you've got the right guy—ah, I haven't introduced myself. My name's Runner. I'm a member of the Deathmatch Society."
"Deathmatch Society?"
"Due to the chip, we can't hurt others. However, the Deathmatch Society has obtained permission from the warden. During the deathmatch, we can temporarily remove the restriction of the chip and fight. This is an exclusive benefit for members of the Deathmatch Society."
Ash was quite surprised. "The prison even agreed to something like this? They're that humane?"
Runner shook his head. "But there's a cost for this. The biggest cost lies in the origin of the name of our society."
"Deathmatch?"
"That's right," Runner said, finishing his milk. He licked the milk clean from his mouth with his big tongue and gave Ash a calm look.
"If you participate in the deathmatch, one side must die for it to end. A deathmatch is a match can only end with death."
Ash blinked. "But… the prison used so many methods to limit us. Would they really allow us to kill?"
"Even if someone dies, it doesn't mean that you've killed." Runner smiled and said, "The medical room is right beside the death arena. As long as the corpse can be maintained and the time of death is less than five minutes, the person can be saved by dragging it to the medical room. Of course, it's hard to say what side effects it will leave behind."
"Besides, even if some prisoners die, the prison wouldn't care. After all, all the prisoners here will die."
This sentence had the feeling of 'people will die if they are killed'. Ash echoed, "Yes, yes. After all, everyone will die eventually."
"Hmm? You seem to have misunderstood me." Runner was a little surprised. "Have you never heard of the reputation of the Shattered Lake Prison outside? And have you never watched the Blood Moon Judgments on the 1st and 15th of every month?"
"Huh?"
"All prisoners in Shattered Lake Prison, all of them, are death row prisoners," Runner said calmly. "There is no appeal and no escape. They are deprived of political rights for life.
"All prisoners are allowed to live comfortably after they come into the prison. They are allowed to exercise, to watch movies and play games, but the only thing they are not allowed to do is to deprive anyone of their life—even themselves. Because there will always be only one end awaiting us—
"To participate in the Blood Moon Judgment, and die a gruesome death in the limelight."