Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Shattered Lake Prison, Cafeteria

Ashe looked at the crab roe tofu, lemon berry cheesecake, and golden pineapple juice before him. His nose was filled with the aroma of these delicacies, but he had no appetite.

These dishes were no ordinary fare, available only on the cafeteria's secret menu which prisoners couldn't access even with high contribution points.

Supposedly these dishes were considered premium luxury cuisine on the outside, with ingredients worth a third of an average person's monthly salary.

And the taste lived up to the price - Ashe suspected the chef had used magecraft, as he, a city boy worn down by MSG, almost swallowed his tongue after the first bite due to the sheer deliciousness. It was so good it made one feel content to die after eating it.

But thinking of his impending death sapped his appetite entirely.

The other condemned shared similar feelings. Some took a bite but ate no more, some wept as they ate, and others held their cutlery backwards, the unsharpened edges the only thing keeping them from triggering their neck chips' anti-suicide warnings.

Only two ate with gusto - the blue-skinned cannibal and the elf Valcas.

They seemed unbothered by the impending Blood Moon Tribunal. The cannibal shoveled the food in with his hands, ordering plate after plate, while Valcas demonstrated ten ways to properly hold cutlery with elegance as if dining in a revolving restaurant atop a skyscraper.

"Having trouble eating? Need any help?"

The kindly voice of the guard Nago was like a whip soaked in salt water, making all the condemned shudder and quickly bend their heads to eat faster.

Even Ashe was no exception.

The reason the condemned were so cowed by Nago was due to the "monitoring" they had endured all afternoon, which had completely worn down their defiance. Facing a guard who could control their neck chips, even the most stubborn obeyed - if you didn't obey, your head would be guided into obedience.

To be fair, Nago hadn't done anything too extreme to them.

He hadn't even touched a hair on them.

There was no physical harm at all.

He just made the condemned follow his schedule.

For example, at mealtimes - if someone didn't eat, Nago would activate the chip control system and make them eat through voice commands:

"Open your mouth, put the food in your mouth, chew once, twice, three times, swallow..."

Or when watching videos - if someone didn't watch or fidgeted, Nago would turn them into a model viewer:

"Sit properly, hands on your knees, watch the screen, blink once every five seconds."

Or when breathing fresh air on the observation deck, Nago said their superiors wanted group photos to remember the occasion, with the following requirements: tidy attire, smiling faces, good mental attitude, harmonious group atmosphere...

Undoubtedly the condemned alone couldn't satisfy these demands, so Nago provided a little "help".

Ashe got off easy, just lying on the ground smiling up at the camera, but Valcas went above and beyond - sitting on the cannibal's shoulders with his hands atop his head in fake cat ears, his gaunt, gloomy face beaming a sweet smile at the camera.

And one shot wasn't enough, they had to take multiples, posing from suave to chumming it up. All kinds of mental attitudes were covered.

After being contorted into various poses by Nago, the condemned were completely numb, just wanting to satisfy his demands quickly and be done with it. Some even thought it'd be better to just skip to the Blood Moon Tribunal.

Destroy us quickly, we're tired.

Thus at Nago's words, they immediately abandoned their morose thoughts and hurriedly ate their meal.

At this moment, Nago's pressure exceeded even that of the impending Tribunal.

After all, "death" was still uncertain.

But "a fate worse than death" was right before their eyes.

Just seeing them breathe would make me feel mocked.

Encouragement? Mockery!

Comfort? Ridicule!

Pity? Scorn!

No matter how nice they talked, to Ashe and the others it was profanity.

Fear of death created a pathetic thick wall between the eight and the rest.

"So on the day of the Tribunal, all prisoners voluntarily stay in their rooms. It protects themselves as well as the condemned."

Harvey looked at Ashe. "If you survive, you must also uphold this tradition on the next Blood Moon. It's the only kindness we can and must insist on. However..."

"However what?"

"I read the news reports on you." Harvey shrugged. "Frankly, you're the most likely to die tonight."

"It's not randomly killing one person?"

Ashe was nervous. When he learned the Tribunal randomly chose one out of eight to execute, he guessed it must be a random ritual - no need to pick eight and draw one if it wasn't random.

"It's random, but not that random. Sometimes more than one person dies... You really haven't seen the Tribunal before?"

"I really haven't! I don't know the rules at all!"

Harvey laughed. "Then you'll find out later... I was deeply moved when I first saw the Tribunal as a child. I never imagined there was such a wonderful form of entertainment in this world. I won't tell you the truth. The most despicable act for a death mage is prophecy - exploring the unknown is a mage's greatest joy, and death the greatest mystery."

Ashe clicked his tongue in frustration, but also felt doubtful. "If you're certain it's me, why are you guys nervous?"

Harvey shrugged. "Because the Tribunal isn't fixed, sometimes there are changes that make the prisoners really anxious, accidentally killing themselves... You're right, once I get there I'll just close my eyes and lie down to sleep. As long as I'm sure I won't be the one-in-eight, I definitely won't die if I don't do anything."

After Harvey's words, even eating the crab roe tofu made Ashe nervous.

Can it be? Am I really done for?

Is there really no chance left?

Virtual world exploration was going so smoothly, I drew the Virtual World Telescope just this morning. Maybe I could gather the spirits for the Myriad Slashes miracle tonight...

My swordswoman and I were also getting stronger. The mysteries of the mage world were unveiling before me...

I had just defeated Valcas and foiled Sylin's schemes...

I'm still developing! Can't you give me more time!

Ashe felt like a DPS gambling on gear drops only to suddenly be dragged into a raid.

Victory was on the horizon, but he was being strung along for a pittance in the present.

He suddenly recalled his boss's old social media post - life isn't cooking, waiting until you have all ingredients before starting. When you see yourself get sprinkled with cumin, you should realize you've become an ingredient - who could've guessed the boss announced switch from 4-day to 996 work weeks the day after posting that?

"Dinner time is up. Wipe your mouths, go to the bathroom for personal hygiene. Gather in the central hall in 30 minutes."

Note Nago wasn't "commanding" but "inputting instructions" - everyone simultaneously wiped their mouths with napkins before standing to go to the bathroom en masse.

Before Ashe entered the bathroom, he heard Nago's last instruction:

"7:45 pm, arrive at the Blood Moon venue on time to await the show's start."