Replacement Members from the Gate of Purgatory

"Ladies and gentlemen, the designated time has arrived. Nine hundred and ninety-seven people have arrived on time. Three people have failed to arrive. These three are Kejins, Blanche, and Banya. I now officially announce that these three are considered to have forfeited their spots."

"In other words, there are three vacant positions, and our Federal Government will now reclaim these three positions. Because we had anticipated that someone might change their mind and withdraw at the last minute, we had prepared replacements in advance. Now we will fill these three positions, and I believe that no one here will have any objections."

"We have prepared twenty substitutes. To ensure fairness and impartiality, I will now invite them in so that we can allocate the three spots in front of everyone."

The man in the black uniform waved towards the back door of the conference room, saying, "Bring them in."

Then everyone heard the clanging of metal chains, and as the sound spread, Gu Ding and the others all turned their attention to it.

The first person to enter through the back door was a rebellious-looking red-haired youth. He was wearing a striped prison uniform with a red metal collar around his neck, and his hands and feet were also restricted by specially made metal chains.

Upon seeing this person, everyone's pupils contracted; he was clearly a serious criminal.

Immediately afterward, a second person entered. This was an extremely tall man, even larger Bigge. He had to bend down to enter through the three-meter-high conference hall doors. Like the previous red-haired youth, this tall man also had his neck, hands, and feet restrained.

The fact that the second person was also a prisoner caused many people to frown.

But then, something even more absurd happened: one candidate after another stepped into the meeting hall, and they were all serious criminals who had been subjected to various forms of confinement.

What drew everyone's attention most was a boy who was wheeled in last by staff. The boy carried a huge black cross on his back, easily two meters tall, and he appeared very thin. He probably only stood about 1.6 meters tall.

The cross behind him was extremely eerie, constantly extending black chains that completely enveloped the boy's entire body, leaving only his head exposed. But even his head wasn't entirely free; some chains, as thick as wire, pierced his eyelids and lips, sealing them completely.

This scene made Gu Ding and the others frown.

When the boy appeared, Hake, who had been keeping his eyes fixed on Gu Ding, finally shifted his focus to the boy, seemingly deep in thought.

Even the nineteen prisoners who came out first showed obvious fear on their faces after seeing this young man.

"This time, we selected twenty candidates, but only three gave up their spots. So, there are only three spots available for you twenty people," the man in the black uniform said coldly.

"What a nuisance. If you unlock the chains and let me kill seventeen more, the quota problem will be solved, right?" the first red-haired youth to enter muttered to himself.

Although he spoke very softly, everyone present heard him clearly.

Seeing many unfriendly gazes directed at him, he finally revealed a harmless smile. He reached up and scratched his hair, causing the chains to rattle. "Oops, I forgot, this isn't inside the Gate of Purgatory anymore. Whispering behind people's backs will get you heard. Sorry, everyone. I was just talking to myself. Please ignore me and pretend you didn't hear me."

The keyword "Gate of Purgatory" caught the attention of many of those who had secured a spot, and Gu Ding even raised an eyebrow upon hearing it. He certainly knew. "Gate of Purgatory" was the highest-security prison in the entire Federal Government, and it was said that those imprisoned there were all unparalleled demons, the kind who, if released, could cause chaos and upheaval throughout the entire Universe Sea.

"Oldas, if you make similar remarks again, I will have no choice but to disqualify you from the substitute program and send you back to prison." The man in the black uniform said, his gaze sweeping over the others. "The same goes for everyone else; anyone making similar remarks will be disqualified from the substitute program."

"Oh, it was just a joke, don't be so serious. Uncle, you're so serious, did things not go well with Auntie last night...?" The red-haired Oldas winked and grinned at the middle-aged man in uniform.

The uniformed man's face grew increasingly grim. "Shut up! If you say another word, you're going back to prison!"

Oldas quickly covered his mouth, clearly the words still had a deterrent effect on him.

"Now everyone listen to me," the uniformed man said, turning to the remaining nineteen people. "You twenty people should have already learned some things from the warden before you came here. Apart from Boyi, those who get this spot have a certain chance of being released directly."

"What exactly is the probability? Can you be more precise?" a gaunt prisoner couldn't help but ask.

"Only those who have secured a spot are entitled to know," the man in the black uniform replied coldly. "As for how to select the spots, you can decide that yourselves. The only requirement is that no one gets killed."

"Hey, sir, these restrictions..." Oldas stretched out his hands and spoke again. Seeing the uniformed man's unfriendly expression, he quickly added, "I'm not just saying this out loud. If we're going to take action, we'll naturally have to remove some restrictions."

"Don't worry, the restrictions will be lifted, but don't even think about escaping. Because we've invited the former warden of 'Gate of Purgatory,' the current Grand Director of the Federal Government's Punishment Division —Lord Yoland..." The man in the black uniform was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

"Little Bress is right. Anyone who tries to escape will be killed by me." A somewhat nonchalant voice rang out. Almost at the same time, everyone noticed that a short old man had appeared next to the uniformed man.

The old man's sudden appearance gave the impression that he had actually been standing there all along, but no one had noticed him; no one had seen him move with any special technique or any spatial fluctuations around him. This single move stunned everyone present, including the man in uniform.

The old man was wearing a baggy military uniform that was several sizes too big. The hem of his shirt almost reached his knees, and the sleeves were so long they looked like Middle Ancient Era theatrical costumes, also reaching his knees, completely obscuring his hands. His trousers were also loosely bunched up above his shoes, and even the dark brown, high-end leather shoes were completely the wrong size for his feet.

Others didn't know where he got his gear, but the man in uniform knew very well. When he saw the other man's attire, especially his leather shoes, his expression turned rather unpleasant.

Gu Ding and the others recognized the old man immediately; he was the one who had argued with Liliath earlier, and they were all somewhat surprised. Only Liliath stared at the old man with a hateful look in her eyes.

The old man tugged at the uniformed man's clothes. "Little Bress, all the clothes in your closet are several sizes too big, and these shoes, I really like the color, but they're also several sizes too big, I'll just have to make do. What I like best is your bed, it's much more comfortable than the sofa here."

After listening, Bress noticed that everyone was looking at him strangely, and even his own men were looking at him warily.

"Tsk tsk, I didn't realize you were such a manly guy, liking this kind of thing." Oldas clicked his tongue in amazement.

"It's not what you think at all! Lord Yoland was just asking for a place to stay, and I slept on the sofa!" Bress quickly explained, already feeling a bit regretful. Yesterday, seeing Yoland sleeping there, he felt bad and let the legendary figure stay at his house for the night. But the old man came in and unceremoniously took over his bed, sleeping on the sofa for the whole night.

When he left home in the morning, the old man was still fast asleep, so he didn't know what had happened afterward. Now, seeing the old man wearing all his own gear, he was speechless. What was even more speechless was that what the old man said was indeed easy to misinterpret.

Yoland seemed completely unaware that the topic of conversation was related to him. He glanced at everyone present and suddenly stopped at Liliath, looking surprised. "Oh, flat-chested little girl, you're here too."

Although his voice wasn't loud, everyone heard it clearly and followed the old man's gaze towards where Liliath was.

Seeing so many eyes fixed on her chest, Liliath felt a wave of embarrassment and quickly covered her chest. With a somewhat ugly expression, she shouted at Yoland, "You little rascal! If you shout that again, believe me, I'll kill you!"

"I don't believe you, because you can't beat me." Yoland made a victory sign again, looking smug.

Liliath was about to lose her temper again when Elsa and Dokter, seeing things were getting out of hand, quickly pulled her back. Gu Ding, standing nearby, chuckled. He rarely saw Liliath get the short end of the stick, but every time she encountered this old man, Liliath couldn't gain any advantage in a verbal exchange.

"Sir, let's deal with things here first," Bress cleared his throat twice.

"Sigh, these young people nowadays, they're always talking about fighting and killing. Little Bress, you're the best to me," Yoland said seemingly casually.

Seeing Yoland's somewhat "innocent" expression, Bress's lips twitched slightly, because he saw that after Yoland said that, everyone's gaze towards him became even stranger.

Yoland's gaze swept over the twenty prisoners before him, lingering only briefly on Boyi, who sat in a wheelchair, before he smiled and said, "Kids, I'm now removing some of your energy-restricting shackles. You can discuss how to choose these three spots yourselves. You can set the rules yourselves. I only have two requirements: no killings and no direct or indirect attacks on the other 997 people who have already secured their spots. Anyone who violates these two rules will be killed on the spot." (To be continued...)