Breeding

Sasaki casually pointed with his long sword, and a group of people had to be arranged to sign away their lives.

Their fates were decided just like that. They would likely sleep forever on this island. How fucking absurd was that?

Those with sentences under ten years, step forward and sign. For a moment, everyone looked at one another, but no one moved.

Seeing that the crowd remained still, Sasaki's expression turned cold.

"Baka!"

"Your hides are itching again, huh?"

He stepped forward and slapped several people at the front to the ground, then dragged one of them to the table. "Sign it!"

The man dragged forward wore a miserable expression. He dawdled over to the table and pressed his fingerprint onto the contract.

A beam of light immediately shot down from the ceiling and scanned his entire body.

"Number KR3208059. Remaining sentence: 1,825 days. Extended to 10,950 days. Redemption Vouchers received: 9,125 points."

"Signing complete."

"NPC account established."

When everyone saw the projected text and realized that the sentence really had been increased to thirty years, their hair stood on end.

Gaoxin's eyes nearly split apart. That man had originally only had a five-year sentence. He might have endured it and eventually gotten through it, yet on his first day in these people's hands, he had been sold off and his sentence raised directly to thirty years!

At this rate, he would never leave this place in his lifetime.

No wonder they had never heard of anyone being released after serving their sentence. Thirty years! Sin Prison Island itself had only existed for a little over twenty years. Who knew how many people had signed this thing?

Luo Yan said quietly, "The Redemption Vouchers equal thirty years minus a person's remaining sentence. In other words, the less time you have left, the more Redemption Vouchers you get."

"It's like compensation for a one-time buyout. No wonder they make people with less than ten years left sign. The shorter the sentence, the more 'buyout money' they receive."

Gaoxin said gravely, "Redemption Vouchers must be the hard currency here. It's likely that all the food, as well as the supplies these people use to build their village, are bought with Redemption Vouchers."

"Your sentence is twenty years, and you've got the looks of a courtesan. They definitely won't make you sign, but I might be screwed..."

Luo Yan froze, then cursed under his breath. "To hell with courtesan looks. I'll disfigure myself later."

At that moment, Sasaki happily dragged the first person who had signed over and smiled. "Not bad, not bad. I grabbed someone at random and he only had five years left. Hurry up and transfer the Redemption Vouchers to me. My number is... forget it, just cash them out directly."

The man's eyes widened, utterly unwilling.

But he was in Sasaki's grasp. What could he do?

"H-how do I cash them out?"

"Just say it."

With a miserable face, the man said he wanted to cash out, then stated the amount. In the end, he withdrew all 9,125 Redemption Vouchers.

With a buzzing sound, bills resembling banknotes slid out from inside the table.

They glowed gold overall, with angelic designs, all sorts of patterns, and the words Redemption Vouchers. Their denominations were printed in the corners: 1,000, 100, 10, and 1 point.

Everyone recognized the material. It was Nan Silk, an extremely expensive kind of paper that could not be burned by fire, ruined by water, or even pierced by rifle bullets.

The man withdrew a stack, and Sasaki took it directly, sneering as he called for the next person.

"Hurry up. Don't make me drag you out one by one. We can check your sentences here! Be sensible!"

Thus, several more people gradually stepped forward and signed with vacant eyes.

Their sentences were three years, five years, eight years. None of them had committed serious crimes, yet after coming here, they had somehow ended up even worse off!

Some gave bitter laughs, their minds already on the verge of collapse.

Gaoxin stood tensely, still not moving. His sentence was ten years, so naturally he would not step forward on his own.

Before long, all the obedient people who had volunteered had finished signing. Eight were still needed, but no one else came forward.

Sasaki's face darkened. "Baka!"

He stepped forward and began grabbing people directly, checking their sentences one by one.

Then someone hidden in the crowd shouted, "Run! This must be an official place. He definitely can't kill people!"

That shout ignited the crowd. A group at the back of the line turned and fled.

Sasaki clicked his tongue, too lazy even to chase them.

Instead, several Wa people near the hall voluntarily stepped forward and knocked the escapees to the ground with a few punches and kicks.

"Murder! They're killing people! Isn't the government going to do anything?"

"Help!"

The fleeing people screamed, but no one in the entire hall stepped in to stop it.

Some people who were not from Yamaguchi Village merely looked over, but none of them meddled.

This was Yamaguchi Village. The entire Silver Tower was surrounded by the village; it could even be said that the village had been built around the tower.

If outsiders wanted to participate in the Redemption Game here, they had to pass through Yamaguchi Village's territory. How could they possibly provoke the local snakes?

"I'll sign, I'll sign... Stop hitting me..."

The escapees were quickly beaten into submission. Seeing that no one truly cared, they obediently went to sign and handed their Redemption Vouchers over to Sasaki.

Quite a few of them had ten-year sentences, which made Gaoxin's heart jolt. If everyone had obediently allowed Sasaki to choose, then as someone within the ten-year range, he too would likely have been selected.

It was only because those people had run and been caught to sign directly... that he had escaped disaster.

Nine people had run, but the NPC quota had previously only been short by eight. This time, one person was left over.

That person revealed a delighted expression, grateful that his luck was so good.

Unexpectedly, Sasaki swung his blade and chopped him down, blood splashing across the floor.

Everyone was horrified. He had just killed him?

Sasaki even shouted, "Number 97, clean this up!"

Number 97's projection said nothing. Instead, an invisible, colorless strange force suddenly appeared in the hall, sweeping over the ground and wiping away all the blood. The corpse was struck as though by a shockwave, shoved directly out of the hall and thrown outside the building.

Gaoxin and the others stared wide-eyed. That was... a controllable Electromagnetic Field.

The equipment for that technology was incredibly expensive. This place had clearly been established either by the government or a megacorporation.

"Not bad, not bad. More than 270,000 Redemption Vouchers." Sasaki was very satisfied. He pulled out several thousand and stuffed them into his own pocket, then quietly stated an account number and deposited the remaining 270,000 Redemption Vouchers into someone's account.

After finishing, he motioned for the remaining thirty-two people to continue registering.

This time, however, it was not an NPC agreement, but normal player registration.

This kind of registration did not grant any Redemption Vouchers.

No one dared cause trouble, and they all stepped forward to register.

Gaoxin carefully read the registration contract, and his heart shook violently.

By participating in different Redemption Games, surviving, or completing missions, players would receive a certain number of Redemption Vouchers as rewards.

This was absolutely hard currency, because at Silver Towers like this one, it could be exchanged for anything in the world.

From food, clothes, medicine, and all kinds of raw materials, to weapons and vehicles such as planes, cannons, tanks, and rockets.

It also included Gene Protectant, nanomedicine, cybernetic modifications, Prosthetic Body installations, radiation creatures... as well as all kinds of bizarre technological achievements invented by AI that humanity could neither analyze nor learn.

Even freedom could be bought. Three hundred Redemption Vouchers could offset one day of a normal person's sentence.

Gaoxin's ten-year sentence could be completed with less than 1.1 million Redemption Vouchers.

Furthermore, anything not listed could be custom ordered. As long as one had enough Redemption Vouchers, one could even exchange them for an innocent person outside and have them delivered right before them.

Of course, exchanging for a person was extremely expensive, but the fact that such a thing was permitted was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

"Was this really established by the government? Could it be some powerful people acting on their own?" Gaoxin found it unbelievable. In his impression, the government was not exactly good, but it was still a global regime that placed great importance on order and law.

This was ultimately a place where criminals were exiled. Why would they establish a system where anything could be exchanged? Even innocent people could be exchanged for. It was utter lawlessness.

Luo Yan said coldly from beside him, "Hard to say. The Radiation Users here are especially powerful. If they spent every day thinking about escaping, the government would probably have a headache too."

"This Redemption Game can fulfill all the criminals' needs, while not giving anything away for free. It makes them compete with one another, even slaughter one another."

"Some factions have even built strongholds around the game venues, claimed territory, and started fighting for dominance on the island."

"The strong can enslave the weak and obtain everything they want. Do you think they would still want to leave?"

"Especially with the option of exchanging for people. It means that even if the strong have family or friends outside they cannot bear to part with, or a blood feud they must return to avenge, they can exchange those people into this place and eliminate their desire to escape."

"Under those circumstances, anyone who still wants to escape must harbor truly dangerous thoughts and want to overthrow the government. They can simply be eliminated by the military forces surrounding the island."

Gaoxin fell into thought and asked himself honestly: the main reason he wanted to leave now was that he had been framed by a powerful person outside, and life here was worse than that of a pig or dog.

But what if he were strong? If he could enjoy everything in the world here while bringing in the enemy who had framed him and letting that person experience a life worse than that of a pig or dog, how satisfying would that be?

Why would he have to risk his life escaping? Even if he succeeded, what was so good about the outside world?

Outside, power stood above violence. No matter how strong one was, one could not do whatever one pleased. Why go back out just to be restrained?

Only the weak wanted to leave. Only they would yearn for that social order full of restrictions, where power, status, and background mattered, yet where they could still be protected.

But the weak could not gather enough Redemption Vouchers...

"But if criminals are allowed to exchange for people outside like this, wouldn't that make everyone panic? And it doesn't seem like there are any limits. Could I exchange for the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, or the head of the Supreme Council, or the CEOs of megacorporations too?" Gaoxin muttered.

Luo Yan pondered. "Probably. And it's not that there are no limits. Aren't Redemption Vouchers themselves the limit? The people you mentioned would definitely cost astronomical amounts."

"Besides, pay attention: having someone delivered before you does not mean they become an exile too. Those are two different things."

"If you really brought the commander-in-chief here, he would probably have countless strong people protecting him. What could you do to him?"

Gaoxin understood. Indeed, if one truly had a grudge against some top powerful figure, bringing them here would merely provide an opportunity for revenge. Whether one could actually take revenge would still depend on one's own ability.

Even so, such an opportunity was extremely rare. In the outside world, those people held even greater power. It was difficult even to meet them, and taking revenge on them was practically the same as fighting the entire world order.

By comparison, here, as long as the strong gathered enough Redemption Vouchers, they would have a chance. It was much simpler and more direct.

"What are you all standing around for? Match yourselves to a game, then take the elevator up. You'll automatically be assigned to your respective venues."

Sasaki swept his gaze across Gaoxin and the others. "This is only a newcomer assessment, so the requirements aren't high. Just survive. Afterward, no matter how many Redemption Vouchers you earn, you are not allowed to use them. Bring them here for me, understand!"

The crowd answered sparsely. The unlucky people who had become NPCs could no longer receive Redemption Voucher rewards. Any future games they played would be unpaid labor.

But the remaining thirty-two people could still earn rewards. Clearly, though, these Wa people had no intention of letting them keep any of that income. They directly demanded a one-hundred-percent cut!

No wonder they called them piglets. They really were raising pigs.

"Vocational School Brother, Brother Xin Ku, you said this game can exchange for all kinds of things, but does it only make the strong stronger? The weak are controlled by them. Do they really have no chance at all? There isn't even any beginner protection..." the youth named Sule suddenly said beside them.

He had stayed close to Gaoxin and Luo Yan the whole time, apparently taking all their words to heart.

Gaoxin turned and glanced at him. This person had started following Luo Yan early on, then had been assigned by Luo Yan to Gaoxin's fishing group. He had even called him Brother Xin Ku.

But after what had happened with Liu Di and Chengmen Lixue, Gaoxin found it difficult to feel goodwill toward people so easily.

He merely nodded lightly and said, "This game gives the weak an opportunity, allowing them some chance of catching up to the strong, but that's all."

"Having fallen into these people's hands, we don't even count as weak. We're just pigs."

Luo Yan said as well, "Beginner protection? What are you thinking? If everyone had a chance to turn things around, the strong wouldn't be so comfortable here. They would have to deal with other strong people while guarding against those beneath them surpassing them. They'd probably be overwhelmed."

"If one day they could no longer suppress everyone, the concepts of strong and weak might gradually blur. They would no longer oppose each other and might instead shift the conflict outward, joining forces to escape."

"And making the strong unwilling to escape should be this game's main purpose. If the weak want to rise, they have to rely on themselves. Why establish protection to encourage them?"

Sule looked despairing, the light nearly gone from his eyes.

They were not even weak. They were pigs.

"Let's go."

Gaoxin, Luo Yan, and the others silently began matching for games, then entered the elevator.

The elevator soon began moving, shooting upward.

It later stopped on some unknown floor. The doors opened, and a curtain of light appeared in the doorway.

Number 97's voice sounded within the elevator. "Xu Feng, Luo Wei, Zhou Fangjiang..."

It called out ten names in a row, telling them to leave the elevator and enter the game venue.

When he heard Luo Wei's name, Gaoxin was startled for a moment, nearly mistaking it for Luo Yan.

So even if they matched together, they might not be assigned to the same game. This appeared to be an official assignment.

Could it be that teams were not allowed? No, it was probably because none of them had entered team mode. They had all been like puppets, driven by Sasaki to say the word match before entering the elevator, and were therefore treated as individual players.

Thinking of this, he looked at Luo Yan.

Luo Yan looked back at him. The two had become familiar with each other and agreed to escape together if they got the chance. They had formed a bond, and if they could enter the same game, they could look out for each other.

"Vocational School Brother, we might have to play separately," Gaoxin said bitterly.

"The people just called were all standing in that area over there. The two of us have been standing together, so there's a high chance we won't be separated," Luo Yan said optimistically.

Before he had even finished speaking, the elevator stopped again. With a ding, Number 97 announced more names.

Among them was Luo Yan's name.

"Damn..." Luo Yan scratched his head.

Gaoxin grinned. "Vocational School Brother, that was a great guess. Don't guess next time."

Luo Yan was good at analyzing things, always logical and well supported, but whenever he made a judgment, things often turned out the opposite way.

"Brother Xin Ku, let's all pray for our own luck. Don't die," Luo Yan said, patting Gaoxin on the shoulder.

Gaoxin nodded heavily. "You too. I hope I'll still see you when we get out."

They had only known each other for a short time, yet both felt the other was decent. Still, they were forced apart, and no one knew whether they would meet again. This parting might be forever.

After Luo Yan left, Sule asked from beside him, "Brother Xin Ku, do you think people whose names weren't called can get out?"

"Why don't you try and see?" Gaoxin said dejectedly.

Sule nodded and actually went up to try. But as soon as he touched the light curtain, his whole body stiffened, and he fell to the floor as if electrocuted.

Gaoxin hurried over to help him up. "Why are you such an honest kid? Obviously you can't get through."

Sule was physically strong, and perhaps the current was not very powerful. He recovered quickly, scratching his head as he said, "I wanted to go with Vocational School Brother, but we weren't assigned together. You're the only one I know now, Brother Xin Ku. I hope we won't be separated."

Gaoxin found the bitterness difficult to put into words. This youth did not look very old, perhaps eighteen or nineteen. He truly had no one to rely on, yet he had actually begun treating Gaoxin as someone he could depend on.

Luo Yan did have some ability, but he was truly struggling just to protect himself. Gaoxin himself still hoped there would be someone he could lean on.

Although he had previously decided not to get close to these criminals too easily, since this youth had said he only knew him now, Gaoxin was willing to have one more helper in the game.

"Fine. If we aren't assigned apart, follow me. We'll look out for each other."

Afterward, more groups gradually left.

Sometimes several people went out, and sometimes more than ten. Different games probably required different numbers of participants.

Thinking of this, Gaoxin suddenly froze. The games were not necessarily played only by newcomers like them. There could very likely be others, perhaps even veteran Radiation Users.

And all of them were wearing prison uniforms. It was obvious at a glance that they were newcomers.

People picked on the soft persimmons. They would likely be targeted from the very start.

He still did not know what kind of game it was, but taking off his prison uniform like Luo Yan had done could not hurt.

With that thought, Gaoxin made a prompt decision and took off his shirt, immediately going bare-chested.

He also casually mentioned it and told Sule to take his off too.

Sule remembered that Luo Yan had done the same before coming to the island, and immediately started taking off his clothes too.

"That won't do. Your pants are also too obvious." Gaoxin frowned. Luo Yan only needed to hide the fact that he was a Glass Person, so taking off his top had been enough.

But Gaoxin needed to hide the fact that he was a newcomer. Taking off only his top would not work.

With that thought, he gritted his teeth. Not caring that there was a woman beside him, he directly took off the prison-uniform pants as well, leaving only his underwear.

"Ah! What are you doing?!" There was only one woman in the elevator: Jin Meimei.

She covered her mouth and cried out, but her eyes secretly peeked over.

Gaoxin ignored her completely. At a time like this, how could he worry about so much? Besides, it was not as if he had taken everything off.