You Will Die Under the Gaze of All

"Give me some Toast, a glass of Milk... What's that? Braised Lala Meat? I'll have a serving of that too."

Ash carried his tray over and sat down, observing the diners in the Dining Hall.

Besides prisoners wearing classic skins, quite a few Prison Guards were eating here as well. This Prison did not seem to enforce any sort of hierarchy. The guards and prisoners appeared equal—or rather, the guards simply did not bother with the prisoners, and the prisoners did not deliberately provoke the guards. Together, they maintained a harmonious Prison.

Ash could understand why the guards did not bother with prisoners. Slacking off was only human. But why did the prisoners keep their distance from the guards too?

After all, anyone with a functioning brain would not commit crimes. Those who ended up in Prison were surely fools who did not Know the Times, like a certain Heretic Leader arrested by several Police Officers—Hunters.

By that logic, those prisoners could not be very bright either. So why did they not provoke or tease the Prison Guards?

"Because they're locked."

The Sword Maiden sat beside him, poking the Braised Lala Meat with a finger as she casually said, "Your Neck Microchips are all locked. You aren't allowed to attack others, insult others, or harm yourselves. That's why Broken Lake Prison is so free—every bone and every nerve in your bodies is shackled and chained."

"Look, there's even a poster over there about 'Building a Civilized Prison.' It has a photo of Death Row Inmates with students. Looks like their civilized-Prison campaign has been quite successful. Students even come here for spring and autumn outings."

Ash subconsciously touched the back of his neck, his eyes widening. "Th-This is like having a bomb strapped around my neck—"

"Do you have to speak that loudly?" The Sword Maiden pointed at the prisoners who had turned to look over.

Ash immediately stuffed his mouth with Toast. "Then as long as I wear this Microchip, Prison Break is impossible, isn't it? It definitely has a tracking function!"

"More than that. If they wanted, they could make the Microchip release a powerful current and stop your heart directly." The Sword Maiden spread her hands. "So you're right. Theoretically, it is impossible for you to escape this Prison. Forget escaping—if you tried to dig a tunnel with a soup spoon, the Microchip would stop you from damaging public property."

"Theoretically, there's no way. What about in practice?" Ash took a sip of Milk and found it unexpectedly sweet.

"In practice... there isn't one either." The Sword Maiden rolled her eyes. "I'm not from here. How would I know that much?"

"Then where did you get all that information just now?"

"There's another file in your Light Screen folder, the Broken Lake Prison Encyclopedia. I read through it when I had nothing better to do."

Ash froze for a moment. Right, the Sword Maiden was only a two-dimensional character from a game. How could she possibly know anything about this world?

But this was troublesome. She could actually browse the other files in his Light Screen. He had been planning to see whether this world had any mysterious yellow-and-black websites...

"I can't help you with Prison Break, but if you want to grow stronger, I do have a few methods." The Sword Maiden said, "In any case, start by finding someone to fight. Nothing is easier to understand than combat, right, Watcher?"

"Wait, according to you, prisoners can't attack others. So how am I supposed to pick a fight?" Ash finally realized that this Prison had eliminated, at its root, any possibility of prisoners brawling with one another.

"You ask me about everything. Are you the one escaping Prison, or am I?" The Sword Maiden sneered. "When you're hungry, do you have to call for Mother too?"

"Mom! Grandma!"

"You're asking for it!"

Ash rubbed his forehead, thinking it was deeply unfair. The Sword Maiden was clearly illusory, so why did her forehead flick hurt so much...

Ash looked around and noticed that the bald, muscular man from earlier had taken a glass of Milk as well. He walked over and sat opposite him—now that he knew nobody else could hit him, Ash's courage immediately grew.

"Hi, I'm Ash. What's your name?"

"Hi, Ash. I have a boyfriend." The bald man was very friendly.

Ash was instantly dumbfounded. He sensed the nearby Prison Guards and prisoners looking over after hearing that, and hurriedly explained, "That's not what I meant! I just have some questions for you!"

"I understand, I understand. Really." The bald man nodded with great sympathy. "When you're trying to strike up a conversation and encounter someone like me who openly admits he has a partner, it really is embarrassing. But my love for my boyfriend is pure and sincere, incapable of tolerating even the slightest suspicion. So making my stance clear from the beginning is good for everyone. You're a fine young man too, Ash. I'm sure you'll find your own love someday."

"I... no... I just..."

"Go ahead, ask." The bald man gave him an encouraging look. "You don't need to be so embarrassed. Failing to strike up a conversation is perfectly normal. If you can't think of a question to use as an excuse for now, I can wait. But honestly, Ash, the way you got my attention was far too old-fashioned. You even deliberately knocked over my Milk, just like a Primary School student..."

Well, now there were witnesses and physical evidence. Ash had no room to deny it.

Ash immediately felt the gazes around him turn strange. He opened his mouth, but in the end could only give up explaining. "I'd like to ask, if I want to fight, is there a way?"

The bald man paused slightly. "You're new here? Ah, I remember now. You're that guy who's been all over the news these past few days... the leader of the Four Pillar Gods Church?"

"Mmm, I'm actually rather interested in the Four Pillar Gods. Too bad I have a boyfriend, otherwise I could give you a chance too..."

Ash could not take it anymore and wanted to turn around and leave, but the bald man's next words forced him to keep listening. "If you want to stretch your muscles, then you've come to the right person—ah, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Lang Na, and I'm a member of the Deathmatch Club."

"Deathmatch Club?"

"Because of the Microchips, we aren't allowed to harm others. But the Deathmatch Club has received the Prison Warden's permission. During deathmatches, we can temporarily remove the Microchip restrictions and fight. This is an exclusive benefit for Deathmatch Club members."

Ash was rather surprised. "The Prison even agrees to something like this? That's so humane?"

Lang Na shook his head. "But there is a price to pay, and the greatest price is the origin of our club's name."

"Deathmatch?"

"That's right." Lang Na finished his Milk, extended his large tongue to lick the milk stains from his lips, and looked at Ash with calm eyes.

"If you participate in a deathmatch, one side must die before it ends. A deathmatch only ends when someone dies."

Ash blinked. "But... the Prison uses so many methods to restrain us. Would they really allow us to kill people?"

"Someone dying doesn't mean you killed them." Lang Na smiled. "The Medical Room is right beside the Deathmatch Platform. As long as the corpse remains intact and has been dead for less than five minutes, they can be dragged into the Medical Room and revived. Of course, what kind of aftereffects they might be left with is another matter."

"And even if a prisoner really dies, the Prison won't care. After all, every prisoner here is going to die."

That statement had the same feeling as saying, "People die when they are killed." Ash echoed him, "Yeah, yeah, people die eventually."

"Hm? You seem to have misunderstood me." Lang Na sounded somewhat surprised. "Didn't you hear about Broken Lake Prison's reputation outside? Haven't you watched the Blood Moon Judgment on the first and fifteenth of every Month?"

"Huh?"

"Every prisoner in Broken Lake Prison—every single one—is a Death Row Inmate." Lang Na said calmly. "There are no appeals, no escapes, and political rights are revoked for life."

"After entering this Prison, all prisoners can eat well and sleep well. They can exercise, watch movies, and play games. But the one thing forbidden is the taking of life—even their own. Because only one ending awaits us—"

"To participate in the Blood Moon Judgment and die miserably under the gaze of all."