The Fugitive and the Punishment

Bowers, a representative of the students from the First Construction Regiment, also arrived and was visibly relieved to learn that the fugitive had been captured.

Qiluo ran over with light steps, peeked into the doorway, and said, "Hmm, this person's allegiance is as black as ink."

"He must have a large number of undetected crimes," Su Ming judged. "He's definitely a serious criminal."

"He was afraid that if we found out, we would execute him like we did with Agent 122, so he took the risk and chose to escape," Bowers realized.

Rupert's interrogation proceeded quickly, and the outcome confirmed his suspicions. Seeing no hope of escape, student number 14 confessed everything, kneeling on the ground and weeping bitterly, begging for forgiveness in a trembling voice.

"Miss Holy Beast," Bowers turned to Qiluo, his eyes filled with confusion, "Why not conduct a comprehensive screening of all necromancers?"

"I've already done it." Qiluo shook her head, her silver mane shimmering in the moonlight like flowing mercury. "Otherwise, do you think I was just wandering around aimlessly during the day?"

Su Ming really wanted to ask where the leftover food from First Construction Regiment restaurant went, but the answer was probably too obvious.

He continued, explaining, "There are no absolutes in determining factions, and there are ways to deceive people. So, don't alert them these next few days, lower your guard, and give Qiluo more time to verify."

The alignment system is highly subjective. If you believe that the rules you follow are order and that giving others death is a blessing, even a villain can be identified as a neutral alignment.

By using her innate investigative abilities, combined with behavioral analysis from a digital monitoring system, Qiluo can ultimately expose those with malicious intentions.

Rupert and Bowers nodded in agreement.

"What are your thoughts on how to proceed next?" Su Ming asked.

"I recommend an immediate and public execution," Rupert said.

The Management Rules clearly stipulate that any member of the construction corps who attempts to abscond before leaving the Northern Lands will be sentenced to death. However, members who are innocent or have completed labor reform and do not wish to rejoin the corps after leaving the Northern Lands may be granted their freedom.

"This doesn't need discussion; it will be implemented publicly in a moment." Su Ming didn't mince words. "What I want to discuss is how to deal with the others?"

Bowers realized, "You mean student number 14's roommate?"

The camp currently operates on a five-person room accommodation standard, and room number 14 has four roommates. According to surveillance footage, after discovering the problem, they discussed it for more than 20 minutes before finally deciding to report it.

"So, should we punish them for not reporting it immediately, or reward them for ultimately choosing to report it?"

"Those who know but fail to report must be severely punished!" Rupert said without hesitation.

Bowers hesitated, then ultimately refrained from commenting.

"Okay, what about the other members of the camp?" Su Ming continued to press.

"Should they be punished too?" Bowers asked, surprised and hesitant. "I don't recommend a high-pressure approach."

"Punishment is necessary," Su Ming shook his head. "My roommates were only forced to report it out of fear of being implicated. Even if others knew, they would just ignore it. This situation must change!"

The First Construction Regiment has only been established for a short time, and its members lack cohesion. However, a gentle approach is too late, and a forceful approach is also a way to solve the problem.

"Immediately assemble all members!" Su Ming commanded.

****

The piercing emergency assembly whistle shattered the night sky. Startled awake, the trainees hurriedly put on their coats, not even having time to put on their shoes, and stumbled towards the assembly area in the center of the camp.

In the cold wind, their slightly rapid breathing turned into puffs of white mist.

According to the regulations, trainees who fail to assemble at the designated location within three minutes will have points deducted based on the length of the delay and will face corresponding penalties.

So even though it was 2 a. m., no one dared to slack off; even if they were cursing DieDie in their hearts, they still had to line up first.

Su Ming walked over and was pleased to see that everyone had already lined up.

"Reporting to the instructors, 122 people should be present, 121 people are present!" Bowers reported to the instructor.

Rupert first announced the escape of student number 14 that evening and then announced his punishment: immediate execution.

The public was quite accepting of this; since the person dared to escape, they had to bear the consequences. They were, after all, prisoners, as Su Ming had stated beforehand.

Logically speaking, not escaping was the biggest mistake!

Moreover, this incident forced everyone to assemble in the dead of night, a heinous crime!

Rupert then announced the punishment for the four roommates of student number 14: they were disciplined for not reporting immediately, but for delaying the report by 23 minutes!

He originally suggested caning, but Su Ming believed that this would deplete manpower and consume medical resources.

So Rupert decided to be a little more human.

"The four trainees took a 23-minute cold shower in the snow every day for seven consecutive days!"

Upon hearing this, the four of them shivered in unison, their faces turning deathly pale.

"And then everyone else!" Rupert continued, raising his voice an octave.

A commotion broke out in the crowd; these people hadn't expected to be punished. Su Ming's policies towards them these past few days had actually been very lenient.

"Since it was student number 14 who escaped today, everyone, run 14 laps around the track!" Su Ming stepped forward and said directly.

The crowd gasped in shock. The construction site was quite large, with a circling distance of at least two kilometers. Fourteen laps around it would be enough to kill them!

Suddenly Jielusi, dressed in a pink floral priestess's robe, stepped forward. "Lord Su Ming, the altitude here is very high, and the oxygen content is low. Engaging in this level of extreme exercise could lead to widespread illness and sports injuries."

The gentle voice of the healer girl sounded like heavenly music to everyone's ears, and they all looked at Su Ming expectantly.

"Then halve it?"

"It will also cause more people to experience altitude sickness, which will be difficult to handle," Jielusi continued. "How about we do what we did that day?" Jielusi subtly gestured towards the bear-man camp with her eyes.

"It's not impossible." Su Ming stroked his chin. "Alright, I'll switch to a 'softer' punishment."

****

Rupert then announced the disbandment. Although Su Ming did not specify the punishment, everyone assumed it would be a mild measure such as deducting points.

The fact that Su Ming could change his mind so easily after being persuaded by a healer suggests that he has a soft heart. This "soft" punishment is much better than making him run long laps on the plateau.

After all that commotion, everyone was exhausted. They took off their coats, crawled into bed, and quickly fell asleep.

At five o'clock in the morning, all was quiet. Hansite, Newman, and Gospel, dragging all their belongings in a cart, quietly arrived at the center of the courtyard of First Construction Regiment.

The setting moonlight cast their shadows long on the ground.

"So, shall we hold a concert here?" Newman whispered.

He deftly began setting up a sound amplification array, along with a soundproof barrier that enveloped the entire First Construction Regiment's encampment. This barrier could reflect sound inwards, preventing it from escaping outwards.

Hansite turned on the power and watched as the indicator lights on the effects unit and amplifier lit up one by one, flashing with eager light in the darkness.

Newman also finished setting up the barrier; a blue magical barrier slowly formed, enveloping the necromancers who were unaware of their surroundings in their sleep.

"Start work?" he asked, his eyes gleaming with a spiritual fire.

"Of course!" Hansite slung his guitar over his shoulder and pressed the microphone switch.

"Welcome everyone to the Human Bone Machine Band's first performance in Sheltered Valley!" The old bard's hoarse voice exploded in the night, echoing back through the echo wall and reverberating throughout the camp dormitory!

The students, who were fast asleep, were startled awake by the sudden loud noise and jumped out of bed.

Hansite strummed the strings with one hand, "Let's get hyped!"

A deep bass note then joined in, Newman continued to pluck the strings, instantly making the music fuller and creating a powerful sonic wave within the barrier.

Gospel picked up four No. 24 steel bars and began banging them down. The outer blue barrier trembled with each movement.

Outside the construction team's camp, scattered lights illuminated various traffic intersections in the Sheltered Valley construction area. The surveillance camera cluster, with its indicator lights removed and its shape disguised as a snowball, continued to operate quietly, recording the scene as usual.

Su Ming turned over in the room, pulled the blanket up a little, and continued to sleep.

****

At daybreak, First Construction Regiment.

Although breakfast was a little later than usual, everyone sat up straight and ate quietly; you couldn't even hear the sound of spoons hitting bowls.

Su Ming observed all of this through the surveillance cameras and felt somewhat puzzled. These people seemed to be doing quite well, although their complexions were a bit poor.

As expected, he was still too soft-hearted. Su Ming pondered some additional measures to be taken against these people.

"I've finished my oatmeal porridge! Is there any more?" Qiluo ran in happily and peeked into the porridge bucket.

The unicorn's hoof slammed against the metal porridge bucket, producing a resounding thud. Everyone in the restaurant suddenly shrank back, crawling under the tables and nervously covering their ears.

Qiluo was dumbfounded. "Um, I was just checking if there was any extra porridge." She held up the half-full bucket of porridge and asked, puzzled, "Does anyone want more?"

Everyone shook their heads frantically.

"Then I won't be polite!" Qiluo was bewildered, but she emptied the porridge bucket in one go and left satisfied.

Everyone then crawled out from under the table and carefully returned to their seats.

"They sang 14 songs this morning, you know," a necromancer muttered, firmly denying that they were songs, "In case, next time, someone with a higher number escapes—"

"I'd like to see who dares!" another necromancer interrupted him through gritted teeth, his eyes flashing with ferocity. "Anyone who tries to run away again, I'll be the first to break their legs!"

The restaurant was quiet for a moment, then a discordant voice suddenly rang out, "Actually, I thought the one this morning was quite nice."

Faintly, a few people were whispering in agreement.

****

The construction site was unusually orderly today. The necromancers were exceptionally obedient, following orders without question.

Work efficiency has improved significantly.

Zijin was surprised to find that many people's mental strength had increased significantly, especially several mages who had reached a critical point and were showing signs of a breakthrough.

"What did you do this morning?" Zijin asked, puzzled.

"I had the band trio put on a concert," Su Ming shrugged. "I feel like it didn't really have the desired effect of punishment."

"Then I'll go listen next time?"

"No, they can't beat you!" Su Ming quickly stopped him.

In one corner of the site, hundreds of tons of steel were transported over. A group of mages were then assigned to process them. They first set up alchemical equipment, then used magic to soften the steel and tension it. Soon, steel bars of various sizes were manufactured.

Although the efficiency wasn't very high, Su Ming calculated that it was enough to keep up with the project's needs.

After the first batch of steel bars was completed, Newman began organizing another team to test the reinforcement cage. This type of reinforced concrete technology had never been used in the otherworld before, so these people needed to learn it from scratch.

Fortunately, what Su Ming was worried about did not happen. This time, the necromancer was quite well-behaved and did not tie the steel cage netting in the style of an orc's lair.

Some of the mages used bones to create a cylindrical mold with an outer diameter of 2.2 meters and an inner diameter of 1.8 meters. They placed the reinforced steel cage inside and directed the bear-men to pour concrete, then used vibration magic to compact it.

Soon, the first batch of ten pipe sections was poured with concrete. With the accelerated solidification effect of magic, the necromancer removed the mold three hours later.

Su Ming carefully inspected the quality and found no voids; the precast concrete pipes were of completely acceptable quality.

"Excellent!" he nodded approvingly at Benedict was in charge of quality control.

Dafulin's professional construction team is indeed quite skilled.

****

Su Ming's work focused almost entirely on transporting various peripheral equipment, working with Zijin to complete the setup. On the third day, Newman said they could transport the pipe-jacking machine.

Modern tunnel excavation engineering first requires a specialized tunneling equipment, which can break up the soil or rock in front and discharge it from the rear through a conveying system, thereby opening up the tunnel.

Depending on factors such as the actual construction cross-section size and geological conditions, tunneling equipment is mainly divided into different types, including shield tunneling machines, full-face rock tunneling machines, and cantilever tunneling machines.

Taking the more well-known tunnel boring machine as an example, under the protection of a sturdy shield, the cutterhead at the front rotates and cuts the soil, the hydraulic jacks in the middle provide propulsion, and the tail section is simultaneously assembled to form the tunnel lining, followed by subsequent construction procedures such as concrete pouring.

The diameter of the Dome Mountain Tunnel was relatively small, making it unsuitable for the deployment of a shield tunneling system. Therefore, Su Ming opted for a pipe jacking solution.

This method utilizes an array of hydraulic jacks to push precast concrete pipe sections one by one into the tunnel, guided by the tunneling machine in front.

As the tunneling equipment continues to excavate forward under hydraulic thrust, the pipe wall is pushed deeper and deeper. Wherever the excavation reaches, the pipe wall advances accordingly, and the main tunnel structure is formed in one continuous process!

The huge concrete cylinders that the construction team had previously arranged to make were prefabricated pipe sections prepared for this project.