Blood Moon Kingdom, Broken Lake Prison, restaurant.
Ash looked at the lotus crab, lemon berry milk cake, Godly Lala fat, and golden pineapple juice in front of him. His nose was filled with the aroma of delicacies, but he had no appetite at all.
These dishes are not simple. They only exist in the restaurant's hidden menu. Normally, prisoners cannot order them even if they spend contribution points.
It is said that these dishes are extremely high-end and rare delicacies if sold outside. For example, the raw materials of this Godly Lala Fat alone are worth one-third of the monthly salary of an ordinary person.
And their taste is well worth the money. Ash suspected that the chef used some magic tricks. He, a city dweller who has been through the ordeal of MSG chicken powder, almost swallowed his tongue after taking the first bite. They were so delicious that he felt he could die without regrets.
But when he thought about actually dying, he lost his appetite.
Several other death row inmates who shared the same fate had similar ideas. Some took only a bite, some cried while eating, and some used their knives and forks upside down. Fortunately, the knives and forks had no blades, otherwise they would have triggered the 'suicide prohibition warning' on the chip at the back of their necks.
There are only two death row prisoners who can eat normally in big mouthfuls. One is a blue-skinned ogre, and the other is the elf Valkas.
The two of them really didn't seem to care about the upcoming Blood Moon Judgment. The ogre ate with his hands, ordering one portion after another; Valcas demonstrated to them ten ways to use a knife and fork, as elegantly as if they were dining in a revolving restaurant in a skyscraper.
"Are you having trouble eating? Do you need help?"
The kind voice of prison guard Nagu was like a whip dipped in salt water, which instantly made all the death row prisoners tremble all over and lower their heads to eat.
Even Ash is no exception.
The reason why the death row prisoners were so frightened was that an afternoon of "supervision" had worn away their arrogance. Facing the prison guard Nagu who could control the chip on the back of their necks, even the most stubborn ones had to behave themselves - if you were not, you would be forced to behave yourself by having your head pressed down on you.
To be honest, Nagu didn't do anything excessive to them.
Didn't even touch them.
It didn't hurt them at all.
He just made all the death row inmates act according to his schedule.
For example, if someone doesn't eat, Nagu will activate the chip control system and use voice to control the prisoner to eat:
"Open your mouth, put the food in your mouth, chew once, twice, three times, and swallow..."
For example, if someone doesn't watch or moves around during a movie, Nagu will make him a model audience member in the theater:
"Sit still, put your hands on your knees, look at the big screen, and remember to blink every five seconds."
For example, when breathing fresh air at the sea-viewing terrace, Nagu said that the superiors required all prisoners to take photos and put forward the following requirements: dress neatly, smile, reflect a good mental outlook, and the harmonious group atmosphere of Suihu Prison...
It is obvious that the above requirements cannot be met by death row prisoners alone, so Nagu "helped" them a little.
Ash was okay, he just lay on the ground with his head tilted to one side and smiled, but Valkas was more impressive - he sat on the ogre's shoulders, put his hands on his head to make cat ears, and showed a sweet smile to the camera with his thin and cold face.
And one photo is not enough, you have to take several photos, from showing off to being cool to hugging each other and being affectionate, all kinds of mental outlooks are included.
The death row prisoners who were put into various positions by Nagu were completely numb. They only thought about satisfying Nagu's demands as quickly, efficiently and economically as possible. They even thought it would be better to fast forward to the Blood Moon Trial.
Destroy it, quickly, I’m tired.
Therefore, as soon as Nagu spoke, they immediately abandoned their boring melancholy and started eating.
At this moment, the pressure that the supervisor Nagu put on them exceeded that of the Blood Moon Judgment.
After all, they haven't seen death yet.
But 'life is worse than death' is right in front of us.
Ash glanced at the empty restaurant and whispered to the person next to him, "Why isn't anyone coming to eat now? It's okay if they don't eat at noon, but it's impossible that others won't come to eat at night, right?"
The death row inmate next to him was named Archibald Harvey. He had dark skin and curly hair and looked like someone who did heavy work during the day, but he was actually a night worker: a scavenger who specialized in handling corpses.
Some people may wonder, how could handling a corpse result in the death penalty, as it is at most a crime of destroying a corpse
This is naturally related to the standard of death: in the Kingdom of Blood Moon, only a corpse declared dead by a licensed medical practitioner is called a corpse.
Without a medical doctor's verdict, even if your head is cut off, you are still alive legally.
Because medical staff can really revive people who have been killed, and many corpses, although dead, can still be rescued.
Therefore, a logistical staff like Harvey who specialized in handling corpses for the underground organization naturally could not get the generous treatment of "accomplice", but was regarded as a "serial killer of extremely bad nature": he had handled hundreds of corpses, and if every corpse was treated as a living person, few people in the whole prison could be compared with Harvey in their sins.
But this doesn't mean that Harvey is a good guy who was wrongly accused.
Although he didn't have much time to reveal his dirty laundry during the afternoon chat, the fact that he was a necromancer and he said "what's so good about a hot woman" were enough to determine that his sexual fetish was too early for humans today.
However, whether a person is a bad person or not has nothing to do with whether he is an enthusiastic netizen or not. During this afternoon of sympathy, Ash quickly became familiar with him.
Harvey replied: "They came to the restaurant early and finished their meal before 5 o'clock."
"Ah? Why?"
"Because they want to avoid us. Except for the eight of us, the other prisoners will try not to leave the dormitory today. Those who have enough contribution points can order food directly, and those who don't will try to avoid our meal time."
"I know, but why are they avoiding us?"
"Traditional Virtues."
Ash blinked.
It’s not that he didn’t understand the word, but it always felt weird when used to describe the death row inmates here.
Harvey said, "First, the eight selected people will be summoned by the supervisor to gather in the restaurant at noon, so no one will come out all morning. Although the candidates are drawn in order of trial, who knows if you will meet the supervisor on the way, and then the supervisor will think that your walking posture is too arrogant and put you on the trial list?"
“Do regulators have this power?”
"I don't know, do you dare to bet?"
"I don't dare."
"That's it." Harvey shrugged. "Even though all eight people were selected after noon, no one dared to walk around. The first reason is, of course, the existence of the supervisor. What if the supervisor doesn't like you and swaps you with a lucky person? Wouldn't you regret it so much that your blood vessels would burst?"
Ash nodded.
really.
There is nothing more infuriating than having bad luck yourself, than seeing others profit from your own bad luck. Just thinking about it makes me so angry that my stomach feels like it’s burning.
"The second reason is a bit superstitious. The prisoners believe that anyone seen by a group of unlucky people like us will most likely become the candidate for the next Blood Moon Trial."
It is understandable that everyone is afraid of being infected with bad luck. If you are looked at by an unlucky person in the afternoon and cannot poop at night, it is definitely not a physical problem, but rather the result of gravity abnormality caused by the unlucky person.
"And the third reason is that they don't know how to face us."
"Um?"
"Greetings? Encouragement? Comfort?" Harvey wiped his mouth with a napkin. "If it were you... No, Ash, you are the one on trial now. If you see other prisoners who escaped from the blood moon at this moment, would you feel that every punctuation mark they say is full of a sense of superiority?"
Ash opened his mouth and thought about it, realizing that it was indeed the case.
Since you know that I am going to die next and you don't have to die, I must think that your whole body exudes a disgusting stench.
It’s more than just talking.
Just seeing you can still breathe.
It makes me feel like you're mocking me.
Encouragement? Irony!
Comfort? Laugh!
Pity? Contempt!
No matter what nice words they said, they sounded like dirty words to Ash and his eight companions.
Because of the fear of death, a tragically thick barrier had formed between these eight prisoners and all the other prisoners.
"So on the day of the Blood Moon Trial, all prisoners voluntarily stayed in their dormitories and did not go out. This was to protect themselves and the people being tried."
Harvey looked at Ash, "If you survive, when the next blood moon comes, you must also abide by this traditional virtue. This is the only kindness we can and must uphold. But..."
"But what?"
"I've seen the news reports about you." Harvey shrugged. "Honestly, you could be the one dying tonight."
"Isn't it just a random killing of a person?"
Ash was a little nervous. When he knew that the Blood Moon Judgment was to draw one person out of eight to be executed, he guessed that this must be a random ritual - if it was not random, there would be no need to draw one out of eight.
"It's random, but not that random. And sometimes several people die... Have you really never seen the Blood Moon Trial?"
"Really not! I don't know the rules of the Blood Moon Trial at all!"
Harvey smiled. "You'll know in a moment... When I first watched Blood Moon Judgment as a kid, I was deeply shocked by the show. I never thought there would be such wonderful entertainment in this world. I won't tell you the truth. The most despised behavior of necromancers is prediction. Exploring the unknown is the most enjoyable enjoyment for necromancers, and death is the greatest mystery."
Ash sighed, and then became a little confused: "Since it is certain that I will die, then why are you so nervous?"
Harvey shrugged. "Because the Blood Moon Trial is not fixed, sometimes there will be some changes, causing the prisoners to be very nervous and accidentally kill themselves... You are right, when I arrive at the scene, I will just close my eyes and lie down to sleep. As long as I am sure that I will not be the one in eight, then I will definitely not die if I do nothing."
Harvey's words made Ash even more nervous when he was eating Lala Fat.
No way, I'm going to be finished
Is there really no chance at all
My exploration of the virtual world went so smoothly, and I even got a virtual telescope this morning. Maybe I can gather all the magic spirits to kill my miracle tonight...
Obviously, Sword Princess and I are getting stronger and stronger, and the magician world has just unveiled its mysterious veil to me...
I just defeated Valcas and foiled Shilling's plot...
I'm still in the development stage, can you give me some more time!
Ash is like a shooter who is saving money for big equipment but is suddenly pulled into a team fight.
Victory seems to be just in the distance, but we are hung upside down by the compromise in front of us.
He suddenly recalled a message his boss had posted on WeChat Moments: Life is not like cooking. You don’t prepare all the ingredients before serving. When you see yourself sprinkled with cumin, you should realize that you have become an ingredient. Who could have guessed that the day after he posted this message, he would announce that the entire company would switch from a regular work week to a 996 work week
"Dinner time is over. Wipe your mouth, go to the bathroom to take care of your personal hygiene, and gather at the central lobby within half an hour."
Note that the supervisor Nagu is not giving 'commands' but 'inputting instructions' - everyone wipes their mouths with napkins at the same time, then stands up and goes to the toilet.
Before Ash entered the bathroom, he heard Nagu's last instruction:
"At 7:45, we arrived at the Blood Moon venue on time and waited for the show to begin."