Chapter 55
Hearing Nago's words, the other death row inmates also suddenly realized.
That's right, why go forward? Jumping back to the viewing platform would allow them to survive too. It was only a distance of ten steps, insignificant for these death row inmates. Even without their sorcerer powers, they had ways to cross over.
However, when they looked back and saw Ashe's executioner visibly growing larger again, they immediately realized Nago's shamelessness. Cursing him under their breaths while gloating over Ashe's plight, they lowered their heads and continued climbing the steel wire.
Going back was a trap.
Nago's words were the trigger.
Ashe knew he had screwed up as soon as he looked back, because when Nago said those words, he saw his number of votes exponentially skyrocketing.
The audience was anxious, they were anxious!
Because what Nago said was right. If Ashe jumped back, he could break the Blood Moon Tribunal's carefully laid out plans. The steel wire tribulation and purgatorial flames would have nothing to do with Ashe.
However, his good experience was a provocation to the audience - as a death row inmate, not repenting and admitting wrongs in the Blood Moon Tribunal, but instead trying to break the rules even more?!
It was like a student who didn't do his homework, instead of admitting his mistake when the teacher scolded him "Why did you come to school?", he suddenly realized he should just run out of school to play.
As social supervisors, the audience would naturally give such an immature offender the chance to repent - remember not to do this again in your next life!
In addition to the death penalty for the person with the most votes, the voting process would end immediately and the death penalty carried out if someone received 50% of the votes.
The restrictions on the death row inmates were lifted, but the price was that their lives were no longer under their control. On the other side of the light curtain were hundreds of thousands of Caimon City citizens, each holding the bargaining chip for their lives.
Once anyone dared to go against this tide, the audience's bargaining chips would fall, turning into heavy heavenly condemnation, crushing the backbone of their resistance.
So if Ashe jumped back, what awaited him was the heartfelt thanks of the other death row inmates, as well as the terrifying executioner formed by the 50% vote share.
But that said.
If Ashe's number of votes skyrocketed ahead of everyone else, and the audience stubbornly believed that the chance of redemption belonged to none other than Ashe, then Ashe would definitely jump back.
Anyway, he was going to die, so he wouldn't cater to their games.
The reason Ashe was still willing to follow the rules of the game was because the current voting situation gave him hope.
"Ashe Heath, 42,354 votes."
"Valcas Uhl, 31,002 votes."
Ashe glanced at the executioner behind Valcas, just as thick and hideous, only slightly smaller than his own executioner.
Seemingly noticing Ashe's gaze, Valcas glanced at him and let out a cold snort, actually jumping up on the platform and lightly landing on the steel wire, walking towards the distant platform in elegant steps.
This cool and arrogant scene instantly earned Valcas several thousand more votes.
I didn't expect, I didn't expect that you, Valcas, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, would also be so hateful, almost catching up to me. As expected, you're no good elf... Ashe muttered to himself as he looked at Valcas on the light curtain. The light curtain suddenly popped up some information:
"View Valcas Uhl's criminal record?"
Ashe chose to view it. A small window popped up on the light curtain, showing Valcas' first-person perspective of stealing technical data at his university and murdering a colleague researcher.
His colleague was seen limp on the floor of the hallway, his face full of fear, snot and tears flowing as he retreated and pleaded:
“Spare me, I beg you, Valcas, don’t... Ah!”
With a miserable shriek, the colleague was stabbed through the chest by Valcas!
As if the perpetrator's perspective wasn't exciting enough, the second half of the video was actually the colleague researcher's first-person victim perspective!
Facing Valcas' step-by-step approach, the video clearly portrayed the colleague's despair, fear, and the pain of his fading life!
These were memory fragments of Valcas and the person he murdered!
Having watched a memory fragment for the first time, Ashe was deeply shocked by this technology, shocked by the powerful and bizarre sorcerer system, and also shocked that the other death row inmates had dared to commit crimes - how was this any different from public urination and defecation? All crimes were laid bare!
Any crime involving harming others meant you had already been exposed in the eyes of the Heresy Court. Even if you destroyed and erased all traces, the Heresy Court could extract the victim's memories!
No wonder the death row inmates were all masters of secret arts. After all, without formidable abilities, how could they have committed crimes punishable by death before being caught by the Heresy Court?
Weaker criminals were likely captured by the Heresy Court during their developmental stage of petty theft and fraud, and sent for reeducation and rehabilitation.
After watching, a question surprisingly popped up on the light curtain:
"Cast a redemption vote for Valcas Uhl? Each of your redemption votes is a show of support for justice."
Ashe was startled, with countless weeds sprouting in his heart.
These death row inmates could actually vote too?!
Hadn't they been stripped of their political rights for life?
This was simply insulting them. Did the prison think they, these death row inmates, would vote for other candidates just to increase their meager chance of survival?
Ashe was indignant about the prison's disdain for him, yet still cast a vote for Valcas.
However, although Valcas' murder was quite cruel, it shouldn't have earned him so many votes, right? How was Ashe inferior to him?
Ashe looked at his own portrait. Although a small video popped up too, it wasn't his memories, but the law enforcement memories of the Blood Mad Hunters.
The bizarre underground hall filled with blood runes, remains on the altar, twisted piles of corpses... Ashe fast forwarded after watching for a bit, unable to bear watching himself. He even felt a twinge of conscience.
Damn, it really hurt, his soul was reacting to the purgatorial flames.
Ashe repeated 'I'm Ashe not Ashe' three times in his mind before the searing pain in his conscience slowly faded away.
This small episode also allowed Ashe to feel the might of the purgatorial flames - just because he had transmigrated into this body and briefly immersed himself in Ashe's identity, the purgatorial flames had already scalded his mind.
The agony endured by the real criminal death row inmates who had committed those deeds must be thousands, tens of thousands times greater.
Thinking of this, Ashe felt quite delighted. His simple black-and-white worldview made him applaud this punishment.
If he himself wasn't at the live broadcast scene but watching this show cozily at home, it would be even better.
Ashe glanced at the others' criminal records, only reading the text summaries due to time constraints.
As expected, Harvey was guilty of corpse desecration... Although Ashe was very curious whether the 'corpse' was cold or warm, male or female, such visual impact was still too much for him to dare click open the video.
Alright, this one was a serial killer, that one ate people, this one an assassin, that one a violent gang leader...
Ashe quickly browsed through them and found that Ashe's crimes were indeed the most brutal among them. Even without the daily news reports recommending him these past few days, Ashe reckoned the audience would still be able to recognize a hero when they saw one.
Unexpectedly, among the eight of them, Valcas' crimes were the lightest, yet his number of votes was second only to Ashe's.
Although somewhat puzzled, there was no time for him to think about it.
The others were almost at the platform. Ashe had to take action too.
After all, he couldn't just stay here waiting to die while everyone else moved on.
But how could he get across?
He couldn't fall into the sea. It was full of finger sharks, and if he fell in, even his fingernails might not survive.
He couldn't fly up either. There was currently some chaos magic spirits riot party going on, any airborne construct would get struck by lightning.
But Ashe didn't originally have any swimming or flying spirits anyway, so these restrictions meant little to him.
Ashe looked at the steel wire below.
He squatted down and touched the steel wire. It was very thin yet tough. Ashe touched it and his palm was immediately cut open.
If he grabbed this steel wire, the undoubted result would be his fingers sliced off as appetizers for the finger sharks.
Normal people wouldn't be able to cross it. One had to use spirits.
But Ashe only had one spirit right now!
However, he had to try everything now.
Substitute spirit!
A duplicate of Ashe appeared beside him, further crowding the already narrow small platform, almost shoving the real Ashe off.
Although he had summoned the substitute, Ashe didn't know what the next step of the plan was. He looked at the substitute, then the steel wire, gesturing with his mouth for the substitute to go over.
The substitute naturally had no objections, directly stepping onto the steel wire. Then the steel wire easily tore through its shoes with a pa sound and the substitute dissipated into light smoke.
Even the slightest harm would cause the substitute to instantly shatter and vanish.
But Ashe's eyes lit up.
Although the wire had slashed the substitute’s shoes, the substitute had indeed been able to cross over, unfearing and steady like a robot, incapable of making mistakes!
Ashe looked at his own shoes, the standard prison-issued canvas shoes for inmates, breathable and comfy in all seasons, but lacking the durability to walk on steel wires.
Ashe looked around, then turned to look at Nago behind him.
Nago raised his eyebrows: "Want to come over?"
Ashe ignored the rapidly enlarging executioner and looked at Nago's steel-toed boots that clanked when he walked.
"Supervisor, your boots look so cool! What brand are they?"
Happy to be asked about this, Nago perked up: "You have good taste. These are the limited edition Midnight Monarch series by Twilight - I had them on preorder for three months before I could get them."
Ashe looked at him admiringly: "I knew it, the Twilight Midnight Monarch limited edition series! It's the only pair of boots I've wanted in my life!"
"It's Midnight King, Midnight Monarch is another series."
"That's not important!" Ashe waved his hand: "What's important is that I hope to wear this pair of boots before my redemption. This is my one and only request in life, Supervisor. Could you...let me wear them for a bit?"
Nago's expression stiffened.
"That's not very appropriate, I've already worn them..."
"Don't worry Supervisor, I don't mind!" Ashe thumped his chest: "Since you're giving these boots to me, how could I possibly mind such petty details?"
Nago was so angry his face twisted.
I do mind!
And I didn't say I was giving them to you!
Giving you boots? I'd rather give you a kick to send you down! Damn scumbag!
Daring to take advantage of me? Ashe Heath, this is provoking the supervisor's dignity, provoking the bottom line of Shattered Lake Prison!
Nago let out a cold snort and said loudly:
"Alright!"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺