Chapter 68
This new spirit was naturally the spoils from last night's virtual world exploration.
It turned out that Ashe and the Swordswoman's wait was worth it.
Just before the whirlpool was about to disappear, Ashe finally saw the map prompt change from "Wait" to "Go Now!", so he hurriedly pulled the Swordswoman and jumped into the whirlpool.
After traveling thousands of miles across the sea, what appeared before Ashe and the Swordswoman was an injured Slash Fish Dragon.
Dealing with such a knowledge-based lifeform, Ashe and the Swordswoman naturally would not speak of any chivalry, and took advantage of its weakened state to burst out a whopping five spirits, though unfortunately no experience orbs, but these five spirits all had their uses, and could be called a great harvest.
The reason why Ashe was desperately trying to establish a "trade" relationship with Igor was because the newly obtained "Scales" spirit had given him ample confidence.
"Scales"
"Single-Wing Spirit"
"Restriction: The sorcerer must master basic mathematical knowledge such as trigonometry, sequences, probability theory, etc."
"Basic Effect: Reflect any effect at a certain ratio back to the caster."
"Passive Effect: Greatly enhances the sorcerer's sense of balance and ability to adjust center of gravity."
"'Balance exists among all things.'"
At first Ashe was going to use the Scales spirit as a damage reflector, and didn't think much of it, but after he left the virtual world and returned to reality, he suddenly realized he could easily invoke the Scales spirit's resonance.
Perhaps it was because he had mastered all the basic mathematical knowledge required by the Scales spirit. After all, those were the test topics in math exams. Although after four years of college degeneration he could no longer do the questions, he could still understand the basic concepts.
This was the first time Ashe had seen a spirit that required knowledge, according to the Swordswoman, it seemed that only spirits associated with "fate", "prophecy", and "truth" would have knowledge requirements. These spirits were rarely useful for combat or production, but they often played unexpected roles, and prophecy-type sorcerers also had high social status.
Being able to invoke the Scales spirit's resonance at any time meant that in addition to the virtual world, Ashe could also take advantage of the Scales spirit for profit in Shattered Lake Prison, this "civilized society".
However, the Scales spirit belonged to the kind of "if you don't move, I don't move" holy mother police, it would only take action when others used spirits for spells. In a prison where no one could use spirits at all, the Scales spirit actually didn't have many objects to target.
Except for this "good friend" Ashe had just met.
"Not bad, Ashe." Igor tried his best to sound nonchalant and said, "Since you have my wish, and I have your wish, then we have reached a balance of wishes at this time. From now on I will live my life, you live yours, we coexist peacefully without encroaching on each other, and jointly build a harmonious prison. How about it?"
"No, not good at all." Ashe smiled slightly, "I'm going to use up my wish right now."
"Think it over!" Igor spoke ominously, "Once you use up your wish, you will have no means left to threaten me! By then I can make you do whatever I want, let alone make you do a handstand and shit then roll on the ground, even make you intentionally lose a deathmatch will be no problem!"
"Of course I've thought it through." Ashe took a step forward, closer to Igor.
Igor backed away with a vague sense of unease, advising as he retreated, "Ashe, really, there's no need to take it this far. Or don't use the wish, just discuss it with me, I'm your good friend, if I can help you, I definitely will help..."
"I don't want 'if', I need you to 'wholeheartedly' fulfill my wish."
"I'm just an ordinary fraudster, my abilities are limited. Ashe, you think too highly of me. How about this, I'll try to establish a contract with another death row inmate, whatever you need, I'll have him satisfy you, okay? Anything is fine, and no limit on frequency!"
"No, it has to be you."
Igor's back was already against the wall, nowhere to retreat. Ashe leaned one hand against the wall, looking at him and said, "Igor, my wish is—"
"I'm not listening, I'm not listening!"
Igor immediately covered his ears and ran away, but since he couldn't use spirits either, and their physical abilities were comparable, Ashe caught up to him and grabbed his arm, shouting loudly:
"Igor, I want you to help me escape from prison!"
The patrolling guard glanced at the two of them, shook his head, and left whistling.
Remarks like "I'm going to be the prison escape king" had been heard hundreds of times by the guards, of course they wouldn't take it to heart.
In his heart, he even felt a little sympathy for these death row inmates. After all, having pipe dreams right after breakfast really looked pitiful.
But the parties involved didn't think these were just empty ramblings.
Igor looked at Ashe, his expression as ugly as if he had been punched, his back was soaked in cold sweat without realizing it.
He knew it! He knew it!
What other wishes could a man who had just survived the Blood Moon Tribunal have? Other than the usual in-and-out business, it could only be escape, right?
When Ashe held his wish in hand, Igor knew he was finished this time. It seemed that only good swimmers drown, only lustful ones die in bed, and even he, a fraudster who had harvested countless IQ taxes, would have a day of being duped.
As for using his own wish to resist Ashe's, it was impossible - because that would violate the "help Ashe" restriction, Igor simply couldn't do it!
The wish Ashe made prevented Igor from doing anything to "stop Ashe from escaping"!
He sighed, "Come with me."
Igor took Ashe to his room. Shattered Lake Prison did not prohibit inmates from visiting each other, they could even sleep and chat together if they wanted - after all, other than sleeping, they couldn't do anything anyway, the chip restrictions included "intimacy".
Only the lovers' rooms could temporarily unlock the "intimacy" restriction, only the Deathmatch Society could temporarily unlock the "combat" restriction, and even only the toilet could unlock the "excretion" restriction - yes, the death row inmates didn't even have the freedom to take a public shit.
Or rather, death row inmates actually had the same freedoms as normal people, it was just that before doing certain things, you had to report and apply to the prison, and once the prison allowed it, then you could do it.
The difference between death row inmates and free men was perhaps the difference between "nothing is permissible unless permitted by law" and "everything not prohibited is permitted".
"Your room is quite big."
Ashe plopped down on the velvet bed, leaned back and sank into the bed. Igor, who had just moved the chair aside, couldn't help but twitch his mouth when he saw this scene.
Ashe glanced at him and waved his hand, "Don't be so restrained, sit anywhere, I'm not a stickler for etiquette, no need to pour me water."
What a pity, I was just about to scoop some water from the toilet to quench your thirst, and if I hadn't just peed I might even have added some ingredients... With a stomach full of resentment, Igor sat in the chair, fingers interlaced, staring at Ashe.
"You really want to escape?"
"What kind of question is that, who here doesn't want to escape?"
"Many don't." Igor said lightly, "For example, 'Diamond' Taig doesn't want to escape. He offended too many people outside, it would be even more dangerous to go out. Besides, apart from being thugs and bodyguards, masochist mages don't have other ways to make a living. As long as he's not selected for the Blood Moon Tribunal, Taig's days here are actually more comfortable than outside."
"There are quite a few people like Taig. Or rather, basically everyone who has lived here for a few years has found a new way to survive, and has no longing for the outside. For them, the outside is just a slightly bigger prison."
Igor looked at Ashe, secretly activating the "Resonance" spirit, and said in a tempting voice, "Since you survived the first Blood Moon Tribunal, if nothing unexpected happens, you will participate in the Blood Moon Tribunal according to contribution rank just like us in the future. As long as your contribution is high enough, you won't be selected. "
"Your strength is pretty good, victory probability in deathmatches is high. In other words, you also have the ability to live comfortably here." He spread his hands, "If you wish, you can also live in such a big room, eat whatever you want the cafeteria to make, read books, watch movies, drink alcohol, dance, even take moon sugar if you want. If you have any requests, you can give suggestions to the prison, the new skating rink was built because some inmates liked skating."
"In the eyes of people outside, this place may be the ideal world - no crime, no vulgarity, no competition, not even work, just a regulated, spirited life every day."
"Life here is no worse than outside."
Seeing that Ashe seemed somewhat moved, Igor was secretly excited and couldn't help applauding his own wit.
Ashe's wish was not without loopholes. The premise of "help Ashe escape" was that Ashe wanted to escape. Therefore, as long as Igor persuaded Ashe to give up the idea, he naturally wouldn't have to fulfill the wish.
But this was also Igor's true thoughts.
Escape was a thorny dead-end road, fleeing was not a momentary victory, but a lifelong torment. Let alone whether they could escape, even if they did, what awaited them was an even more cruel challenge - like street rats, living incognito in the sewers, breathing the freedom-scented murky air.
Yet a life of ignoble survival was happiness that they could easily obtain.
A death row inmate who survived the Blood Moon Tribunal knew how to choose.
"You make a lot of sense."
Ashe sat up and nodded at Igor's expectant gaze, "Indeed, escape is a dangerous and unknown thorny path, while life here, although not without risks, is much more comfortable overall. If I stay here for a long time, I guess I'll become like you, knowing how to enjoy prison life, right."
Igor was overjoyed, "Yes, yes, it's good that you understand, so—"
"That's why I must escape, and quickly, the sooner the better!"
Ashe looked at Igor and shook his head gently, "I don't want to become like you, edges smoothed, courage extinguished, spine broken."
"I don't want to live like a...dog!"
Igor's expression froze instantly.
After a moment of silence, Igor slowly stood up.
Slap!
He kicked the chair over and turned to punch the wall, but just before impact, his body suddenly stiffened, energy output prohibited by the chip.
"Interesting, so calling myself a dog isn't considered profanity? This should be a loophole in the chip, hahaha..."
"Fine! Escape, escape is good!"
Igor swung his hand in disgust, "But the premise of escape is that we first have to figure out how to kill...have the neck chip removed! As long as the neck chip is still there, not to mention escaping, even where you want to take a shit depends on the prison's mood! Haha, I can't do anything about this, do you have a way, my dear cult leader, Ashe Heath?"
"I have a way to deal with the chip."
"I knew you didn't have...what? What did you say?"
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