At last, the Outing Permit appeared on the auction block.

Jae-hee swallowed hard, his body coiled with tension. I have to get my hands on it…!

«These Outing Permits… the commander’s been cutting back on issuing them lately, making them incredibly hard to come by, hasn’t she?»

The auctioneer, Rapidfire, fluttered the two permits in his hand.

«You almost never see them anymore, unless they’re offered as an incentive for some suicidal mission. Which means the two permits on the block today were earned by sellers who put their lives on the line!»

Razor and Status Window crossed their arms, nodding with satisfied little grunts. They were practically bursting with pride.

«It seems we have quite a few people here today hoping to get their hands on one.»

Rapidfire was right.

The moment the permits appeared on stage, a murmur rippled through the audience. Inmates with eyes gleaming like hyenas began to stretch, their bodies itching for action.

«Supply has all but dried up, yet demand is higher than ever… so I think we’ll start the bidding a little higher.»

With a grin, Rapidfire declared, «Starting price, three hundred thousand Credits! We’ll begin at three hundred thousand. Each raised hand will increase the bid by five thousand Credits!»

Jae-hee barely had time to flinch at the unexpectedly high starting price.

«Now, all who wish to purchase…!»

Rapidfire’s gaze swept across the audience.

«Raise your hands!» he shouted, launching the auction with the suddenness of an ambush.

Hands shot up across the theater.

While the audience on the seventh floor were mere spectators, the sixth floor was reserved for bidders, and it was packed.

Rapidfire caught every rising hand, counting them all without missing a single one.

«Three-oh-five, three-ten, three-fifteen, three-twenty—you three there, that brings us to three thirty-five, anyone else? Ah, there you are. Three-forty, three forty-five, three-fifty… What a pace!»

The price skyrocketed in an instant.

Jae-hee looked around in a panic. When do I jump in? When should I raise my hand?

«Four hundred thousand! The current price is four hundred thousand. Anyone else? Going once, going twice…»

Terrified, Jae-hee shot his hand up without thinking.

But several other inmates raised their hands at the same time, and his turn was over in a flash.

«Excellent, excellent! This is the most heated bidding we’ve seen all day! Let’s keep it going! Four-oh-five, four-ten, past four-fifteen, past four-twenty! Four-thirty, four-forty, four-fifty! It just keeps climbing!»

Whenever the bidding seemed to slow, Rapidfire would use his “Anyone else? Going once, going twice…” routine, and each time, a flustered Jae-hee would jump and raise his hand out of sheer panic.

The third time Jae-hee’s hand went up, Razor slapped his own forehead with a groan.

“There’s a three-bid limit per item, moron!”

“What? Oh, no!”

He’d been so tense he’d completely forgotten about the limit and had fallen for the auctioneer’s hustle. He could no longer bid on the permit.

It was a rookie mistake.

Jae-hee clapped his hands to his cheeks and wailed. “Nooooo!”

“Ugh…” Razor sighed and uncrossed his arms. “Guess we have no choice. We’ll help you out.”

Status Window wiggled his round hands, preparing to enter the fray.

“I was known as the king of flipping items on the MMO auction house. Just trust me desu!”

Jae-hee blinked in surprise. “Are the sellers even allowed to bid?”

“The house gets a percentage of the final price, so the higher it goes, the better for them, right? And besides, we can only raise the price three times at most.”

The rules were conveniently vague, as you’d expect in a prison.

“We’ll show you the auction skills we’ve honed by watching you screw up.”

“The final victory will be ours desu!”

However…

«Five hundred thousand, we have five hundred thousand. Anyone else? Then we’ll close this quickly. Going once, going twice…»

Flick! Flick!

“Gahck?!”

“Urk!”

Razor and Status Window fared no better. They were no match for Rapidfire’s dazzling hustle and were knocked out of the running.

Both had used up all three of their bids. Their chances of getting the permit were now completely gone.

Jae-hee and Status Window simultaneously clapped their hands to their cheeks and wailed.

“Nooooo!”

Razor broke into a cold sweat. “Wow, I didn’t realize when I was just watching, but this is surprisingly hard…”

It was a total mind game.

The price blew past five hundred thousand, neared six hundred thousand, and then shot straight into the seven hundred thousands.

Jae-hee shuddered at the astronomical figure.

“They’re burning through a seven-thousand-day sentence reduction for a one-week trip? That’s twenty years off their sentence!”

Razor repeated what he’d told him before.

“They’d rather tack on another twenty years to a centuries-long sentence than go stir-crazy and kill themselves right now.”

“Ugh, I really don’t get…” Jae-hee trailed off, recalling the good things he’d experienced on his own outing.

The concert was fun, the food was delicious, the new people were a joy to meet, and the air was sweet.

“…Erm.”

For a long-term prisoner with no release date in sight, maybe the immediate chance to breathe fresh air was worth giving up the rest of their future.

“No, I mean, I get it, but still…”

“What are you muttering about? We’re all losers here, anyway.”

The look on Razor’s face was anything but defeated. In fact, his eyes were sparkling with satisfaction.

Seeing Jae-hee’s confusion, Razor grinned. “That was my item they just sold. Thanks for the meal.”

At that exact moment…

«And we have a final bid! Seven hundred seventy-five thousand! Seven hundred seventy-five thousand Credits! A beautiful number. Now, will our lucky winner please come to the stage to pay and claim your prize?»

A female inmate in a shabby, oversized hood walked forward. She tagged her Null Cuff to complete the payment, then snatched the Outing Permit with a fluid motion and tucked it away.

I’m so jealous…

Jae-hee watched the unknown inmate return to her seat, then gritted his teeth and faced the stage again.

“Next up is the one Status Window registered. We absolutely have to get this one…!”

“Yeah, yeah… leave it to me. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

“I’ll bid my heart out and make a killing… I mean, ahem! I’ll make sure you get that permit, Boy-kun!”

Just as the three of them were reigniting their fighting spirit…

«Alright, our next item is another seven-day Outing Permit… however.»

Rapidfire took in the feverish energy of the room, all focused on the last remaining permit. He swept a hand out toward the audience.

«Before we begin the bidding, could everyone interested in this item please raise your hand?»

Dozens of inmates on the sixth floor shot their hands into the air.

«This item seems to be quite popular…»

After a moment of thought, Rapidfire made a sudden proposal.

«Ladies and gentlemen, how about we settle this the old-fashioned way—with our fists?»

“...?!”

«The price is fixed at seven hundred seventy-five thousand, same as the last one! All bidders fight at once, and the last one standing gets to buy the prize at a fixed price. A winner-takes-all, last-man-standing rule! What say you?»

The inmates were momentarily stunned by the unexpected offer.

Then—a tumultuous wave of cheers erupted as they began to nod in agreement.

An auction required luck and timing, and the price could have climbed even higher. But a fight would be decided by skill.

And anyone willing to burn hundreds of thousands of Credits for an Outing Permit was bound to be a skilled fighter.

A fistfight? Even better!

Most of the inmates, confident in their fighting prowess, roared their approval.

“I like this way better!” Jae-hee pumped his fists, delighted.

He was too easily swayed; he kept getting caught up in Rapidfire’s pace and played for a shill. He’d much rather just beat everyone to a pulp and take the prize fair and square.

«I’m glad to see you all approve of my suggestion.»

Beaming, Rapidfire bent low, drawing his voice up from his diaphragm.

«Then, without further ado, right now! All bidders who want this Outing Permit, please make your way to the ring!»

“…!”

«Starting right now! The Hell Fight to determine the final winner! Ready… Go!»

FWOOSH!

As flames erupted around the square ring, a chorus of shouts filled the air.

“Woooah!”

“That permit is mine!”

“A fight? Count me in!”

Inmates leaped from their seats and scrambled toward the stage.

Jae-hee and Razor, fired up, vaulted out of their seats.

“Heck yeah! Let’s go!”

“Uh huh, damn right. Let’s show these upper-deck shits the power of Deck 1!”

Status Window, looking around in confusion, hurried after them. “Wait a minute, so this is a Royal Rumble desu…?!”

“The hell is a Royal Rumble?”

“It’s an American pro-wrestling match where dozens of wrestlers fight in one ring desu! They keep jumping in, fighting, and getting thrown out until only one is left…”

Status Window shouted urgently, “It’s just like an auction desu! Entering late gives you a huge advantage! So we should wait a bit—”

But Jae-hee and Razor, already giddy at the thought of a good brawl, were scrambling into the ring as if terrified of being late to the party.

“Razor bro! Let’s team up and crush the rest of them!”

“Sounds good. The current Deck Leader and the former Deck Leader, united. Not a bad team.”

“Huh? Which one of us is the former one?”

“What? I’m the current one, aren’t I?”

“Sorry?”

“Hm?”

Their verbal agreement for Jae-hee to pass the Deck Leader position—made while they were trying to sweet-talk Jail Mojik—had yet to be officially finalized.

So who was the current Deck Leader, and who was the former?

Tension flickered silently between them, like a spark ready to ignite.

Meanwhile, an all-out brawl was already raging in the ring.

Watching the other inmates beat the hell out of each other, Jae-hee did a few leg stretches, getting ready to move.

“Move on my signal, Razor bro!”

Rolling his now-healed right shoulder, Razor scowled. “The hell? You move on my signal!”

Jae-hee and Razor growled at each other.

“No, I’m the main attacker, so you should back me up!”

“I’m better in a crowded free-for-all like this. You’re the one who should be playing support!”

As they stood forehead-to-forehead, snarling and grinding their teeth, another inmate crept up behind them.

“Infighting right from the start… Heh, time to crack some skull—”

But the moment the inmate got behind them to launch his sneak attack…

THWACK!

Without so much as a glance, Jae-hee and Razor sent the man flying with a simultaneous kick and backhand.

“Gahck!”

With a pathetic yelp, the inmate was thrown clean over the ropes and tumbled out of the ring.

Only then did Jae-hee and Razor turn to look.

“Outta the way!” they bellowed together.

Watching this unfold, Status Window broke into a cold sweat and adjusted his glasses.

“Y’know… I think this is the start of a pretty dangerous duo.”

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.