Chapter 405: Chapter 405: Immediate Entry

Theseus York, in particular, had gotten to his feet only to have Nina Jacobs beat him black and blue.

"What... what are you really after...?"

Theseus York asked, lifting a seemingly weak arm.

"..."

Nina Jacobs found herself wondering, ’Do these people have amnesia?’

’Weren’t they the ones who struck first?’

Still, she pointed to the room Theseus York had just come out of and asked:

"What’s the deal with that room?"

"That’s our boss’s room. Only the boss can live there," a man lying on the floor, unable to get up, answered.

’So it’s a private room?’

Nina Jacobs’s expression grew serious. "Good. It’s mine now."

"..."

Theseus York watched helplessly as the two walked in, and then the door—his door—slammed shut.

"Brutal..." Theseus York muttered.

Only after Nina Jacobs came inside did she realize that this wasn’t a small private room; it was quite spacious inside.

It was fully furnished with a desk, sofa, and bed, and was kept quite clean.

On the desk was a discarded plastic water bottle, cut into the shape of a flower, holding a few brightly colored plastic flowers.

She found it hard to reconcile this decor with the boss, Theseus York, outside.

She also discovered a ventilation duct opening in an upper corner.

After confirming that the duct went through the wall, she first tried putting a Little Zombie Rat inside.

The rat could now see clearly, but the duct was narrow, and it branched out further ahead.

She recalled the work logs Jared Crawford had left behind. A few of them roughly described the Correction Pod’s layout.

So she took out paper and a pen and, relying on her memory of the path she had just walked, began to draw a rough layout map.

She didn’t open the door to the room until evening.

Theseus York watched helplessly as his bedroll and other personal belongings were thrown out by Wayne Warner.

"Brutal..." Theseus York said.

"You two are the ones who snatched our boss’s room?" a few furious, bare-chested men asked, pointing at the two of them.

"Yeah. And we beat him up," Nina Jacobs replied.

"You’ve gone too far! Believe it or not, we’ll make you join the combat match tomorrow! Once your name is submitted, it’ll be too late even if you don’t want to," one of the men said smugly.

"How did you know I wanted to join the combat match?"

The reason Nina Jacobs had come out was to find someone to ask how to sign up for the combat matches.

According to the rules posted at the entrance, there were eight matches a day inside the Correction Pod.

To get out of the Correction Pod, you had to win ten combat matches in a row, or, alternatively, win five matches in a row where your opponent survived.

Even if you lost just one match, you had to start all over again.

That’s why Leoric Donovan, the one who had taken over Silas Crowley’s place, had said it was an impossible task.

Because to this day, no one had managed to win ten matches in a row.

If she and Wayne Warner could each participate in one match a day, the fastest they could leave would be in five days.

If their opponents died, it would take ten days.

She had to enter the matches as soon as possible.

However, the people around them were dumbfounded when they heard this:

"What did you say? You want to join the combat matches?!" the man who had been shouting just before asked, his eyes wide.

"Are there any requirements?"

Nina Jacobs could sense that these people didn’t like the combat matches.

The people around them all shook their heads.

A few covered their mouths, unable to hide their joyful expressions.

"If you’re willing to fight, we can let you have the room..." Theseus York said, hugging his sleeping mat.

"Yeah, yeah, the boss is right! Stay wherever you want! We’ll go sign you up for tomorrow’s matches right now!" the other bare-chested man chimed in hastily.

"Make it two matches, one for me and one for him."

Nina Jacobs pointed to Wayne Warner behind her and asked, "Can you do that?"

"Two matches?!"

The group, who had been fierce and menacing, now showed expressions of incredulous joy.

Only then did Nina Jacobs learn that all five teams had a quota; they needed to select people to participate in the combat matches every day.

If no one from a team participated for three consecutive days, the entire team would face the punishment of having their water and food cut off.

And tomorrow was the third day, meaning they had to choose at least one person to compete.

"You don’t want to fight in the combat matches."

What was previously a guess was now a certainty for her.

This Team 1 was indeed different from what she had imagined.

"Who’d want to participate in that crap? It has a fifty percent death rate. Isn’t it better to just lie low here where we’re not short on food or water?" The bare-chested man’s name was Zachary Sterling. He glanced warily down the end of the corridor, and only after confirming it was clear did he speak in a low voice.

"There’s no water shortage in the Correction Pod?"

In fact, Nina Jacobs had noticed ever since she came in. Though everyone here looked fierce and murderous, they were completely different from the people outside who were starved and dehydrated.

They were robust and full of energy. Not only did they have plenty of water to use, but most didn’t lack food either.

"Of course we don’t. But it comes at a price. Because we could die at any moment," Zachary Sterling said, his tone heavy.

"But since you said you’d participate, you can’t back out now."

As if worried Nina Jacobs would change her mind, Zachary Sterling immediately had someone write down Nina Jacobs’s and Wayne Warner’s names on the form.

Team 1’s method for determining participants was by drawing lots.

They called it the "death lottery."

With Nina Jacobs and Wayne Warner participating, all of them could live for a few more days.

"Guess you’ll have to rough it for a bit, Boss," Zachary Sterling said, patting Theseus York’s sturdy arm.

"Yeah, Boss. When the room’s free again, you can move back in."

The others chimed in in agreement.

Theseus York had been standing to the side, his gaze toward Nina Jacobs holding a trace of pity, but he still said:

"Whatever you all say."

Only after the crowd had dispersed, satisfied, did Theseus York stop Nina Jacobs.

"Those matches... they’re really brutal. Why don’t you just... forfeit," Theseus York said hesitantly.

"There’s no getting out if I forfeit."

Nina Jacobs noticed that the people who had dispersed had returned behind the iron bars, once again taking on their previous fierce and menacing appearances.

Some were even deliberately making noise and shouting curses.

"There’s no way out to begin with."

Theseus York sat right down on the floor. He propped his chin on his hand, his gaze somewhat listless, and somewhat lost.

"How did you end up in here?" Nina Jacobs asked curiously.

"Me? I killed someone," Theseus York said, staring straight ahead.

He couldn’t stand seeing the guy bully a woman, so he killed him. He just never expected the guy to have powerful connections in the base.

And then he was thrown in here.

After hearing Theseus York’s story, Nina Jacobs fell silent.

She had originally assumed the Correction Pod held only the most vicious criminals, but now it seemed there were decent people here too.

For someone like Theseus York to be chosen as the boss by these people, it was probably just an act for outsiders.

They were deliberately creating a combative atmosphere. Perhaps that was the only way to survive in here.

"What about you two? How did you get in?" Theseus York asked in turn.

"Same as you. Killed a man. He was bullying a child."

After Nina Jacobs finished, she turned her head to see Theseus York looking at her with tears welling in his eyes.

"Do you regret it?" he asked.

"No regrets. Besides, there’s a way out of here, isn’t there?" Nina Jacobs replied.

"But that’s incredibly hard..."

"Let’s try first. God always leaves a window open, doesn’t he?" Nina Jacobs admitted she wasn’t completely confident either.

"Leaves a window open?"

Theseus York froze, slightly stunned.

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