Ninth class citizen

Chapter 261 This is out of respect for you

Nan Rong confirmed her thoughts. The earthy-yellow energy she had absorbed from the three second-tier beasts could genuinely enhance her strength, giving her confidence.

It seems that although that big devil's character isn't great, the things he brings out are still pretty good.

She rubbed her empty stomach, walked to the alloy cage, and shouted, "Is anyone there? Could you please bring me some breakfast?"

The people in the surrounding alloy cages shook their heads helplessly.

"Young lady, save your energy," said a middle-aged man in the cage opposite. "They only give you one energy bar a day here, and only at night. Even if you're hungry, just bear with it for now."

“But if you win three games in a row like us, you won’t have to be locked up here anymore, and your living conditions will improve a lot,” another scarred man said with some pride.

As they were talking, several guards armed with energy guns came over, opened the cage opposite, and released three wounded men.

“Learn from them,” one of the guards said, turning around. “If you can survive the last match tomorrow morning, you’ll be promoted to full-fledged gladiators!”

"Whether we level up or not, we still have to provide meals, right?" Nan Rong clutched her stomach, looking distressed. "How about you give me the energy bars for tonight? That battle just now really drained me."

If any other slaves made such an unreasonable request, the guards would have certainly lashed them with their steel whips.

But the girl in front of them is now a legendary newcomer in Blackthorn, and has also won the favor of the eldest son of the Dantes family. Just now, she killed the three ringed fanged beasts by some unknown method. Even Steward Wu personally investigated but could not figure out the cause of death. They did not want to offend her too much.

"Why don't you wait a moment?" a guard said in a low voice.

"What do you mean, 'a while'?" Wang Feng's cold voice came through: "So that's why you're so slow, you're here trying to please some young lady. What, do you want to go down and keep Brother Qiang company, or do you want to openly break the rules of Black Thorns and get sent to the death wheel of the nightclub?"

Although Wang Feng's character was questionable, he was the steward of the lower slave district, recently appointed by the young master. He had the authority to dispose of the guards and slaves there, and if he was determined to send someone to the death wheel, even Steward Wu would not be able to stop him.

The guard who had been speaking was immediately terrified. He no longer cared about currying favor with Nan Rong and rushed to Wang Feng, repeatedly apologizing and trying to please him. He even took out a snakeskin bag from his pocket and presented it with both hands. Only then did he manage to get Wang Feng to drop the matter.

Before leaving, Wang Feng turned back and glanced at Nan Rong, his eyes filled with malice.

“You’d better be careful,” said the Aita officer in the next cell. “This guy probably hates you.”

"Let him hate it if he wants, there's nothing I can do about it." Nan Rong said, glancing at him. "The injury on your left leg is quite serious."

"It's a miracle we survived," the officer sighed, pointing to another Aita prisoner of war in the same cell. "Of the five who survived last night, only the three of us are left."

The prisoner of war also had many wounds, including a long claw mark on his chest. He was leaning weakly against the corner of the steel bed and forced an ugly smile at Nan Rong.

Given the current injuries of these two players, it's unlikely they'll survive until tomorrow morning's third rookie match.

Despite the camaraderie forged in battle, Nan Rong couldn't simply ignore their injuries.

"Didn't I take you to get treatment yesterday? Why are you leaving it alone today?" she asked.

"Nobody here will reason with us." The officer stopped talking about his health: "I didn't see you at the start, looks like things went pretty smoothly?"

Nan Rong glanced at his clean, bloodless new prison uniform and said casually, "Just got away with it by luck."

The officer didn't doubt her words. He turned to the other prisoner of war, exchanged a glance, and continued speaking to Nan Rong:
“We both know very well that we won’t get through tomorrow morning. But you’re different. So we want to ask you for a favor.” “Is it this child?” Nan Rong followed his gaze and understood.

“He was our commander’s only son.” The officer looked sad. “He was captured alive by the puppet emperor’s men while trying to cover for us, and burned alive as a warning. We managed to rescue the child, but we were deceived by a traitor and sold here.”

“He suffered a lot along the way, especially last night.” He paused, his eyes instantly reddening.

"What happened last night?" Nan Rong looked at the boy who was still curled up and frowned.

"It was that Manager Wang who took him away, and he wasn't brought back until the early hours of the morning," the prisoner of war behind him said indignantly.

It took Nan Rong a while to understand what he meant.

“He’s still a child!” she said.

“But some people are devils,” the officer said bitterly. “Unfortunately, we are too incompetent. We couldn’t protect him before, and now we can only shamelessly beg you to look after him to the best of your ability.”

Nan Rong gave a wry smile. She felt that she was probably the type to be entrusted with the care of children, always facing similar requests.

She had an unshirkable responsibility to fulfill the last wishes of her comrades, but now it was a different matter.

“He’s your superior’s child, so you’ll have to take care of him yourselves.” She shook her head.

The officer and the other prisoner of war both looked disappointed.

But instead of retaliating when their request was refused, they nodded understandingly after a brief silence.

"It's our fault for being so desperate and grasping at straws, without considering your perspective," the officer said. "This place is extremely dangerous; you're lucky if you can even protect yourself. We shouldn't have forced you to do anything."

“That’s right.” Another prisoner of war said breathlessly, “Ji Jun is our responsibility, not yours. If we are gone, that’s his fate.”

“There’s still a long time until tomorrow morning.” Nan Rong sat back on the steel bed: “No one knows their fate until the very last moment.”

She ignored everyone else, calmed herself, and continued studying the second paragraph of the first section of the introduction to "The Origin of the Universe" in her mind.

This time, her enthusiasm for learning was significantly higher, stronger, and more focused than last night, so she fell asleep much faster.

No one disturbed her sleep until Steward Wu himself came down to escort her away.

This time, she received even more serious treatment.

His hands were bound behind his back with even thicker energy-blocking rings, and his feet were also shackled with heavy chains of unknown material. A huge alloy ball, weighing at least fifty kilograms, was also dragging behind him.

If it were her yesterday, she probably wouldn't have been able to take a single step.

"I thought we were all old friends," she said, displeased. "What you're doing is hurtful."

Manager Wu gave a forced smile: "This shows our respect for your abilities—most people wouldn't even get this kind of treatment!"

"I will always remember your kindness and care," Nan Rong said sincerely. "If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely thank you properly."