I'm fighting Kal'tsit? Really?

“I don’t see anything wrong with it. If you really can’t accept it, then why not consider it a belated birthday gift from a friend?” Gerald waved his outstretched hand. “You said you won the investment with your own abilities and would consider these as birthday gifts. That way, I won’t have to deliberately choose a gift for your next birthday.”

For some reason, a hint of surprise seemed to flash in Saria's eyes when she heard those words.

But it seems that it was this sentence that made her make up her mind.

She reached out her hand, just like when they first met, and exchanged the warmth of her palms.

“I understand—it’s a pleasure to work with you, Gerald,” she said softly.

"It's been a pleasure working with you, Saria." Gerald shook his clenched hand a few times, then let out a long sigh. "Alright, speaking of which, when is your birthday again?"

April 23rd.

Saria responded calmly, but for some reason, a faint smile suddenly appeared on her lips.

"Okay, then I won't give you a birthday present next time... wait a minute."

The knightly tournament selections in Kazimierz are roughly from June to October. If he factored in the dates he'd heard before, the time spent in his dreams, and the time he'd spent studying—

"What's the date today?"

Chapter Twenty-Four: Respect (4K)

Both of them tacitly chose to avoid discussing the topic.

After a brief period of awkwardness, Saria coughed and pretended nothing had happened: "Anyway, now that things have come to this, I'll be frank with you."

“But before that,” she said, her gaze lingering for a moment on the drawings on the table before nodding to Gerald, “let’s talk somewhere else.”

------

Lunch break is a rare moment of rest for Mansfield, during which prisoners tacitly put aside their daily grudges, while the guards tacitly condone the prisoners' underhanded actions.

At times like these, most prison guards would choose to digest their food in the corridor on the second floor, where there was sunshine and fresh air, a place that could help them relax.

However, Seria didn't take Gerald there.

Habitually using calcification to slow down the movement of the cameras and hide in blind spots, and relying on Gerald's perception of the environment, they made a surprisingly smooth journey and soon arrived at the prison guards' living quarters.

Gerald surveyed his surroundings and found the area to be more rudimentary than he had imagined. They were already familiar with the prisoners' quarters, but this was his first time entering the guards' quarters.

This room reminded him of a single dorm room in a university basement—only slightly larger than their cell, but surprisingly clean and tidy. The furnishings were simple, the basic amenities were complete, but beyond that, there was really nothing remarkable about it.

Saria's room was remarkably simple. Upon entering, one was greeted by bare walls and a plain table and chairs. A few rows of books on the bookshelf were among the few noticeable items in the room. Aside from that, the room was almost entirely devoid of any personal decoration or embellishment, as if deliberately erased of any trace of life.

Gerald walked into the room, glanced around casually, and a slight smile appeared on his lips: "Your room does suit your style. It's quite nice. My stereotype of you has only deepened."

“It’s alright, you’ll get to know me eventually.” Saria ignored his teasing, walked to the bookshelf, pulled out a bag of files, and handed it to Gerald, her tone calm: “We don’t have enough time, so ask me whatever you want, and I’ll try my best to answer.”

"What's in the file?" Gerald took the bag handed to him, opened it, took out the documents inside, and glanced at them: "Beach umbrellas, Tower Mountain Technology... a medical company in Columbia? These should be your competitors, and they're connected to this prison?"

"After things were over yesterday, I investigated the traces of the person behind it all, and just as you expected, the methods of concealment were clumsy as predicted."

Saria responded calmly, "The target's name is [Jesston Williams], the ace of the Beach Umbrella Company, a mercenary that can be hired as long as you have money... But from this perspective, it is very strange that the Hyde Brotherhood chose to hire someone from another company."

Gerald narrowed his eyes slightly: "You knew about the Hyde Brothers all along."

“Yes, I also knew that Anthony would be assassinated by them.” When she said this, perhaps because she was a little guilty, her voice unconsciously softened: “But correspondingly, the cooperation between a construction company and a medical research company is quite puzzling, let alone hiring the other party’s employees to assassinate him.”

"The only explanation is that the beach umbrella company had some private connections with Mansfield Prison. The Hyde brothers somehow learned of this and hoped to use Jeston to kill Anthony through their cooperation."

The situation became clear instantly.

He slowly turned to the page with the document in his hand, which contained the section on "Beach Umbrellas." Most of the information there had been annotated by Saria herself. With the help of the current situation and her own experience, understanding the whole situation was not difficult.

"That's why you were so nervous when you saw that I could use Originium Arts." Gerald rarely showed a cold expression after seeing the four bright red characters on the last page and the contents inside: "Directly implanting a casting unit into the human body... [Loken Tank]... Ha."

This is not something that is difficult to deduce.

In Colombia, prisons are also a business, but those in charge of this business always need some other connections to obtain their entry ticket in advance before they are qualified to invest money in these areas closely related to the law.

Warden Randolph acquired the abandoned mobile slab through a partnership with Beach Umbrella and transformed it into Mansfield today. So, it's not surprising that after achieving success, he would also take care of his old buddies and contribute to their unfinished "business."

After all, if we're talking about why, a prison that's constantly running through the wilderness is always much harder to discover than a hidden laboratory that's underground and constantly being unknowingly stepped on by passersby.

—Between sections A and B, there is tacit approval for prisoners to fight each other, even to the point of death.

—The reason for being willing to accept troublesome prisoners from other prisons is that there have been very few cases of disturbances by prisoners in Block C so far.

—The warden himself is a shrewd man, yet he chose to hire and trust a fool like Patton, treating his business dealings with Anthony as a facade.

Yeah yeah.

Mansfield is a heart that beats eternally, constantly racing across the wilderness, never stopping.

Whose blood is burning in your heart, Randolph?

……

"follow me."

The conversation didn't last long, and Seria soon led Gerald to another recreational area in the guards' quarters—this was basically where they played cards and billiards later in the day, one of the few sources of entertainment in the prison besides watching prisoners fight.

"I see. No wonder you brought me here."

After entering the area, Gerald squinted at a wall beside him: "It's an interesting design. The buildings here connect to another place, right between Zone C and the accommodation area. The blueprints just now called this area the 'storage area'."

His gaze gradually fell on a certain spot on the wall, and the sight made him chuckle: "Ha, really no one noticed this?"

“They won’t notice.” Saria lightly tapped the wall with her finger, and the enamel that had been disguised and blended into the wall color vanished instantly, revealing a large hole that was barely big enough for a person to pass through. “It’ll be a bit dark in there, be careful.”

"I appreciate your concern, but are you sure you want to tell me this?"

Gerald pointed to himself with his finger and then crawled into the hole first, but he was soon drawn in by the smell in the air and couldn't help but frown: "This situation is bad."

“Explain in more detail.” Saria followed her in, and as the calcification re-covered the entrance, the passage became pitch black. She quickly pulled out a flashlight from her pocket and shone it on the path ahead: “What do you mean by 'bad'?”

"It's similar to the scene I dreamed about a few days ago. The difference is that this group of people took hygiene and infection control into account and disposed of the bodies properly, which wasn't the case in my dream."

Gerald closed his eyes, feeling the wind and the scents wafting from afar: "The people who built this prison made it very complicated. The steep slopes and repetitive structures make it easy to get lost. The air is thick with the smell of blood, and it permeates the entire area."

The passage before them resembled a slightly open mouth, revealing the bright red maw of a monster.

There was something he didn't tell Seria. Based on Gerald's understanding of her, saying it would only add another burden to her.

In short, he died a very unsettling death.

Normally, even on the battlefield, the smell of blood will only be extremely strong in some places, and it is rare to see a passage like this one, where almost every part is covered in blood.

There aren't many possibilities that can be thought of, but there are at least a few ways to explain it.

One such example is being hunted, devoured, or dragged by wild animals.

"..." Saria clenched her teeth tightly, trying not to let her anger show on her face. Her nails almost dug into her palms as she asked in a low voice, "Do you know where this passage leads?"

Gerald nodded. "Okay, the map of this area is now in my mind, but you should know that there are walls all around, and the place you are looking for has definitely been isolated."

“If there are cameras or sensors in the passageway, the risk of alerting them is too high.” He paused. “If we want to check carefully, it would take at least an hour to go back and forth.”

"Unless I take you and we go all out, we can reach the finish line in just one minute, but it will be quite a commotion. Also, how do you plan to deal with the wall at the finish line?"

"And the most important question—"

He bluntly listed a long string of potential risks, and finally, the question that Saria cared about: "Are you prepared for your identity to be exposed?"

……

After a moment of silence, Saria looked at Gerald beside her.

She has acted willfully many times.

Most of the time, she doesn't communicate much with others, and once she gets the information she wants, she acts according to her own logic.

But this time is different.

Having a friend who could help you and work with you... is something I really miss.

It is also very trustworthy.

“If I could, I wouldn’t want my identity to be revealed here,” she said. “But, could I hear your opinion?”

"My opinion?"

Gerald's face was mostly obscured by the darkness, except for his golden eyes. A fleeting look of surprise crossed his eyes, but it quickly turned into satisfaction.

This was a positive change, and it was the first time he had seen this diamond-like woman truly make an effort to adapt.

He would certainly not betray the other party's trust.

"From a rational perspective, the best time is when everyone's attention is drawn to an unexpected event."

“Not enough killing, not enough massacre, but the malice that sustains this kind of bloodlust will not be affected by these things.”

"So all that's left is to have a group of prisoners embark on a spectacular prison break when we get close to Colombia."

As he spoke, Gerald listened quietly to the wailing and lamentation coming from the other side of the wall at the end of the line, then swallowed it all silently so that Saria wouldn't find out.

They might be those who deserved their fate, or they might be good people wrongfully imprisoned, but he wouldn't let it cause him internal conflict or overthink it.

All he knew was that he should protect his friend's heart.

At least for that already scarred back, there shouldn't be any more burdens placed on that mountain.

"And coincidentally, just when we were hoping someone would break out of prison to distract us, the owner of the blueprints in your hand, that little girl with the pointed head, the assassin who failed to carry out the assassination, and my two friends, had all made preparations to leave this godforsaken place."

"When the prison break occurs, this mobile platform will immediately restart and head towards the wilderness. It will only return after the obstacles within the prison have been cleared."

"By then, we may have no other options left; leaving the wilderness may be our only choice."

Gerald took a step forward slowly, turned around, and looked into Saria's eyes.

“We might encounter natural disasters, animal migrations, or enemies in the wilderness. If we can’t shut down the prison immediately, it could take several days or even more than ten days to get back to Colombia.”

"Food might be scarce on the road, water sources might be polluted, and wolves might be lurking, trying to bite our necks while we're asleep—even so, can you accept that?"

Saria responded to her with unwavering resolve.

She nodded without hesitation, the words escaping her lips with an undeniable firmness:

"But even these seemingly insignificant hardships can help us regain the order that is rightfully ours—"

"I will accept any number of such deals."

……

The smell of blood in the air seemed to have thickened.

He should have known all along. When he casually slit the necks of the three assassins and Saria did nothing to stop him, he should have known that this Vayvan in front of him was never a kind person.

This is what a true warrior is all about, and this is how a true warrior should be.

Gerald smiled, and the somewhat tense atmosphere in the air instantly vanished.

"Good answer." He leaned casually against the wall. "Don't worry, I was just trying to scare you. It won't be that complicated."

"Don't forget, Pegasus is the race most skilled at long-distance travel. You still have me, an old soldier."

"I will lead you across the wilderness."

Chapter Twenty-Five In short, let's have some tea first.

Even someone as free as Gerald still had to stay in prison; it's impossible for a living person to disappear for a whole hour without being discovered.

Therefore, after drawing the structure of the 'storage area' with Saria, he quickly returned to his cell, preparing to put on the necklace during his afternoon nap and enter this dream.

Although this time period is relatively short, the advantage is that no one will be foolish enough to deliberately disturb him.

The reason why the prison guards and Barton didn't like to deal with him was because of Randolph's public attitude towards him.

Not only were prison guards forbidden from provoking him or using violence against him, but they also condoned some of his outrageous behavior in prison, such as not having to work and being able to arrange his time freely, treating him like a king.

Is it because Rendel took pity on him and found him particularly to his liking, so he impulsively granted him special privileges?

of course not.

He may have privileges, but he knows that if he disappears, the consequences will be far more serious than any prisoner escaping from this prison.

Gerald knew where his privileges came from. On the one hand, someone had helped him through his connections in Colombia when he was imprisoned, and had paid a large sum of money to the warden of the prison as a reward. On the other hand, Rendel knew very well one thing.

This Pegasus, imprisoned in Mansfield, could actually destroy his prison all by himself without being shackled.

……

This time, the dream entry went very smoothly.