Chapter 829: Seeing the Big in the Small (2/2, Request Subscription)

Yingjie widened her eyes as if she'd seen a ghost, speaking in a tone of utter disbelief.

"What toad?"

"Cough! Um, Yingjie, it's me—Jing Yan! Not a toad…"

"I know it's you. I'm asking if your room doesn't have a mirror? Should I send you one?"

"Thank you, Yingjie, for your concern! Please, absolutely send me a mirror!"

"…."

Crack!

Yingjie raised her hand and struck Jing Yan's right hand—the one holding the flowers—with a hard slap.

As Jing Yan let go, she snatched the 【1982 rose】.

She narrowed her eyes, smiling sweetly, yet radiating icy coldness.

"Good toad, you know how to bring flowers—the Swan accepts them. You may return to your game now."

"But Yingjie, I haven't eaten yet… Also, in the game, Postnatal-stage cultivators earn 1 Prison Point per day. I checked the menu yesterday—I'd like to order a glass of 1982 red wine today. Here's the glass!"

As he spoke, Jing Yan elegantly swirled the wine glass, making Yingjie's temple veins twitch slightly.

This guy's treatment has skyrocketed since arriving in Hai Yu City—he's gotten completely out of hand.

With a sharp snap, she snatched the glass, kicked out her leg, and sent Jing Yan flying back into prison.

"Abusing Prison Points—punishment: no meals tomorrow!"

With a bang, she slammed the door shut; immediately, Jing Yan's pounding fists echoed against it.

"Yingjie, what about the mirror? Don't forget to send it to my room!"

"Shut up!"

Yingjie's face darkened; she stomped on the wildflowers on the ground several times before storming off in fury.

After Yingjie left, Jing Yan rubbed his growling stomach and sullenly climbed onto his bed.

He had a mirror now, but he was still far from meeting the conditions to escape prison—no idea if those guys' plan was reliable.

Opposing the Alliance would be seen by anyone as suicide.

But Jing Yan had no choice—being imprisoned like this, who could endure it?

When transferred from Jianghai City to Hai Yu City, Jing Yan met someone.

The man called himself Shadow, claiming he could get them all out, complete the prison break—if they helped him gather enough supplies.

After being secretly recruited as a Postnatal-stage cultivator, Jing Yan held a decent position within the escape organization.

Maybe, through Shadow, he could regain his freedom after all!

Following the principle that online friends are online friends and real life is real life, Jing Yan didn't want to trouble Fang Yue and the others.

But if the escape succeeded, he'd need a safe place to hide from pursuit, and he had no idea what the outside world was like—he desperately needed a friend to lend a hand.

After thinking it over, Fang Yue was the best choice: closer ties, some understanding of real-world conditions, trustworthy.

"I hope Shadow really can pull me out—I don't want to die old in this prison."

Jing Yan sighed, and soon after, someone knocked on the door.

This time, two guards entered, carrying a mirror as tall as a person.

After placing it down, they stole a glance at Jing Yan, then immediately lowered their heads, refusing to look further, terrified of being infected.

Jing Yan smiled helplessly and stared at his reflection.

In reality, his once-pretty face now bore two gill-like growths.

Around the gills, a dense layer of fish scales covered his skin.

No matter how you looked at it, he bore no resemblance to a human—he was a monster through and through.

Precisely because he now looked like this, he needed Fang Yue's help.

If it were Fang Yue, even in reality, he'd surely understand.

If anyone else saw him, they'd probably think they'd encountered a monster and try to chop him to pieces.

In this special prison under the Alliance's control in Hai Yu City, cases like Jing Yan's were common.

Some endured, didn't die from the curse, and were left with these grotesque forms.

Others didn't survive—they died right here in prison.

With so many dead, rumors spread among the guards, growing wilder and wilder.

But Jing Yan, who knew the truth of the game, understood exactly what was happening.

To survive in the Alliance's prison, you must fight in the game.

Not everyone has his luck—meeting a benefactor like Fang Yue.

Most can only struggle on their own, fighting for survival; catching a curse, being gutted by the strange—these are everyday occurrences.

Thus, prisoners here die in bizarre, horrific ways—with no clear cause—spreading panic among the ignorant.

"I won't die. I absolutely won't die. I must survive! Escape this prison! Escape the Alliance! Return to my old peaceful life!"

Jing Yan, still hungry, lay back on his bed.

Only in the game did he feel like a normal person again—able to breathe freely, move freely.

But the hunger was unbearable.

Still, Yingjie came once daily to remind him when mealtime arrived. Today he'd provoked her, but she wouldn't deprive him of tomorrow's meal—so he just had to endure until tomorrow.

This was the drawback of a large prison: no special perks like in small ones.

Under uniform management, as a Postnatal cultivator, he got one meal a day—but at least it came with standardized rations, so he was still treated like a human.

But in return, there were no guards always on standby, no unlimited servings—he only gained Prison Points, which could be exchanged for worthless junk.

Jing Yan sighed deeply, recalling a tidbit Shadow had once revealed: the outside world was in chaos, full of danger. The Alliance crushed all resistance with brutal force, seeking to silence every voice but its own—only Shadow offered true safety.

That kind of nonsense—Jing Yan didn't believe a single word of it. But the matter of it being unsafe outside, he vaguely had some sense of it; that guy wasn't lying.

After all, if something happened to him in the game, it would happen to him in reality too. There were surely such cases outside too, and anything could blow up into a huge mess.

Outside is unsafe, inside is not free—truly don't know how the road ahead should be walked.

Jing Yan let out a deep sigh and fully entered the game.

……

In the game.

"Today went by so fast."

Qingchen, squatting on the ground, looked up at Jing Yan, whose eyes had just regained their spark.

"Don't even mention it. I don't even qualify as a rice-eater—my stomach is still growling empty right now."

"That miserable? Want me to sponsor you a little money?"

After Bai Xiaoya informed the public about the matter of the game affecting reality, many things and conflicts erupted.

Although the United Council forcefully suppressed them, maintaining stability and sealing off the news.

But the value of the currency issued by the United Council still rapidly depreciated, and some people even wanted to leave the country, only to be locked within the nation's borders and unable to get out.

(End of this chapter)