Chapter 576: Who's Locked Up in Here?

Foolish Game of the Gods

All four went dark-faced the moment they heard that.

"Come on, one at a time. Buy your lives back. Once the ransom's enough, I'll cut you down."

Cheng Shi grinned like a swindler. He propped up the teammate who'd slammed face-first into the ground so the man couldn't hide his embarrassment behind a bowed head, then paced shamelessly back and forth in front of the four, waiting for them to figure out how to pay up.

The male player standing at the far end watched all of this with a mixture of apprehension and genuine awe. His gaze followed Cheng Shi's back, and he asked cautiously:

"Boss... you fought your way in here alone?"

Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow without turning around: "Not exactly. I've got a bodyguard."

A bodyguard?

Everyone peered into the corridor's depths, where they could vaguely make out a figure lurking in the shadows—a Hunter. Those thorned-vine arrows from earlier had clearly come from that direction.

This bodyguard's strength was terrifying too—at minimum a peak player!

If even the bodyguard was peak-level, then the boss standing before them had to be on the leaderboard, right?

But the top spots on the Decay rankings didn't seem to include any... famous mummy!

This boss had to be a mummy. That arm of his, which looked rock-hard at a glance, practically screamed Decay's blessing upon a Warrior.

"Boss... you're..."

"Don't try to cozy up. Got money, hand it over. No money... hand over your life." Cheng Shi's smile was sinister enough to make everyone flinch.

"I'll pay!" All four had figured it out by now—this boss was shaking them down, sure, but he clearly had no intention of killing them.

Still, though—you're a peak player. Isn't robbing a bunch of small fry like us a bit... desperate?

Then again, it did align with their understanding of peak players. After all, "peak" meant "peaked"—and anyone who'd peaked that high had to be some flavor of unhinged.

These people acted purely on whim and preference. They couldn't care less about opinions or scores.

Just as Cheng Shi was gleefully preparing to collect, the tall, thin teammate he'd propped up suddenly stiffened. He clenched his jaw, and after a moment of hesitation, ventured:

"Boss, I've got three blank A-rank Law Texts in my storage. Each one lets you skip incantation and instant-cast Edict Sung Afar for five seconds, three uses total. Is that enough to buy my life?"

'Oh ho—good stuff!'

Cheng Shi nodded, fairly satisfied.

Edict Sung Afar was one of the most versatile S-rank Order talents. By singing the Judgment Song, the user could proclaim temporary laws—every "this area forbids..." effect he'd previously encountered was a product of this ability.

An A-rank item replicating five seconds of an S-rank talent effect was top-tier even among A-ranks.

The thought of cosplaying as an Order follower himself drew a smile to Cheng Shi's face when he decided to accept. As for the S-rank part—whatever. Nothing could possibly be more S-rank than the Death Fun Ring.

He was about to agree, but then the Order follower spoke again:

"However, Boss—I have one more request."

Cheng Shi's gaze turned cold: "I'd advise you to think carefully before speaking. Right now, you're in no position to negotiate."

The tall, thin man seemed to have made up his mind. He pressed forward regardless:

"I want to hire you. Help me fulfill a wish."

"?" Cheng Shi blinked.

'A job offer, huh? Not out of the question—depends on whether you can afford the fee.'

He slowly dropped the hostile expression, turned around to hide the greed that was a little awkward to display openly, and resumed pacing. "Let's hear it. What wish?"

The tall, thin man replied with dead seriousness: "I'm an Investigator. The entire purpose of my prayer was to come to the Howling Iron Prison to investigate a truth. I never dreamed I'd actually make it inside the most fortified stronghold in all of Katouting. The process was nothing like I imagined—but the outcome is exactly what I wanted!"

At that, one of the other teammates exclaimed: "So that's why you told us not to resist! You had an ulterior motive!"

The tall, thin man gave a bitter smile:

"I wouldn't call it an ulterior motive. In that situation, if we'd resisted, everyone would've been executed on the spot. You think it was Iron Law Knights who captured us?

No. The Grand Executioner himself was inside the Tribunal at the time. If we'd kept fighting, we might not even have had the chance to be locked up alive."

"..."

Cheng Shi's eyebrow twitched. He stopped and turned: "You know the Grand Executioner?"

"Yes. This era's Grand Executioner is called Artair—known as the Blade of Punishment. I... had the privilege of being slain by him once."

"..." Silence fell again. Cheng Shi was amused. 'Quite the introduction story you've got there.' But he quickly refocused: "Stop getting sidetracked. Get to the point."

"I know that an extremely important prisoner is being held in here. Before I came in, I did my research—in this timeline, he's still locked up inside.

I want to hire you to take me to him, and then pry some clues out of his mouth. Clues that are critically important to me.

I've been chasing the truth about this for two months. This may be the closest I've ever come to finding it.

Boss, I'm begging for your help. And the fee will absolutely satisfy you."

"Oh? You've got more good stuff?

Good stuff that you're saving for a hire rather than using to buy your life?

Interesting."

Cheng Shi's curiosity was piqued. He walked over to the Order follower and asked with a grin: "What truth is so important that you've got the guts to target the Howling Iron Prison?

Spell it out. I'll consider it."

"..."

The tall, thin man hadn't wanted to say, but the opportunity before him was too rare. He'd stumbled upon an expert who'd solo-infiltrated the Iron Prison, and—most crucially—this peak player was actually reasonable enough to talk to. With the answer he'd been seeking potentially within reach today, he agonized for a long moment, then chose honesty.

"I suspect that my Benefactor—Order—something has gone wrong with him!"

"!!!"

Cheng Shi's eyes narrowed, his gaze turning razor-sharp in an instant.

Truth. This Order follower had been speaking the truth the entire time.

'What a sharp Investigator—he's actually traced the problem all the way back to his own god.' But questions lingered: Order really did have problems, sure—but how would a non-peak player even know?

After a moment's thought, Cheng Shi figured the answer probably lay with the important prisoner the man had mentioned. He regarded the Investigator with renewed interest, letting a flicker of willingness show:

"That is interesting. Who's this prisoner you want to find?"

"You'll do it, Boss?"

"Don't rush. Tell me first, and then I'll decide."

The Order follower had no road left to retreat on. His expression tightened, he gritted his teeth, and finally gave up the name.

"Chernosly. A former First-Class Inquisitor of the Grand Tribunal—currently imprisoned in the deepest level of this very Howling Iron Prison!"

"!!!"

Cheng Shi's expression changed entirely.

Who?!