Chapter 14: Good News and Bad News

Although there were many valuable items in sight, Feng Xue currently lacked the Veihui points necessary to exchange for knowledge, so the upper limits were not within his consideration.

At this moment, he was more inclined toward something he could immediately utilize.

Thus, his gaze skipped over medicine, engineering, and agriculture, finally settling on "Law," which was somewhat curiously included in the "Comprehensive Sciences" category.

The proficiency in legal skills of his predecessor was clearly lacking; besides a few laws like National Defense Law and Criminal Law, which barely reached the level of 2 Veihui points for professional proficiency, most were at zero. However, Feng Xue wasn't concerned about exploring the differences between this world's laws and those of his previous life.

What mattered to him was understanding his current status.

As the thought arose, a book titled "Prison Law Studies" opened slowly. Once he confirmed the exchange, introductory knowledge of prison law began to flow into his consciousness.

While the knowledge was rudimentary, it was sufficient for Feng Xue, as it included information about several renowned prisons, including the one he was in, Hive Prison.

More importantly…

It contained details about the types of prison uniforms, shackles, and identity markers among different prisoners.

Unfortunately.

He found the information about the type of shackles he was wearing.

And there were only two possibilities for prisoners equipped with such shackles:

Death Sentence · Immediate Execution;

Death Sentence · Postponed to Autumn.

"[Expletive in Zhenghua Dialect]!"

Almost instinctively uttering a curse in the Central Plains dialect, Feng Xue felt numb all over, but at the same time, the various preferential treatments he received in prison suddenly made sense—

Who would offend someone who was about to be executed?

After all, what do standard prison punishments matter to someone destined to die?

"Is there any chance of commutation?" Feng Xue tried to find any mention of commutation in the "Prison Law Studies" knowledge, but unfortunately, the introduction to prison law his predecessor had did not cover how to reduce a sentence, and as for his previous world… well, there was no such thing as "execution after autumn."

Moreover, he had no idea what he had done to be sentenced to death—what if his crimes were unforgivable? Considering the possibility of being a hitman, even annihilating his family lineage seemed plausible.

Not to mention, he didn't even know what season it was. It would be ridiculously absurd if, while trying to make a good impression, two guards suddenly showed up saying, "Your time is up."

Compared to relying on such uncertainties, the pigeon seemed more reliable.

With the knowledge from "Prison Law Studies," Feng Xue understood that Hive Prison was akin to Impel Down in the world of One Piece—housing not only extremely evil criminals but also powerful architects. The prison didn't just reduce the population density to minimize the generation of G·I particles, it also had many G·I field generators installed to squeeze out even the minor G·I particles produced by the prisoners during their daily activities.

In other words, escaping from prison using architectural techniques was practically impossible. If it ever came to escaping, the only aid Feng Xue could rely on were the items provided by the pigeon that could directly affect his body.

"Work hard, work hard!"

Mentally chanting a slogan, Feng Xue turned his attention back to the pigeon interface, ready to dive into the next node. This time, there was no fork in the path; the only option was "Chance Encounter."

Engage.

As the thought formed, the node slowly expanded, and that flag-like line of text appeared again. When everything settled, Feng Xue found himself on a grassy field, once again in the body of a child. Five or six simply dressed kids stood before him, seemingly ready to play rock-paper-scissors.

"As usual, eh?" Feng Xue sighed, remembering a certain bald character from another world who was doomed to play the villain, but he thought that these kinds of games were universal. After all, even when he was a child… well, when he played with kids in his yard, he was busy with Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

"Being a villain probably makes things easier, but maybe playing the hero would be simpler?" Feng Xue mused as he looked at the options, only to frown.

Instead of choices like "Play Hero," "Play Monster," or "Play Civilian," he was presented with:

Rock.

Paper.

Scissors.

"Alright, at least it's fair…" Feng Xue smirked, choosing the stone—a common choice.

"In the game of rock-paper-scissors, you joined the majority; you became a civilian."

"Oh, well." Feng Xue responded blandly, awaiting node settlement.

Just then, as he watched in disbelief, the scene around him rapidly changed.

His playmates began to grow tremendously in size, and he quickly returned to adult stature.

However, the growth of the boy with a morose expression didn't stop there. His body became larger and larger, sprouting fangs and tentacles, becoming a sight that chilled the bone.

As Feng Xue watched in astonishment, text popped up before him:

"Emergency Operation: The Hero's Game."

"Strive to survive until the hero defeats the monster."

"[Expletive in Zhenghua Dialect]!"

Feeling his body regain mobility, Feng Xue cursed in a rapid stream of Central Plains dialect and started to run as fast as he could in the opposite direction from the "monster."

However, just as he had covered some hundred meters, he suddenly felt as if he had run into something. Before he could turn, a sharp pain exploded in his chest. Looking down, he saw a thick tentacle pierced through him, swinging in front of his eyes with bits of blood and viscera.

Before he could process the horror, Feng Xue lost consciousness…

"Damn!"

Feng Xue sat up abruptly, still feeling a ghost of pain in his chest. He stared blankly ahead, slowly recovering from the shock of death.

Looking at the now-greyed-out icon in the upper left of his vision and feeling the unopened model kit in his mind, he exhaled slowly, glancing at the metal shackles on his wrist.

"Good news, dying in the pigeon doesn't mean real death."

"Bad news, I probably don't have much longer to live in reality either."