Universe Infinite Canteen

Chapter 723: Battle Royale

The spaceship journey from the fish cage to Prison 444 required a two and a half hour ride.

Jose and a group of prison guards headed to the bridge as soon as they boarded, leaving only three Destroyer II Machines to maintain order in the cabin.

Although called a cabin, it was actually a cargo hold converted with added rows of seats, which were quite uncomfortable; essentially just iron slabs with seat belts. Thankfully, this was space, where apart from during acceleration and deceleration, one seldom felt the discomfort of a hard seat.

Ma Lu originally wanted to take this opportunity to chat with his fellow inmates, striving to integrate into the warm family of Prison 444 as soon as possible.

But after approaching several people in turn, either he was told to scram, or they threatened to shove a steel pipe up his ass upon opening his mouth.

Looking at Rabbit Man, the latter was already listening to music again on his personal device, quite rudely playing it out loud, with several people around him clamoring to kill him.

However, Jose had made it clear before he left that anyone who left their seat would be shot on the spot by the robots, so those guys were limited to making threats without taking action.

Ma Lu gazed out the window before turning to appreciate the scenery.

Just then, the cabin door opened, and behind it stood Erin.

The Female Doctor looked at the cabin full of menacing prisoners with some trepidation, but after glancing at the robot beside her, she stepped forward and walked towards Ma Lu.

Although the inmates were not allowed to stand up, that didn't stop them from whistling, making threats, and incessantly harassing the Female Doctor.

She, lowering her head and quickening her pace, approached Ma Lu and spoke.

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to get you out of here."

Ma Lu shifted his gaze from the window and raised an eyebrow, "Thank you, but that won't be necessary. As I said, I can stay here for a while."

"I know you said that because you're afraid of Captain Jose," Erin spoke quickly, grabbing Ma Lu's hand, "I just want to tell you, no matter what happens, don't give up hope."

"…"

"I haven't given up hope," said Ma Lu, "but you're right, I do need some help."

"Tell me your name and address, and I will immediately have someone investigate your Plane to verify your citizenship. Once that's done, we can apply to the warden for your release."

"But I... have lost my memory," Ma Lu decided to take a page out of Korean dramas; when unable to explain, feign amnesia.

"Ah..." Erin was surprised, but she seemed to think of something and quickly her gaze turned sympathetic.

"You've spent quite some time in the fish cage, and those criminals must have attacked you, too. Have you hurt your head? Let me see."

She spoke while reaching out to touch Ma Lu's head, and indeed felt a large bump on the top of his head.

The bump was the result of the fight with Rabbit Man when the latter landed a nasty blow.

Now, this bump served as evidence supporting Erin's earlier assumption, and her look of pity towards Ma Lu intensified.

"That's alright, many cases of amnesia are temporary. As long as you take good care of yourself, you'll soon remember where you came from." However, speaking of recovery, the Female Doctor sighed.

"Life in Prison 444 will be very tough, especially for a good person like you. I hope you're mentally prepared. The inmates here are all serving sentences of over a hundred years for serious offenses. Although I disagree with Captain Jose's methods,

I can't deny that his aggressive approach has to some extent protected him and the other staff in the prison."

Erin looked around and whispered, "Be careful of the people around you, most of them are bona fide thugs."

"Then why not just kill them?" asked Ma Lu, "100 years, most people can't even live that long."

"Your amnesia seems to be more serious than I expected. The Grand Alliance abolished the death penalty completely 600 years ago," Erin said. "The court can only assign sentences according to each person's crime now. Some who have destroyed the Life on an entire planet have been sentenced to over five trillion years."

"Alright." Ma Lu gathered quite a bit of useful information from the Female Doctor's words and then asked, "Can you tell me more about space fishing? I don't quite understand."

"Simply put, fishing is a sentence-reducing activity organized by Prison 444," Erin was responsive to every question.

"There are many kinds of fish living in the Space of this Plane that have high economic value, so the prison sends inmates to fish. Depending on the type and amount of fish caught, their sentences can be reduced."

"Labor reform," Ma Lu snapped his fingers, instantly getting it – this was just another form of sweatshop labor, "But why use inmates? Your weaponry seems advanced, and there are robots; why not use machines to catch the fish directly? It would be more convenient, right?"

"Because that would affect the quality of the fish's meat," Erin explained. "Once large machinery approaches, these fish would undergo a chemical reaction in their bodies within an extreme period of time, causing their PH value to rise, thus greatly degrading the flavor.

"The so-called fish cage is often converted from abandoned space stations or spaceships that have completely lost power and are towed into asteroid belts, as those fish swarms frequently appear there."

"Moreover," Erin paused and added, "having bait makes it easier to attract the fish."

"What do you use as bait?"

"Life forms, especially intelligent life forms. That's the bait used by the prison; those Space Fish can smell the scent of intelligent life's flesh from a great distance."

Ma Lu's expression became odd, "So... we are both fishers and also bait?"

"Correct." Erin said. "Fishing activities are extremely dangerous, which is why inmates with harsh sentences are used for fishing.

"Hey, listen to me, you must not participate in fishing activities once you're in prison." The Female Doctor's expression turned somber, "There were 107 people involved in this fishing activity, but in the end, only 28 survived. That includes you, an outsider; over two-thirds of the people died."

"To attract more Space Fish into the cage, the prison doesn't give inmates weapons at first, but hides them in various locations within the cage. Many people are eaten by those Space Fish while looking for weapons."

"Wow, Battle Royale mode."

Ma Lu curiously asked, "Has anyone successfully reduced their sentence through fishing and left prison?"

"I don't know; I've only been here at Prison 444 for less than three months." Erin said, "I was originally an intern doctor at a public hospital; they said I have to work here for a full six months to get my diploma."