There were still three hours left before the next cube rotation.
Rita began thodically unlocking one player after another.
Of course, there were also plenty of strong-willed players who preferred making their own decisions. They imdiately requested loans of soul fire and intended to unlock their shackles themselves.
Rita did not hesitate to lend them soul fire.
Once they removed their shackles, they would simply announce it in the chat channel, and Rita would rena them afterward.
Without exception, everyone received a na consisting of their world na plus a number.
She still had not unlocked her own shackles.
Whether it was the learning-type gas or the Prisoner Gas, she found both extrely interesting.
The forr let her learn new things.
The latter let her poach people from the prison.
As for the rest of the gas, they helped her better understand the prison’s design philosophy.
Ash Inspector remained completely silent.
But Rita had no intention of letting it off the hook.
Starsea Prisoner: "If I hadn’t hidden my players offline, would the prison’s Cube Ga have arrived ahead of schedule?"
Ash Inspector: [What led you to that conclusion?]
Rita glanced at the prison’s occupancy rate.
It was still below seventy percent.
If the Order Pendulum regularly pruned Starsea and Quiet Mountain to reduce soul fire, then the prison likely worked on similar principles.
If they had truly changed the rules of the First Epoch, then there was no reason such a massive tragedy would remain, forcing later epochs to endure endless wars and suffering.
There was only one explanation.
War and destruction could not be completely avoided.
Either the prison’s order had never been fully overturned, or everything was being delayed to prevent the prison’s true condition from being discovered.
The best thing about talking with sothing intelligent was that there was very little need for pretense.
Once Rita presented her deductions, Ash Inspector did not bother hiding anything.
Ash Inspector: [An occupancy rate of one hundred percent is indeed the trigger for the Cube Ga. Most Prisoners never survive long enough for their soul fire to be fully ignited. In those cases, the prison must begin cleanup the mont it reaches capacity. But you are different.]
Different indeed.
That was exactly what Rita had realized earlier.
A total of 1,311 players had arrived.
Aside from Shadow.Q, who was a special case, every single one of them possessed fully ignited soul fire.
Ash Inspector: [You are very clever. One step later, given the cube’s temperature earlier, I would have started the Cube Ga during the next cycle.]
Rita showed no particular reaction to the complint.
Ash Inspector: [Have you decided what kind of Ga Invasion you will use on my prison?]
Rita shook her head without answering and simply accelerated her work unlocking Adjudicator players.
Only when five minutes remained before the cube rotated did she stop.
She loaded her best saved state.
Unfortunately, even her optimal save still had most of its soul fire sealed within the prison.
World Sigh opened in her hands.
She began writing new ga rules.
[Adjudicator Ga: Round One]
[If There Is No Work, Create Work]
[Ga Rules]
After the cube rotates, Adjudicator players may join prison gas alongside newly arrived Prisoners.
Adjudicator players must assist new Prisoners in completing prison gas.
If a Prisoner Ga is triggered, players may summon the Adjudicator.
After helping a new Prisoner complete 3 prison gas, an Adjudicator player will gain the identity: Guard.
After helping a new Prisoner complete 50 prison gas, an Adjudicator player will gain the identity: Warden.
[Guard Rules]
Every ti a Guard helps a Prisoner complete a ga, the Guard will unlock 5 to 10 soul fire as paynt.
Guards gain the ability to freely travel between prison cells.
Wardens may freely rotate and relocate prison cells.
Ash Inspector watched helplessly as one eyelash of the Inspection Eye trembled.
But the eye itself remained closed.
She had already bypassed prison surveillance by disguising players as a new identity.
Now she had created an entirely new role.
Even then, Rita was slightly dissatisfied.
After all, players still needed to help a new Prisoner complete three prison gas before unlocking the Guard identity.
That was the limit she had managed to probe.
Ash Inspector: [Did I truly survive into the future?]
Starsea Prisoner: "Yes. Not only did you survive, you stood in the middle of a street and yelled at ."
Ash Inspector: [Is that considered impressive?]
Starsea Prisoner: "...Given my status, it has been a very long ti since anyone dared yell at ."
Ash Inspector: [That sounds sowhat convincing. Since I did not report you to the Inspection Eye, would you be willing to share how you t in the future?]
Starsea Prisoner: "How are you so certain the one I t was actually you?"
Though they had gradually reached an unspoken understanding, and though most of the answer was already lying in plain sight, Rita still could not resist asking once the questions beca increasingly specific.
Even if everything seed obvious.
Inspector and Inspector.
Cube and Cube.
Ash Inspector and B80 both controlled Order.
The distinction between Law Programs and Branch Programs had also solved the final mystery.
Even so, until she obtained undeniable proof, Rita would not accept it completely.
Starsea Prisoner: "Maybe the one I knew was only a Branch Program."
Ash Inspector: [You are the Unique Key of my Law Program.]
Starsea Prisoner: "???"
Ash Inspector: [A contract exists between us. There is no mistake.]
The cube began rotating.
In the blink of an eye, Rita and Nuclear Flash JinX were thrown into an Inspector Ga.
It happened so quickly that Rita never got to ask what "Unique Key" actually ant.
A countdown appeared.
Rita instructed Nivalis to take Nuclear Flash JinX and move aside.
The exact sa Inspector descended from above and landed on the opposite side of the countdown.
As she stared through the glowing numbers floating between them, Rita narrowed her eyes slightly.
"It’s you."
"..."
The Inspector gave no response.
Rita pointed at it and asked Nivalis, "Do you think this Inspector is any different from the last one?"
Nivalis carefully observed for several seconds before shaking her head.
"They’re equally stiff."
Rita continued staring at the Inspector.
Then the countdown ended.
Flower sword in hand, she appeared beside it in an instant.
Clang!
The flower sword collided with the slender armor-piercing spear.
This Inspector’s combat strength and fighting style were virtually identical to the previous one.
Looking at the crimson cube on its chest from point-blank range, Rita spoke with absolute certainty.
"It’s you."
Holding nothing back, Rita ended the battle as quickly as possible.
When she returned from the arena to her prison cell:
Starsea Prisoner: "Don’t play dumb. Respect our intelligence."
Ash Inspector: [How did you catch ?]
Inside her cell, the Prisoner rested her chin on one hand and smiled until her eyes curved into crescents.
"I bluffed."
In the void, Ash Inspector took out a notebook identical to World Sigh and wrote a single sentence inside.
"She is very good at lying."
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