Not to mention the even more scarce metals. Before entering this dungeon, Qi Ji had only seen iron materials in weapons and military equipment. Even the city gates and church doors were only covered with a layer of iron sheets at the corners, and the main body was just wood.
Here, metal, an extremely precious and high-quality material, was used lavishly to cast the prison door on the left side of the corridor.
“… Ho… Ho… Ho…”
Qi Ji heard again the heavy breathing sounds that came one after another, like those of no living thing, all coming from behind those airtight iron doors.
It's hard to imagine what's imprisoned inside.
"These are the prisoners captured by the men in black, right?"
It just lightly passed by the left side, and Qi Ji shifted his gaze to the other side of the corridor.
On the right side of the corridor, there are cells neatly arranged, and each cell also has a corresponding cell door.
However, their doors are not as "luxurious" as the one on the left. They are just made of wood and are not sealed. Like the prison doors in costume TV dramas, they are hollow fence doors composed of thick wooden pillars with closely spaced distances.
Through the gaps between the wooden pillars, you can see that there is a "prisoner" locked in each cell on the right. The prisoner is basically ragged, unkempt, and sits on the ground with a blank look in his eyes, not moving at all.
If Qi Ji hadn't been able to sense the breath of life in them, she would have suspected that these people had died.
After seeing the fire coming out of Qi Ji's fingertips, they just looked up blankly for a moment and then immediately lowered their heads, as if they had already completely despaired of the current situation and didn't want to waste their energy shouting and struggling.
"I am innocent! I really didn't steal anything! You must have seen it wrong! I swear, check again, what I said is absolutely true!"
"I was wrong... Let me go! I won't dare to do it again next time... Please let me out..."
"..."
However, not all prisoners were completely hopeless. Many of them had obviously been captured not long ago and were still full of energy.
As soon as he saw Qi Ji's cloaked and hooded figure in the firelight, he immediately grabbed the prison door with both hands and shouted excitedly, his voice almost breaking.
Qi Ji's gaze penetrated the haze cast by the hoods and swept over these prisoners, who were either numb and desperate or frantically begging for mercy, one by one. There was no pity or indifference in his eyes, he was just simply watching.
"Well, I found it."
Soon, her eyes were fixed on one of them.
A thin body, a childish face, messy and dirty hair...
It was the beggar boy, Toby Ender, who had just been captured.
Holding a candle to illuminate, Qi Ji walked through the dim air filled with strange and terrifying breathing sounds and the prisoners' cries for mercy, and came to the boy's cell door.
This poor fellow didn't cry out in protest like some people, but he didn't seem to be completely numb and hopeless either.
His lips were pale, his shoulders were trembling, his dark face looked deathly gray, he said nothing, and his eyes were staring blankly at the ground, full of fear, anxiety, panic and confusion.
Simply put, I just haven't reacted yet.
Noticing someone approaching, he raised his head half in confusion and half in panic and looked at the mysterious cloaked man standing in front of him.
"What have you done?"
Qi Ji took a few steps back, leaning his back against the iron prison door on the left, his hands on his chest, his feet placed one in front of the other in a quite relaxed manner.
His posture was very leisurely, as if he didn't care at all about what kind of terrifying and ferocious monster was imprisoned behind him:
"tell me the story."
She asked with an unfathomable smile on her lips.
Hearing the ethereal voice that sounded like the sound of nature, the young man named Toby Inld was stunned. He didn't know whether he was surprised that the other person was a girl who might be younger than him, or he was afraid why she wanted to talk to him.
"I……"
Tobyinard raised his eyes and looked at the cloaked girl who was looking at him straight in the eye, as if trying to judge her intentions through her expression and eyes.
Unfortunately, the wide cloak hood completely obscured her eyes, and the only part of her face that was revealed was a mysterious smile, which was seductive, playful, and intoxicating, but did not reveal any meaningful information.
After hesitating for a few seconds, the boy finally decided to tell the truth:
"I... I'm just a beggar. I couldn't afford to eat, so I... I sneaked into someone's house... and stole a pancake... I just happened to be caught by the elders of the Vatican..."
Qi Ji could easily tell if a person was lying, and could also tell if the other person was deliberately hiding part of the truth. Therefore, she was sure that the beggar boy in front of her was telling the truth, and the whole truth.
"You are quite honest and didn't play any tricks on me." She nodded slightly, but she couldn't help feeling a little surprised:
"I didn't expect that even in a place like the Last Kingdom, there are beggars... Tsk, I can only say that there are people who have nothing everywhere."
Chapter 502 Opportunity (Part )
Walking from the outermost city wall all the way to the central diocesan cathedral in the hinterland, Qi Ji also got to appreciate the true face of the city of the Last Kingdom in a more three-dimensional and in-depth way.
She originally thought that under such high survival pressure, it would be unlikely that there would be unemployed vagrants in the Last Kingdom who were completely unproductive, out of labor, and had lost their jobs.
After all, the most scarce thing here is manpower. Logically speaking, no matter who you are, you have... and must have a place where you can be useful.
However, the real experiences she had seen along the way told her that in the last country, beggars, vagrants, and destitute people like Toby Inld who were displaced and lived in the open air still existed.
Facts speak louder than words. Although it was a little unexpected... it was also within reason. After all, a population of more than 100,000 people was not a lot, but it was not a small amount either.
Even in a small village with only a few dozen people, there is always a fool who has no parents and grew up eating at other people's homes. What about a city that is equivalent in size to a county town on modern Earth?
Among the countless people, there are always some who are assigned to certain ecological niches, even if they have done nothing wrong except being born in the wrong family.
Although the proportion is indeed much lower than that of the human world and even the modern Earth.
"... My Lord, that's all I did. I didn't hurt anyone. I was so hungry at the time. If I didn't eat, I would really starve to death... I just wanted to live, my Lord, I just wanted to live..."
After confessing his crimes, the boy lowered his head again, staring blankly at the floor tiles diagonally below him, and spoke softly in a pleading voice.
After listening to this, Qi Ji did not show any special reaction. He just nodded his chin lightly, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said slowly:
"You said you wanted to live?"
"I think……"
The young man hesitated for a moment, raised his eyes cautiously, looked over the shoulder of the mysterious cloaked girl in front of him, glanced at the thick and heavy iron door leaning against her back, and then immediately looked away as if he had been electrocuted.
"...I want to live." He said in a frightened but extremely determined tone.
Although he had only been locked up for ten minutes, he had already learned about the horror of this dungeon from the prisoners around him whose sanity and resistance had not yet been completely eliminated.
These people who were captured... were not treated as "people" at all, but as "consumables" that could be consumed at any time!
According to several "seniors" who have stayed here for more than two days, almost every day, black-robed monks directly under the Final Holy See would come here and take away at least one prisoner.
Those who were taken away never came back. But every next day, a monk would escort another... monster into the cell opposite the big iron door.
As for what those "monsters" were, no matter how Toby Inold asked, the "predecessors" all chose to avoid the topic without exception.
They refused to even give a rough description of the so-called "monster"'s appearance. When I asked them further questions, they showed expressions of extreme fear and anxiety, and then scolded me harshly in an almost crazy manner.
It was as if... just recalling that scene was enough to cause them terrible pain.
It's hard to imagine what I'll face if I continue to stay here...
Therefore, when faced with the inexplicable questions from this girl with a strange background, he only hesitated for a moment and gave an answer that followed his heart.
Even though he had no idea about the girl's motives and purpose...
"Well, since you want to live..."
Qi Ji curled the corners of his mouth slightly and chuckled.
Slowly, he extended a hand to the young man behind the cell door, speaking in a distant and ethereal tone:
"Then I'll give you this opportunity."
In an instant, the dark dungeon, which was originally noisy and bustling, became extremely quiet.
The prisoners who were originally shouting and complaining about their grievances were all silent at this moment, staring in amazement at the seemingly young cloaked girl and the equally stunned "newcomer" boy in front of her.
In the eerie underground space, the only sound left was the abnormal breathing of monsters that rose and fell irregularly from time to time from behind the rigid and solemn iron prison doors on the left.
Instead, it further highlights the silence of the air.
"Chance...what chance?"
After a long moment of shock, Toby Inld opened his mouth and asked stupidly, his expression still stiff, obviously not reacting yet:
"Sir...you, you want to let me out?!"
He didn't know who the cloaked girl was, or whether she was in league with the Church of Redemption and the monks who had captured him, but since she could stroll into this dungeon at leisure, she was obviously no small figure.
Since she said in such a confident tone that she would give me a chance to survive, it couldn't be that she was just saying it casually, she must have a guarantee!
Of course, she might just be playing a joke on him, hoping to cheer herself up by teasing a humble little person... But no matter what, he must grab this glimmer of hope, no matter how slim it is!
"No, I'm not going to rescue you, nor am I going to let you go."
The girl's flawless red lips opened slightly, and uttered words that made him feel as if he was falling into an icy cave.
"That……"
The light in his eyes suddenly dimmed like a candle in a storm and almost went out.
"I mean……"
The mysterious cloaked girl laughed a few times, and then she stretched out her hand with her palm facing upwards, and spread out her five fingers as white and tender as young bamboo shoots naturally:
"I'm giving you a chance to live. Do you understand?"
Toby Inld stared at the little hand stretched out to him in confusion.
The hand was small, light, and delicate, like a beautiful work of art, more beautiful than anything he had ever seen.
But he was completely unable to understand the meaning of the words of the owner of this little hand:
"What do you want to say...?"
"This is a deal, or rather, a ..."
The cloaked girl paused for a moment, then chuckled for some reason, and continued with a hint of sarcasm:
"A 'contract'."
"contract……?"
Toby Inld chewed on this word which was very unfamiliar to him.
"You get the benefits, and I get the compensation."
The cloaked girl whispered as if explaining something, and then without giving him any time to understand or think, she suddenly tightened her outstretched fingers.
"Brush la la——"
At that moment, Toby Inld only felt a brilliant light exploding before his eyes, and the next moment, an illusory picture unfolded in his vision like a scroll.
"This is……!"
Intense shock filled his heart. He was completely unable to comprehend what was happening and fell into a trance.
But soon, his attention was attracted by the rapidly settling and stabilizing scene in his field of vision.
Those are pieces of... information!
Neatly laid out, well-organized information!
Chapter 503 Contract: The Thread of Life
[Whisper of the Void: Wisdom:
[Like a revelation, like a chant, or like a cry - the endless codewords explain all mysteries without reservation...
[Why are you so anxious? ]
The Thread of Life: Continuity
【Surprise, curiosity, and kindness——the gaze cast was so doting, surging like the bright sun in the sky...
[Seems too enthusiastic? ]
[World of Ghoul: Violence:
[Empty hunger, raging rage - the surging violence almost crushed everything, it was a divine power that no living being could look directly at...
【Maybe it is possible to control it?】
【Vessel of Desire:
【Wealth, status, power——the treasure filled with it listens to all requests and wishes without rejection, and accepting them can satisfy any desire...
