Chapter 1411: 1411 Adjudicator Game: Game Invasion 16

Within Nuclear Flash’s Sigh, Rita explained the worst possible outcome to Nuclear Flash JinX.

If the prison administrator exposed their escape attempt and moved to eliminate either of them, Rita would immediately seal Nuclear Flash JinX back inside Nuclear Flash’s Sigh.

What she did not tell JinX was that she herself had plenty of contingency plans.

The rules of the Adjudicator Game applied to her as well.

Her HP would lock at 1 and she would be teleported back to the Cat’s Ideal.

On top of that, Rita had already created save points for herself and configured an automatic load trigger whenever her HP dropped below 1%.

She might not even make it back to the Cat’s Ideal.

The prison game and her endless automatic loads could very well lock each other into a stalemate.

Nivalis was clearly unhappy.

"Why didn’t you make another player test it? You used to be way more careful than this..."

"I am being careful."

Rita gently patted Nivalis and replied softly,

"It’s just that some things are different now. This is the Adjudicator Game. You understand what that means, right?"

She phrased it vaguely, but Nivalis understood immediately.

Rita was the strongest existence in Starsea and Quiet Mountain.

She wielded the new Order and Authority.

She was the one making the decisions.

That meant she should be the one carrying the responsibility.

She could use JinX as a test subject because JinX had already been marked for death in the Prisoner Game.

Becoming an experiment in the Adjudicator Game was the only reason she was still alive.

The other players were different.

For the first time, Rita truly understood the weight she had felt when she became an Adjudicator.

She had brought these players to the First Epoch.

She had ordered them to participate in her Adjudicator Game.

That meant she had to walk at the front.

Her "Sovereign" embodied her determination to decide everything and govern everything.

If she truly believed that, then she could not push the dangerous parts onto other players.

Rita looked one last time at Nuclear Flash JinX, who had been staring up at her the entire time.

Then she said quietly,

"Here’s to a successful prison break."

Although the First Epoch remained full of mysteries and unknowns, one fact was already obvious.

Every player from the Tenth Epoch could see it clearly.

They themselves were Prisoners.

What an absurd truth.

Beyond BS lay Starsea.

Beyond Starsea stood Quiet Mountain.

This vast world.

This immense universe.

It was all a prison.

The only difference was that after returning to the First Epoch, they had modified the prison.

They had granted future Prisoners a limited measure of freedom.

Rita’s thoughts drifted.

The situation resembled the classic paradox of which came first, the chicken or the egg.

The players of the Tenth Epoch had returned to the First Epoch and altered the prison.

Yet the existence of the Tenth Epoch depended on that prison already having been altered.

And for the prison to have been altered, players from the Tenth Epoch had to go back.

The First Epoch was both the beginning and the ending.

Just like the Möbius strip beneath Order Clock.

Had someone intentionally left that clue behind?

No.

Rita immediately rejected the idea.

She hated it.

A Möbius strip was a perfect closed loop.

And a perfect closed loop could never be broken.

But now that she knew this entire star system was a prison, she had only one desire.

To shatter the cage and lead everyone out.

She patted Nuclear Flash JinX on the head and repeated the words as though making a vow.

"Here’s to a successful prison break."

"Adjudicator is a Prisoner too?"

"Yeah. Just like you."

"Then... can I know your name?"

Rita separated a single petal from Flower Crown Murder and held it out before her.

Earlier, Ragtag had been trying to catch the petals like a child chasing butterflies and dragonflies.

Unfortunately, Vineborne flowers always slipped away before they could be caught.

Rita placed the petal into Ragtag’s palm.

Looking into those shining green eyes, she smiled.

"Adjudicator. I’m the only Adjudicator. As long as you call for Adjudicator, you’ll find me."

"I’ll remember that."

Ragtag nodded seriously.

"I’ll remember."

Once they reached an understanding, Rita placed her hand atop Nuclear Flash JinX’s head and brought her out of Nuclear Flash’s Sigh.

The instant both of them appeared inside the prison cell, the cube embedded in Rita’s shackles began spinning violently.

It looked as though someone was frantically twisting a Rubik’s Cube without understanding how it worked.

The harder they twisted, the more frustrated they became.

The moment Ragtag appeared beside her, every neighboring Prisoner from every direction stared in shock.

The Nuclear Flash NightFury in the adjacent room practically plastered herself against the barrier between cells.

Her eyes widened as she pointed at the Ragtag clutching Rita’s leg.

"Who are you? Where did that Ragtag come from?"

Rita was still waiting for the prison administrator’s reaction and did not answer.

Nuclear Flash JinX glanced at NightFury and replied,

"I’m Adjudicator’s Ragtag. Who are you?"

"..."

NightFury slammed both fists against the barrier.

"Damn it! After the Vineborne, the Moonfoxes, the Oak Owls, and the Mechanoids, you’ve finally moved on to Ragtags too?!"

Nivalis scratched her head.

"Are you forgetting yourself?"

NightFury blinked.

"...What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

"That’s different! I don’t count!"

She pointed accusingly at the Ragtag beside Rita.

"This Ragtag just became an adult!"

Nivalis looked at JinX.

Then at NightFury.

The two of them looked equally tiny to her.

How exactly was she supposed to tell the difference?

Meanwhile, Rita, who had been focused entirely on the prison’s reaction, finally turned toward NightFury.

"What exactly do you mean by ’I don’t count’?"

At long last, the rapidly spinning cube gradually slowed.

Then it stopped.

As though nothing had happened.

There wasn’t even a system notification.

Ah.

So cautious.

The administrator wasn’t even willing to leave a record behind.

That slippery behavior felt strangely familiar.

Rita remained cautious.

After creating a save point for Nuclear Flash JinX, she sat down with her and opened the reward crate from the Prisoner Game.

This time it contained an A Rank item.

Rita had no use for it, so she tossed it to Nivalis for safekeeping.

At the same time, she continued questioning JinX about life beyond the prison.

JinX answered everything willingly.

"What was the place you originally lived called?"

"Nuclear Flash in the M9 Star System."

"Why were you sent to the Exile Zone?"

"I didn’t know at first. But Prisoners who stay here long enough eventually figure it out. The skills we learn and the wealth we create are all taken away."

"Used by whom? The people of the M9 Star System?"

"Important people, maybe? I don’t know. There are too many living beings in the M9 Star System. There’s never enough food. I grew up hearing that war was only a matter of time."

She hesitated.

Then spoke quietly.

"Please don’t laugh at me."

"Even though I’m a Prisoner here, at least I get enough food and I can learn things..."

JinX fell silent for a long while.

Eventually, she hugged her knees and murmured,

"What’s better? Dying ignorant in some alley from starvation, or spending your life learning everything you can before being drained dry and discarded?"

"If I had to choose myself..."

She lowered her head.

"I honestly don’t know which one I’d pick."

Somewhere along the way, amid endless suffering, this Ragtag had managed to chew a few fragments of happiness out of her misery.