Chapter 5: Women and Wine
A clatter of footsteps came from the corridor outside the cell. Moments later, several soldiers in black uniforms with polished leather shoes stood before the cell door.
Clang, clang, clang.
One soldier struck the iron bars with a metal rod in his hand.
"Time to eat."
As he spoke, the other soldiers raised the rifles slung over their shoulders, aiming the muzzles at Su Xiao.
A sense of crisis that made his hair stand on end emerged. His brow twitched. The rifles in the soldiers' hands were single-shot models, similar in style to Mauser rifles. Each shot required pulling the bolt, a one-shot-one-bolt design.
This outdated rifle could actually give Su Xiao a sense of crisis, which surprised him slightly. But he quickly thought of the white gunpowder and spiral steel mentioned in the world introduction. If the two were combined into a firearm, the power would definitely be terrifying.
Firearms were the main weapons used in warfare in this world. Aircraft technology here wasn't too mature; they might crash for some bizarre reason mid-flight. But the tanks in this world were relatively advanced. After all, the two major countries were on the same continental plate, with over 97% of the battlefield being land.
Five rifles aimed at Su Xiao as the five soldiers slowly backed away. The soldier who had spoken initially opened the cell door.
Creak~
The hinges let out a sharp sound as the cell door swung open. The soldier outside gestured, and an old man with a wrinkled face pushed a food cart over.
The old man wasn't quick on his feet. He pushed the cart into the cell and laid out several items on the bed: three large bowls of rice, a grilled fish, a big bowl of stewed meat, a bowl of vegetable soup with egg blossoms floating in it, and a fruit resembling an orange.
Su Xiao was somewhat taken aback. Was the prison food in the Free Nation this good?
When the old man delivering the food swallowed as he looked at the stewed meat, Su Xiao immediately realized the prison food probably wasn't usually like this.
"Hurry up!"
The soldier outside the cell had a bad temper. The old man quickly pushed the cart out of the cell.
"You all go back first."
The soldier standing at the cell door seemed to be a squad leader. After the five armed soldiers walked away, he looked at Su Xiao and smiled.
The squad leader reached into his chest, moving toward his waist. Soon, he pulled out a bottle of alcohol from inside his coat. It looked similar to a glass bottle of beer.
With a bang, the cell door was locked tight. The squad leader placed the bottle of alcohol inside the cell.
"Drink it all and get rid of the evidence cleanly."
Leaving that remark, the squad leader walked toward one side of the corridor and disappeared from Su Xiao's sight.
Two dishes, one soup, and ample rice. Even more bizarrely, alcohol was provided, along with a post-meal fruit.
Judging by the squad leader's meaning, alcohol was clearly prohibited for prisoners in this prison. This kind of treatment made Su Xiao eager to know exactly what crime he had committed to be locked up.
It was already rare for a member of the Slaughter Force to be imprisoned. The current situation clearly showed that even after being imprisoned, he was receiving special treatment.
Su Xiao, who had originally planned to escape, was no longer in a hurry to leave. Gaining real power within the Free Nation's military would be quite helpful for his subsequent actions.
After testing the food and alcohol for poison, Su Xiao began to eat slowly and methodically. Taking advantage of the free time, he checked the war mission.
[War Mission: World Core (First Ring, Two Rings Total)]
Difficulty Level: ?
Mission Brief: Find the location of the World Core and obtain it.
Mission Info: The Hunter's current area does not require searching for the World Core for now. Subsequent missions are pending.
Mission Time Limit: 30 Natural Days
Mission Reward: Visible upon victory in the World Domination Battle.
Mission Penalty: Forced Execution.
...
For now, seizing the World Core had nothing to do with Su Xiao. He was responsible for the later stage of the war—the big melee among contractors. That was the most dangerous mission.
Su Xiao certainly wasn't going to wait in prison for the contractor melee to start. He needed to get out of here as soon as possible.
To leave through legitimate means, Su Xiao first needed to know what this current identity had done before. If he had truly committed a serious crime, he would have to escape.
Moreover, the meal the soldiers had sent was too lavish—at least for a prisoner. Could this possibly be a last meal before execution? That was also worth suspecting.
Su Xiao already had a preliminary understanding of this world's firearms. Being hit in the body by such a gun wasn't a big deal—just an injury at most. But if it hit a vital spot, that was no joke.
If individual combat power was like this, a battlefield filled with flying bullets would be hellish. And Su Xiao had checked the physical attributes of those soldiers. These seemingly ordinary soldiers had strength, agility, and stamina attributes around 30 points.
In close combat, Su Xiao could easily wipe out an entire regiment. But if the soldiers used this world's unique firearms, once their numbers exceeded 30, they became a force that couldn't be ignored.
The power of those firearms was such that walls couldn't even be called cover. Shooting through a dozen walls was perfectly normal.
If firearms were this ferocious, then the steel tigers on land—tanks—would be ferocious to what extent?
If tank ammunition used white gunpowder, and the entire tank was made of spiral steel, Su Xiao was certain that one such tank could blow a Gundam to pieces in a short time.
On the battlefield, tank divisions weren't rare. A group of hundreds of tanks made of spiral steel, using white gunpowder weapons, charging forward could definitely send a fourth-rank adventure group crying for their parents. They were a bunch of iron turtles that couldn't be broken, couldn't be pushed back, and could blow enemies to smithereens with one shot.
In this world, individual combat power wasn't stronger than the military. The military was the force that swept everything. Otherwise, there wouldn't be various countries. When individual combat power surpassed the military, many family-style "sects" would appear, laws wouldn't be too complete, and the possibility of technological development would be very low. Everyone would be "cultivating immortality," so who would study technology?
This world had technology as the mainstream, with mysticism subordinate to it. The Free Kingdom also had mysticism, usually curses, divination, light magic, and so on.
Based on his series of observations, Su Xiao felt this world's technology was very similar to that of a World War II world, at least in terms of military level. The only difference was that this world's tech tree was a bit skewed, with land weapons far surpassing air and sea.
After a full meal, Su Xiao picked up the bottle of alcohol. He had no intention of drinking it. The alcohol content was 75%—a very strong liquor, much like the character of the Free Nation's people.
"If you're not going to drink it, pass it over."
A female voice came. Although Su Xiao had sensed someone in the next cell, he hadn't expected it to be a female prisoner. It seemed the prison he was in wasn't an ordinary one.
Su Xiao walked to the iron bars. In the neighboring cell, a hand with slender fingers but calloused inner thumb and forefinger reached out. It was a woman's hand—a woman who frequently used guns.
Su Xiao tossed the alcohol over. The hand caught it precisely.
"Close call. Do you know the value of this bottle of alcohol? In this godforsaken place, it's a treasure."
As the woman finished speaking, hands reached out from several nearby cells.
"Woman, toss the alcohol over here."
"I'll give you five seconds to consider. Throw it to my side."
"Kukulin Bai Ye, you actually have alcohol and won't drink it? What, still shaken by that incident?"
"Shut up. Mocking him, do you want to die? You might want to, but I don't."
The prison instantly became lively. Su Xiao stood by the iron bars, his gaze sweeping around.