Chapter 63: Chapter 61 Greatly Shocked
Ash lifted the towel covering his face and propped himself up to sit.
His first instinct was to check his neck, but he didn’t find any scars.
“That’s weird, you actually didn’t use me as an experiment subject for surgery.”
The Medical Practitioner, labeled [222], sitting at the foot of the bed, didn’t even lift her head, still looking down at the book in her hands, the beak of her crow mask twitching.
“The surgery is completed, and it was a success. You’ve turned into a handsome guy now.”
Ash hurriedly looked around for a mirror, but there were none nearby. The Medical Practitioner snickered, “Just kidding. Actually, repairing your throat was too simple and didn’t take much time, so I went ahead and performed a few minor surgeries on you while you were still asleep.”
Ash breathed a sigh of relief.
“So what surgeries did you do on me?”
“The Dafi technique to open up the eye corners, the Elas technique to adjust the eyebrows, the Rocha technique to adjust the chin, the Elas technique to make eyelashes naturally curled…”
The more Ash heard, the more confused he became.
“How similar do I look to my former self now?”
“You should look quite similar, after all, both have two eyes, a mouth, and a nose.”
“Is this what you call ‘not a major change’? Would a ‘major change’ involve swapping out my head?”
“Not necessarily, swapping heads is still quite dangerous.” The Medical Practitioner gestured, “The popular big surgeries among mages involve exchanging all your features, like changing your eyes for an eagle’s, your teeth for a transforming shark’s, your nose for a fanged wolf’s, and your ears for those of a bat demon… It’s quite common to swap limbs and internal organs too. Recently, mechanical prosthetics are a very trendy enhancement direction.”
Geez, so mages have already tapped into the bio-augmentation tech tree, huh?
No wonder Ash saw someone in the prison with rabbit ears and wild boar fangs—back then, he thought that rabbits and wild boars could cross species barriers to mate?
Turns out it wasn’t beasts going wild but mages playing gods.
Ash curiously looked at the Medical Practitioner, “Have you undergone such extensive modifications?”
The Medical Practitioner hesitated for a moment, “Sort of.”
“Oh~” Ash stared at the Medical Practitioner’s crow mask, “I see…”
The Medical Practitioner knew well what Ash was thinking, and with hands on her hips, she said, “I’m not as ugly as you are, my face has always been perfect, no need for changes.”
“Oh, so you changed something other than your face.” Ash scanned the Medical Practitioner’s body, but unfortunately, she was wearing a loose robe that revealed no contours or traces.
“What are you looking at?”
“I’m wondering if your fingers could extend a Phillips screwdriver.”
“There’s no screwdriver, only an ear scoop. Do you want to try it?”
“Enough chatter, here.”
The Medical Practitioner pulled out ten silver coins from her purse and placed them on the bedside table, then waved her hand.
Ash pointed at the silver coins, “Why?”
“Didn’t we agree? You let me operate, and I’ll pay you. I practiced ten techniques, so I give you ten silver coins, which is reasonable.”
“No, I meant, wasn’t it paid with gold coins before?”
“I went and asked other Medical Practitioners, and they said they don’t pay anyone for practicing techniques, at most people are given silver coins. Nobody pays with gold coins!”
“You’re just indecisive, you know. One should stand firm in their beliefs and not blindly follow others; otherwise, if others eat shit, would you eat it too?”
“You’re making a good point. I didn’t really want to give you money in my heart, I can’t fall for your enchantment again—”
“But occasionally taking advice from others is also a good quality.” Ash quickly scooped up the silver coins.
The Medical Practitioner almost laughed, but quickly suppressed the smile, “You’ve really become famous this time. You are the only criminal in the history of Kaimon City who was injured during the Blood Moon Judgement but survived.”
“The only one? Weren’t there any convicts who got accidentally injured during the Judgement before?”
“There were, but they couldn’t be saved and were immediately torn to shreds by the Executioner. Cases like yours, where you were killed by another convict but the wound was too superficial not to save, thus violating the Life Rescue Law, are truly one of a kind.”
Ash still couldn’t get used to this world’s categorization of injuries; his near decapitation was seen as a minor injury that could be treated with just a band-aid.
“Once you’re out, remember to figure out a way to earn more contribution points, lest you be chosen for the next Blood Moon Judgement. There won’t be an elf to shield you next time.”
Ash looked at the Medical Practitioner with curiosity, “So concerned about me? Did you develop feelings while treating me?”
“You almost come in for treatment every day. If the prison had a few more exemplary prisoners like you, I might be able to leave this place after another month or two of hard work.”
The Medical Practitioner shrugged, “Thanks to you, I’ve become very proficient in quite a few techniques.”
“When you leave, can you take me with you? I’ll agree to be your experimental subject for three years—pretty good deal, right?”
“If you don’t mind being carried away in three different boxes, I have no problem, and the prison would agree to let you go.”
Ash smacked his lips. “After you take it out, can you put it back together?”
“If I were a Four-winged Legendary Mage, I probably could, and I might even install some upgrades for you.”
“If I were, I wouldn’t have the time to talk such nonsense with you.”
The Medical Practitioner crossed her arms. “And you’re still thinking about breaking out of prison, tsk tsk tsk, after undergoing a Blood Moon Judgement, have you not given up such childish thoughts?”
“As a spirited young man, who wouldn’t think about breaking out every night? And who could stay here after witnessing the Blood Moon Judgement with their own eyes?” Ash clenched his fists. “I’m determined to break out of this prison!”
“Good luck, and remember to be safe when you escape. Try to keep your body intact, if possible.”
Ash moved closer to the Medical Practitioner. “Do you have any good ideas for breaking out?”
The Medical Practitioner glared at him with a beak-like grimace. “Don’t think that just because I made you a bit more handsome, I won’t report you.”
“Don’t be so tense, after what you’ve done to me, let’s just chat as if it’s post-surgery downtime.” Ash was unconcerned. “Treat it as a puzzle game, if you were falsely accused and locked up in Shattered Lake Prison, how would you plan to escape?”
“But I wouldn’t be falsely accused.”
“Why are you so sure?”
“Because there’s the Memory Master, right? A check of my memories would show that I’m innocent.”
Ash also recalled this and couldn’t help asking, “Don’t you find that somewhat… unpleasant?”
“What’s unpleasant about it?” The Medical Practitioner seemed perplexed.
“I mean, having someone search your memories. Don’t you think memories are a very important private matter that shouldn’t be subjected to searches?”
“And you still claim you’re innocent? Isn’t that just freedom terrorism?”
“Only terrorists harboring ill intentions and nefarious plots would wish to abolish the memory review system. They even have more outrageous demands, like unbinding the Miracle Chip, granting pregnant women the right to choose abortion, even publicizing records of reproductive pairing… You seem very nervous?”
Ash swallowed hard. “Women can’t choose to have an abortion?”
“Of course not, if the fetus is found to have any congenital disease or hereditary defects, abortion is mandatory.”
“What if the fetus is healthy?”
“Then you must give birth.”
“Without asking for the woman’s opinion?”
“Why would you ask?” The Medical Practitioner found it odd. “Would a pregnant woman refuse? Each childbirth subsidy is roughly equivalent to three years’ salary of a medium profession, varying slightly with race. If you’re a Mage, you even get a bigger subsidy, a 100% bonus for the first childbirth and an additional 50% bonus for having children at the recommended age.”
“Unless she is a talented Female Mage who doesn’t want to waste a moment, most women will have their first childbirth during the guided period, and whether there are second or third ones depends on personal nightlife. Anyway, it’s only a bit inconvenient during pregnancy. After giving birth, the infant is sent to a nursery, and the woman can receive the birth fund on the same day.”
Ash was shocked and suddenly looked at the Medical Practitioner with a strange gaze. “What about you?”
“Did you… receive the birth fund?”
The Medical Practitioner hesitated slightly. “I can’t give birth.”
Ash quickly apologized. “I’m sorry.”
The Medical Practitioner waved it off. “There’s nothing to apologize for; I don’t need that money. But, are you actually one of those who support the right for women to have authority over their abortion? That puts you on the more radical side of freedom terrorists.”
Ash wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Is that considered radical?”
“Of course, supporting abortion rights is the same as promoting a reduction in birth rates. Races like humans and Beastmen might be okay, but races like Elves and Meiwas, who struggle with low birth rates, despise such rhetoric the most. A councilor who suggested this was promptly embroiled in scandals and removed from office.”
“Advocating for the abolition of the memory inspection system is the same as increasing the difficulty of criminal investigations and creating a favorable environment for law-breaking. Only those intending to commit crimes would support such rhetoric, not even councilors would propose such populism.”
“Likewise, supporting the unbinding of Miracle Chips is akin to advocating for removing Chains from the necks of criminals, complicating their capture and heightening the likelihood of them recommitting crimes…”
“But all of you have Miracle Chips, so aren’t you all wearing Chains? Aren’t you afraid?” Ash asked.
“You say that as if you’re not one of us.”
The Medical Practitioner gave Ash a strange look.
“Besides, we’re not breaking the law, so why should we be afraid? Only those who disrupt public order and commit crimes would be.”
It made sense, and Ash had no reply.
He realized that in the Kingdom of Blood Moon, the Medical Practitioner’s view was the common view. Since they all accepted this social control system, it meant this approach was relatively correct. The incorrect ones were convicts facing the death penalty in prison, like Ash himself.
I never thought I would become a freedom terrorist here, considering I was a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen who supported surveillance in my past life…
“Let’s get back to the point as if you were like me, accused of being the leader of The Gods of Four Pillars cult, with the Crime Hunting Hall too afraid to search your memories, locked up in Shattered Lake Prison. How would you think of escaping?”
“Are you really falsely accused…?”
“It’s just a game, think of it as a brain teaser! Though I heard Medical Practitioners generally don’t excel in logical thinking, is this game too difficult for you?”
“You think I’d fall for such a childish trick? Do I look like a child to you!” The Medical Practitioner turned her head away and snorted. “But isn’t the way out of prison obvious? It’s only you who couldn’t see it.”