Chapter 230: Within Ten Steps, There Must Be Food

Since Sizar obtained the “Tyrant” Magic Armor, the young man fully armed himself every day, engaged in dozens of battles with the meat mountain, the big boss Huasheng, and ended up knocked unconscious by the fat guy’s slap.

When Sizar first attacked Huasheng, the other was completely unprepared, facing away while snacking. The young man directly raised his heavy double-bladed axe, said nothing, and fiercely chopped down at his enemy’s back. Then, the sharp axe tore through the fat guy’s skin but was blocked by the thick layer of fat, and the axe blade got stuck in the muscle.

Huasheng was slightly injured but did not bleed.

Next, the fat guy in pain yelled as he turned around, his blood-red eyes locking onto the unfamiliar large iron lump. At that time, Chaya had already left, Elsa had not yet woken up, and the only one in charge, Em, could not be bothered with Sizar’s “extreme daredevilry.” No one had the young man’s back, and he finally got his wish to fight it out with Huasheng.

The two fought a total of three rounds. Huasheng struck first; he slapped Sizar’s head right away. The young man, not yet familiar with the armor, immediately activated the magic defense field. The glass-like barrier cracked under the meaty palm but did not shatter, while the armor flew up and crashed heavily against the wall. The axe in his hand was also lost somewhere.

Discovering he could not break the defense, Huasheng screeched and launched a death charge, ramming Sizar with dozens of tons of impact force. This time, the low-energy force field was compressed against the armor’s surface. Sizar thought, “This is bad,” but had no time to draw his dual blades. The fat guy had already lifted his left leg and delivered a super knee strike.

The fat guy’s move still did not break the defense, but intense vibrations transmitted inside, making Sizar feel like he was hiding inside a bronze bell being randomly struck. Just as the young man was dazed and confused from the blows, Huasheng, who had failed to harm the unfamiliar iron man twice in a row, finally became enraged and punched the armor’s head.

In the end, the young man felt his vision go black, accompanied by intense ringing in his ears, and passed out.

That night after waking up, Sizar was surprised to find himself completely unharmed. Apart from a slight hungover dizziness and some lingering hearing loss in his ears, everything else was normal! The armor really could greatly improve strength and defense. As long as he did not meet those with special Talents, he could hold his own for a couple of moves against ordinary Ability Users.

Daring death but not dying greatly excited the young man. Then, every half-day, he would put on the armor to challenge the fat guy, only to be knocked unconscious by Huasheng who knew how to hold back, then get up and challenge again. This was not because Sizar had a masochistic streak; he wanted to quickly familiarize himself with the new equipment’s operation and test the armor’s limits through the fat guy.

The happy days passed quickly. A week later, Divine Prison gradually welcomed batches of guests. These interviewers from the Justice Alignment came mainly to rescue wayward teammates or select strong cannon fodder. Sizar had never joined an organization, so naturally no one came to rescue him. Em would not let him become cannon fodder either, so the young man belonged to the rare type who went through a formal interview process.

If he and the representatives who came to select people took a liking to each other, he would join a new group, leave the prison as a basic member, and start his glorious journey.

As for which organizations were willing to accept him? Em did not explain, only telling him these people would seek him out specifically.

…

One morning, a tomboy with a freckled face, a single ponytail, wearing sports clothes, chewing bubblegum, and carrying a giant travel pack twice the size of her body arrived at South Third Zone.

Curiously eyeing the ten transparent cells, the tomboy slowly scanned everyone with the look of someone visiting a zoo. Seeing the flat-chested “snail” of indeterminate gender, Sizar immediately became excited—could she be here for him?

“Who is Huasheng? Step forward!” Before Sizar could step up to greet her, a crisp female voice came from the tomboy’s mouth.

“…” Sizar, who had already raised his hand, suddenly froze there. His mouth, just opened to say “hello,” got stuck without making a sound. What a waste of emotion!

“Ah! You’re Huasheng?” Seeing Sizar with his right hand raised, the tomboy frowned, seemingly not very satisfied.

“…” Frozen in place, Sizar suddenly cleverly extended his index finger, pointing to the fat guy next door, his mouth curling into an enthusiastic smile.

“Weirdo!” The girl rolled her eyes at Sizar, ignored him, and focused on examining the meat mountain’s back, then revealed a satisfied smile. “You’re Huasheng, right? Come out! Come with me!”

Huasheng, whose left eye had been bruised by Sizar, slowly turned his head and asked coldly, “Who are you? Why should I go with you?”

“My name is Caca Benita Seiya… just call me Benita. This time, I spent a lot of money to buy a servant slot from the warden, and under my senior’s guidance, I found you. From now on, you’re mine, fatty. Come adventure with me!” The tomboy in a baseball cap reported a long string of names, then spoke enthusiastically.

“No! I don’t want to leave!” The fat guy shook his head decisively.

“Why? Don’t you desire freedom? Don’t you like sunlight? Imagine—come with me, and you can bathe in warm sunlight again, breathe fresh air!”

“What’s freedom worth? Can you eat it? Here, there’s food and drink, no need to work or exercise. Why should I go with you? Going out is too tiring and I’d get hungry easily. Here, there’s endless free food.” The best thing that ever happened to Huasheng in his life was entering Divine Prison. From then on, he never had to worry about food, drink, or shelter. It was warm in winter and cool in summer—simply a paradise on earth!

“Hmph, it’s just about eating!” The girl in the corridor gave a contemptuous smile, tugged at her backpack straps, looked up at Huasheng with a gaze that viewed him as an ant, then extended two fingers. “You must, and will, come with me for two reasons.”

“Oh? Tell me.” Seeing the tomboy so confident, the fat guy became somewhat interested and asked.

“First, Senior Chaya sent me. This is her letter for you. Also, she told me to tell you, ‘Sis knows you can’t read, but that’s fine. Sis will say it again: follow this little sister, or I’ll return to Divine Prison and kill you!’ Ahem, the second reason: I have lots of food!” The girl puffed out her flat chest, speaking confidently.

Hearing the first reason, Huasheng’s face darkened. Cutting off someone’s food supply is like killing their parents! Even though Chaya was once his boss, when it came to leaving prison, he would turn against her and resist to the end! As for the second reason, he ignored it.

“Naive little girl! How much food do you think you have? Do you know what my ability is?” Huasheng said in a low voice.

“Strength! Senior said you’re very strong, a good meat shield, and as long as you’re full, you can fight well. Stick with me, and I’ll keep you full!” Benita said joyfully.

“Hmph! Besides strength and durability, I have another ability called ‘Infinite Stomach!’ Even if all the food in the world was piled in front of me, I could eat it all bit by bit. Leave. I won’t go out. You can’t feed me enough!” Huasheng shook his head and paid no more attention to Benita.

“Hmph, you’re looking down on me! Do you know what my ability is?” The girl jumped up angrily, pointing at the fat guy and shouting, but Huasheng completely ignored her. “Fatty, listen up! My Talent is called, ‘Within Ten Steps, There Must Be Food!’ Follow me, fulfill your duty as a bodyguard, and I’ll make sure you never worry about food in your life!”

“What?! Within ten steps, there must be food? Are you tricking me? Show me by walking!” Huasheng suddenly looked up, staring intently at Benita, asking in disbelief.

“Tch! Can someone give me an item? Not too big.” The girl shook her head looking at the empty corridor, then asked the other prisoners.

Learning that she was acquainted with Chaya, Sizar from the first cell opened the door, handed over a lamp, and watched curiously. He was very interested in such a bizarre and strange Talent.

“Watch carefully—ten steps!” Holding the lamp, Benita first walked forward five arbitrary steps, then walked back, exactly ten steps total. After walking ten steps, a faint light glowed in her palm, adhered to the lamp, and then—nothing else happened! Everything remained the same; the lamp was still that lamp.

“Are you making fun of me?” The fat guy felt he had been fooled by a short, small tomboy whose gender was hard to tell.

“Crunch!” The girl suddenly broke off a piece of the lampshade, put it in her mouth, and chewed: “Hmm, the taste is unchanged, kind of like sawdust. Ahem, ptooey! The lamp is still that lamp, but it really can be eaten and provides the most basic nutrition to sustain life. Most importantly, it fills you up!”

“It can really be eaten?” Before the fat guy could speak, Sizar cut in and asked.

“Mm! Of course it can be eaten. My Talent awakened when I was little, and I’ve been training it all these years. Now I can turn something this big into food. Don’t believe me? Want to try?” Benita replied.

Then, Sizar, Huasheng, Em, and Hermes across from them came out. Each took a piece of the lamp and ate it.

“Ptooey! What is this, tastes like mud, so astringent!”

Sizar spat his out immediately. Em next to him looked uncomfortable but swallowed it. Hermes across from them didn’t have it easy either; judging by the blood at the corner of his mouth, the bulb had probably cut his mouth. Only Huasheng chewed seriously, closed his eyes, savored it carefully, and slowly swallowed.

“You didn’t lie; this lamp really can be eaten!” Snatching the edible lamp from Benita’s hand, the fat guy didn’t mind the bad taste and nibbled at it bit by bit. Remembering how he once stole Em’s slippers to eat, didn’t even spare his own soap or toothpaste, and extorted his shoes and belt, Sizar suddenly felt it made sense.

“Why would I trick you? My Talent is passive. As long as I walk, it continuously produces a kind of ‘light.’ Counting one unit produced every ten steps walked, it can accumulate infinitely. One unit of ‘light’ can roughly turn an object the size of this lamp into food while preserving its original function. If I walk for a day, I can turn a car into food. If not eaten, the car is still a car and can be driven. If eaten, the car is still a car, but it fills you up. So, willing to come with me? You protect me, and I’ll provide you with a continuous supply of food. It might have no taste or taste bad, but it fills you up.” Benita looked at Huasheng expectantly.

“Okay! Master!” The fat guy suddenly showed an ingratiating smile, speaking meekly and trying to please.

“Good boy, fatty.” The girl patted Huasheng’s thigh without minding, satisfied.

“Um, you know Sister Chaya?” Seeing this pair of master and servant hit it off so quickly, Sizar finally found a chance to cut in.

“Right, some time ago I went to the Central Territory to visit Senior Chaya, received her guidance, and came specifically to Divine Prison to find a fighter bodyguard.” Benita replied.

“What do you do?” Sizar asked curiously.

“I’m a dark gourmet. Because my Talent is too disgusting and tasteless, I often ate weird-tasting toys as a child, leaving psychological scars. So I vowed to taste all the delicious food in the world to soothe my wounded heart. But this path is too dangerous, I’m too weak, and have no self-defense ability, so I need a partner. Some time ago, I went to visit Senior Chaya, asked to see the ‘Cucumber Recipe,’ and received her guidance. This fat guy is good—strong and tough, and not picky about food. He’s the perfect match for my trash Talent!” The girl’s lips curved up, smiling very happily.