Chapter 15: Separating For Solutions

“We are two months away from the one year period allocated to the project, Sailair”. Zechariah chased him in a hasty walk and at the front, Sailair, with a troubled look, paid the entrance fee to the souk and rushed inside.

Everything was wrong, ever since the beginning of the excavation, from the output of Ever Pure Solid to the concentration of the soil, to the proximity to tunnels No. 38 and No .39. Sailair encountered one hurdle after another and from his perspective the chief accomplice for this series of unfortunate events is none other than the man he took as subordinate after he found the six identical pieces of Ever Pure Solid.

“I know, I know, Zechariah! What do you want me to say? That it would be fine? That we’ll get by, somehow? Maybe, but for now all of this is just talks and talks alone won’t do shit”.

“I’m obviously expecting you to take certain measures, but you do have to talk with us. If you won’t address it verbally, then how are we to tell that you are not aimlessly going round and round in frustration?” Zechariah followed to the souk.

“They are your people and we are speaking now, correct? Well, tell them what I’ll tell you...”

In the souks, small establishment either food related, special commodities vendors and so on ... were a bright glimpse at the colorfulness of the world outside, a relief from the frugal bleakness of life in the Seventh Post’s sectors. Naturally, everything was provided by the penitentiary, but management was assigned to Elite and A ranked prisoners as a way to earn Ever Pure Solid by other means than mining, while the penitentiary receives seventy five percent of the revenue, and get access to rare miscellaneous that lower ranked prisoners would look at from the sideline and want to strive to also obtain.

A rather ordinary mentality, however cultivation on the Rakmon Penitentiary Star was so hard that even fifth level Martial Mortals renounced the Martial path, back to the mundane.

At the moment, none of it interested Sailair.

“Tell them that I can buy three extra months, so dig as if their lives depend on it!” Sailair snapped and left in a hurry to an A and Elite ranked prisoners’ region in the souk.

Zechariah glared at his back speechlessly. He figured that someone played Sailair and that they were also duped. ‘But were we being used as part someone else’s scheme against Sailair or the opposite?’

Sailair had been to the penitentiary for thousands of years and to Zechariah’s knowledge, the A ranked prisoner was not fond of making enemies, which he heard about, at least. On the other hand, their group of survivors, although all but him C ranked, had acquired the ill intent of senior prisoners and a Guard. Either of the two parties could not harm them in the open, without a justified reason, due to Zax...

‘So it’s likely that someone behind the curtain devised this mess to get us to make a mistake’.

A grave mistake, for the one they chose to deal with is no prisoner or Guard, but the Rakmon Penitentiary.

...

Time trickled day after day. As much effort he invested in searching and as many contacts he utilized, Sailair could not find his recent subordinate before news landed in his ears that he died in a mining accident.

Of course, his death was part of the conspiracy. Everyone was aware of it, but there was nothing to be done when neither Sailair nor the survivors had clue, much less proof, of the perpetrator’s identity, whilst the final date of the three months extension was approaching, the Ever Pure Solid’s output still inadequate and there were no funds to stretch it for a another month.

“What are we to do? We dug a depth of four hundred meter and a total of three hundred meters with the branching tunnel, but the Ever Pure Solid is too little. The penitentiary will panelize us each with ten times the amount we owe”. A long, orange haired middle aged woman, Sinister Chain’s member who Gid Chu’s sacrifice rescued, helplessly bemoaned.

The majority of the survivors partook in the new numbered tunnel project and now they all gathered for a remedy to its failure.

“Rakmon Penitentiary isn’t unreasonable. The administration knows we can’t promptly close this debt by mere demand”. Yimin said. “So they give us a way to cope by increasing the weekly quota by three to five times”.

“We will never collect this much Ever Pure Solid by mining”. Lenrah complained. “Selling ourselves in the souks is the only solution, if at all...”

C and B ranked prisoners could not double in the assigned penitentiary’s management works, however little, in the souks, but they could offer their services to A and Elite ranked prisoners in whatever tasks they desire.

“Lenrah is right”. A humanoid beast with a blue crane’s head stood up. “I’m quitting. I’m going to join the Yellow Alley’s Carnage”.

“Wait for me, Zubak”. The lion’s headed beast, Souri, rose on his feet.

“The Ever Pure Solid you can earn in the Yellow Alley’s Carnage, if you’re good, ranges from three to ten grams per fight. You still get half a gram if you lose”. Giant Havreim murmured, also joining.

“Big Oaf!” Varinka sprang after him. “Don’t be stupid, hey, listen to me!”

There were altogether seven Betting “Arenas” in the two souks surrounding Middle Sector No .131.