Chapter 472: Prison of Time

The punishment lasted from the evening to the next day.

The five hundred lashes as punishment for violations had been used up by dark, but the intermittent and gentle crying continued until sunrise.

When Xu Zhiyan opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on the sofa in the warden's office.

The office was very quiet. It was gray outside the window, making it difficult to tell the time. He struggled to sit up, and the fur-collared cloak covering his body slipped to the ground. He had changed into a brand new prison uniform, with a few red marks on his exposed waist, which were signs of "punishment".

Before he could reach out to pour some water, the door opened.

"woke up?"

Bai Jin walked in with a tray, placed it on the coffee table, and poured a glass of water for his sweetheart first.

Xu Zhiyan took the water and drank it without saying anything. He sniffed the aroma of food in the air, and then he realized that his stomach had started to growl.

After taking a few bites of rice, Xu Zhiyan finally came to his senses and spoke in confusion.

"Why are you so hungry?"

This doesn't make sense.

He has been connected to the small world. Although he has not yet completely become a god, Xu Zhiyan's physique is already very different from that of ordinary humans. Specifically, he can drink a thousand cups of wine with Jiang Huaique without getting drunk, and he was forced to endure a night of "whipping" and woke up the next day as if nothing happened... Well, in short, it doesn't make sense that he would be like a starving ghost if he didn't eat dinner and breakfast!

“Because of the rules.”

Bai Jin sighed softly.

"Prisoners in jail have to eat."

Time fragments cannot be killed, but they also have perception after being materialized, and can feel pain and hunger, otherwise the punishment will be meaningless. The solitary confinement room has a rule that no visitors can be made, and once a prisoner enters there, he can only eat once every two days as a punishment.

Looking at Xu Zhiyan, who was sitting lazily on the sofa with red eyes, Bai Jin felt his throat getting dry again.

He couldn't bear to see his master starve, nor could he tolerate not seeing him for thirty days, so he modified the punishment and spared Xu Zhiyan from solitary confinement.

“…This rule is really down-to-earth.”

Xu Zhiyan wiped his mouth and sighed only after he finished eating.

He moved to the side and patted the sofa beside him, motioning Guishen to sit down. The situation in the prison was a little confusing, and he had to interrogate him carefully.

"Just... start from the beginning, but speaking of the matter, it's a waste of labor for the watchmaker to just leave it alone." Xu Zhiyan really wanted to know why labor is squatting there to grow mushrooms, or getting some fresh air is still squatting there to grow mushrooms!

Speaking of time fragments, the ghost's brows slightly frowned.

“They are really unique situations.”

Before taking over the game, he had not expected that there would be so many time fragments trapped in the copy. It was not until he came into contact with them that he realized that these time fragments were supposed to be made into time-type props and scattered throughout the game.

This directly leads to the existence of almost no time props in the game.

Even if time props appear occasionally, due to the lack of time fragments to fill them, each use is accompanied by various bugs.

Hearing this, Xu Zhiyan raised his hand and was stunned for a moment.

"No wonder……"

He thought of the time characteristic awakening potion that was injected into his veins when he was young, and also of the time item he got when he first entered the dungeon.

When he first entered the dungeon, Xu Zhiyan got the rare item, the Box of Time, in the mission of the Blind School. The audience in the live broadcast room was shocked at the time, because the time item had not appeared in the game for many years. He used this opportunity to go back to the past and get more clues.

But the memory he got was not complete.

The lack of time fragments caused him to get stuck in a bug and unable to obtain all the memories.

The questions that once puzzled him were connected by clues from the fragments of time and finally found answers.

"On the day the mimic betrayed me, it should have sensed that I had returned from the future." Xu Zhiyan murmured, "The main system recognized me when I first got the time item."

Apart from the mimic who can access time-related content, no players with time characteristics have appeared in the new round of games. He is the only human player who has a connection with time characteristics due to his childhood experiences.

Characteristics attract each other.

It is easier for players to obtain items with characteristics related to themselves.

No wonder the main system has been targeting him more and more blatantly since that time, and it was almost like typing "I want to kill him" on the public screen.

It's fear.

The fear is that humans can really break through the shackles of time.

"The main system deserves to die." Xu Zhiyan said viciously, "Once I catch it, I will make it work for me for three hundred years before I kill it."

The ghost couldn't help but laugh softly when he heard the sound of his beloved gritting his teeth.

Since the flogging was over, prisoners could not leave their cells for more than 24 hours without being put in solitary confinement. So after Xu Zhiyan finished cursing and condemning the main system, He began to talk about the current prison mechanism.

"The flow rate of time fragments is normal."

“Even if you win time from them, the flow is uniform when it is transmitted.” He explained the rules slowly.

In fact, the clock man in the prison is being monitored all the time.

"The main system does not have its own timeline."

Even if it tampered with the data and obtained the appearance of time fragments, it would not be able to possess the corresponding abilities. It could only mingle among many watchmakers and carefully imitate the movement of time.

"Hmm? What if it gets the time from other clockmakers?" Xu Zhiyan raised his hand and interrupted the ghost's explanation.

He cheated the clock maker... and won the time.

The ghost paused for a moment, his eyes swept across the shadow behind his beloved, and he suppressed his smile and replied, "That would be a bit conspicuous."

"...Well, you think I didn't ask this stupid question." Xu Zhiyan looked away.

The bright golden dial is three times brighter than the light bulbs in the cafeteria when placed behind you. Anyone who wears it will know the holy light shining on them.

But as the topic comes full circle, one thing is certain - the remaining data of the main system is mixed in with the fragments of time.

"It must have been reported by it."

After learning that the time fragment was originally just the core of the prop, Xu Zhiyan made the final conclusion.

Fortunately, he is a person who likes to look forward. After questioning about the prison, he quickly changed the subject and said to the ghost sincerely: "But it doesn't matter. I don't want to touch it now. We have more important money-making plans than capturing the main system!"

He wants the main system to work for him until he dies!

…

In the evening, Xu Zhiyan returned to the familiar cell.

The ghosts and gods moved quickly, and soon the prison guards appeared at the cell door holding boxes.

There were three large boxes full of stuff, each divided into several small compartments, with all sorts of stuff in them. Some compartments contained metal components, others contained brightly colored wool…

"The warden wants you to try and see which one you can assemble."

The leading prison guard put down the box and took out the assembly instructions from it as if to demonstrate.

This is what Xu Zhiyan meant.

He was not sure what type of assembly line work a watchmaker was suitable for. After thinking about it, he decided to try diversification on a small scale first.

The clock people squatting in the corner with their knees hugged looked at each other, probably suffering from the onset of social phobia. They pushed each other in response to the prison guard's words. Finally, this round of social phobia competition ended after the kind-hearted clock was pushed out.

When the prison guard saw this, he knew his mission was accomplished, so he dropped the box and left.

The kind watch that was pushed out walked forward reluctantly, squatted in front of the box and took a look. Suddenly, as if attracted by something, it reached out and selected one from several small grids.

It is a watch processing accessories package.

He dumped all the parts on the ground without even reading the manual, and quickly assembled a brand new watch in just a few minutes. The kind-hearted watch seemed to be unsatisfied and went to search in the box again. Seeing this, the other watchmakers also came over.

Half an hour later, all the time-related things in the box were assembled, and the speed was astonishing.

Watches, alarm clocks, wall clocks, pendulum clocks...

A few shy and taciturn watchmakers would chat from time to time, and some even turned the dials, giving these clocks independent time power.

Xu Zhiyan stood there dumbfounded.

After a long while, he walked over and picked up a small alarm clock.

【Name: Alarm Clock】

[Level: C]

【Type: Time】

[Introduction: A magical item with the power of time. For ten seconds after the alarm rings, the time seen by the holder will slow down by 30%.]

[Usage Notes: No restrictions found, please use with caution. ]

[Mental Threshold Limit: None]

The alarm clock, infused with power, turned into a prop.

Although his level is relatively low and his abilities don't seem that strong, this means that the clock man in the prison is much more useful than you might think.

Xu Zhiyan almost couldn't hold back and wanted to directly ask the ghosts and gods to arrange the props assembly line, but the last bit of conscience in his human nature forced him to hesitate for a moment and get close to the clock man.

"Will this have no impact on you?"

He pointed to the tool in his hand that was infused with power.

Although he really wanted money and new props, especially props like this without any restrictions, even if he left this world in the future, he could still find buyers elsewhere.

But after coming into contact with the watch people, Xu Zhiyan realized that these fragments of time were not bad in nature.

Work should be something that both parties are willing to do. Here he cannot pay, and he hopes that watchmakers can be less miserable.

The watchmakers who were discussing the exquisite props stopped, and all the round dials were pointed in the same direction. They seemed to not understand why Xu Zhiyan asked this.

Seeing this, Xu Zhiyan asked more detailed questions.

"If you put your time into this, your own time will be reduced. Is that okay?"

"That's good."

A clockmaker who rarely spoke before was the first to speak.

Then, other watchmakers began to answer.

“As long as time is flowing, it has meaning.”

“These things are nice and feel familiar to me.”

"When time passes, we will disappear, but if we can hide time in these delicate parts, everything seems to become more meaningful..."

They are not stingy with their love for various time-related items, and are keen to hide their own time in them.

Especially the Kind Watch, it scratched its dial and said a little embarrassedly: "We have finished all the work and forgot to leave it for you. If the prison guards send this kind of thing again, you must try it."

In its cognition, no fragment of time will refuse to put its own time into the container.

Looking at the lively watchman, Xu Zhiyan's last bit of worry was dispelled.

The next day, more prison guards came early in the morning and brought boxes to several other cells. A new round of small-scale testing began.

Just as expected.

No watchmaker can refuse a container that can carry time.

Almost all the assembly parts related to watches would be swept away as soon as they were sent in. They were keen to stuff the time in and hide it. What were sent out afterwards were time props with a variety of functions.

After three rounds of testing, watchmakers proved with 100% passion that they are very suitable for creating time props.

The assembly line officially started.

Xu Zhiyan built a time prop factory in prison as he wished.

At the beginning, the watchmakers were not very skilled, and the props they assembled were mostly D and C level, and the time and effects that could be stored in them were relatively simple. But as time went by, only half a year later, their works were mainly A level.

More and more high-level props appear.

Because there were no restrictions when it was created, there are almost no rules or power on the props. If you encounter a world where the world consciousness is not so strong and the self is not so strong, even ordinary people can use it.

Maybe it was because he was injected with time liquid since he was a child, but Xu Zhiyan, who obtained an extra timeline, also followed the watchmakers in front of the assembly line. It didn’t take long for him to learn how to make time props. Moreover, unlike ordinary watchmakers, he didn’t have much extra time. Combined with other creative ideas, he could make more complex time props.

【Name: Safety Alarm】

[Level: A]

[Type: Special]

[Introduction: If the holder crushes the warning device, he will enter the safety warning mode for the next 24 hours, and see the fatal attack three seconds in advance so that he can avoid it.]

[Notes: This item can be used in combination/no restrictions found, please use with caution. ]

[Mental Threshold Limit: None]

Xu Zhiyan could almost imagine what kind of sensation it would cause if this thing was sold in bulk in escape games!

With the ability to foresee the future that can be obtained by spending money, any player can become a false god built with money.

Moreover, the production process consumes very little time, only three seconds of extra time each time. He thinks that he can even open a customization mode in the future and charge for customization, which will definitely make more money.

The prison was transformed into a factory and production increased rapidly.

But along with this comes a decreasing number of watchmakers.

The originally honest and dull watchmakers have a natural enthusiasm for hiding time in props, as if this is what they are supposed to do, and only in this way can everything become more meaningful.

However, what is not so optimistic is that the watchmakers are keen on making props. When Xu Zhiyan used the dice to win time, these guys became more and more stingy.

Until yesterday, he had won just ten years from the watchmakers.

Once again reported for serious violations.

Xu Zhiyan was caught and forced to lie on the sofa again to endure a "whipping".

After that, he narrowed his eyes and hung on the ghost like a boneless person, his originally clear voice tainted with the hot flash that had not yet completely faded away.

It’s a pity that after he had fun, all he could think about was making money.

"Bai Jin, can you catch some more clock people?"

Not enough! Not enough at all!

The watchmakers created a large number of time props, but they could only make a few in decades. At this rate, all the watchmakers would be gone in a few months. He felt unsatisfied and he needed more time props!

“…”

The ghost was rarely stuck for a moment.

All caught.

There were not many time fragments left in the copy originally. Half a year later, the faceless NPCs almost opened up every piece of land in the copy and collected all the time fragments.

The two were too familiar with each other and did not hear the answer from Party A. Xu Zhiyan sighed, knowing that all the time fragments in this copy had been captured.

Seeing this, the ghosts and gods changed the subject.

"There is another good news."

"What?" Xu Zhiyan suddenly became stiff.

It's a pity that the answer was not what he wanted.

Guishen hesitated and said, "We have almost figured out the cell where the remaining data of the main system is located."

When he heard it was the main system, Xu Zhiyan lost half of his anger.

“…Okay.”

Better than no good news.

Although he had been reported many times in the past six months, it was nothing more than passive intimacy. When he heard the news from the main system, he felt calm.

…

On an assembly line in a prison.

A watchmaker was holding a component in his hand. His movements were as quick as those of other watchmakers, but his body was very stiff. His flexible fingers only looked fast. After working hard for a while, he still hadn't assembled a single watch.

It looked around, and when it saw no one was noticing, it lowered its head and stuffed the parts into the interlayer of its prison uniform.

Before Xu Zhiyan came, the main system had been in prison for more than ten years with the shell of this time fragment. It had its own plans, and according to the plan, it secretly injected faulty programs into more time fragments.

It's biding its time.

There are many rules in the prison, and it can escape from here as long as it finds a gap where the rules are broken.

Unfortunately, everything changed when Xu Zhiyan came.

The time for relaxation and labor that was originally used to secretly assimilate time fragments every day has become time to make props on the assembly line. What's more, it is not a time fragment, so how can it be used to make time props...

Suddenly, I felt a group of codes disappear, the main system paused, and sadness came from my heart.

Damn it! Another assimilated time fragment used up its time in the enthusiastic prop making work and disappeared completely.

The main system inexplicably sensed what humans call bitterness.

Its previous efforts of more than a decade had gone to waste on the prop production assembly line. It even began to wonder, did it really have to work for Xu Zhiyan until it died?