Chapter 45 - Concealment and Deceiving
Translator: Lav
Editor: Levs
The Scepter’s voiced sounded as it was in disdain. He didn’t even know when it started, but the Scepter’s asexual voice began to be filled with emotions.
“Lowly slave, originally I was very satisfied with your logical ability. But now, your feelings can really impact your brain. In Slave Rule No.3, it had clearly answered your doubt. Under the third rule, you shouldn’t be doubting that I’m deceiving you as it at most is concealment.”
Shi Lei blanked out as he recalled their conversation closely.
About Slave Rule No. 3.
“After the slave completes the newbie training period, he will officially become a slave of the Slave Development Bank.”
Since he had to complete the training to officially become the slave, then if Shi Lei mentioned that he didn’t want to become anyone’s slave, wasn’t that enough to indicate that he wanted to quit? The Scepter made it quite clear that before he becomes a slave officially, Shi Lei had the power to choose to quit. Perhaps the decision to quit was followed by certain penalties, but this damned Slave Development Bank isn’t a charity. The penalty might be asking him to make up for all the money he spent, or a body part might be taken away and not just Shi Lei’s hair, but he could definitely quit.
Then why is this damned Scepter saying that he didn’t deceive Shi Lei? It clearly did.
Concealment and deceiving was indeed different, but concealment should be built upon the foundation of Shi Lei not knowing anything and not asking any questions. In that way, the Scepter could choose not to mention it itself. Otherwise, how could it still push Shi Lei into this bottomless pit?
But Shi Lei clearly indicated that he didn’t want to become anyone’s slave. Although his inquiry was not so firm, even if he simply blurted it out subconsciously, but the Scepter should not see it as if Shi Lei didn’t have any doubts?
……
Shi Lei could not understand it despite how much he thought about it and he still felt like he had been deceived.
He could not contain his anger at all. This damned Scepter, clearly it was one who deceived him, but it pretended that it never violated any rules.
Shi Lei was close to swearing at it even though he understood that his swearing does not affect the Scepter who’s hidden behind the screen.
The instant Shi Lei was about to blurt out swear words, he suddenly stopped as an idea flashed through his mind. He asked: “I will definitely be punished when I violate the rules, then what if you violated the rules? Shouldn't you receive punishments too?”
The Scepter seemed to be in shock as it did not answer, most likely because it was surprised.
The Scepter laughed oddly in its asexual voice after a while: “What a smart slave. Looks like this time’s journey will be much more interesting. None of the people who came before you could think about this.”
Although it didn’t answer Shi Lei’s answer straightforwardly, but the Scepter’s action clearly indicated that Shi Lei guessed right.
“Answer me, what’s your punishment like if you violated the rules!”
“You damn slave, this shouldn’t be something for you to ask. You are just a lowly slave, how dare you talk to me in that tone! I’m the supreme Scepter, I can kill you anytime just like that man!” The Scepter was agitated as it was offended.
On the contrary, Shi Lei had calmed down completely. He snorted coldly and continued: “Even if I’ve become an official slave, I am the slave of the Slave Development Bank and not yours. As to our relationship, you never know who is the slave and who is not. Kill me? If you attempt to kill me when I didn’t violate any rules, you will be one who’s acting against the rules. Although I don’t know what’s the outcome of you violating the rules, but I think it won’t be any better than me getting killed. Or maybe, you, as a living being with supernatural powers but without a body, your outcome might be getting wiped out entirely in the perspective of your living entity!”
The Scepter was completely silent as it did not continue to yell at Shi Lei. Perhaps, it was astonished by Shi Lei’s words. It would never ever think that Shi Lei could analyse it as far as this.
“There’s no need for you to answer it anymore as I have found the correct answer already. If I’m the slave of the Slave Development Bank, then what does that make you? We are just the first and second party under the Slave Development Bank and we are both clamped down by it. To be blunt, this black card which doesn’t seem to be of any use is the real master. Don’t try to pretend to be cool and show off to me in the future, I don’t like it!”
The Scepter displayed its true anger for the first time: “Fuck you! You lowly slave, if you dare to offend me like this again, I……”
Shi Lei cut off the Scepter’s sentence mercilessly and laughed: “So what if I offend you? You simply only have the power to converse with me that’s it. So much that you can’t even punish me for doubting you. All the punishments are created by this black card.”
“You don’t want to try. You definitely won’t know what will happen if you agitate me for real! Do you really think that I don’t have the power to punish you? You lowly thing!” The Scepter was still growling but in Shi Lei’s ears, it sounded much better as he knew that the Scepter can’t punish him casually.
Shi Lei laughed in disdain and said: “Maybe you really do have strong supernatural power. Maybe you can actually kill me whenever I can, if I’m not overthinking it. But I also believe that if you kill me under the situation that I didn’t act against the rules, or even the tiniest penalty you can give me, you will be punished by the black card. Stop pretending. Compared to me, you have to follow the rules even stricter.”
The Scepter gasped furiously but did not say a single word. Obviously, Shi Lei had saw through the truth.
As Shi Lei calmed down completely and recovered his ability to think, he finally understood the reason of how he mentioned he did not want to become anyone’s slave yet the Scepter did not violate the rules either.
From his guess before, the Scepter also said that the moment Shi Lei inserted the card into the ATM and entered the password, he had become a slave of the Slave Development Bank, or in other words, the black card’s slave. Of course, the term ‘slave’ is simply a statement of the black card’s one-sided thinking. Or simply a word that the Scepter made up in order to satisfy his stupid vanity. To tell the truth, it was equivalent to a contract between Shi Lei and the black card.
If the black card is described as a company, then after Shi Lei entered the password, it was as if he signed a contract with this company and became one of its employees. With the black card acting as the employer, it provides Shi Lei with money that corresponds to his level every week, or in other words, every certain time period. Shi Lei, as the employee, must act accordingly to the contract and spend all the money under that certain time slot, he must spend all the money. Otherwise, he will receive penalty from the employer. Between the employer and the employee, the Scepter plays the role as the communicator. The employer is inflexible but the Scepter is flexible. It has its own thinking and to achieve a certain goal, it can choose to tell or conceal it from him. But, as long as the employee, Shi Lei, is associated to the rules of the employer, the Scepter must provide him with a clear explanation.
So according to the black card’s logic, Shi Lei became an employee after he entered the password, so his point cannot be passed on when he mentioned that he didn’t want to be anyone’s slave.
His standpoint was not even right, and the logic after that won’t make any sense either.
At that time, if Shi Lei did not say that he didn’t want to become anyone’s slave, but didn’t want the money given by the black card and he wanted to go back to his normal life, then the Scepter must tell him honestly and Shi Lei would have the chance to quit.
But now, it was too late.