Escape Plan

Chapter 2: Escape Plan

The criminals locked up in Pebble Prison were all heinous villains guilty of monstrous crimes, the kind who deserved to be shot ten times over and still get off easy.

In this world, committing such unforgivable sins usually required formidable strength to begin with.

Blue Star was nothing like Earth. A thousand years ago, a "Rain of Evolution" had kicked off Blue Star's era of evolution.

The plants and animals on Blue Star all awakened the power of evolution. Every cell, even their very genes, were transformed by that power, granting them all sorts of mighty and miraculous abilities.

Only humans remained unchanged. Faced with the onslaught of mutant beasts, they could only pick up hot weapons and fight for survival.

That war lasted five hundred years and was called the "War of Evolution."

Over those five centuries, humans gradually figured out an evolutionary path suited to themselves. One by one, powerful figures rose up, finally securing humanity's last strongholds and putting an end to the War of Evolution.

The human method of evolution was different from other plants and animals. Humans needed to absorb extracts from lifeforms of a higher Life Level than their own, and even then, there was only a chance of success.

This method was clearly more difficult than the evolution of flora and fauna, but in exchange, it granted humans far greater Combat Power.

Within the same rank, humans reigned supreme.

The higher the Life Level, the more pronounced the advantage. It was said that human Saint-level lifeforms could generally hunt and kill mutant beasts of the same rank, and the best among them could even fight above their level.

Every time a human evolved, they needed to absorb three vials of extract from a higher-level lifeform. After each absorption, besides a comprehensive boost to their physical abilities, they would randomly gain one skill derived from the extract's original owner.

Take Su Ze's neighbor, for example. He was a Cocoon Breaking Stage expert who had undergone two evolutions, with abilities like bloodsucking and blood control. Through kidnapping and human trafficking, he had imprisoned and kept over a thousand "blood slaves" for his own feeding and pleasure. No fewer than two hundred had been drained to death by him.

His bloodsucking ability came from an extract of a leech-type mutant beast, while his blood control ability came from a third-evolution, three-stage mosquito beast.

Su Ze had privately nicknamed him "Vampire."

In the cell across from Su Ze was a middle-aged man who looked like a Sickly One—pale-faced, skin and bones, appearing terribly frail. But in reality, he was also a Cocoon Breaking Stage expert with the ability to control corpses. He had once massacred an entire village to build an army of zombies. His inhuman atrocities had enraged the entire nation.

Su Ze often felt out of place in Pebble Prison because he just wasn't twisted enough.

Of course, he also single-handedly dragged down the average strength of the entire prison.

In short, Pebble Prison existed specifically to hold death-row inmates who were both viciously evil and extremely powerful. Ordinary criminals—if they were too weak or hadn't killed enough people—didn't even qualify to be locked up here.

The only reason Su Ze was in Pebble Prison was because of King Mu's special attention.

Still, under the deterrence of King Mu, a Saint-level lifeform who had evolved four times, the Mu Kingdom had been relatively peaceful for the past few decades. As a result, over ninety percent of the cells in Pebble Prison sat empty.

Around Su Ze's cell, only "Vampire" and "Sickly One" were his cellmates, because the three of them had been sentenced together and were all scheduled for execution tomorrow morning.

So if Su Ze wanted to escape, these two were his only hope.

"Buddy, wanna break out?"

Hearing this, Vampire in the next cell let out a scornful laugh. "If you've got nothing better to do, go jerk off a few times and stop bothering me."

Su Ze caught the disdain in Vampire's tone but didn't mind. Convincing Vampire and Sickly One to help him escape wasn't hard—as long as he could make them believe his plan was feasible, they'd eagerly cooperate.

After all, they were death-row inmates with only one day left to live. Failing an escape attempt just meant dying anyway. If they succeeded, they'd have snatched back their lives.

Su Ze said, "You don't want to end your wretched life like this, do you? Why not hear my plan first and see if it's worth a shot?"

"You? A plan?" Vampire laughed out loud. "You were born with a silver spoon, but you threw it all away and ended up a death-row convict. You played a perfect hand like an idiot. I wouldn't dare listen to a fool's plan."

Su Ze had nothing to say to that. With a month of his memories blocked, he couldn't figure out why Zhao Lingxiao had ruined his own future. From what he knew, Zhao Lingxiao wasn't some horny moron or a spoiled brat. On the contrary, he was ambitious, ruthless, and never short of women.

There had to be more to Zhao Lingxiao's rape and murder of Princess Zhuzhi, but Su Ze had no time to dwell on it. The most important thing now was finding a way out.

Ignoring Vampire's mockery, Su Ze continued on his own. "I've got a rough plan, but it needs the three of us—you, me, and that guy across the way—to pull it off. The details still need ironing out."

"You can keep laughing at me, or you can help me refine this plan and fight for a chance to get out alive."

After Su Ze finished, silence fell over the neighboring cell.

A long moment later, Vampire's low, suppressed voice came through the metal wall. "You're not the first to try escaping. Pebble Prison has been around for over a hundred years. They've locked up plenty of third-evolution Butterfly Transformation Stage experts in here, and no one has ever succeeded. What makes me think you can?"

"Let's not even get started on the cameras in the hallway outside. Guards watch them twenty-four hours a day. The slightest move from us, and the warden—a Butterfly Transformation Stage expert—will be alerted..."

Su Ze cut him off. "What if I could temporarily disable those cameras?"

"How would you manage that?" Vampire questioned.

"In terms of strength, I'm no match for you. But in terms of status, you're not fit to polish my shoes. What you can't do, I might still pull off." Su Ze said. "Since you know who I am, you should also know that money makes the world go round."

After another moment of silence, Vampire asked, "What do you need me to do in your plan?"

Su Ze smiled, knowing Vampire had taken the bait.

"First, help me open this cell door."

"I can't do that. The control panel for the cell doors is at least fifty meters away. I can control blood, but only within ten meters of me. And that panel requires fingerprint verification from a squad leader-level guard or higher to operate."

"Then help me get a squad leader's fingerprint. That shouldn't be hard for you."

"Also, help me kill someone."

"Who?"

"You'll find out when the time comes."

Su Ze took a deep breath. "Now, let's get that guy across the way in on this and talk through our plan."

At noon, Su Ze heard footsteps approaching down the corridor and knew it was the prison guards bringing lunch.

Though there were few prisoners in Pebble Prison, almost all were evolvers with special abilities, so even delivering meals carried some risk.

That was why every time a guard brought food, a Guard Captain accompanied them.

"Eat a chicken leg to build up your strength. You'll need it for tomorrow's journey."

The guard said this to the Vampire in the neighboring cell, but Su Ze's spirits lifted when he heard it... chicken legs today!

After days of plain steamed buns, his mouth was practically tasteless.

He hurried to the heavy metal door, pulled open the small window, and saw the young meal-delivery guard outside, along with the burly Guard Captain behind him.

Su Ze's eyes were full of anticipation, but then a steamed bun was tossed in.

He caught the cold, hard bun, blinked, and asked, "Where's my chicken leg?"

By Mu Kingdom custom, death row inmates got better food the day before execution. Clearly, Su Ze was being treated differently.

The Guard Captain outside laughed. "Young Master Lingxiao, look at what you've done. Be grateful you're getting a bun at all. Why ask for a chicken leg?"

Su Ze sighed. Seeing the two guards about to turn and leave, he quickly called out, "Captain, don't rush off. I have something to discuss with you."

The burly Guard Captain paused, thought it over, and said to the meal guard, "You go on ahead."

Then he walked to Su Ze's cell door and said, "What do you want to tell me?"

Su Ze breathed a sigh of relief. The first step of his whole plan was what worried him most. Pebble Prison had three Guard Captains, and he was afraid he'd get one who was upright and wouldn't even listen.

Since this Guard Captain was willing to hear him out, that already showed his attitude.

"I'd like to trouble you to take a message to my family. The Zhao Family won't let you go to waste."

The Guard Captain neither agreed nor refused, but asked, "What message?"

"Come closer," Su Ze said.

The Guard Captain hesitated briefly. If it were any other prisoner in this prison, he wouldn't dare be careless, but Zhao Lingxiao was just an un-evolved Mortal Lifeform, no threat to him. So he stepped forward to the cell door.

He pressed one hand against the door and tilted his head slightly.

But he didn't notice that where his fingers touched the door, fine beads of blood flowed, leaving a shallow fingerprint.

Su Ze leaned in and lowered his voice.

"Go to my home and find a man named Zhao Qiang. Ask him just one thing: 'Where is the doll?'" Su Ze paused. "And tell him it'd be even better if I could have a full meal before I die."

Where is the doll?

The Guard Captain found the words cryptic and meaningless.

But he didn't press further and turned to leave.

Su Ze knew that not refusing meant he'd agreed, but under the surveillance here, he had to be discreet.

After leaving the prison, the Guard Captain didn't waste much time before driving to the Zhao Family.

Though Zhao Lingxiao had committed a grave crime, the Mu Kingdom wasn't an ancient feudal dynasty. It governed by law, with no concept of collective punishment for an entire clan.

And the Zhao Family had backers, so Zhao Yuanyi wasn't openly implicated too much.

Plus, Zhao Yuanyi had personally captured Zhao Lingxiao and brought him to justice. His act of placing righteousness above family loyalty was praised nationwide. Even if King Mu held a grudge against Zhao Yuanyi, he couldn't show it.

So the Zhao Family remained prosperous, worth a Guard Captain's effort to curry favor.

Once the Guard Captain left, Su Ze said to the Vampire next door and the Sickly One across the way, "You two don't like chicken legs, right? Why not let me have them?"

They both pretended not to hear.

Su Ze added, "You're both Cocoon Breaking Stage experts. Going without food or drink for ten days or half a month doesn't affect you. But I'm just a mortal with a weak constitution. If I starve and something goes wrong, it'll mess up the plan!"

"You don't want the plan to fail, do you?"

New book, please bookmark!