Escape!

Soon,

the three of them each slipped on a simple, double-layered vest made from bent sheet metal. Merlin had found them over the past few days.

A layer of cowhide was sandwiched between the two sheets of metal.

They were uncomfortable and ugly, but they did offer some protection.

Then they pulled oversized black coats over the metal vests.

"Thump, thump!"

Merlin knocked on Lami's stomach. A dull metallic sound rang out, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Not bad. It may be ugly, but at least it's useful."

Lami curiously poked Merlin's stomach with her finger. "It's so hard! So their bullets won't get through?"

"Probably not," Yol said with a soft laugh, rubbing Lami's head. Merlin sighed. "It'll only provide a little protection. Their high-quality firearms should be able to pierce this armor."

At that, Merlin turned to Yol.

"During the breakout, your job is to take Lami and carry our suitcase. Once we get through the barrier, hold on to Lami and don't look back. Run for the hills, zigzagging all the way."

Yol nodded seriously. "I know. But you need to be careful, too. Bullets don't have eyes."

"Yeah, I understand."

Merlin spoke softly. "Take twenty grenades. You'll also bring a rifle and that sword."

Before long, Merlin felt a sense of security as he checked the ninety grenades he had on him.

He looked at Yol and said, "You two should get some sleep and rest up. I'll wake you when it's time."

Yol nodded. "All right. You should get some rest, too, if you can."

Merlin nodded and watched as Yol held Lami close and leaned back against the bedding, closing her eyes.

Merlin picked up a water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and took a drink. Then he leaned against the bedding and closed his eyes as well, recovering his strength and focus in a half-awake, half-asleep state.

Every so often, he took out his pocket watch to check the time.

Two ten in the morning.

Merlin got up and woke Yol and Lami. Then he went outside and briefly explained the next steps to Eric and the others.

He led them into the tunnel. To Eric and the others' astonishment, they emerged at the far end. Merlin had already retrieved the two booby traps he'd left there.

All ten of them then made their way to the cellar beneath the ranch.

They rested there for a while.

When it was almost time, he led them out to the orchard.

Three in the morning.

The hour when sleepiness was at its strongest.

Behind a mound of earth,

the group lay prone, grass tied to their bodies.

Yol and Lami were on Merlin's right, Eric on his left. The moonlight was neither too bright nor too dim. Merlin's pupils widened as he stared clearly at the barrier three hundred meters away.

A bonfire stood every hundred meters or so, with a makeshift tent beside each one.

Over the past few days, Merlin had observed that each bonfire was guarded by four people, who took turns in pairs, alternating between watch duty and rest.

The spot where Merlin and the others were now was close to the coast.

The defenses in this area were also the weakest. There were only two bonfires, meaning just eight guards nearby.

In other words,

this was the safest place to break through.

Merlin handed Eric the half-meter-long bolt cutters tucked at his waist.

"We'll crawl over. I'll keep watch while you cut a gap in the barrier big enough for us to get through."

Eric nodded gravely. Merlin turned on his side and began pulling grenades out of his backpack, speaking to Eric as he did.

"Three each. Hold them in your hands. Once we break through, they'll definitely spot us. We'll use the grenades to buy ourselves time to escape."

As the grenades were handed out one by one, gratitude flashed in Eric's eyes.

Over the past few days, they'd used up almost all of their grenades.

But now Merlin was handing out twenty-one at once. He was incredibly generous.

Then Eric noticed the three loops of grenades around Merlin's waist—at least thirty of them—and the corner of his mouth twitched. "You've got that many grenades on you. Aren't you worried a stray bullet will set them off?"

Merlin's expression didn't change. "Thanks for the warning, but I know what I'm doing."

Merlin glanced at the grenades taped together in pairs around his body. They'd be quite a sight when they went off.

Looking toward the border, quiet in the distance, Merlin said, "Let's go. We're moving."

At his words, the group began crawling slowly across the grass toward the barrier, hidden by the moonlight.

Under the night sky,

in the moonlight,

the soft rustling of grass filled the air.

Everyone was tense, but perhaps because no survivors had tried to storm the barrier in the past two days, the guards weren't very vigilant.

The group reached the barrier without being spotted by the soldiers.

Eric slowly edged up to the wire mesh, swallowed, then began cutting through the wires with the large bolt cutters.

Merlin watched intently as a patrol moved thirty meters ahead and to one side.

Before long, Eric whispered excitedly, "Boss Merlin, this gap is big enough for us to get through."

Merlin looked at the opening Eric had cut in the wire fence, large enough for them all to crawl through. His gaze immediately sharpened. He pointed at the two patrolling soldiers nearby.

"Can you shoot those two?"

Eric hesitated. "We're not very good with guns. Our aim probably won't be good enough."

Merlin hadn't expected much. He gave a quiet nod. "Then we'll rush them."

He glanced over his shoulder at Yol. She looked back at him, her pale orange eyes full of determination. Merlin gave her a slight nod.

Then he sprang up and charged through the gap in the fence. At the same moment, Yol scooped up Lami and rushed after him.

As soon as he cleared the fence, Merlin pulled the pin and threw the grenade in his right hand toward the soldier beside the bonfire. It struck the fire with perfect accuracy.

A deafening boom!

The bonfire exploded in an instant, sparks flying everywhere. The blast hurled the soldier through the air.

Merlin had already pulled the pins on two more grenades. He threw one toward the tent and the other toward the second soldier, who had dropped to the ground in terror.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

The peaceful night was shattered by the explosions. A few seconds later, as Merlin and Yol reached the remains of the bonfire, a piercing alarm rang out.

Eric and the others also pulled their grenade pins and hurled the grenades in every direction.

A series of explosions roared through the area, and the entire border went on high alert.

Merlin and Yol were sprinting toward the hills. He looked ahead at the forest, four hundred meters away.

At the same time, bullets began flying in from the guard posts on either side of the border.

A few seconds later, a scream came from behind them. Merlin whipped around and saw a young man twenty meters away, shot in the chest and abdomen, lying on the ground. Merlin could only sigh to himself. The moment he turned back, more screams rang out.

He didn't need to look to know that another unlucky person had been hit.

Yol remembered Merlin's instructions. Holding Lami, she bent low and sprinted forward on her long legs, zigzagging as she ran.

She shielded Lami's head with her arms and raced ahead with all her might.

Meanwhile, Merlin stayed close behind Yol and hurled grenade after grenade toward the direction the bullets were coming from.

A string of booming explosions sent dust and smoke billowing into the air, giving them excellent cover.

As they ran through the hail of bullets, the forest drew closer and closer. Merlin's gaze sharpened, and he hurled a grenade into the trees.

An explosion went off in the forest. Merlin suddenly picked up speed and shot past Yol.

The others behind him abruptly halted, their eyes filled with alarm as they thought there were more ambushers in the forest.

Merlin quickly reached a soldier slumped behind a tree. He kicked him over, then drove a dagger into his neck.

He glanced at the man's loose waistband and caught a foul stench coming from nearby. A suspicion began to form in his mind.

Yol caught up and asked warily, "Are there ambushers?"

Then Merlin noticed blood seeping from her upper arm. Yol saw where he was looking and shook her head.

"It's just a graze from a stray bullet. It's nothing."

Black flames coiled around Merlin's right hand. He pressed it to her shoulder, absorbing the calamity, then said, "There are no ambushers, but we shouldn't stay here. Let's move."

Eric looked at Merlin, mouth slightly open. But then he saw Merlin and Yol rush into the forest without looking back.

He glanced at the blood seeping from his thigh, then at the three people who had made it out with him. Behind them, no one else was in sight. He gritted his teeth and said grimly, "We're going, too!"

Then he hurried after Merlin with the three who'd followed him.

Before long, a group of soldiers reached the spot, but stopped at the edge of the forest.

One of them asked, "Should we go after them? Those infected have already gone into the forest."

Another soldier said through gritted teeth, "They've got grenades. You want to chase them? Let's go report back first!"

"Yeah, let's report back. We can't abandon the whole quarantine zone just because a few little rats got away."

The others all agreed.

Before long, they returned to the border.

There, they saw the three people they'd left behind. Two had been shot dead, but the last had only been hit in the leg and abdomen. By sheer luck, neither wound had struck anything vital, and he'd survived.

The captured young man knelt on the ground, frantic, shouting with all his might.

"I'm not sick! They cured my Lead Platinum Disease! Don't kill me! I really don't have Lead Platinum Disease!"