Releasing the Prisoners

At first, Zhang Ye had planned to leave all of this to Pietro.

After all, Pietro was a speedster. Since he could bring Zhang Ye inside and collect the keys to every cell without alerting the other soldiers or Warden Fisk, that was enough to prove that Pietro was fully capable of opening every cell in a short time.

Unfortunately, that plan could not work.

The Mutant Secret Prison's power supply was located in the Military Factory aboveground, and the two were linked together. The moment anything went wrong in the Mutant Secret Prison, the power supply would immediately activate its automatic defense system.

That automatic defense system was an extremely advanced Electric Barrier. Anyone who passed through it would be burned to charcoal by high-voltage electricity. Moreover, the barrier would instantly envelop the entire Mutant Prison, preventing anyone inside from entering or leaving.

Even if a few powerful or unusual mutants could pass through the barrier, what good would it do if they escaped? They would be captured again within days, and letting only a few mutants escape would not accomplish Zhang Ye's plan.

So that idea was impossible. Likewise, the plan of first destroying the power supply to prevent the Electric Barrier from activating, then entering to free the prisoners, was equally unworkable.

Once the power supply was destroyed, the entire Mutant Prison would be placed under martial law. The army would surround the place, and Pietro could not dodge bullets in such a cramped space. The only thing awaiting him would be death. Even if they succeeded, how many mutants could they free? It would be just as useless as the previous plan.

There was only one way to make the plan work: free the prisoners first, then destroy the power supply from outside and disable the Electric Barrier. That way, more mutants could escape. With so many mutants joining forces, the soldiers outside would be no match for them.

To do that, Zhang Ye and Pietro had to split up. The power facility was heavily guarded, and Zhang Ye was not confident he could destroy it in such an environment. That task could only be given to Pietro, while he himself chose to unlock the cells.

After dividing their tasks, Zhang Ye and Pietro immediately went their separate ways. Zhang Ye hid the keys and pretended to be a soldier coming to relieve a shift as he casually walked out of the room.

The prison corridors were damp, freezing, and filled with the stench of blood and rotting flesh. Mixed with the scrape of iron chains against the floor, it felt like walking through hell.

Zhang Ye kept his head lowered, doing his best to draw as little attention as possible.

At the same time, he discreetly studied the mutants imprisoned along both sides of the corridor. Some were asleep, while others remained awake, staring coldly at Zhang Ye.

They did not know Zhang Ye, but they recognized his uniform. In the Mutant Prison, offending a guard was a very dangerous thing.

Zhang Ye had to admit that Warden Fisk had trained these prisoners well.

There were quite a few familiar faces among them: Banshee, Psylocke, Sprite, and other X-Men members from his previous life. There were also some whose mutant abilities were not obvious, and Zhang Ye could not determine their identities.

The entire prison was lethargic, even the guards. As Zhang Ye passed one drowsy guard, the man merely glanced at him. Then nothing happened. He closed his eyes again and resumed dozing off.

Condensed droplets fell from the prison ceiling. In the darkness, the faint sound of sewage flowing through drainage pipes could be heard, making the place feel suffocating and hopeless.

Zhang Ye could hardly imagine the inhuman treatment these imprisoned mutants endured every day. At least, he had to admit that if it were him, he would probably have been driven insane after three days here.

As he descended the stairs, the foul stench became even stronger. On the third level, Zhang Ye saw the bestial mutants who had become monsters. Nightcrawler, whom Pietro had mentioned before, was among them. So was Angel, one wing severed, as well as Beast, who had transformed into a huge blue monster.

There was also Shadowcat Kitty, fused into a pillar. She showed no reaction as Zhang Ye passed by, her eyes vacant as though she had long since died.

"You're here so early today?" The soldier on guard yawned when he saw Zhang Ye. He was surprised that his colleague was being so diligent today, even arriving early to take over the shift.

"Early? Not early. I think I'm late," Zhang Ye replied flatly.

The next moment, Zhang Ye pulled a silenced submachine gun from his clothes and unleashed a burst of fire at the several half-asleep soldiers in front of him.

No one could have expected Zhang Ye to attack so suddenly. Besides, they were exhausted and their minds were sluggish. Without putting up any resistance, they were riddled with bullets.

The gunfire instantly alarmed the prisoners throughout the prison. The mutants who had already become monsters grew excited. Drawn by the scent of blood like sharks, they pressed themselves tightly against the prison bars and stretched their hands toward Zhang Ye, trying to grab something.

"Quiet, you freaks!" Zhang Ye knew that the surveillance cameras had captured him the instant he fired. It could not be helped. He had to move faster.

"I'll let you out." Zhang Ye took off the soldier's coat, but instead of using the keys right away, he raised his left hand. The Particle Beam finished gathering, and the Repulsor Ray fired instantly, blasting the nearest cell door into fragments.

Beast was imprisoned inside that cell. The moment he saw the cage had been broken open, he rushed out. Then he glanced at Zhang Ye, his gaze finally settling on Zhang Ye's left hand, which gleamed with a metallic luster. He seemed fearful of that weapon's destructive power.

After hesitating for several seconds and seeing that Zhang Ye had no intention of stopping him, Beast roared and lunged at the soldiers' corpses, devouring them in huge mouthfuls. It seemed the creature really had been starving.

Seeing that, Zhang Ye could not help taking several deep breaths. Honestly, even after being in this world for so long, he still had not gotten used to it. Every time he saw a scene like this, his stomach still churned.

Ignoring Beast as he feasted, Zhang Ye hurried to the other cell doors and used the keys to unlock them.

After Zhang Ye blasted the head of Angel, who had been preparing to attack him, into pieces, things went much more smoothly. Though these monsters' minds had been consumed by feral instincts, their remaining reason made them understand that if they did not want to die, they had better not provoke the human who was helping them escape.