Terrifying Speculation

"Fire, open fire!"

The soldiers were on edge, their nerves frayed by the terror those mutant monsters had instilled in them. Every rustle in the air could set them off, let alone a sudden blackout.

The abrupt plunge into darkness shattered what little composure they had left.

Blinded, the soldiers panicked, firing wildly in all directions. They didn't care if they hit their own men—the only comfort they knew came from the muzzles of their guns.

But unlike the soldiers, most of these beastly mutants had night vision. As evolved predators of nature, that was a basic survival tool.

The power cut was just a momentary blur to them. Once their eyes adjusted to the dark, they could see their surroundings without any hindrance.

Soon, backup generators kicked in, flooding the corridor with emergency lights. But those lights were far too dim—fine for walking, but fighting in that gloom was nearly impossible.

Besides, the emergency lights came too late.

When a soldier at the front finally regained his sight through the faint glow, all he saw was a gaping maw lunging at him. The next moment, he was slammed to the ground by an immense force, a chill at his neck, and then nothing.

"They're coming!"

"Fire! Open fire!"

"I don't want to die! No, please!"

"Kill you all! Kill you! Aaaah!!!"

Zhang Ye crouched in a corner on the second floor, knowing his plan had worked. Pietro had taken out the power supply.

From a distance, he quietly watched the "feast of sound and fury." The dim light hampered his vision too, but he could clearly see flashes at the far gate leading to the first floor—the muzzle flares of submachine guns.

Along with the gunfire came the clatter of bullets and impacts, and screams and roars straight out of hell. Even Zhang Ye felt reluctant to get closer.

Ignoring the battle ahead, he casually opened a nearby cell. Inside was a young man, huddled in the corner, staring at Zhang Ye with terror in his eyes.

"Don't, don't kill me!" the youth cried, trying to shrink back, but he was already pressed against the wall.

"What's your name?" Zhang Ye asked flatly, his voice devoid of emotion.

The youth covered his head, not daring to meet Zhang Ye's gaze, only staring at his bloodstained boots. "I'm John. John Proudstar."

There were plenty of Johns in the comics, and names overlapped often. Zhang Ye couldn't remember them all—just a few hero codenames was good enough. So he figured this was just some mutant nobody who'd never appeared in the comics.

"Here's a job for you. Take these keys and let the other mutants out. The power supply's destroyed, the energy barriers are down. Everyone here can escape."

With that, Zhang Ye tossed the keys in front of John. When John didn't move, Zhang Ye drew his gun and aimed it at him. "Maybe I wasn't clear. You've got two choices: pick up the keys and do what I said, or I put a bullet in your head right now."

"I'll do it, I'll do it!" John lunged forward, snatching the keys and holding them up. "Don't kill me! I'm going!"

Zhang Ye showed no reaction, just stepped aside. John moved fast—his speed and strength were far above normal, and he picked locks way quicker than Zhang Ye could.

Outsourcing the lock-picking made things a lot easier for Zhang Ye. Fumbling with locks in the dark was pure torture.

By then, the battle up ahead was over. All the soldiers were dead. Nothing suited these monsters' hunting better than the dark. Nightcrawler teleported between soldiers with every blink, reaping lives like a reaper among them.

Maybe the monsters had sated their hunger, or maybe they just wanted out of this cage that had held them so long. After killing the guards, they didn't linger—they charged straight for the first floor.

Zhang Ye followed silently behind. The prison guards were just an appetizer. He needed these mutants to break through and take out the garrison outside.

Those people wouldn't let the inmates of a secret mutant prison escape. They couldn't catch Pietro with his speed, but they could rally to stop these rabid mutant beasts.

Sure enough, when Zhang Ye reached the first floor, it was nearly empty. Most of the mutants locked up here had already fled in the chaos, leaving only a few powerless ones in their cells—like Cyclops, now blind.

The mutants surged out, only to be met with artillery and bullets. This armory had no shortage of weapons. Thousands of soldiers stood ready, determined to slaughter the mutants on the spot.

But among the mutant prisoners, two could teleport like Nightcrawler. Against that ability, cannons and guns couldn't touch them.

The soldiers quickly realized these monsters were tougher than they'd thought—especially when an old man with telekinesis flipped a tank.

The battlefield was chaos now, a cacophony of noise. Zhang Ye stayed in the shadows, avoiding any attention. The plan had worked; it was time to leave.

But then, a radioman caught his eye.

"Report! We need backup! The Assassin released most of the prisoners from the Mutant Prison! They've broken our formation! We need backup!"

Assassin?

That word made Zhang Ye stop in his tracks.

His plan had been to free the prisoners. He didn't care what they called him—but "Assassin" made his eye twitch.

When an assassin appears, there's always a target. Success or failure, the assassin and the target are bound together. An assassin shows up where a target exists.

And where there's a target, there's an assassin.

So that soldier's word was a big problem. It meant someone worth assassinating was here—someone with enough power to command this army and influence many.

Only such a figure could be a target.

At first, Zhang Ye thought they meant Warden Fisk. After all, Kingpin was second only to the top here. But he quickly dismissed that. Kingpin was just a warden; he didn't command the military. Besides, he was already gutted. That wasn't the answer.

That left only one possibility.

Zhang Ye thought back to who built this secret mutant prison, the highest-level security measures, and the news that the President had been missing for a long time.

His eyes flew wide.

That damn President X was here right now!