An Uneasy Christmas Eve

An Uneasy Christmas Eve

It had been over ten minutes.

Hurried footsteps shattered the silence.

It was Warden Joseph of Blackgate Penitentiary. He stumbled as he ran, and there was a coffee stain on his right sleeve.

There was a bruise on his right cheek... perhaps from a club. The wound on his forehead had definitely come from hitting the corner of the wall opposite the warden's office.

That spot looked like an "accident-prone intersection." Anyone who walked without looking up would definitely slam into it, and the swelling would not go down for two or three weeks.

Two more people followed behind Warden Joseph, walking at an unhurried pace like feral cats toying with a mouse.

"You said that if I cooperated, you wouldn't..." Warden Joseph shouted desperately.

Bang!

An iron-ball club mercilessly struck Warden Joseph's back, sending him rolling onto the floor.

Behind him stood two strange men wearing black masks.

"You should know him. He never leaves anyone alive," said one of the black-masked men.

Warden Joseph's disobedient legs trembled as he struggled to crawl forward on his knees.

The two black-masked figures were still enjoying themselves, savoring the thrill of tormenting their "prey."

In the cell across from Li Zu, the one-eyed middle-aged man who had been pretending to sleep turned over and continued lying still.

The muscular bald bastard who had roared at Li Zu earlier shrank his neck in fear, as though the two men holding iron clubs were something terrifying... or perhaps what those masks represented was even more terrifying.

Christmas Eve was unusually quiet.

"No! You can't do this!" Warden Joseph shouted as he climbed up from the floor.

No one stopped him, allowing him to run off on shaking legs.

The two black-masked men gave chase.

The prison block where Li Zu was held fell silent as well.

Rumble!

Violent tremors and loud noises could be heard outside.

The silent prison began to boil over.

This was the signal for a jailbreak and a riot. Several people had already fixed their eyes on Li Zu, the vicious gleam in their gazes completely undisguised.

That muscular bald bastard was among them.

They clearly wanted to use Li Zu to scratch the itch in their fists.

"This place looks... kind of unsafe."

Li Zu sat on the bed and scratched his head.

The Prop Box lay beside the bed. Li Zu stuck half his body into it and rummaged around.

Other than a few doll toys, it was empty.

He stood up gripping a toy meat saw, easily turning the iron bars into toys with his left hand before stepping out of his "room."

"Hmm..."

Li Zu stood in the corridor, barefoot on the cold stone floor.

His toes shifted slightly. The ground really was cold.

"So cold."

As he stood in the corridor "spacing out," every prisoner in the cells on either side turned their attention toward him.

They were all stunned that he had turned the indestructible prison bars into elastic plastic and simply strolled out.

Even the one-eyed middle-aged man who had been pretending to sleep sat up, quietly watching Li Zu with intense "interest" in his single eye.

"Mm, I'll do that first!" Li Zu nodded as though he had made up his mind.

He started toward the one-eyed middle-aged man's cell, then suddenly turned and went to the cell next door.

Seeing Li Zu standing outside his cell door, the muscular bald bastard barked fiercely despite his fear, "Bastard, do you want me to smash your head into your stomach?"

Turning iron bars into toys was such a bizarre ability that it made one's hair stand on end.

He did not want to find out whether his muscles or steel were sturdier.

Li Zu grabbed the barred door with his left hand.

Toyfication

In an instant, the iron-barred door became a plastic toy.

Li Zu smiled and raised the meat saw in his hand.

The plastic toy meat saw had somehow become an iron blade, gleaming with a lardy sheen.

The coarse cloth tied around the saw's handle was black with a glossy shine.

Splat!

Something splashed against the wall.

Liquid passed through the toyified iron bars and splattered across the floor.

Something else sprayed onto the ceiling.

The smell filling the air drove people mad.

Combined with the screams, all those who had previously looked at Li Zu with "terror" instinctively shrank their necks.

"I only cursed at you once. Why are you... Don't kill me, please!" The muscular bald bastard's agonized voice carried disbelief and pleading.

"You really should have kept roaring like you did earlier."

Li Zu raised the meat saw high.

The red on the blade and the red on his cheeks reflected his smile and the contempt in his eyes.

"An angry bastard deserves a grand exit more than a cowardly bastard begging for mercy."

As he spoke, he slowly lowered the raised meat saw.

No one knew what happened.

After only a brief exchange, however, the muscular bald bastard's screams made it clear who held the absolute upper hand and who had suffered a crushing defeat.

Li Zu dragged the heavy meat saw toward the exit without much interest.

The muscular bald bastard trembled as he breathed a sigh of relief.

The pool of blood beneath him kept growing. Even if that meat saw covered in "teeth" had not come down, how much longer could he cling to life?

Li Zu emerged while dragging the meat saw, his body swaying slightly.

It was clear that he had not rested properly, and the meat saw was still too heavy for him.

Some people had already escaped from their cells.

Warden Joseph was being hunted by the mysterious Black Mask Organization. Blackgate Penitentiary was now in a state of "freedom," making this the perfect opportunity to start a rebellion!

Others took advantage of the chaos to release those who had been locked up.

Yet although these people who had escaped their cells were bizarrely frenzied, they all shared an unspoken understanding... they stayed far away from Li Zu.

The prisoners rioted.

Blackgate Penitentiary's guards immediately suffered a counterattack.

Li Zu arrived at the one-eyed middle-aged man's cell door. Even with a riot breaking out, the man remained unmoved in his cell.

Hearing Li Zu's footsteps, the one-eyed middle-aged man unusually sat up from the bed and watched Li Zu with his single eye.

"How do I get out of here?" Li Zu asked directly, as though certain the other man knew a way out.

"How much are you offering?" the other man countered.

"Money?"

Li Zu looked surprised. "Can I buy on credit?"

Li Zu wandered through Blackgate Penitentiary alone.

His yellow prison uniform was his pass.

The prisoners were rapidly taking over the place, while he strolled forward with ease. Even after wandering for ten minutes, he still had not managed to leave.

Clearly, the one-eyed middle-aged man did not accept credit.

"Found them~"

Li Zu stopped.

At the corner ahead, he saw a group of black-masked people. One black-masked figure stood in the center, surrounded by the others.

"Batman is here," someone reported.

"Leave first."

Before leaving, the black-masked figure turned and glanced at Li Zu.

He had noticed Li Zu as well.

Rumble!

A plastic explosive blew open the wall.

A black figure shot inside in an instant.

His cape spread wide.

He looked like a humanoid bat spreading its wings.

Batman from the "restored" timeline had appeared.

That also meant Li Zu's next seven hours would not pass peacefully.

Thank you to "Forged Gut Man" for the 100 Qidian Coin reward, thank you to "No FU_Bi K Says" for the 100 Qidian Coin reward, and thank you to "Half a Day by the Mountain" for the 500 Qidian Coin reward.

(End of Chapter)