First Escape

"Are you really going to do this, Shou?" Gerard looked at Shou, who stood before him with his head lowered in silence, and asked in astonishment. He simply could not imagine that Shou, who had always been quiet and timid, would suddenly propose such a bold plan! At that thought, Gerard could not help turning his gaze toward Erza beside him, his eyes full of inquiry. Clearly, he was asking, Was this your idea?

Seeing this, Erza gently shook her head, equally bewildered. Clearly, she did not know why Shou had suddenly said such a thing either. After thinking for a while, Erza turned her gaze back to Shou and said sternly, "Is this really a decision you made after careful consideration?!"

"That's right! This is indeed the result of serious thought!" At her words, Shou immediately raised his head. Looking at Erza, the older sister he respected and adored so deeply, he unusually roared at her, "I've had enough! I don't want to stay in this place anymore! I have to get out of here!!!" After saying that, he panted heavily, as though shouting those few words had consumed a great deal of his strength.

"..." Erza stared at Shou in stunned disbelief. Was this still the obedient, well-behaved Shou who had always listened to everything she said? The thought left her feeling lost...

"I'm sorry, Sister Erza—" After taking a few breaths, Shou seemed to realize that his tone had been rude. He lowered his head again and said softly in an apologetic voice, "I, I just..."

Although Shou's tone had become much gentler and no longer held the hard edge it had before, everyone could still hear the resolve and determination in his voice.

"It's alright, Shou." Smiling faintly, Erza stroked Shou's bowed head and said gently, "I understand how you feel." This was Shou's true nature. This was the Shou I knew! It seemed he had really been suppressed for too long.

Hehe, perhaps everyone, including myself, felt the same way. At that thought, Erza gently shook her head, and a glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes.

It was a longing for freedom.

"Brother Nameless, what do you think?" Seeing that Erza had not spoken, but that the expression on her face clearly showed she had been moved by Shou's proposal, Gerard turned his gaze toward Chen Wuming, who had remained silent ever since hearing Shou's suggestion, and asked seriously.

At this, Erza, Shou, Wally, Simon, and Millianna all looked toward Chen Wuming. After all, he was the most mature, steady, and respected among them! Naturally, they had to seek his opinion on something as important as escaping the Tower of Paradise! Thinking this, every one of them looked at Chen Wuming with a trace of longing in their eyes, as though they wanted to hear a definite answer of approval from him—the answer they feared most, yet yearned for just as deeply!

"Hehe, since you've all already made up your minds, why ask for my opinion..." Chen Wuming's gaze swept over each of them, especially their eyes. When he saw the firm resolve beneath the longing in every gaze, he gave a bitter smile, gently shook his head, and sighed helplessly. "Then—"

"Let's decide on that!"

The moment his words fell, everyone, who had been waiting in unbearable tension, breathed sighs of relief and burst into loud cheers.

Although this was not the best opportunity, nor was it the most suitable time, and perhaps the chance of success for this plan was not even half, so what? For freedom, even if there was only a ten percent chance of success—it would still be worth staking everything on it!!!

At that thought, a terrifying gleam suddenly flashed through Chen Wuming's eyes!

Even if this was a gamble with equal chances of winning and losing, I was willing to gamble everything on it! Were there not countless gambles, large and small, in life? What was wrong with placing everything I had on one great bet? Besides, it was all for freedom...

More than a month had passed since Chen Wuming had met Erza and the others, and helped Erza settle on her surname. During that month, Chen Wuming and the others had continued living as they always had. Every morning, those murderous evil mages forced them to get up and work, endlessly exploiting them as living sacrifices for free labor, while occasionally giving them a vicious beating as well!

Although everyone, including Chen Wuming, had basically become accustomed to this unbearably difficult life, that did not mean they liked it! This monotonous, dull, and brutally harsh life of forced labor left them physically and mentally exhausted and miserable. Especially when there was no end in sight and not even a trace of hope, it became even more unbearable! Anyone would break after living through such hellish days for too long! Both physically and mentally, it brought suffocating pressure!!

Under the double oppression of that suffocating pressure, desperately crushing down on them, people would be driven mad! Other than the masters who ruled the Tower of Paradise—the unknown evil mages—no one could endure an environment that offered not the slightest hope! No matter how strong someone's mental fortitude was, if they stayed here long enough, they would be driven to the brink of collapse!

And now, that blond kid named Shou had suddenly proposed escaping this damned place. Chen Wuming was not surprised in the slightest, because he had long expected this outcome. After all, although the hope of escape was exceedingly slim, it was still far better than having no hope at all! Far, far better!

Those who had never experienced true despair could never understand what hope meant, nor could they truly feel the ray of light that even such a faint hope brought in desperate circumstances. To give a simple example, those who had never experienced true thirst would never understand the meaning of a single drop of water. But when one day you suddenly discovered that not even the slightest source of water existed in this world anymore, you might understand a little. If that situation lasted for a long time and you happened not to die of thirst, then you would understand the meaning of one drop of water—how incomparably precious that single drop was. Because its existence at least gave you a sliver of hope that had not existed before...

That was how Chen Wuming and the others felt now. Chen Wuming knew clearly that even if Shou had not proposed the escape plan today, someone else would have done so before long. Perhaps Simon, perhaps Wally, perhaps Millianna, Erza, Gerard, or even Chen Wuming himself—or perhaps someone else they did not know well...

In short, for that ray of light, even knowing it might only be a mirage, countless people would still rush forward one after another, yearning to seize that—final sliver of hope.

Night had fallen completely. Across the vast island, aside from a few guards who had to remain on watch, most people had already sunk into deep sleep. This undoubtedly provided Chen Wuming and the others, who were preparing to escape, with rather favorable conditions.

In a dark corner, several small figures were peeking around and observing something. After seeing that everything around them was quiet and there was nothing unusual, one of them quietly waved backward, signaling that no one was guarding this area and that all was normal!

"Sister! This way, this way! Hurry!" In front of a hole about half a person's height, Shou crouched low and urgently called to Erza behind him, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

"Shh! Keep your voice down, Shou!" Wally jumped in fright and hurriedly made a silencing gesture at the excited Shou. He grumbled in dissatisfaction, "What if someone hears us and finds us, idiot!!" After saying that, he did not forget to glare fiercely at Shou.

"Oh, please~" Before Shou could say anything, Millianna spoke up in dissatisfaction. "Wally, your voice is louder, meow..." With that, she gave him an adorable eye roll.

"Uh... hehehe." Wally scratched his head awkwardly.

"Erza, if we don't hurry, and those people catch us, then..." Simon frowned and urged worriedly.

"I know. I know what happens to people who get caught." Unexpectedly, at this critical moment, Erza was more nervous than anyone else. Clutching her tattered clothes tightly, she said in a trembling voice. As she spoke, her body could not help trembling slightly, clearly showing just how afraid she was.

"Hey! I..." Simon was about to offer some more persuasion when Chen Wuming, who had just returned after checking the safety of the other areas, spoke first. Frowning at Erza, who seemed to be losing her nerve at the crucial moment, he waved a hand and said rather impatiently, "What good is being afraid now? We've already come this far! Are you saying you want to go back? Fine. If you really want to spend your whole life in this damned place, I won't stop you. Go back!"

It was not that he was deliberately bullying Erza. What a joke! His soul was that of a proper adult, after all! How could he seriously argue with a little kid? Besides, he did not find it strange that Erza was so nervous and afraid. In a situation like this, who would not be nervous? Who would not be afraid? Even Chen Wuming himself could not guarantee that there was not a trace of nervousness or fear in his heart! It was only because his maturity far exceeded everyone present, and because he had deliberately forced down all the negative emotions in his heart—his anxiety, fear, and everything else—that no one could see them. Of course, he could not let them see them either! After all, Chen Wuming was the spiritual pillar of everyone present!

Therefore, Erza's fear and nervousness were within his understanding. The reason he had deliberately spoken that way was purely because he wanted to use it to awaken her courage...

"Don't be afraid, Erza." Gerard naturally understood Chen Wuming's intentions. He also understood that they were still in danger and had to dispel Erza's fear as quickly as possible. With that thought, Gerard smiled and comforted Erza, saying, "Because we are going to gain freedom, dreams, and a future..." Clearly, he had the same intention as Chen Wuming. However, compared to Chen Wuming's deliberately harsh attitude, Gerard's approach was gentler and far easier to accept.

"Mm!" Hearing this, Erza finally stopped hesitating. She nodded heavily at Gerard, then gave Chen Wuming a somewhat grateful look. Clearly, she now understood the true meaning behind his words.

"Let's go..." Chen Wuming said flatly, then took the lead and crawled into the hole ahead.

Behind him, Gerard, Erza, and the others quickly followed.