Death Knell Island is a secret prison jointly established and managed by Six Nations. Its location is top secret, and the guards only allow entry, ensuring complete isolation from the outside world. It houses special prisoners, including political prisoners, members of rebel organizations, and superhumans who commit crimes. While the prisoners come from diverse backgrounds, they share one thing in common: they are not petty criminals, not simple serial killers or ordinary antisocial individuals.
Without a special skill, one is not qualified to be imprisoned on Death Knell Island.
The crimes of most of the prisoners were too numerous to count. The Six Nations spared their lives and imprisoned them in unknown places because they valued their talents and hoped to squeeze every last drop of value out of them.
It can also be understood that Death Knell Island is an alternative talent pool for the Six Nations, a place teeming with talented people and blessed with outstanding individuals.
Some of the prisoners made deals with the Six Nations, exchanging their talents for better treatment. However, most of them scoffed at this, repeatedly mocking the negotiators from the Six Nations. They were arrogant and cruel, like poisonous insects and ferocious beasts. The prison guards, on the contrary, feared them, and many prisoners were strictly forbidden from having close contact with them.
Just yesterday, the Six Nations lost contact with Death Knell Island. Now, with the catastrophe sweeping the globe, the Six Nations are struggling to survive and have no time to care for Death Knell Island.
Unbeknownst to the Six Nations, Death Knell Island was also affected by the Mutation Disaster, with prison guards falling ill on a large scale and neglecting their duties.
One of the prison guards, who was suffering from an illness, opened some of the prisoners' metal cell doors, as if unleashing the collar of a tiger.
Pfft--
The blood gushing from the human body stained the gray metal corridor red, and the incandescent light tube embedded in the center of the ceiling was painted a large area of scarlet, giving the corridor light a hazy bloody hue.
A burly Shanu, standing 2.2 meters tall, tossed aside the guard's body, which had been torn in two. The two pieces of the body fell to the ground with a thud, the sound thick and sticky.
The burly man was shirtless, revealing large, muscular physiques covered with numerous old scars and the natural markings of the Shanu. He was bald—to be precise, all the male prisoners had their heads shaved.
The burly man shook the blood off his hands, glanced back, and saw the corpses of more than a dozen prison guards lying on the ground, including the area warden he had just torn apart. Hundreds of bright yellow bullet casings were scattered in the pool of blood, along with many guns he had crushed, and the stench of blood lingered in the air.
The prisoners are held in solitary confinement, with cells hundreds of meters apart, separated by metal doors at both ends of the corridor, and each section of the corridor containing the cells is an enclosed space.
Looking around, the corridor had no windows. The burly man punched the wall a few times, leaving shallow dents. The force of the punches indicated that the wall was made of very thick metal and concrete. He had only two choices: to move forward or backward along the corridor.
Since being imprisoned, the burly man had never left his cell and naturally didn't know the layout of the prison. Too lazy to change into the oversized guard uniform, he glanced at the monitor in the corner.
"They suddenly opened my cell door, and no one else has come to stop me... Hmm, there's a dangerous smell in the air. What's going on in this prison?" the burly man muttered to himself.
Confined on Death Knell Island, all the prisoners were cut off from information and naturally unaware of the Mutation Disaster that had broken out outside.
Without hesitation, the burly man decided to move forward. After walking a few hundred meters, a metal gate blocked his way. He touched the thickness of the metal gate, took a deep breath, and assumed a fighting stance, his right fist drawn to his side like a drawn bow.
His muscles bulged suddenly, and his fist, as big as a clay pot, slammed heavily against the door.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
After more than twenty consecutive Heavy Strike, the dent outlined an oval shape. The burly man slammed his shoulder into the metal, tearing it apart and sending it flying, thus opening a passage.
After walking for a while, he finally saw the cells in this corridor. Several prison guards lay dead in front of the door, the cell door was wide open, and the prisoners inside were nowhere to be seen. The prisoners on Death Knell Island rarely had the opportunity to know other prisoners, and the burly man was no exception. He didn't know who his "neighbor" was.
Without giving it much thought, he continued forward and soon came across another metal gate. However, this gate had a huge gap in it, clearly the mark left by his equally lucky neighbor.
The burly man didn't stop, passing through several prison cells. In some places, there were no bodies of prison guards, but all the cells had been opened, clearly indicating that the neighbor had rescued them. The gates that had blocked the way were also broken open, allowing him to pass through without hindrance.
He gradually went from walking to jogging, trying to catch up with the people in front of him.
After running for a while, they passed through a gate. Behind them was no longer the seemingly endless prison corridor, but a spacious circular hall. In the center was a gray-black metal column connecting the ceiling and the floor. This was the elevator shaft, which was divided into four elevators. A group of prisoners were gathered in front of the elevator shaft. Hearing the burly man's footsteps, they all turned around.
"Another lucky one, and he escaped alone again." A tall, thin, middle-aged prisoner stepped out of the crowd, sized up the burly man, and said, "If you didn't fail to rescue other prisoners along the way, then you must be my neighbor from the other side. Let me introduce myself, my name is Shijieke, a senior executive at Germinal was imprisoned eleven years ago."
"A member of Germinal? No wonder you got arrested." The burly man nodded and said in a deep voice, "I'm Tyne, I've been in prison for four years. What happened in prison? Why was we released, and why didn't anyone stop us?"
"I don't know either, but since no one's stopping us, this is a good chance to escape." Shijieke pointed to the prisoners behind him and said, "They each have their own skills. One of them even knows the terrain of Death Knell Island; he can lead us out of here."
A thin man stepped forward, pointed to his head, and said, "I once hacked into the top-secret database of Six Nations and saw the structural diagram of Death Knell Island. Although it was only for a few dozen seconds, I've memorized 60-70 percent of the information, which now comes in handy... Hmph, that's why I was arrested."
"In short, Death Knell Island is not an island overseas; the name is misleading. Its true location is underground in a mountain range. The Six Nations used a natural cavern to build this underground prison, which has thirteen levels. Each level is a circular corridor with numerous cells. The prison is encased in a large amount of steel and concrete, making it impervious to missiles. Neither the top nor the bottom level is the exit; one of the middle levels is the only passage leading to the surface. It is very hidden and very long."
"Since everyone wants to escape from here, why don't you come with us?" Shijieke said.
The burly Tyne, nodded slowly. "What are your plans?"
"The prison hasn't responded to our floor's escape attempt yet, so something else must be holding them back. It's very likely that more than just our floor's prisoners escaped. If other prisoners have also broken free, they'll probably all head to the top floor." Shijieke revealed a cruel smile. "After so many years of solitary confinement, it's time to recoup some interest from the guards."
Tyne frowned but did not agree.
The group took the elevator to the top floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, a strong smell of blood hit them. The elevator shaft was surrounded by the corpses of prison guards, with blood flowing like a river. The elderly warden lay in a corner, his abdomen wide open, his dark blue intestines pulled out and tightly wrapped around his neck. His face was purple; he had been strangled to death, a truly cruel sight.
However, Shijieke and his group remained unfazed; none of the people present were kind-hearted and were unmoved by the scene.
Another group of prisoners, covered in blood, were waiting for the elevator; the surrounding situation was undoubtedly their doing.
"Someone else escaped?" The leader of the other group of prisoners, a man with burns and disfigurement, licked his lips and sneered, "Heh heh, you missed a party. Apart from us, there's no one left alive on this floor."
Shijieke's eyes narrowed. He knew the background of this burned-faced man; he was a ruthless superhuman who had committed many heinous crimes, and even he didn't want to provoke him needlessly. So he said, "How about we join forces? We know how to escape."
"Hmph, fine then." The person with the burned face thought for a moment and did not refuse.
The two groups quickly reached an agreement and began to clear out the surviving prison guards layer by layer, while also rescuing other prisoners.
The prisoner ranks grew larger and larger, eventually numbering in the hundreds. All the prisoners were released, and soon the entire prison was ravaged by bloodshed. The prison guards were utterly powerless in their presence.
Death Knell Island Prison had many defense mechanisms, including a self-destruct button to prevent prisoners from escaping. However, when the group arrived at the control room, they found it in complete disarray. The guards who were supposed to be on duty were fighting each other for some reason. More than a dozen guards riddled each other with bullets, dying together.
No wonder no one stopped it.
"Did these prison guards fight amongst themselves?"
Everyone looked puzzled, as if they were dreaming.
After being locked up for so long, how did I suddenly become free?
Why did the prison guards beat their own men?
It's strange in every way!
Due to a lack of intelligence, the prisoners were unaware of the existence of the Mutation Disaster. Many prison guards suddenly fell ill, causing Death Knell Island to become paralyzed, which allowed them to escape so easily. Even the strongest fortress can be breached from within.
With all the guards dealt with, hundreds of prisoners rested in the elevator shaft lobby, finally having enough time to observe others.
Many of them were once notorious villains, fierce and ruthless, with hidden talents among them. Many had heard of each other's infamous reputations and were filled with dread, keeping each other on guard.
None of them are easy to mess with.
Some of the new prisoners, who were only arrested in recent years, were not recognized. Most of the prisoners had been imprisoned on Death Knell Island for many years, with many serving ten or twenty years. They were isolated from the world, cut off from information, and unaware of the changes in the outside world.
Tyne was a "newcomer," and no one knew his background.
Because of their mutual fear, many hot-tempered prisoners restrained their tempers. In an environment full of strongmen, even the most arrogant villains kept a low profile. After all, although they were ruthless, they were not brainless and had no intention of causing trouble. They just wanted to escape from prison and then go their separate ways.
The group of prisoners groped around for a while and found the exit. They couldn't wait to go in. It was a winding man-made passage that ran through the mountainside.
After walking for about two hours, when all the prisoners were starting to get impatient, they finally saw the sunlight at the end of the passage and breathed in the increasingly fresh air.
"They're out!"
The group's spirits lifted, they quickened their pace, and rushed out of the passage.
This is inside a mountain range, and the exit is a seemingly inconspicuous cave surrounded by lush forests where the wind rustles through the leaves.
The sky was clear and the sun shone warmly on them. A long-lost sense of freedom rose from the bottom of their hearts. Many people greedily breathed in the fresh air, feeling as if they had been reborn.
Having been imprisoned for so long and finally freed, their pent-up anger, ambition, and hatred erupted like Volcano, unstoppable. Although they were unaware of the changes in the outside world, many prisoners couldn't wait to return to their old ways and wreak havoc in different places.
Just then, a stranger's voice suddenly rang out from not far away.
"What a coincidence, I just arrived and ran into you. I thought you had already run away."
Han Xiao leaned against a tree, staring at the crowd.
The prisoners immediately looked over, their faces wary and their gazes aggressive as they scrutinized Han Xiao, finding him unfamiliar; most of them didn't recognize him.
"Who are you?" the burned-faced man shouted.
"You can call me Black Phantom, that was my old nickname." Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"Black Phantom?" the burned-faced man said coldly. "Hmph, where did you come from? I've never heard of you."
Bang!
A thick beam of light flashed by.
The next moment, the burned face and neck disappeared completely, the severed area was charred, the headless corpse swayed, and fell straight to the ground.
Han Xiao beckoned with his finger, and the Halo Array floating cannons, like obedient pets, slowly and affectionately circled around him. He had no mood for reasoning with these vicious prisoners and remained expressionless.
"Have you heard about it now?"