Chapter 30: Deathly Silence and Distortion

Don’t be fooled by Alba’s rapid, clattering manipulation of the decryption device—it may look like he’ll break the collar’s restrictions in no time, but in truth, the process is quite intricate. With Li Nanke’s help, Alba’s own collar is also unlocked, and after sawing open the cell door with the chainsaw sword, two-thirds of the fifteen-minute deadline have already elapsed.

As each second ticks by, Li Nanke’s sense of impending danger grows ever more acute.

During this tense interval, his gaze never leaves the prison boss lying on the floor. The corpse, utterly motionless since death, hasn’t turned into a zombie, nor has any electromagnetic interference or pulse appeared to disable electronic devices. This suggests that the forbidden object’s properties haven’t fully erupted—perhaps only its second property has manifested, and corpse transformation has a latency period that requires time before it takes effect.

Li Nanke says, “Make sure to hide the fact that the collars’ yellow lights have gone out. They’re still hanging from our necks for now, but if anyone gets a close look, they’ll realize something’s off. Then you and I will have to face a mob of crazed death row inmates.”

“Can’t we just wait until everyone’s dead before we go out?” Alba asks.

“No. If you want to die, stay here,” Li Nanke replies, flipping his wrist so the chainsaw sword vanishes. “How long to crack the guards’ elevator?”

“At most two minutes.”

“Stick with me. Move!”

He strides out of the cell, racing toward the nearest small elevator.

In this prison, inmates use the stairs; only guards are permitted to ride the compact elevators, which require an ID card to activate.

Li Nanke is currently on level B13. With so little time left, reaching the bottom at B50 by stairs is impossible—only the elevator will do.

Yes, the exit to this prison isn’t here at all. The only way out known to the inmates is deep within the mine at the base of the facility—a massive freight lift used for transporting ore, leading directly to the surface.

Once the ore reaches the surface, it’s transferred to the space elevator, sent up to the station at the heavens’ apex, and finally shipped to other planets.

The corridor outside their cell is a chaos of violence—prisoners brawl, blood flows freely, some losing their minds altogether leap over the railings and plunge to their deaths, their bodies mashed on the lower floors. Screams, curses, and wails echo as last moments are unleashed.

The guards’ elevator sits tucked in a discreet corner, with few prisoners gathered nearby.

Under Li Nanke’s cover, Alba pries open the ID scanner and hooks up his decryption device.

“If only I had a portable quantum brain, I could crack this thing in less than thirty seconds. This little device barely has any processing power—it sometimes shocks me, hurts like hell…” Alba mutters nervously, trying to ease his anxiety.

He knows now is the worst time to be noticed by others; the evil lurking in these men’s hearts could see him devoured alive.

After all, this prison houses only the most vicious, desperate criminals…

Suddenly, hurried footsteps echo from around the corner. Three burly inmates jog past, catching sight of the pair fiddling with the elevator and move toward them.

Alba’s body trembles, his hands slowing as he works.

“You keep going. I’ll handle the rest.”

The three burly prisoners approach, spotting Alba hacking the elevator. Their faces shift with surprise.

“Hey, what are you guys up to?” one asks, striding forward, eyes flitting to their collars. Suddenly his eyes widen in delight. “Boss, their collar lights are out! Quick, call the others—”

He never finishes. The high-pitched whir of spinning teeth erupts!

The blade flashes past his neck; jagged teeth tear through flesh, windpipe, artery, and finally sever the bone.

Blood, freed from the heart’s constraint, jets from the carotid in a savage crimson bloom.

The inmate’s eyes bulge; clutching his throat, he can only emit a gurgling hiss before collapsing.

Li Nanke gives the other two convicts no chance to react—he steps forward, lopping off one’s head with a single stroke, then fells the would-be escapee with another.

In the blink of an eye, three inmates lie dead.

Alba’s sidelong glance snaps back; fear trembles within him, yet a thrill unexpectedly stirs.

“Wasn’t Michael imprisoned for smuggling? How is he so formidable? Killing three death row inmates as easily as chickens…”

Though Li Nanke had demonstrated his supposed superpowers earlier—merely conjuring a bizarre chainsaw weapon—Alba was never fully convinced, his nerves unsettled.

But now, only one thought fills his mind: “I must cling to this powerhouse. As long as I follow him, I’m sure to escape!”

Soon, the elevator is hacked. The two enter, and Li Nanke presses the button for B50.

Killing the three prisoners had yielded not a flicker of source energy—perhaps because they weren’t extraordinary beings, not yet turned into zombies.

After a long descent, the elevator chimes, and the doors open.

With the fifteen-minute deadline looming, they sprint from the elevator toward the ground floor hall.

The entrance to the underground mine is blocked by a massive metal gate, its electronic panel ripped open, wires exposed and sparking.

The door, once sealed tight, now lifts just enough to let people squeeze through. Crowds of inmates press at the gap, scrambling to enter, believing escape will free them from the collars’ threat.

Li Nanke’s heart sinks at the sight. Alba isn’t the only one adept at hacking; someone else has already cracked the mine’s door—and left it open!

More and more prisoners pour into the mine; the deeper they go, the less safe the mine becomes…

In these last moments, the death row inmates have descended into utter madness. Chaos reigns. Those unable to push through the crowd wield makeshift weapons, slaughtering their peers; those at the front, near the metal gate, raise blades against fellow inmates squeezing through, simply because they move too slowly…

Li Nanke does not rush forward. Instead, he glances up at the digital clock hanging in the hall, silently counting down.

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

“Zero!”

Sparks explode from the collars on countless prisoners’ necks. Deadly high voltage floods their bodies; stiffening in agony, scores of figures topple like felled trees.

In an instant, all noise—screaming, wailing, cursing, shouting—vanishes. Deep Pit Prison falls into absolute silence.

A moment ago, the place was wild with madness; now, it is so quiet that one can hear their own heartbeat.

Even Alba, prepared for this outcome, stumbles back two steps, dizzy, his temples throbbing.

[Nightmare: You have completed Key Node One!]
[Node Reward: Source Energy Crystal *1]
[Key Node Two: Escape Deep Pit Prison.]

At that same moment, an invisible wave erupts from the depths below, sweeping rapidly through every cell of the body like static, making skin tingle and hair stand on end.

The wave passes over the countless corpses, provoking subtle, minute, nearly imperceptible and terrifying changes.

Li Nanke clearly sees one corpse’s finger twitch; beneath its skin, flesh writhes and knots as if a swarm of insects is burrowing, reshaping the body’s original form…

And throughout the prison, there are one hundred thousand such corpses!

His scalp prickles, icy fear shooting from his feet to the crown of his head. To the stunned Alba, he grinds out two words through clenched teeth.

“Run!”

Without looking back, he bolts for the metal gate, snatching up a hidden piece of ore from a dead inmate as he passes.