Future Masters in Modern Times

Chapter 16: The Eve

The prison gates swung open, and the warden’s vehicle drove out. It came to a slow stop beside the gates. With a click, the door opened, and the warden and Kerry stepped out of the car, looking up at the distant sky. A black dot appeared on the distant horizon, gradually drawing closer amid a roaring sound. It was the helicopter carrying Adelaide and her group. The helicopter descended slowly and finally came to a steady stop on the ground a hundred meters from the prison gates. The rapidly spinning rotors kicked up a cloud of dust from the ground. After the helicopter came to a stop, the rotors gradually ceased spinning. With a clang, the helicopter’s door swung open, and a dozen or so bodyguards dressed in black were the first to jump out, followed by Amanda’s butler. The warden’s eyes lit up. He couldn’t wait to walk up to them. Seeing this, Kerry followed closely behind. Adelaide was reaching out to help Catherine step off the helicopter. Catherine carefully gripped the fuselage with one hand and held Adelaide’s hand with the other as she stepped down. “Old friend, it’s good to see you again,” the warden said, spreading his arms wide with a beaming smile. Amanda also stepped forward, smiling as she embraced the warden. “Dolan, it’s so good to see you.” ” The two truly seemed like old friends who hadn’t seen each other in years. In fact, their friendship wasn’t particularly deep; it was just that many years ago, when Dolan was a recently retired military officer, Amanda had given him a helping hand. Years later, when Dolan became the warden, Amanda met him again. They reminisced about her help from all those years ago, and they grew much closer. So, little by little, they began to socialize again. “Dolan, these are the young master and young lady of the Du Pont family.” After a brief exchange of pleasantries, she led Dolan forward and introduced him to Adelaide and Catherine. A gleam flashed in Dolan’s eyes; he hurried forward in two strides, bowed respectfully, and said with a beaming smile, ““Welcome to Lobestan Prison, the handsome Master Adelaide and the beautiful Miss Catherine. It is my honor to serve the Du Pont family.” Adelaide found it somewhat amusing. So he was essentially labeling himself as part of the Du Pont family? Oh well, let him have his way! A hint of contempt flashed in Catherine’s eyes. Was this the warden of Lobestan Prison? The last vestige of fear she’d felt toward Lobestan Prison vanished in an instant. If even the warden was like this, what was there left to be afraid of? Leaving Colonel Maxdi behind in the helicopter, Adelaide and the others followed Dolan into Lobestan Prison. Since Catherine was somewhat curious about the place, they didn’t take the warden’s vehicle but walked into Lobestan Prison instead. “Catherine, what do you think of this place?” Seeing Catherine looking around the prison, Adelaide couldn’t help but ask her. “It seems like there’s nothing special about this place other than the heavy security,” Catherine said, completely baffled. Was this really Lobestan Prison? Just a moment ago, she’d even seen a Black prisoner smiling傻傻地 at her—those pearly white teeth… All the prisoners watched as the warden walked in accompanied by several people, and the warden’s attitude was so respectful—it was simply unbelievable. They all remembered what the warden had told them, so one by one they forced themselves to keep smiling. It was pitiful to see these usually imposing villains now straining their facial muscles so hard they were nearly cramping. At that very moment, the squad dispatched by the Doomsday Empire was heading toward their destination, guided by the direction indicated by their instruments. The silver-haired captain watched as they drew closer and closer to their target, feeling a sense of joy; it seemed this mission was very likely about to be completed. Finally, they drew near the target. The three men’s pupils suddenly contracted, and their expressions turned grim. Ahead lay a restricted zone, but more importantly, they could see that emblem in the distance—Delta Force. This unit was undoubtedly a nightmare for terrorists like them. Delta Force possessed extensive counterterrorism experience; running into them now meant they were facing certain death—or rather, no chance of survival at all. For that brief moment, all three were momentarily dazed. After a long silence, a slightly hoarse voice spoke—it was the Silver Hair Squad captain. “Since we have almost no chance of survival anyway, we might as well give it our all.” As he spoke, a flash of ruthlessness and resolve crossed his eyes. “Captain, we’ll follow your lead completely,” the other two said almost without hesitation. At this point, their only chance of survival lay in complete obedience to the captain’s orders; they had no other choice. The Silver Hair captain nodded to himself with satisfaction. “We can’t linger here too long or we’ll arouse suspicion. Let’s head to the medical center first, park the car, and then figure out our next move.” He drove toward the medical center, and before long, they arrived. The three got out of the car one after another; no one here would suspect them. The three walked into the medical center with calm expressions and found a corner to hide in for the time being. At that moment, the Silver Hair Squad captain took out a number of pale blue objects from his person and said, “These are miniature bombs. You two split up and plant them throughout the prison.” ” The Silver Hair Squad captain’s tone was so calm it was almost terrifying. The other two froze for a moment before realizing his plan—this was definitely a last-ditch effort. They would use the chaos caused by the bombs to distract the guards, then seize the opportunity to retrieve the target object themselves. But if they did that, would they even be able to make it out of the prison alive? By then, they would undoubtedly be the prime suspects. It was indeed a suicide mission. A bitter taste filled their mouths as they watched the captain’s silhouette hidden in the shadows, a chill creeping into their hearts. “Yes, Captain.” The two men bowed their heads slightly, turned around, and took a few slow steps before suddenly picking up speed. In the blink of an eye, they vanished around a corner. The Silver Hair Squad captain’s face was grim, lost in thought. He kept watching them until they vanished from sight, then pulled a bomb from his coat and strapped it to his body. A cruel expression spread across his face, and a cold glint flickered incessantly in his eyes. Meanwhile, in the warden’s office, the Du Pont siblings sat comfortably on a spacious sofa, quietly watching the warden as he recounted numerous details about Zhao Wuji. As the warden spoke, Adelaide’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, and a faint hint of excitement flickered within them. “So that’s Zhao Wuji’s background,” Adelaide remarked, leaning back on the soft sofa. She ran her right hand over her chin, her eyes growing increasingly curious. “However, some things have happened to Zhao Wuji recently.” The warden hesitated for a moment before recounting Zhao Wuji’s current situation, carefully observing Adelaide’s expression. Sure enough, Adelaide’s expression changed. “What happened?” Hadn’t she gone to all this trouble to come here precisely for Zhao Wuji? If something unexpected had happened to him now, wouldn’t her trip have been for nothing? Adelaide’s passion for combat was difficult for most people to understand; if he had any hobby at all, it was likely combat alone. The warden hurried to explain to Adelaide: “Young Master Adelaide, here’s what happened.” Adelaide barely managed to suppress his emotions, glaring intently at the warden as he waited for his explanation. If the explanation failed to satisfy him, the warden had better brace himself for his wrath! The warden carefully chose his words and explained the situation to Adelaide step by step. A moment later, the expressionless Adelaide nodded; he was clearly no longer as agitated as he had been a moment ago. “So that’s how it is. It’s a bit of a hassle, but nothing too serious,” Adelaide mused for a moment before speaking slowly. “All right, let’s go take a look first, then we’ll discuss what to do next,” she decided. “Very well,” the warden nodded. He decided to lead them to the Delta training camp. They stepped out of the warden’s office once more and, led by him, made their way to the Delta training camp. On the way, Catherine turned her head and looked at Adelaide with curiosity; her radiant golden hair cascaded down, appearing even softer in the sunlight. “Adelaide, what kind of person is this Zhao Wuji, anyway?” Catherine found it hard to believe. There were a few international students from China at their school, but their personalities—well, how should she put it? —were rather shy; they didn’t fit in with the other students, and they were cautious in everything they did, making it difficult for anyone to get close to them. Yet this Zhao Wuji—who had earned a formidable reputation at Lobestan Prison and was also from China—was worlds apart from them. She found herself increasingly curious to see what kind of person he really was. Seeing her sister’s keen interest in Zhao Wuji, Adelaide smiled slightly and said, “People from Huaxia have always been quite mysterious. After all, it’s an ancient nation with thousands of years of brilliant culture. Perhaps many incredible things happen to them.” After saying that, Adelaide fell silent. But Catherine murmured to herself, “Mysterious?” For the first time, she felt that someone could be so utterly inscrutable. Two figures moved cautiously through the prison, constantly on the move. They kept a watchful eye on their surroundings at all times, then quietly planted a bomb in a hidden spot before fleeing at top speed to the next location. After an unknown amount of time, a cold voice rang out from the communicators in their hands: “Now, return to the medical Center.” Inside the medical center, this small squad from the Doomsday Empire stood silently together. After a long pause, the Silver Hair Squad spoke in a voice as cold as ice, as if devoid of even a trace of life. “In a moment, I will detonate the bombs you planted in the prison. Once they explode, take advantage of the chaos to locate the target. Once you find it, don’t worry about me—just find a way to get out. Leave everything else to fate.” “10… 9… 8…” Adelaide and her team set off toward the Delta camp, unaware that what was about to unfold would be the only truly heart-stopping moment of their lives—they… had a brush with death. “How much longer?” Catherine felt her feet growing Mamu. “We’re almost there, Miss Catherine,” Dolan hurriedly replied, but no sooner had the words left his mouth than… “Boom”... The sound was deafening, and even the ground began to tremble. Everyone’s faces turned deathly pale.