Future Masters in Modern Times

Chapter 17: Prison Uprising!

Chaos! After the explosion, everything descended into chaos! The bodyguards looked extremely tense as they scattered and formed a protective circle around their employers to ensure their safety. Dolan’s face had gone pale with fear; if anything happened to the two Du Pont heirs while in his care, his life might be over by tomorrow. Adelaide didn’t even glance at Dolan; only Amanda coldly snapped at him, “If anything happens to the Du Pont heirs while they’re under your watch, you’d better be prepared to face the Du Pont family’s endless wrath!” After speaking, she snorted coldly, her brows tightly furrowed. Dolan was sweating profusely. Trembling, he pulled out his cell phone to call for backup. He knew better than anyone what would happen next—anything was possible at that point. The bodyguards kept a close watch on their surroundings, terrified that their employer might suffer even the slightest harm. Catherine clutched her brother’s sleeve tightly. After all, she was just a girl. Although she usually complained mercilessly about Adelaide, in a critical moment, she still saw her brother as the only person she could rely on. After a brief moment of stupor, the prisoners snapped out of it, a wave of madness surging through them. “This is our only chance!” Having intended to simply sit out their sentences in prison, they were now so excited they were practically going mad. “Escape from Lobestan Prison!” It wasn’t as if they hadn’t entertained such thoughts before, but back then, it had seemed nothing more than a pipe dream. But this golden opportunity was truly a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The temptation to leave prison was irresistible; only after escaping could they live the free life they longed for. At this moment, they had no time to consider the consequences of a failed escape; they knew only that if they didn’t escape now, they could forget about it ever happening. By then, prison security would be even tighter, discipline even stricter, and their lives would become even more miserable. At this moment, their ferocious nature was finally laid bare—after all, they were high-risk criminals feared across the globe. Watching the endless stream of prisoners frantically fleeing in the distance, everyone present felt immense pressure. Their bodyguards were formidable, but as the saying goes, two fists can’t fight four hands; faced with so many ruthless criminals, no matter how skilled they were, they stood no chance. “We need to get out of here quickly,” suggested Amanda, the butler, at this critical moment. Everyone agreed with her suggestion, so they headed toward an area with fewer prisoners. With so many prisoners crammed together, all determined to escape the prison, the sheer concentration of their ferocity was enough to drive anyone mad. There were simply too many of them. Although Adelaide and her group ran toward a more open area, they still couldn’t withstand the surging tide of people. In no time at all, Adelaide and her group were swept apart by the crowd. Catherine and Adelaide were forcibly separated. Fortunately, several bodyguards remained shielding Catherine, holding the prisoners’ onslaught at bay. The prisoners’ sole aim was to escape; they had no intention of wasting time here. As a result, with so many bodyguards protecting them, Catherine and Adelaide were not in any immediate danger. “Catherine, let’s split up and head for less crowded areas—our bodyguards will keep us safe,” Adelaide shouted to Catherine. Their situation was like a lone boat adrift at sea, in danger of capsizing at any moment amid the surging tide of people. Occasional gunshots rang out in the distance—the prison guards firing warning shots—but to no avail. How could those crazed prisoners possibly heed their orders at a time like this? Under the protection of several bodyguards, Catherine drifted farther and farther away from Adelaide and the others, swept along by the surging crowd toward an unknown destination. “Miss, rest assured—we’ll risk our lives to keep you safe.” The reassuring words from the bodyguards warmed Catherine’s heart, which had felt utterly helpless in the face of danger. She nodded gently and, together with the bodyguards, made her way slowly through the crowd toward a safe area. At the Delta Force camp, a red alert was sounded. One by one, Delta Force operatives, fully armed and with solemn expressions, headed into the prison to restore order. Inside a building somewhere, Zhao Wuji, who had been sitting on the floor, suddenly snapped his eyes open. “It’s as if heaven is on my side.” At the moment, the Delta camp was nearly deserted; even the team of guards assigned to watch him had been reduced to just one man. He was chained to a camp pedestal and appeared unable to move, and the sole soldier’s attention was not on him—his guard was at its weakest. The only problem was the alloy shackles binding him. Zhao Wuji fixed his gaze on the shackles that had held him captive for so long, pondering how he might break free. After thinking for a moment, Zhao Wuji’s gaze fell on the special forces soldier guarding him; his eyes flashed as an idea struck him. Zhao Wuji gave the shackles a slight jiggle, a movement that instantly drew the special forces soldier’s attention. “What are you up to? Trying to escape while I’m distracted?” The soldier let out a cold laugh, his gaze fixed on Zhao Wuji’s shackles. “Unless you can break free, don’t even think about it.” As he spoke, the soldier slowly approached Zhao Wuji, bending down slightly to examine the shackles, proceeding with the utmost caution. Zhao Wuji watched coldly as the soldier slowly approached, saying nothing. Although his hands and feet were shackled, that didn’t mean he couldn’t kill. As long as the soldier was within a certain range, he could take out anyone he wanted. On Earth, his hand-to-hand combat skills were absolutely unmatched. He had tested it: at the soldier’s current distance, while he couldn’t kill him outright, he could certainly knock him off balance and make him fall. Once that happened, he could easily end the soldier’s life. Zhao Wuji coldly calculated the distance between the soldier and himself, waiting for the right moment. Finally, the angle at which the soldier bent put him in the position where he was most likely to lose his balance. On the surface, Zhao Wuji remained silent, but his legs bent slightly as he gathered his strength. Now’s the time! Zhao Wuji’s bent legs snapped out suddenly, striking the soldier’s legs with tremendous force. Caught off guard by Zhao Wuji’s terrifying blow, the soldier crashed to the ground and landed face-down in front of him. He saw Zhao Wuji’s smile—what a smile it was! The soldier had no time to speculate on the meaning behind that smile, for a pair of shackled hands had already clamped down on the side of his neck. Killing people was as easy as mowing grass! With just a casual, slight tug, Zhao Wuji snapped the soldier’s spine—the man didn’t even have time to let out a scream. His eyes still held a look of shock and resentment as his head lolled to one side. Having effortlessly killed this soldier who had been speaking just moments ago, Zhao Wuji flung the body aside and absorbed his life force. His gaze fell on the gun in the soldier’s hand—yes! He intended to use the gun to break the shackles. Using his legs, he slowly maneuvered the rifle in front of him. Zhao Wuji clamped it between his elbows, held it against his chin, aimed the muzzle at the shackles on his feet, placed his finger on the trigger, and decisively pulled it. “Bang!” Sparks flew everywhere. The alloy shackles were indeed sturdy; this single shot hadn’t broken them. One more time! Zhao Wuji aimed the muzzle at the shackles again and pulled the trigger once more. “Bang!” went the gun again, and Zhao Wuji’s feet were instantly free. Seeing that the shackles binding his feet had been shattered, he immediately stood up and, using the same method, aimed the gun at his handcuffs. “Bang!” He felt a jolt in his hands—they hadn’t been severed yet. One more time. Zhao Wuji threw his arms wide apart; the shackles binding him were now completely gone. He stretched his limbs and prepared to leave. Zhao Wuji still wanted to get his hands on that mysterious object that had caught his attention. Navigating the Delta camp with ease, he avoided the few remaining special forces operatives and escaped from the Delta camp with no trouble at all. Just as he had suspected, chaos reigned outside the prison. It was filled with prisoners trying to escape,In fact, the reason Zhao Wuji had risked escaping this time was twofold: first, the explosion had thrown the prison’s security forces into disarray, which conveniently allowed him to slip out of the Delta camp to search for that mysterious object; second, he also wanted to take a gamble. Seizing this rare opportunity, the idea of breaking out of prison had taken root in his mind. Given his abilities, coupled with the current chaos within the prison, his chances of escaping were still quite high. As for the opportunity he had been waiting for all along—to be honest, it’s better to take fate into one’s own hands. Once outside the Delta camp, he entered the prison’s restricted zone—though that restriction was now meaningless, as prisoners were surging toward the prison exit like a tidal wave. Closer! He was getting closer to that place. Zhao Wuji could feel it. Finally, when he came to a steady halt, the object was right in front of him. Zhao Wuji bent down and slammed his fist hard into the concrete ground. Cracks immediately appeared across the surface. He glanced at the shackles still on his hands, aimed them at the cracks, and struck down hard once more. “Bang!” The surface shattered. Zhao Wuji thrust his fingers into the cracks and yanked them apart. Shattered chunks of concrete clattered to the side, revealing fresh soil before him. He could sense that the object was buried not too deep in the soil. Zhao Wuji thrust his hand forcefully into the earth and clenched his fist. A look of delight immediately spread across his face—he had felt a stone the size of a fingernail. He pulled it out of the soil and brushed the dirt off its surface. Instantly, a crystalline object came into view. Zhao Wuji stared at it with a solemn expression, a hypothesis forming in his mind: “This crystalline object is actually a soul power crystal. Although this one isn’t very large, it certainly contains a considerable amount of vital soul energy.” In the blink of an eye, Zhao Wuji came up with a thought that filled him with wild excitement: “If such a small piece contains so much soul power, just imagine what a larger one would hold?” For Zhao Wuji, who relied on the dead to obtain vital soul energy, this was undoubtedly a shortcut. In the early stages of his enhancement, he might still be able to obtain vital soul energy from the dead, but as he progressed, the amount of vital soul energy required for enhancement would become increasingly staggering. Moreover, on Earth, this method had significant limitations. In his past life, the wars he had experienced—with vast battlefields, formidable enemies, and weapons of immense destructive power—meant that even after several rounds of enhancement, he never found collecting living soul energy to be a struggle. Back then, a single nuclear artillery shell could often wipe out over 100 million Zerg. But on Earth—is that even possible? There aren’t that many terrifying weapons, nor is there such a large population. Most importantly, he couldn’t act with impunity here. It could be said that his path to enhancement on Earth was fraught with difficulties and slow progress. Yet this thing that had just appeared helped him solve this dilemma. Putting the soul crystal away, Zhao Wuji prepared to wait for the right opportunity to absorb it. Just then, his keen hearing detected someone rushing toward him.