Chapter 5

Escaping should always be swift and ruthless.

In other words, if you’re going to get your hands dirty like the heroes in movies, don’t hesitate.

Of course, it’s only natural since escapees are usually criminals…

I stood in front of the prison gate, turning my body to look at the countless people staring back at me.

Fear, anticipation, hope, determination.

It was the first time in my life that the emotions of over 300 people were focused on me alone, and my hand holding the keycard instinctively tightened.

Can I do this?

Just thinking this is a problem in itself.

It’s only natural that we’re at a disadvantage, but they’re not entirely in a favorable position either. We just need to do what we have to do.

They never dreamed we would rebel.

That’s why the equipment in the armory was limited to firearms, and the guards were mostly inexperienced newcomers from the cleaning squad.

Moreover, they couldn’t just kill us recklessly.

Replenishing the secretly brought-in test subjects was a hassle for them too.

I turned around again and placed the keycard on the sensor.

The sound of the lock disengaging on what once seemed like the gates to hell pierced my ears.

“We’ll split into two teams and move as planned.”

With so many people, sticking together isn’t the best option.

The research institute isn’t that large, and it’s highly inefficient to gather non-combatants in one place.

It’s most efficient to divide into two teams, with combatants leading the charge to fend off attacks.

The problem was that the garage and the lab were on opposite sides.

So, we split into two teams: me and one Telepathy User on one side, and two Telepathy Users and a Seeker on the other, establishing a command system.

“Mr. Sang-hoon is the leader of this team. As we discussed earlier…”

“Got it.”

A middle-aged man with a pale complexion, a Telepathy User with exceptional spatial awareness who had made significant contributions to mapping, nodded seriously.

“We’ll raid the armory and head to the lab. You all run along the pre-planned route.”

Everyone nodded at my words.

We don’t know the success rate or how many will survive…

But we’ll give it our all to escape.

With determination, I dashed out the open door and pulled the trigger toward those setting up a defensive line.

“You’re surrounded! Drop your weapons and surrender—”

Bullshit.

I had only one thing to say to those urging surrender.

“Now!”

“Ugh!”

A mental terror using Telepathy.

Unless you’re a fellow psychic, there’s no escaping this irrationality as it overwhelms the shield-bearing soldier, disrupting his stance.

Being a seasoned soldier, he didn’t collapse entirely, but an ordinary guard would have dropped the riot shield on the spot.

“Quick, quick! Throw the tear gas!”

“Damn it!”

Tear gas.

They still don’t intend to kill us all.

It’s too much trouble to replace this many test subjects.

Having made my decision, I boldly moved forward.

My survival instinct, honed to its sharpest, whispered to me.

Go forward.

And—

“You bastard!”

The moment I clung to the shield, I pulled with maximum gravitational force, dragging the soldier along with the shield, then activated repulsion to push the soldier behind the shield away.

The output was slightly unstable, but the guard, caught off guard, relinquished the shield more easily than expected.

Quickly flipping the shield, I grabbed the inner handle, generated repulsion on the shield’s surface, and jumped as high as I could.

Simultaneously, I generated repulsion on my upper body, spinning halfway.

My body flipped upside down.

My vision inverted.

I shielded myself as much as possible with the shield.

The shield was pelted like an umbrella blocking raindrops.

The bullets flying toward the main force would be blocked by the Hardening Users with their bodies.

I generated gravitational force on my soles and stuck to the ceiling.

The ceiling wasn’t that high, making it possible.

From above their heads, I repelled the tear gas canisters flying toward me.

The tear gas, now flying back toward the soldiers, was frozen by something resembling a freezing beam shot by the soldiers, rendering it useless.

But even for a unit specializing in dirty work, they’re still special forces.

That much was expected.

“Everyone, fire!”

Dozens of Users began hurling iron rods crafted from torn iron bars and various projectiles created with their abilities at the soldiers.

Most abilities fell short of piercing shields or causing significant damage, but the lethal strikes hidden within couldn’t be ignored.

The soldiers sent the shield-less soldier to the back and formed a defensive line with the remaining shields.

But unlike before, when the corridor was packed, there was now some space on the sides.

“Target the sides!”

Countless attacks hit the shields, and I took advantage of the soldiers blocking the projectiles and the narrowing front to pour the remaining bullets into the shield-bearing soldiers.

Tch, a protective barrier.

They’re not going down easy.

I threw the gun aside and took a step forward. If I were on the ground, I could have reached the leading guard and his shield.

I tilted the shield to cover myself and gave another command to the Telepathy User I was in contact with.

Once more to the shield bearer.

Once to the one deploying the protective barrier.

As I designated the targets, the strange sensation in my head disappeared.

“Fuck!”

The front line was disrupted again.

No matter how well-trained they are, there’s nothing they can do when their brains are directly assaulted.

“The front line has collapsed! Push forward!”

Soon, the front lines clashed.

Our team, led by Hardening Users, and the soldiers, their front line disrupted by the Telepathy User’s mental attacks.

The battlefield turned into something close to chaos.

And that meant it had turned into a favorable battlefield for us.

We outnumbered them overwhelmingly.

Screams of soldiers and escapees echoed everywhere.

With our limited armament, we couldn’t completely avoid casualties.

I descended to the ground, picked up a gun, confirmed the kills, and immediately checked the status of the other team.

“Check the status of the other team!”

[There are some casualties, but it seems they’ve also breached the defensive line!]

As expected, placing more combatants on that side made it easier to break through.

“Let’s head straight to the armory!”

Escapees who picked up guns and shields followed behind me, forming a defensive line.

We ran quickly in a shield-led formation and soon arrived at the lab.

In front of the lab, a defensive line had already been formed, with armed guards and researchers behind it.

I sent some people to open the armory and bring weapons, then began confronting them.

“Do you think you can escape this place! When the Security Chief returns with supplies, it’s over for you! If you go back now, we’ll only execute the ringleaders, so go back!”

“Bullshit.”

At the sound of the Research Institute Head’s voice, someone muttered, and everyone turned hateful gazes toward him.

The Head, who had been shouting, turned pale and hid behind the soldiers, convulsing.

“Deal with them!”

[We’ve successfully seized the armory!]

“Sorry, but it seems the heavens are on our side.”

I aimed the gun at the defensive line.

And we began mercilessly unleashing our abilities.

A frontline filled with bullets and superpowers.

We relentlessly pounded the defensive line with our overwhelming numbers.

The guards resisted, even using their abilities, but they couldn’t overturn the numerical advantage.

We didn’t just have numbers on our side.

“Throw everything!”

At my shout, tear gas canisters began flying through the air, landing behind the soldiers’ defensive line.

“My eyes!”

“I can’t breathe…!”

Researchers rolling on the ground.

And the wavering guards.

As we slowly began to exploit the gap with all sorts of attacks, the hastily formed defensive line started to crumble.

“Damn it!”

With all doors in the lab secured, there was no way out.

We boldly entered the lab and began to vent our long-held grudges.

Breaking, beating, shooting.

In an instant, all but the Research Institute Head were bloodied and lying on the ground.

Now, the garage.

“Let’s contact Team B.”

I confirmed the lynching of the Research Institute Head with my eyes and closed them.

[This is Team A. We’ve killed all researchers except the Head and secured the lab and control room.]

A message transmitted through Telepathy entered my mind.

A strange sensation, as if sound was directly embedded in my head.

Then another voice followed.

[We’re almost at the garage. Just about to…wait, what the!]

[What’s happening?]

[The Security Chief! The Security Chief has appeared with his subordinates!]

Of all places, there?

Damn it. I thought the Security Chief would come to protect the Research Institute Head, but he went to the garage instead.

“The Security Chief has appeared at the garage. We need to send reinforcements there immediately.”

Even if we search every corner of the research institute and kill all the researchers and guards, it’s meaningless if reinforcements arrive.

We need to escape as quickly as possible, so we can’t afford any delays in breaking through the garage.

“Some of us will thoroughly search the research institute and eliminate them. And…some of us will head straight to the garage.”

“Understood. Then…”

“If anything happens, contact me via Telepathy.”

“Yes.”

Before leaving the lab, I grabbed some medicines and syringes. I don’t know what’s inside, but they’re probably not beneficial.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

I headed to the garage with the bloodied escapees.