Chapter 6

“Things are going smoothly.”

Mina, positioned in the middle of the group, observed the battlefield through the eyes of the escapees leading the charge in the ongoing skirmish.

A battlefield drenched in blood and bullets.

People risking their lives to push forward.

And one by one, guards and escapees falling to the ground.

The hellish scene unfolding in the narrow hallway was too brutal for the young girl to handle. She stopped using her ability and tightly shut her eyes.

“I feel like throwing up.”

How could anyone bear to watch blood splattering and guts scattering everywhere with a clear mind?

No matter how harsh the world had become, no matter how much blood was spilled, it was still a horrifying sight for her at this moment.

She hadn’t yet stepped into the shadows.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes… I’m fine.”

“It’s almost over. Just hold on a little longer. Once we get through this, we can leave this place.”

‘And then what?’

The unspoken question sank back down her throat.

‘Even if we escape, what will change?’

A child born with snow-white hair and eyes like camera lenses, completely different from her ordinary parents.

She had lived her life hated by everyone since she was young.

‘You must’ve slept with someone else, that’s why this freak was born!’

‘What are you talking about?!’

The beginning of her misfortune started from her very birth.

Her life, even before reaching adulthood, had been a continuous series of misfortunes.

Beaten, cursed at, and neglected.

Though she was fortunate enough to go to school, for a child who received no care from her parents, school was just another hell. She grew up in a prison with no escape.

That’s why life in the prison felt almost comforting to her.

The only reason she joined the escape plan was because she sensed something inexplicable in the eyes of Cell 11 when he looked at her.

An emotion she had never seen before.

She couldn’t help but wonder what it was.

‘What is it?’

The man who had been in the prison longer than her.

Though he had once seemed as powerless as her, at some point, he changed and began talking to her, planning the prison break.

‘Come to think of it, he was the first one to ask for my name.’

A name given to her by an acquaintance because her parents couldn’t be bothered to name her.

A name her parents had never once called her.

‘I wonder if things are going well on his side…’

Her thoughts naturally turned to worry.

And as if sensing her concern, the elderly man standing beside her spoke.

“Kid, it looks like we’re almost at the end.”

At his words, Mina raised her head and looked ahead.

Though her short stature made it hard to see the frontlines clearly, she guessed the breakthrough was going smoothly from the steady movement of the crowd.

“The garage is right ahead! Everyone, hang in there!”

The faces of the people began to brighten.

Finally, an exit had appeared in the hellish battlefield filled with gunfire and screams.

As a result, the rebellion of the escapees grew even fiercer.

And in contrast, despair began to show on the faces of the guards.

“Push them back! There aren’t many of them left!”

“Dammit! How are we losing ground to these escapees?!”

“We can’t let them reach the garage! Hold out until the chief arrives!”

The guards desperately defended the garage despite their lack of equipment and manpower.

If the escapees got through the garage, things would spiral out of control.

The only way to minimize the fallout was to suppress the rebellion here and now.

‘If we run, we’ll die!’

If they ran, they’d live as criminals for the rest of their lives. If they fought and survived here, they could still be given some leniency.

The guards, who were also part of the cleanup crew, steeled themselves with desperate resolve.

But even with resolve, overcoming the numerical disadvantage was tough.

Eventually, the guards were pushed back to the defensive line at the garage entrance.

“Dammit!”

“There’s a telepathy user among them!”

“Take out the ones charging first!”

A hopeless situation where they couldn’t even hold out for ten minutes.

Then, a familiar voice came from behind them.

“Squad leader, report the situation.”

“Chief! The prisoners have rebelled! The lab side isn’t responding, so it seems they’ve already…”

“Wiped out or captured.”

“What should we do?”

“I’ll handle it.”

A declaration that seemed like a suicide mission at first glance.

But none of the guards expressed concern at his words.

Instead, they felt relieved.

“Make way.”

The guards swiftly moved their shields aside.

And through the gap, the Security Chief stepped forward, standing tall in the middle of the battlefield, glaring at the escapees.

“You vermin have come this far without knowing your place.”

Instinctively, the escapees at the front sensed that this was a different kind of opponent. It felt like a giant had appeared before them.

“Move!”

The lead escapee, with enhanced physical abilities, charged at him.

A threatening assault for an ordinary person.

But to the Security Chief, it was just a desperate flail.

“I’ll make you pay for my men’s blood.”

A voice like a growling beast echoed through the hallway, and the escapee who had charged at him was sent flying back at the same speed, collapsing the formation.

“Even bullets couldn’t stop him, but one punch…”

“That’s our chief!”

“Finish this quickly and deal with the ones in the lab.”

“Yes, Chief!”

“Stay back!”

Bullets and superpowers began to pelt the Security Chief’s body. But nothing could pierce his skin.

‘I never thought I’d see the benefits of the superpower enhancement research like this.’

A secret experiment being conducted by the government.

Normally, abilities only grow stronger through repeated practice.

But that takes too long, so the government secretly researched ability enhancement procedures.

Using people gathered from all over, kidnapped and used as test subjects.

He was a prototype subject of the procedure.

Though it wasn’t a complete procedure and he needed regular body stabilizers, the cost was worth it for the noticeable increase in his abilities.

He could take a grenade head-on without a scratch.

‘Once I deal with these vermin, I’ll need to find the stabilizer formula.’

If the Research Institute Head is alive, it’s fine.

But if he’s dead, I’ll have to request it from another lab.

I can’t live without the stabilizers.

‘I have a week’s worth left…’

“Die! Just die!”

“Tickles.”

The countless bullets that had pierced flesh before now bounced off the Security Chief’s skin and fell to the ground.

Even attacks that seemed like they might work on his face left no marks, and the tide of the battle turned in an instant.

“We… can’t win…”

As the escapees who had charged at the Security Chief began to die one by one, fear spread among them.

The fear of death.

Their resolve shattered miserably in the face of overwhelming power.

“Dammit! Let’s regroup with Team A…”

“So you’re the commander.”

A bullet pierced the telepathy user’s forehead.

A swift and accurate shot.

The Security Chief holstered his gun and took a step forward.

Scattering blood and guts as he moved.

“Run!”

‘To think we’d be pushed back by these scum…’

The Security Chief swung his fist mechanically, feeling a sense of emptiness. The head of the man he hit shattered like glass, spraying blood.

Just one punch.

An ordinary human couldn’t withstand his fist.

“Guards! Follow me if you’re still in one piece. We’ll push these scum back into the prison and deal with the ones who raided the lab.”

It was one thing to deal with them all now, but the battle wasn’t over yet.

Instead of wasting bullets on the powerless escapees, he decided to save them for the others.

After all, using bullets on flies that could be killed with a punch was a waste.

‘Once I find the one leading this escape, I’ll have a lot of questions.’

“Don’t shoot, use the butt of your rifles. Bullets are precious.”

“Yes, sir!”

They pushed the escapees back, moving forward.

Anyone who got in the way ended up as a corpse on the ground.

How long had they been moving?

The Security Chief spotted a girl among the corpses.

“This one’s still alive!”

“She looks strange…”

“What should we do?”

“We’ll show these vermin what happens when they mess around.”

‘I’m scared…’

Is this the end?

Mina closed her eyes as the Security Chief approached her.

If I’m going to die anyway-

“No…”

‘I don’t want to die.’

I don’t want to end my life like this!

“The vermin is talking.”

“Ugh…”

Mina’s legs wobbled.

It was a desperate struggle to survive, but for a frail girl to escape from an ability user’s grasp would take a miracle.

“…A pity for the girl…”

“…Do it.”

As her consciousness faded, Mina thought of someone.

The first person to ask for her name.

“…Uncle.”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

The Security Chief instinctively covered his face.

Whatever had flown at him was some kind of unknown drug.

The stinging pain on the back of his hand.

‘I don’t know what kind of drug this is.’

He tossed the unconscious Mina aside and glared at the brown-skinned man standing boldly before him.

“You vermin…”

“An old man like you bullying a kid? Disgusting.”

Cell 11 smirked and shouted.

“Seokho, take Mina! The rest of you, engage that monster!”

The battle between the leaders had begun.