Tatatata...
As several electronic access doors were successively opened, the prisoners, led by Chen Chong, were filled with excitement and quickly advanced in the bright corridor, leaving only drops of Catherine's blood on the ground.
Poor Dr. Catherine was already in a semi-conscious state.
Johnson and the other guards silently and nervously followed closely behind the prisoners, only a few meters apart.
However, these few meters seemed as distant as the heavens.
Seeing that they were approaching the end of the passage, and could even faintly hear the sound of rushing water, a trusted subordinate next to Johnson anxiously whispered, "Captain, is this it?"
"Do you have a better plan?" Johnson's face was as firm as a rock as he growled, "Do you think I don't want to rescue Dr. Catherine? If anything irreparable happens to her, not only you guys, I'll be done for too! But this scum has considered every detail, so we can only take it step by step!"
At this moment, Johnson looked like a wild beast on the verge of madness, his eyes filled with uncontrollable anger. Although he wanted to rush forward and personally snap Chen Chong's neck, he could only swallow his pride and let the prisoners march arrogantly in front of him due to the reality of the situation.
Chen Chong's plan can be said to be meticulous, without any flaws in his decisive, ruthless, and cruel actions. He has not given them any opportunity! In the same situation, if it were the strong Derryth present, things would never have deteriorated to this extent.
However, Chen not only knew that there was an underground river behind the base, but also accurately predicted the time when Derryth would be out receiving supplies. This level of planning and patience was truly shocking.
At this moment, the wall formed by the prisoners had reached the end of the corridor. In front of them was the final electronic access door.
Listening to the clear sound of rushing water, including Chen Chong, all the prisoners' chests rose and fell with excitement!
Chen Chong knew that the escape route was right in front of them!
Drip.
Lin Kun excitedly took Catherine's ID card from Chen Chong's hand and quickly opened the final door.
Wuwuwu... Hua hua hua...
With the sound of rushing water, a moist breeze blew on the faces of all the prisoners. The space behind the access door unfolded before their eyes!
What appeared in front of Chen Chong was a huge and dim underground cave, with rugged roads and strange rocks everywhere. With the aid of a faint light, he could see a small hydropower station situated about thirty meters ahead—a wide underground river flowed beneath it!
The sound of rushing water and rolling white waves made almost all the prisoners' lips quiver, and they could hardly speak.
A dreamlike escape route truly appeared before their eyes.
But at this moment, Chen Chong understood that his plan was just one step away from success. After the initial excitement passed, he couldn't afford to be careless or lax. Holding Catherine's body, he spoke coldly, "Now is not the time to celebrate! We're only one step away, so stay alert! There are guards armed with guns at the hydropower station. If anyone tries to break away from the group and gets killed, don't blame me!"
Many restless prisoners were startled and calmed down.
With a sneer in his heart, Chen Chong continued to command, "Let's go!"
Chen Chong deeply understood that human nature couldn't withstand testing. Now that the escape route was right before their eyes, the desire to survive would make people forget about humility and deference. If the restless prisoners were not silenced, chaos and accidents could easily occur.
However, disregarding these individuals, the smart cellmates would still stick close to him because he had the topographic map of the base vicinity on him. Otherwise, even if they escaped using the underground river, they would have a slim chance of survival without any knowledge of the wilderness terrain and environment.
For example, Lin Kun and the other three prisoners continued to guard Chen Chong closely, never letting their guard down for a moment.
Then Chen Chong ignored the silent guards behind him and led the prisoners out of the passage, stepping onto the rugged surface of the cave and heading towards the dark river thirty meters away.
No one noticed that a sweaty guard rushed to the guard team behind them and secretly distributed something to the other guards.
One minute later, with waves rolling in front of them, Chen Chong and the prisoners arrived safely by the river.
The dark river was nearly five meters wide, with turbulent water flow. The location chosen by Chen Chong was tens of meters away from the hydroelectric power station, beyond the range of handguns. There was also a half-person high rock as a cover along the river, plus the dim light, greatly reducing the probability of being shot.
"416!"
In the dim light, Johnson and more than thirty guards stood ten meters away, staring at Chen Chong and the others by the river, and growled lowly, "Can we release Dr. Katherine now?"
"Just one more step."
Chen Chong leaned against the rock with half of his body, still firmly holding Katherine's neck with his intact arm. He smiled at the prisoners beside him, "What are you waiting for? Life or death, it's up to fate!"
"416, thank you!"
"Thanks to you, I am forever grateful!"
"We'll go ahead!"
In an instant, the prisoners who could no longer contain themselves shouted and jumped into the dark river like dumplings entering the water. They were then carried away by the rapids and quickly disappeared!
In less than ten seconds, more than twenty prisoners around Chen Chong had vanished without a trace, leaving only Lin Kun and three other unnamed prisoners.
Lin Kun stared at the guards not far away vigilantly and asked in a low voice, "What should we do? How do we meet up?"
The outside wilderness was extremely dangerous. Without weapons or food, individual strength was insignificant. Only by sticking together could they have a chance to survive in the wilderness, not to mention that Chen Chong had a map of the vicinity of the base, which was crucial.
In addition, in Lin Kun's opinion, Chen Chong was meticulous and decisive, far superior to other ordinary people if they joined forces.
"You go first, choose a safe place to get ashore, and wait by the river. I will come later."
Chen Chong's eyes were calm, and he answered without looking back, "Hurry!"
"Okay!" Lin Kun was also not a procrastinator. He knew clearly that Chen Chong wouldn't put himself in danger. He immediately signaled to the other three prisoners, and the four of them leaped into the rapids and disappeared in an instant.
In the dim and empty riverbank, only Chen Chong remained.
"Chen Chong... that's your name, right?"
Johnson's eyes appeared icy in the dim space. He took a deep breath and said slowly, "Congratulations, you have succeeded. You have successfully liberated your fellow prisoners. But believe me, you will not be proud of this. When Lord Derith returns, you and your fellow prisoners will regret why you made such a foolish move."
"Oh?" Chen Chong's eyes flickered in the shadows, seemingly calculating something. "Now that I have surpassed the awakening limit, should I be afraid of him?"
"Hahaha..."
Suddenly, Johnson burst into laughter as if he had heard an incredible joke. He laughed wildly, "Chen Chong! You are just a lucky kid. Without mentioning gene locks, you haven't even reached the level sequence of life field strength. How dare you compare yourself to Lord Derith? Lord Derith has stepped into the level sequence and activated the gene lock as a powerful transcendent! Let me make it clear to you, as a newly awakened person like you, even if Lord Derith only uses one hand and closes his eyes, he can instantly kill you ten times over!"
Life field strength, level sequence, gene lock, transcendent!
Chen Chong instantly caught several unfamiliar terms from Johnson's words, and many thoughts flashed through his mind. Could this be the standard by which the strength and rank of awakened individuals in this world are measured? How could he improve these indicators and gain extraordinary power?
The thought flashed by, and in front of Chen Chong, Johnson seemed to be venting all the frustration and anger he had accumulated during this time. He twisted his face into a distorted grin and said, "Do you know that Dr. Katherine is Lord Derith's beloved? Chen Chong, you can't escape because you have no idea how powerful Lord Derith truly is. You lowly trash have no knowledge of true power!"
"So what?" Faced with Johnson's unwilling words, Chen Chong suddenly burst into laughter, "At this moment, I am the winner!"
The next moment, in front of Johnson and the dozens of guards from the base, Chen Chong lifted the unconscious Katherine in his hand! His eyes became fierce and cruel. "I'm waiting for him to come find me!"
With a "pfft," Chen Chong used his other hand to swiftly slash the sharp surgical knife across Katherine's throat. Blood sprayed from her pale neck, and she trembled violently like a dying gasp!
Chen Chong had actually slit Katherine's throat in front of all the guards, right under their noses!
Time seemed to stagnate for a moment.
In the underground cave, Chen Chong appeared fierce and violent, holding Katherine, who had been slashed in the throat like a rag doll, high in the air. This cruel scene seemed frozen. Including Johnson, the expressions of all the guards froze in this 0.1 second. During this time, their brains seemed unable to process the images transmitted by their optic nerves.
With a thud, in everyone's widened pupils, in this moment of incredulity, Chen Chong threw down Katherine's lifeless body like trash and leaped into the surging torrent with a wild laugh.
"Ah! Ah!"
The next moment, Johnson let out a furious and desperate roar, which echoed throughout the underground cave, even overshadowing the rumbling sound of the water.