I didn't have time to think. I got up and rushed to the door, only to run into two goons coming towards me.
"Get back in! Try to run and I'll break your legs!"
"Screw you!"
I punched each of them, and they dropped instantly!
"Little Bottle, run!"
Uncle Scar and Sister Dragon appeared in the hallway. These were the same goons who had escorted them back to their dorms earlier; the rest of the goons were nowhere to be seen.
The hallway outside was chaotic, and in the adjacent workshop, the prisoners and goons were fighting each other.
"The Wei family and the Bai family are fighting outside. This is our chance!" Uncle Scar explained as he ran.
"No wonder there was no action last night. They planned to catch everyone off guard today!" Realizing this, I grabbed Sister Dragon, who couldn't keep up, and rushed downstairs.
The courtyard was packed with people. The prisoners must have gotten wind of the commotion, and the brave ones had all come out, trying to escape in the chaos.
The usually arrogant goons had all gone to the factory gate to fight the Wei family, leaving the yard in disarray.
They were mainly focused on the gate, assuming everyone would try to escape that way, so they could deal with them all at once.
"Comrades, run! Let's all charge the gate together!" Someone shouted, and the panicked prisoners surged towards the factory gate.
"Back off, all of you! Or I'll start shooting!" A loudspeaker blared, but it couldn't deter the prisoners from their desperate bid for freedom.
"Charge! Better to die fighting than be tortured to death!"
"Charge!"
With a few shouts, everyone went crazy and rushed towards the gate.
As more people joined the crush, we could barely move.
For some reason, those ahead of us had stopped.
"Follow me!"
As I was pushed to the wall, a large hand grabbed me.
"Uncle Hei!"
I was overjoyed to see him alive. I had thought Sister Yu would have punished him too.
"Shh! Come with me! Don't go through the main gate!"
Uncle Hei, looking secretive, pulled me towards the back mountain.
Uncle Scar hesitated but followed quickly.
Because I was fast, I was practically dragging Sister Dragon along the way.
When we reached the back mountain, we heard explosions and horrific screams from the factory gate.
The goons must have started using weapons to intimidate the fleeing prisoners.
"Don't look back, run! We'll climb out through the mass grave while they're too busy to patrol…"
Uncle Hei's plan made sense. That desolate place was only visited when bodies were dumped.
But how would we get past the electric fence? We'd be fried before we even climbed it.
"Hey! Aren't you taking me with you?"
A girl in white suddenly emerged from a pile of bodies, gasping for air.
"Damn!"
Uncle Scar and Sister Dragon were nearly scared to death.
She looked just like Sadako climbing out of the well in that famous horror scene.
"… Fine, you can come, but you need to cut your hair!"
Luckily, I'd seen her twice before, or I'd have been scared too.
"Why?"
She struggled to climb, clearly exhausted from following us.
"Because it's scary! Don't you think?"
I walked to the slope and pulled her up.
She was so light, just over a hundred pounds.
"Hmph!"
She touched her long hair angrily and rushed towards Uncle Hei.
"Damn, you should change into black clothes! You'll be too conspicuous in the forest!"
Uncle Hei was more diplomatic, and I admired him for it.
The girl in white covered her mouth and shook her head. "No way, these are all dead people's clothes!"
Uncle Hei sneered. "Then you'll become a dead person too! White stands out the most!"
"…"
She looked at me, then at the horrified expressions of Uncle Scar and Sister Dragon, and angrily headed towards the electric fence.
"Ping An!"
A voice that made my blood pressure spike called from the hillside.
I didn't need to turn around to know it was Chen Weiqiang with his goons.
What a "good brother"!
No matter what I did, I couldn't escape his sight.
"You guys go, don't worry about me!"
I stood my ground and told Uncle Hei and the others to leave quickly.
Every person who could escape mattered.
"You didn't betray me yesterday, I won't abandon you!"
Uncle Hei picked up a stone, ready to fight.
"Damn it, don't come any closer! The factory's finished; catching us won't help you. Why don't we all run together?"
Uncle Scar tried to stall, pointing at the advancing Chen Weiqiang.
I didn't turn around, hoping to take him down with one move.
But we grew up together; how could we not read each other's minds?
Even so, I had to take the gamble!
"Little Bottle, I'm not leaving! You gave me hope and dignity. I'd rather die with you!"
Sister Dragon sat on the ground, crying, terrified by the mass grave.
"Go! Why stay with me? They want to kill me, not you. Run!"
I yelled, eyes red with anger.
"No! If we die, let's die with dignity!"
Uncle Scar and Uncle Hei's resolute stance warmed my heart.
At the same time, I felt a deep sadness and despair.
"Chen Cheng, you're a bastard, betraying even your brother! If you're a man, fight me without the gun!"
Uncle Scar, holding two rocks, shouted angrily.
"I never said I'd use the gun. It's for Ping An's protection…"
Chen Weiqiang poked me with the gun. "I know you hate me, so I had to use the gun to control you."
The two goons with him aimed their guns at Uncle Scar and the others, fearing any trouble.
When prisoners fought back desperately, killing a goon or two wasn't uncommon.
"Don't pretend. If you're a man, give me a quick death and let them go!"
I didn't believe a word he said.
"Ping An, you're still so driven by hatred and emotion. I hope if you escape this time, you'll become colder, and not be used by irrelevant people again."
"You have no right to lecture me! You and that bitch Lulu fooled me. If not for you, I'd still be living it up in Changsha. I wouldn't be living worse than a dog now!"
His words infuriated me. If he pushed me any further, I'd take him down with me.
Three guns. I could kill a few more goons.
"I'm not here to fight or argue. If you want to escape, listen to me…"
Chen Weiqiang gave a bitter smile, looking a bit defeated.
"Fine! Put the gun down and let us go!"
"Put it down so you can kill me? I said I'd let you go, not let you kill me and then yourself…"