"How did you know I was going to rescue Mu Ye Xing Chen?" Gu Ya's lightsaber materialized again in his hand, his gaze fixed on the man.
"I am the strongest hidden blade of Commander Xing Chen," the man stated calmly. "After the Commander was captured, I began planning my secret infiltration of the prison."
"You are from Xian Xia, heading to the second detention sector. Furthermore, Xian Xia completely defeated the Xing Chen Army and absorbed its largest remnants. I deduced that you were dispatched to rescue Commander Xing Chen."
"The first detention sector requires a new god to assist the prison guards in managing the inmates."
"Only by becoming the god here can you negotiate with the prison administrators. And ensure safe passage to the second detention sector."
"If you kill these inmates, you lose your bargaining chip."
Gu Ya sneered in disgust and said coldly, "You want me to become the god of these inmates? Absolutely not. How could I be tainted by them!"
"Then let me," the Hidden Blade said calmly. "Your identity as a Xian Xia person is highly inconvenient. It would be much easier for me."
"At the latest, I will meet the prison administrators in four days."
Gu Ya stared intently at the Hidden Blade speaking, then nodded in agreement after a long pause. "I'll keep an eye on you."
The Hidden Blade silently picked up the emaciated man's head and dragged the corpse towards the chaotic scene behind them.
After a series of threats and intimidation, the tense situation finally subsided.
The female inmates, stripped of all dignity, huddled together in a corner.
The male inmates, still unsatisfied, lowered their heads and retreated into the shadows under the Hidden Blade's icy gaze.
In a single day, the god position in the first detention sector changed hands twice, an unprecedented event in the entire prison's history.
Gu Ya spat in disgust and, dragging his weary body, headed to the second floor.
After a clean meal, Gu Ya returned to his cell, preparing for a good rest to conserve energy for his actions in a few days.
The day's events made sleep impossible.
He had intended to use Sha Lang Fei She's help to rescue Mu Ye Xing Chen, then safely escape the prison, followed by a grand battle to completely destroy this demon city.
He hadn't expected so many variables to arise.
Within a small prison, there was such despicable scheming, dirtiness, and so many secrets and conspiracies. Gu Ya slammed the bed board in annoyance.
"Ah!" A woman's startled cry came from beneath the bed.
Gu Ya, confused, lifted the bed board. Two filthy women were hidden underneath.
"Don't... don't kill us, please!" The two women knelt and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy.
Gu Ya recognized them as the two women he had seen crying yesterday in Sha Lang Fei She's room while mopping the floor.
"Get out!" Gu Ya yelled irritably.
After the two women ran out, Gu Ya re-examined the cell, confirmed no one else was there, summoned an iron wall to block the entrance, and fell into a deep sleep.
For three consecutive days, there was no word from the Hidden Blade.
It wasn't until the fourth day, when the prison gates reopened and a new batch of inmates was brought in, that the Hidden Blade rushed back from outside and found Gu Ya.
The two met briefly and then swaggered out of the first detention sector.
"I brought you here under the pretense of visiting the third detention sector. I'll hold the elevator entrance, and you get the Commander out as quickly as possible. We'll fight our way out," the Hidden Blade said as they walked.
"Huh? Didn't we agree on getting out safely?" Gu Ya asked with some confusion.
The Hidden Blade's expression was grave. "The prison administrators refused. Commander Xing Chen is a high-profile inmate, and no one is allowed near him. Furthermore, his execution is scheduled for this afternoon."
They hurried to the elevator shaft. The Hidden Blade abruptly pressed Gu Ya's shoulder, and they both sprinted to the left.
"Hey! What are you doing! Who told you to go there!!!" A furious roar from a prison guard echoed from behind them.
Following that, chaotic heavy footsteps erupted from behind!
"It's up to you."
Gu Ya directly affixed an exoskeleton suit onto the Hidden Blade, also giving him a lightsaber, two electromagnetic rifles, and ten shock grenades and hand grenades.
Then, clad in his own exoskeleton, he surged forward at full speed.
Gu Ya had already etched the prison map into the [Star Blueprint], rendering even the underground tunnels, turned into a maze, unable to stop him.
Swiftly reaching the elevator shaft, Gu Ya, without a word, leaped onto the top of the car and swung his sword to sever the steel cable. 138Reading Network.
Without the protection of steel cables, clamps, safety brakes, or the braking system, the elevator plunged in almost freefall acceleration.
"Screeeech!" The iron rollers on both sides of the car spun wildly, emitting a deafening noise and spitting explosive sparks against the rails.
After descending only a few dozen meters, the rollers were ground to dust.
The car, like a massive stone, plummeted into the elevator shaft without obstruction.
With a "Bang!", the elevator smashed heavily and flattened.
Before the second detention sector's guards could react, two crimson flashes streaked across, and their heads hit the ground.
Gu Ya's enraged figure flew past the corpses of several guards. Dozens of heavy iron plates crashed down from all directions in mid-air, striking other guards and extinguishing the torchlight.
Darkness instantly engulfed the prison.
Bullets flew wildly in the blackness, muzzle flashes darting like errant meteors, and gunfire echoed and reverberated within the prison.
The fight in the dark lasted only three minutes. When the last shot died out, silence fell.
Gu Ya summoned a vast number of holographic lights, illuminating the second detention sector.
"Mu Ye!! Xing Chen!!!!"
Blood stained his helmet and armor. Gu Ya, like a demon from hell, was enveloped by the steaming red mist from his scorching exoskeleton, his furious roars like a million charging soldiers wreaking havoc on the second detention sector.
A few brave inmates peeked out of their cells, timidly looking at Gu Ya.
A half-dead, ancient inmate pointed to the innermost cell on the second floor and said tremblingly, "He's there."
Gu Ya charged forward, kicked open the sturdy iron bars, grabbed the man on the bed by his collar, and looked closely!
Mu Ye Xing Chen's once raven-black, smooth hair was now disheveled and dry, with countless silver strands mixed in.
His once sharp, ambitious, and spirited refined face was now aged and depressed.
His two cloudy eyes stared blankly at Gu Ya.
"It's you..." Mu Ye Xing Chen said faintly, slowly taking Gu Ya's hand. "Did they send you to kill me? Are you... Hei Yang?"
Gu Ya's eyes blazed with murderous intent, and he said fiercely, "Watch closely! I am Gu Ya!! Come with me!!"
"I'm not going anywhere..." Mu Ye Xing Chen resisted Gu Ya firmly and said calmly, "I'm already dead..."
"Dead my ass! Snap out of it! I've endured so many disgusting things to save you! Come with me!!"
Enraged, Gu Ya punched Mu Ye Xing Chen unconscious and flung him over his shoulder, rushing out.
The skilled Hidden Blade was now surrounded by over a dozen prison guards, the bottomless elevator shaft behind him.
His exoskeleton armor was already battered and broken, with more than ten bullet holes riddled across his body. Blood flowed down his forehead, arms, and thighs, pooling beneath his feet.
But he still stared resolutely and coldly at the guards ten meters away.
As long as they dared to advance, the Hidden Blade would release the four grenades he held and take them with him.
Time ticked by, and the Hidden Blade's consciousness began to blur due to excessive bleeding. The grip on the grenades loosened.
If he delayed further, by the time he bled to death, he would detonate himself without the guards' intervention.
Just then, a faint metallic grinding sound echoed from the elevator shaft! The sharp noise grew increasingly piercing!
It was clear something was flying up, and at a very high speed.
All the guards began to waver at the sound, exchanging glances, unsure of what to do.
Three seconds later, one guard decisively opened fire on the Hidden Blade! Immediately, over ten guards opened fire simultaneously.
They intended to use the impact of the bullets to knock the Hidden Blade into the elevator shaft, allowing the grenades to blow up the shaft entrance.
The Hidden Blade was thrown off balance by the impact of the countless bullets. Just as he was about to fall into the elevator shaft, he roared, unleashing his final burst of strength, and charged forward against the hail of bullets!
"Boom—!" A dozen prison guards were blown away simultaneously!
Gu Ya, in flight, heard the explosion, his eyes hardening. He activated his exoskeleton fusion.
Those hard steel plates conformed tightly to Gu Ya, like his own flesh and skin. With [Overclocked Drive] activated, the flames from his legs intensified!
The piercing sound grew more and more powerful!
Gu Ya, supporting several tons of the wrecked elevator car with his hands, burst out of the shaft!
As soon as he appeared, Gu Ya threw the elevator away, smashing it towards the tunnel in an attempt to block the guards' advance.
But the tunnel was already littered with corpses, and cries of agony filled the air.
Seeing that Gu Ya had rescued Mu Ye Xing Chen, the Hidden Blade, with his shattered arms and unrecognizable face, finally closed his eyes slowly.
With Wang Chuan merged into Gu Ya, Gu Ya carried Mu Ye Xing Chen and rushed outwards at high speed.
Inside Enamel City,
The prison administrator, and the city's commander, Asa Wang Nai, sat in his flagship mecha's cockpit, his gaze coldly fixed on the massive circular manhole cover at the prison entrance.
On the ground, hundreds of Black Star mechs, in three layers inside and out, surrounded the prison entrance, making it impenetrable.
In the sky, thousands of mechs hovered, forming a pincer formation.
Tens of thousands of guns and countless missiles were ready to fire.
Half of the city's mechs had gathered here, solely to intercept the inmate who dared to risk his life to break into the prison to save Mu Ye Xing Chen.
Asa Wang Nai stated with full confidence, "The prison has been built for two hundred years, and no one has ever successfully escaped."
"All forces, listen to my order! As soon as the inmate shows himself, kill him, no matter the cost! It doesn't matter if the prison entrance is blown up!"
"We will let the entire world know the terror of Enamel City Prison!!!"
"Yes—!" Thunderous shouts of determination and killing intent echoed through the sky.
Just then, a terrifying, earth-shattering roar erupted from within the entrance! It was like a million ghost soldiers surging from hell, roaring as they charged towards the manhole.
"Rumble!" A colossal explosion rent the air, and the circular alloy manhole cover, covering an area of a thousand square meters, was blown into pieces and scattered.
Even more horrifying to everyone, an endless army of mechs gushed out from within the shaft!
Upon seeing this scene, Asa Wang Nai exclaimed in panic, "How... how is this possible!!!" He momentarily forgot to order the attack!
Under the astonished gaze of all Enamel City mech pilots,
The deep blue Thunderstorm Star like a god of hell, amidst the surging thousand-strong army, slowly rose from the manhole.
"The City Destruction War! Begins!"