Chapter 1

Death Knell Island was a secret prison jointly established and managed by the Six Nations. Its coordinates were top secret, and the jailers were only allowed to enter and never leave, completely isolated from the outside world. It housed special prisoners, including political prisoners, members of rebel organizations, and superhumans who committed heinous crimes. The prisoners came from different backgrounds, but they all had one thing in common: they were not petty criminals, not the simple serial killers or common antisocial elements.

Without a special skill, you weren't qualified to be imprisoned on Death Knell Island.

Most of the prisoners' crimes were too numerous to record. The Six Nations spared their lives and imprisoned them in an unknown place because they valued their talents and hoped to exploit their worth.

One could also understand Death Knell Island as an alternative talent reserve for the Six Nations, a place brimming with talent and outstanding individuals.

Some prisoners had reached deals with the Six Nations, using their talents in exchange for better treatment. However, most sneered at this, repeatedly mocking the Six Nations' negotiators, arrogant and vicious like venomous insects and fierce beasts. The jailers were actually afraid of them, and many prisoners were strictly forbidden from being approached.

Just yesterday, the Six Nations lost contact with Death Knell Island. With the Catastrophe sweeping the globe, the Six Nations were struggling to protect themselves and couldn't spare any attention for Death Knell Island.

What the Six Nations didn't know was that Death Knell Island was also affected by the Alienation disaster. The jailers fell ill on a large scale, and their duties were completely forgotten.

Some of the sick jailers opened the metal cell doors of some prisoners, like unlocking the collars of fierce tigers.

…

Splatter—

Fresh blood gushing from a human body dyed the gray metal corridor red. The fluorescent light tube embedded in the center of the ceiling was covered in a large patch of scarlet, giving the corridor's light a hazy, blood-colored hue.

A burly Sanu man, two meters and twenty centimeters tall, threw aside the corpse of the chief warden he had torn in two. The two halves of the body landed on the ground with a squelching sound.

The burly man was naked from the waist up, revealing large muscles covered in old scars and the Sanu's natural markings. He was bald—or rather, all male prisoners were shaved bald.

The burly man shook the blood off his hands and looked back. More than a dozen jailers' corpses lay on the ground. The chief warden of the area, whom he had just torn apart, was among them. Hundreds of golden bullet casings were scattered in the blood, and there were also many crushed firearms. The foul stench of blood lingered in the air.

The prisoners were held in solitary confinement, with cells separated by hundreds of meters. Metal doors separated the ends of the passageways, making each corridor with cells a closed space.

Looking around, there were no windows in the corridor. The burly man punched the wall a few times, leaving shallow dents. The feedback from the force indicated that the wall was backed by very thick metal and concrete. The only choices before him were to advance or retreat along the corridor.

Since being imprisoned, the burly man had never left his cell, so he naturally didn't know the prison's layout. He was too lazy to put on the jailers' undersized uniforms, and he glanced at the surveillance camera in the corner.

"They suddenly opened my cell door, and no one has come to stop me yet… Hmm, there's a dangerous smell in the air. What happened to this prison?" the burly man muttered to himself.

Confined on Death Knell Island, all the prisoners were cut off from information, so naturally they didn't know that the Alienation disaster had broken out outside.

Without hesitation, the burly man decided to move forward. After walking a few hundred meters, a metal gate blocked his path. He felt the thickness of the metal door, took a deep breath, and braced himself, drawing his right fist back to his side like pulling a bow.

His muscles suddenly bulged, and his fist, as big as a sand pot, slammed heavily against the door.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

After more than twenty consecutive heavy blows, the dents outlined an oval shape. The burly man leaned his shoulder against it and crashed into it. The metal immediately tore apart and was sent flying, clearing the passage.

After walking forward for a while, he finally saw the cells in this corridor. Several jailers' corpses lay in front of the doors, which were wide open, and the prisoners inside were nowhere to be seen. The prisoners on Death Knell Island had basically no chance to meet other prisoners, and the burly man was no exception. He didn't know who his "neighbors" were.

He didn't think much about it and continued forward. Soon, he saw another metal gate, but this gate already had a huge opening, obviously made by that equally lucky neighbor.

The burly man didn't stop. He passed by several cells. Some places didn't have jailers' corpses, but all the cells had been opened. Clearly, they had all been rescued by that neighbor, and all the gates blocking the way had been broken open, making it unobstructed.

He gradually changed from walking to jogging, wanting to catch up with the person in front.

After running for a while and passing through a gate, it was no longer a seemingly endless corridor of cells but a spacious circular hall. In the center was a gray-black metal cylinder connecting the ceiling and the floor. This was the elevator shaft, divided into four elevators. A group of prisoners was gathered in front of the elevator shaft. Hearing the burly man's footsteps, they all turned around.

"Another lucky one, and he escaped on his own." A tall, thin middle-aged prisoner stepped out of the crowd and sized up the burly man. "If you didn't rescue other prisoners along the way, then you must be my neighbor in the other direction. Let me introduce myself. My name is Shi Jiekou, a high-level executive of Germination. I was imprisoned eleven years ago."

"A member of Germination? No wonder you were caught." The burly man nodded and said in a deep voice, "I'm Taine. I've been imprisoned for four years. What happened to the prison? Why would someone let us out, and no one's stopping us?"

"I don't know, but since no one's stopping us, this is a good opportunity to escape." Shi Jiekou pointed to the prisoners behind him and said, "They all have their own skills. Someone even knows the layout of Death Knell Island. He can lead us out of here."

A thin man walked out, pointed to his head, and said, "I once hacked into the Six Nations' top secret database and saw the structural diagram of Death Knell Island. Although it was only for a few dozen seconds, I've already memorized sixty or seventy percent of the content. Now it can finally be put to use… Hmph, this is why I was caught."

"In short, Death Knell Island isn't a small island overseas. The name is misleading. Its real location is underground in a mountain range. The Six Nations used a natural cave system to build this underground prison. There are thirteen levels in total, each with a circular corridor and numerous cells. The outside of the prison is wrapped in a lot of steel and concrete. Missiles can't even blow it up. The top or bottom levels aren't the exits. One of the middle levels is the only passage to the surface. The location is very hidden, and it's very long."

"Since everyone wants to escape from here, why don't you join us?" Shi Jiekou said.

The burly man Taine slowly nodded. "What are your plans?"

"The prison hasn't reacted to our escape from this level, so something else must be holding them back. It's very likely that prisoners from more than just our level have escaped. If the other prisoners have also escaped, then they should all go to the top level." Shi Jiekou revealed a cruel smile. "So many years of confinement, we can get some interest back from the jailers."

Taine frowned and didn't respond.

The group boarded the elevator and went all the way to the top floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, a thick stench of blood rushed toward them. The area around the elevator shaft was full of jailers' corpses, and blood flowed like a river. The old warden lay in the corner, his abdomen wide open, his blue-black intestines pulled out and tightly wrapped around his neck. His face was purple, and he had been strangled to death, extremely cruelly.

However, Shi Jiekou and his group remained expressionless. There wasn't a single kind person present, and they weren't moved by this scene.

Another group of blood-covered prisoners was waiting for the elevator, and the surrounding situation was undoubtedly their doing.

"There are others who escaped?" The leader of the other group of prisoners, a man with burns and disfigurement, licked his lips and sneered. "Hehe, you missed a carnival. Other than us, there isn't a single living person left on this level."

Shi Jiekou's eyes narrowed. He knew the origin of this burned face. He was a vicious superhuman who had committed many heinous crimes, and even he wasn't willing to provoke him for no reason. So, he said, "How about we join forces? We know how to escape."

"Hmph, alright." The burned face thought for a moment and didn't refuse.

The two groups quickly reached a consensus and began to clear out the surviving jailers level by level, while also rescuing other prisoners.

The scale of the prisoner team grew larger and larger, gradually reaching several hundred people. All the prisoners had been released, and they soon bathed the entire prison in blood. The jailers were extremely vulnerable in front of them.

Originally, Death Knell Island Prison had many defense mechanisms, and even a self-destruct button to prevent prisoners from escaping. However, after everyone arrived at the main control room, they found it in a mess. The jailers who were supposed to be stationed there were inexplicably fighting each other. A dozen jailers had used guns to riddle each other with bullets, perishing together.

No wonder no one had stopped them all along.

"Did these jailers have infighting?"

Everyone looked puzzled, feeling like they were dreaming.

They had been imprisoned for so long, and they were inexplicably freed?

Why were the jailers fighting their own people?

Everything was strange!

Due to a lack of information, the prisoners naturally didn't know about the existence of the Alienation disaster. Many jailers suddenly falling ill led to the paralysis of Death Knell Island, which was how they were able to escape so smoothly. Even the strongest fortress could be broken from within.

After dealing with all the jailers, hundreds of prisoners rested in the elevator shaft hall. Only then did they have enough time to size up each other.

Many of them were once famous villains, fierce and menacing, with hidden talents. Many people had heard of each other's notorious names, and they were wary of each other.

Not a single one was easy to deal with.

There were also some new prisoners who had only been captured in recent years and hadn't been recognized. Most of the prisoners had been imprisoned on Death Knell Island for many years, with quite a few having been imprisoned for ten or twenty years, cut off from the world and with no information about the changes outside.

Taine was a "newcomer," and no one knew his origin.

Because of their fear of each other, many irritable prisoners restrained their tempers. In an environment filled with strong people, even arrogant villains would be low-key. After all, although they were vicious, they weren't mindless. They didn't have any intention of causing trouble. They only wanted to escape from the prison and then go their separate ways, parting ways.

A group of prisoners groped around for a while and found the exit passage. They couldn't wait to enter it. It was a winding artificial passage that ran through the mountains.

After walking for about two hours, when all the prisoners were starting to get impatient, they finally saw the sunlight at the end of the passage and breathed in the increasingly fresh air.

"We're out!"

Everyone's spirits were lifted, and they quickened their pace, rushing out of the passage.

This was the mountainside of a mountain range. The exit was a seemingly inconspicuous cave, surrounded by lush trees. The wind blew through the trees, and the leaves rustled.

The sky was clear, and the sunlight shone on their bodies, making them feel warm. A long-lost sense of freedom rose from the bottom of their hearts. Many people greedily breathed in the fresh air, feeling reborn.

Having been imprisoned for so long, they were finally free. The long-suppressed anger, ambition, and hatred were like erupting volcanoes, unstoppable. Although they didn't understand the changes outside, many prisoners couldn't wait to return to their old ways and cause a ruckus in different places.

Just then, a stranger's voice suddenly sounded not far away.

"What a coincidence. I just arrived and ran into you guys. I thought you had already escaped."

Han Xiao leaned against a tree, staring at everyone.

The prisoners immediately looked over, wearing wary expressions, and looked him up and down with invasive gazes. Most of them found Han Xiao unfamiliar and didn't recognize him.

"Who are you?" the burned face shouted.

"You can call me Black Phantom. That was my old nickname." Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.

"Black Phantom?" The burned face said coldly, "Hmph, where did you come from? I've never heard of you."

Bang!

A thick beam of light flashed.

The next moment, everything above the burned face's neck disappeared, the severed end was charred. The headless corpse swayed for a moment and fell straight to the ground.

Han Xiao crooked his fingers. The floating artillery's light ring array, like an obedient pet, rotated around him affectionately. He had no patience to reason with this group of vicious prisoners, and his face was expressionless.

"Have you heard of me now?"