Chapter 651: Chapter 650: Suppressing the Core Area_1
"Clang," the iron bars were thrown to the ground.
The person who broke the cell door walked directly through the destroyed gate and into the corridor.
After a second’s hesitation, some of the prisoners suddenly became excited and let out cheers.
"The person from cell number twenty-two is stirring things up, what are you waiting for? Get going!" Soon, prisoners began to stir the pot.
These people still had the thought of escaping, but none of them wanted to be the first to stick their necks out. To them, the more people who took the lead, the better, and the larger the scale of the riot, the greater the chance of a successful escape.
The balance was broken, and those with the intention to escape began to grow restless.
However, at that moment, a piercing scream suddenly erupted and reverberated through the entire prison, making everyone subconsciously cover their ears.
The moment the sound stopped, everyone could only hear a buzzing in their ears, and their minds went blank.
"What’s happening?" A group of prisoners in a nearby cell looked bewilderedly towards the source of the noise—it had come from the first person who had rushed out of the cell.
Then they all froze.
"What the hell?" Someone muttered.
Was that thing that emerged from the cell... really human?
A half-human, half-serpent monster stood erect even when its serpentine tail was coiled, reaching a height of three meters. The monster’s mouth had split open almost to the base of its ears, and from its shoulders extended three pairs of arms, each equipped with sharp claws.
"Whoever dares to come out of the cell, I’ll eat them," the monster suddenly spoke, dousing all aspiring escapees with a bucket of cold water.
In the deep recesses of a room, Meiruki had already retreated to her bed, covering herself with a blanket. The monstrous form of Lamia stirred up traumatic shadows from her past.
Although the other prisoners weren’t as exaggerated as her, they also instinctively began to fear this monster.
"Could you be... the Great Witch Lamia?" A witch exclaimed, recognizing the monstrous form that was too distinctive among the witches’ gatherings, "What are you doing in this prison?"
Lamia glanced at her but didn’t answer the question. The prison was already in an uproar because of this, as the Magic Potion queen, active for nearly a century, was a legend in the world of black magic—known to witches, necromancers, and alchemists alike. The sudden appearance of such a significant figure made them wonder if they were dreaming.
"Lamia has made a move?" Daili covered her ears, peering down the depths of the corridor, "When did she develop this roar?"
"Sorry, I can’t hear very well right now," Presia said, also covering her ears.
"What the fuck, it’s really a dead monster!?" The most surprised was actually Camilla; she clearly remembered the prisoner from cell twenty-two was the strong woman who harassed her last time.
She had thought that individual was just a bit peculiar, but in the end... she wasn’t even human.
Does that mean she actually intended to eat her? The thought alone sent shivers down her spine.
The alarm blared throughout the cells, and Veronica led the riot police pouring into the corridor, accompanied by mercury amalgam golems.
Upon seeing the monster that appeared in the middle of the corridor, Veronica and her riot police raised their guns in unison.
"Don’t shoot, she’s one of us." A hand appeared out of nowhere and placed itself on Veronica’s wrist, giving her a start.
Qiqimora just appeared beside Veronica like that and started speaking to her, "We were contacted by the warden to take action and intimidate the other prisoners."
"Prisoner 3602..." Veronica recognized Qiqimora—Aiden had once told her that he had sought help from a witch meeting and that she was aware of the true identities of the two inmates in cell 22. She also knew about the contract between Aiden and them and the fact that they could be contacted at any time.
"Could that one be Prisoner 3601?" Veronica cast her gaze towards Lamia, standing at the center of the corridor.
"Indeed, are you frightened?" Qiqimora smiled.
"Not really, I’ve also seen my share of things with you all." Veronica took a deep breath, put away her gun, and gestured for her team to lower their weapons.
She had already seen Father Bales in his synthetic beast form when they attacked the Harvest Mother Cult, and although she didn’t know much about the world Aiden was in contact with, her spirit had already built up a certain immunity.
Lamia, with her serpent tail swaying gently, moved closer and said, "The barrier has been breached, the enemy has already started to move, we should go help out as well."
"Does the chief have any instructions?" Veronica asked.
"For now, there are none," Qiqimora replied.
"Then let’s just wait here for now, and leave everything to the chief’s arrangement," Veronica said.
Qiqimora and Lamia exchanged glances, neither saying anything. They both lacked the ability to kill Mr. Bloody alone without endangering themselves, and they also didn’t know Mr. Bloody’s location, so leaving the battle’s command to Aiden was indeed the most rational judgment.
The inmates buzzed with shock upon seeing Veronica’s conversation with Lamia.
It was clear that Lamia was in league with the jailers, and that warden... he had even tamed the legendary Queen of Magic Potion!
"If we leave later, and these prisoners start getting funny ideas, that wouldn’t be good," Lamia turned her head to look and flashed a grin, "How about I kill one and eat it first to deter them in advance?"
"You’re just itching for some action," Qiqimora commented from the side. "Just tell them that leaving the prison would mean making an enemy of the witch meeting, that should be enough."
"Besides, they seem quite docile at the moment," Veronica added.
The inmates who had thought about escaping couldn’t help but hold back their urgent feeling as they looked at Lamia’s eerie face.
In truth, if these core area inmates with their unique talents united with a desperate determination to break out, they might stand a chance at seriously injuring Lamia. However, they lacked such solidarity and were more concerned with their own lives. This disorganized mob wouldn’t act unless someone took the lead and even if they did rush out in a fit of recklessness, a few casualties would make them retreat. Moreover, many inmates were waiting to claim the heads of their fellow escapees in exchange for a reduced sentence.
Not to mention Lamia and Qiqimora, even the Mercury Golem, ordered to guard the prison sector, was enough to suppress these would-be escapees.
The most important thing was, now no one dared to defy the warden, who hadn’t even shown his face yet.
"Speaking of which, where is the warden right now?" Qiqimora inquired.
"With such an incident, the chief would certainly go to check the magic array maintaining the barrier," Veronica answered.
"Your prison defenses are really too poor, aren’t they? Even these kinds of facilities can be breached?" Lamia mocked.
"This is indeed strange..." Veronica also muttered.
All the core area inmates were in their cells, and there were no alarms in the general area, indicating that not a single prisoner was active outside the cells at this time.
As for the new logistics contract employees, except for Tony Dodge, all of them were now locked in their respective posts and resting rooms under the guise of epidemic prevention; only official jailers like her, who had been employed for some time, could move around freely.
Could it be... there’s a mole?
