Chapter 268: Chapter 268

Chapter 297: Carnival of Freedom

This command didn't ring out in her head with a specific voice but surfaced like a memory, as if she had read this rule in the past and only just now suddenly recalled it.

Veronica instinctively realized she shouldn't defy this command. She quickly understood—this was the effect of the artifact the pirates possessed, the one the Warden had mentioned.

If anyone within the artifact's range of influence attempted to violate the rule, the artifact would issue a warning to that person.

Presumably, ignoring the warning and insisting on acting would likely result in "punishment" from the artifact.

During the Capital Prison jailbreak four years ago, although there were no casualties, a large number of guards who attempted to stop the escape lost consciousness. This was likely due to the artifact's effect.

Thus, Veronica abandoned warning the inmates and walked straight out of the duty room.

When she appeared, the inmates celebrating outside their cells reflexively fell silent for a moment. Veronica was practically Aiden number two in the Core Block on a daily basis, and a considerable number of people here had been thoroughly beaten by her before.

Until Anne Drake spoke up: "Don't worry, she's already under the Sea God's curse now. And Can't do anything. We just walk!"

The inmates then noticed Veronica neither issued a warning nor drew her gun, seemingly just a paper tiger.

Veronica opened the main block gate, whose locks had all already been disengaged, and left immediately.

Since she couldn't prevent the inmates from leaving their cells, what she should do now, according to Aiden's prior instructions, was command the riot squad to hold their posts, continuously monitor the prison's situation, and await the Warden's next order.

"She ran away! She ran away!"

"Haha! Serves you right!!"

"We're really free! Yahoo!!"

The escaping inmates raised their arms and cheered.

"Party time! Head straight for the main gate and meet up with our backup. Go grab tools, move everything valuable, smash everything on the way out! Tear this dump down!!" Anne loudly directed the escaping inmates.

Although they couldn't attack the guards, they could still destroy prison facilities and loot supplies—that was enough revenge against that damned Warden.

Seeing this, some inmates who were initially hesitant finally made up their minds, also stepping out of their cells to join the carnival. A few more cautious inmates, realizing Aiden hadn't appeared yet, remained put.

Meanwhile, in the Core Block corridors, the pirate crew continued unimpeded.

"Outta the way, outta the way! Don't block the path!!"

"What a nice tourist spot, hahahaha!!"

"The cops are lining the path to welcome us! Maybe they should switch careers to hotel greeters!"

The pirates laughed arrogantly, loudly mocking the guards, waving their flags. Some even fired shots at windows and gas lamps for amusement.

The guards encountered along the way were completely powerless to stop them, only able to stand aside and watch helplessly. They had seen the fate of those who couldn't keep their cool and acted—simply drawing a gun to shoot resulted in black thorn tattoos growing on their hand, accompanied by unbearable pain.

"They've reached the restricted access corridor! Seal the emergency gates, trap them there!"

Another guard, unable to remain calm, rushed into the control room. Although the "warning" that suddenly appeared in his mind made him hesitate for a moment, he ultimately decided and pulled the switch.

However, the mechanical device controlling the gates just clicked a few times and jammed. Neither gate at the front nor back of the corridor lowered.

"How could..." The guard who pulled the switch watched helplessly through the window as the pirates entered the corridor, heading towards the restricted area requiring authorization.

He couldn't comprehend why the equipment in his assigned area would malfunction at such a critical time—he had just inspected all the equipment here yesterday.

As he prepared to leave the control room to check the situation, he turned and slammed into a "wall." "Ah!!"

Then, he discovered several more "invisible walls" had suddenly appeared around him.

Dumbfounded, he groped around the transparent walls like a mime performing an invisible wall routine.

He was trapped by these walls in a space less than one square meter. Only at this moment did he understand what the "punishment of imprisonment" mentioned in the "warning" meant.

"Report to all posts, stand by. Do not take any further unauthorized action! Everyone hold your positions and await orders!!"

Receiving successive reports of failed interceptions, Chief Guard Franda, commanding from the conference room, could only repeatedly issue the order to stand by.

"Chief Guard, where on earth is the Warden? He's not in his office!!" A department head yelled at Franda after hearing a guard's report.

"He's working on handling it. All personnel standing by is his instruction. Don't panic!" Franda forced herself to respond calmly.

Aiden's prior instruction was for everyone to stand by at their posts after the jailbreak began and await his further orders. He would "find a way" to counter the pirates' jailbreak method. He had temporarily handed command of the Core Block to Franda, while the riot squad was Veronica's responsibility.

But only after the pirates stormed the prison did Franda truly realize how bizarre their jailbreak method was.

All attacks and interception attempts failed completely. Every guard who took action inexplicably fell under a "curse."

Although the pirates weren't attacking personnel, they were rampaging everywhere, smashing prison facilities.

In such a dire situation, without Aiden personally overseeing things, it was incredibly difficult to maintain morale within the prison!

Then, the worst news arrived.

"Chief Guard! Those pirates are almost at the Core Block cells! They've also split off a group heading towards the vault! They're carrying barrels... inside... inside looks like explosives!!" A guard rushed in frantically.

Everyone in the conference room turned pale. The prison vault, like the Core Block cells, was located in the most heavily secured restricted area.

However, the vault itself didn't possess much defensive strength; it was just a storeroom the finance department could open following procedures. After all, this wasn't a bank specifically designed for storing money and valuables. If all the black magic traps and locking mechanisms failed, explosives... were entirely sufficient to blast open the vault door.

No, judging from the previous events, they might not even need explosives to open the door. Those explosives might just be for causing widespread destruction!

Normally, the Rose Iron Prison vault wouldn't hold much cash; most funds were kept in bank accounts. But recently, after the production area renovations, the prison had received numerous large and small orders. A significant amount of cash, not yet deposited, remained in the vault, and Aiden hadn't transferred it out beforehand!

At this moment, even Franda couldn't help but waver inwardly: Warden, at such a critical time, where on earth are you right now?