Chapter 490: Prison Break (2)

Prisoners poured into the corridors.

Some immediately rushed toward the exits, desperate to take advantage of the unexpected opportunity. Others stood frozen for several seconds before finally realizing that they were no longer trapped inside their cells. A few began shouting and laughing, while others hurried after the prisoners who had already escaped.

Within moments, the orderly environment of Blackridge Correctional Facility had collapsed into disorder.

Damien continued moving from cell to cell, tearing open the reinforced barriers as though they were nothing more than ordinary metal fences. The noise of bending steel, shouting prisoners, running footsteps, and slamming doors filled the facility.

He wasn’t thinking about the consequences anymore.

He wasn’t thinking about the guards.

He wasn’t thinking about the prison administration or what would happen when the authorities discovered what he had done.

For the first time in his life, Damien had discovered something that felt like genuine power.

His wealth had given him influence.

His family name had given him status.

But this...

This belonged entirely to him.

And he wanted to know exactly how far it could take him.

Then the prison alarm suddenly erupted.

WEEEEEE-OOO!

The piercing sound echoed through every corridor of Blackridge.

Red warning lights immediately began flashing across the facility, bathing the walls and faces of the prisoners in an ominous glow. Heavy security doors began closing in distant sections, while hurried footsteps echoed through the corridors as guards scrambled to respond to the sudden breach.

A mechanical voice boomed through the prison’s speaker system.

"PRISON BREACH DETECTED."

The message repeated throughout the facility.

"ALL SECURITY PERSONNEL REPORT TO CELL BLOCK C."

Damien stopped in the middle of the corridor.

He slowly raised his head and looked toward the ceiling as the alarm continued screaming around him.

Then he turned toward the approaching sound of hurried footsteps.

The guards were coming.

Damien’s grin gradually widened.

He rolled his shoulders and slowly cracked his neck.

"Ah."

His eyes narrowed with anticipation.

"Here they come."

The alarm continued to blare throughout Blackridge Correctional Facility, its piercing siren reverberating against the thick concrete walls.

Red warning lights flashed continuously across the cell block, bathing the prison in an eerie crimson glow.

Heavy footsteps thundered through the corridors as security personnel rushed toward the disturbance, their voices mixing with the commotion of hundreds of prisoners who had suddenly been released from their cells.

The inmates scattered in every direction.

Some sprinted toward the nearest exits, desperate to escape before the prison authorities could regain control. Others wandered through the corridors in confusion, seemingly unable to believe that the cell doors that had confined them for years were suddenly open.

Amid all of it, Damien remained completely still.

He stood in the middle of the corridor, surrounded by the remnants of the prison cells he had torn open. The red emergency lights reflected off his battered face, illuminating the bruises and dried blood that still covered him.

Only a short while earlier, he had been lying helplessly on the concrete floor after being beaten by three inmates.

Now, those injuries seemed almost insignificant.

His attention remained fixed on the corridor ahead.

He could hear the guards approaching. There were several of them, judging from the number of footsteps echoing through the corridor. Their voices grew progressively louder as they moved closer, accompanied by the hurried clatter of equipment and heavy boots pounding against the concrete.

"Lock down the entire block!"

"Get those prisoners back into their cells!"

"Move! Don’t let them reach the next section!"

Damien listened calmly.

A few seconds later, a heavy metal security door at the end of the corridor opened with a loud mechanical hiss.

A squad of armed guards rushed through the doorway, their weapons raised as they immediately began scanning the chaotic cell block.

The guards were clearly prepared to deal with a prison disturbance. Some shouted at fleeing inmates while others spread out across the corridor, attempting to establish a defensive line and prevent the prisoners from reaching the deeper sections of the facility.

One of them suddenly spotted Damien.

"You!"

The guard immediately pointed his weapon at him.

"Get on the ground!"

Damien slowly turned his head.

His eyes moved from the guard’s face to the weapon pointed directly at him.

Then his gaze shifted toward the bent steel bars beside him, the same reinforced bars he had torn apart with his bare hands.

For some reason, the command almost made him laugh.

Only a few hours ago, Damien would have obeyed immediately. He would have lowered his head, followed the guards’ instructions, and done whatever was necessary to avoid further trouble.

But that Damien no longer existed.

The man standing in the corridor now had experienced something that had fundamentally changed his perception of himself.

He had discovered strength within his own body.

Strength that had nothing to do with money, family connections, or social status.

He wasn’t afraid.

"Get on the ground!" the guard shouted again.

Damien tilted his head slightly.

"No."

The simple response caused several of the guards to exchange surprised glances.

The officer at the front stepped forward, his expression becoming more serious.

"Don’t make this worse for yourself."

Damien looked at him for a moment before a faint smile appeared on his face.

"You have no idea how much worse this already is."

The officer’s expression hardened.

"Last warning."

He raised his weapon slightly.

Damien’s eyes briefly moved toward the guns.

Unlike the prisoners he had just defeated, these men were armed and trained. Whatever power had awakened inside him, Damien understood that it did not necessarily make him invulnerable.

He could bend steel and overpower grown men.

But he had no idea how his body would respond to a bullet.

That realization made him cautious.

He couldn’t simply charge toward a group of armed men and assume his newfound strength would protect him.

His gaze briefly swept across the chaotic corridor.

Hundreds of prisoners were still running through the facility.

The guards couldn’t simply open fire.

Not here.

Not with so many inmates scattering in every direction.