Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 323 - 242: Murder Hornet

Chapter 323: Chapter 242: Murder Hornet

Just now, the criminal suspect attempting to make a jailbreak, 1721, knocked himself out, thereby ending his ability’s effect on the Owl and the mechanical wardens.

Immediately, the mechanical wardens locked the cell, and under the narrative of the Judge, Duan Mingyuan completed the repair of the Titan guard that protected Black Lake. The Judge also decided to lead them to meet the real Dr. Eisenberg.

However, just as the group stepped out of the elevator, Duan Mingyuan heard a short-circuit sound, and the mechanical warden, which had been leading the way, suddenly tilted its neck and fell into paralysis.

The incident was so sudden that before they could grasp the situation, an urgent ring from a cell phone began to sound.

The incoming call displayed Jiuyue’s name, and the moment the phone was answered, she couldn’t wait to ask, "Are you guys alright?"

"What happened?"

A foreboding sense of doom rose in their hearts.

If Jiuyue, who was outside the prison, knew something had happened inside, it was likely that something had gone wrong with the live broadcast.

Furthermore, throughout their journey, Duan Mingyuan had been feeling something unusual.

had demonstrated his ability in front of him personally, an ability that was identical to the method used by the Judge to strip souls, only it seemed like a more advanced application.

It did not require a prisoner to write their name into a device; merely through brief contact, it could twist human Life Energy through words.

Why would the AI on Prison Planet have the same type of ability as the most dangerous prisoner here?

Yet before he had the chance to ask, the mechanical warden that was leading the way suddenly suffered a short-circuit malfunction.

To wantonly twist human souls is indeed an inherently evil Strength...

Duan Mingyuan had intended to say just that, but then he suddenly remembered that not only did he understand the principle behind it, he had even used it on 1721 himself.

Cough.

This fully demonstrated that power itself is not inherently good or evil—it’s the user that matters!

He definitely wasn’t any kind of evildoer; if you don’t believe it, you could ask the Judge from Prison Planet. The AI in this regard is absolutely fair and impartial.

"Your director and the Prison Governor were just assassinated in front of the camera."

While speaking, Jiuyue sent over a video clip that was already going viral online.

The video was still set in the sweltering D17 block, the broadcast team seemed to have just finished an interview, and walked out of the communal bathhouse. The new host who had taken over for the Owl was fulfilling his role diligently, narrating the history of D17 block with Warden Norton.

Before long, a sound like a swarm of bees flapping their wings could be heard from afar, drawing closer.

The camera turned towards the source of the sound, and it seemed like a dark mass was rushing toward the direction of the broadcast team.

"What’s that? Crows?"

Warden Norton’s question arose in the video.

The small flying objects drew closer, and not until they were fully captured by the camera did Norton suddenly let out an exclamation.

His response was the sound of gunfire, and the camera suddenly spiraled out of control, falling to the ground.

Blood spread across the lens, and the gunfire quickly linked together into a barrage, accompanied by the sounds of heavy objects hitting the ground.

A script?

This was the first reaction of the live broadcast audience, but the faces that appeared on camera soon dispelled their doubts.

They saw Warden Norton’s face, eyes wide open, fixated on the direction of the camera, with a hole appearing right in his forehead. A bullet had penetrated straight through his head, allowing viewers to see clear through to the scenery on the other side.

Norton—!

Watching the Prison Governor who had died without closing his eyes, Duan Mingyuan silently lamented in his heart.

He quite admired Norton’s character, not wanting to get involved in family and corporate conflicts, and thus coming to the remote location of Prison Planet after graduation to quietly serve as the Prison Governor.

Regrettably, although he had spent his life trying to stay clear of trouble, trouble eventually found him anyway.

A young life had vanished.

The question now was whether he was willing to turn back for the Norton player.

After some thought between the production team, Norton, and Dr. Eisenberg, Duan Mingyuan made his decision.

He felt that Warden Norton deserved a chance to participate in the resurrection race and said, "Let’s head back to Block D17 first."

"I was thinking the same."

The Owl remained noncommittal.

As a member of the production team, he knew this wasn’t a script arranged in advance by the company, and he also recognized the flying vehicles attacking the production team.

The lucky sachet Duan Mingyuan had given him had indeed brought him tremendous luck; had he been at the scene, he would have surely died at the hands of these flying vehicles as well.

"Old Duan, things are not simple. Those are Hive drones, specialized assassin drones for target elimination of government officials on various planets."

As a frontline reporter, he was all too familiar with this type of drone.

"A Hive can release thirty-two sub-drones, each equipped with ammunition capable of piercing human skulls. They’re equipped with the most advanced heat-imaging scanning devices, no living being can escape their scan, but the most crucial thing is..."

The Owl’s expression turned grave, he paused for a moment before continuing, "The most crucial thing is, those who have the technology of the Hive drones are all sizable organizations."

"Companies or chambers of commerce."

"Exactly."

The Owl had only seen companies and chambers of commerce use the Hive drones for political assassinations of government officials. On the front lines, Hive drones could perform precision killings like a surgeon’s scalpel, making them one of the most feared weapons of war among the officials of various planets.

This is the true elite force of the chamber of commerce, entirely different from the Cosmic Pirates who relied on pillage and other underhanded methods to prosper.

This inevitably led to a new question.

How did they infiltrate?

It’s known that everyone who enters the prison must pass the Judge’s review, and their production team was the last group to enter the prison.

"The production team had been infiltrated long ago. They not only entered the prison but also brought the Hive drones inside."

Hearing this, Duan Mingyuan was also quite surprised, but more than that, he felt disappointed with Universe Company’s personnel review mechanism.

The company must have known that the Shanqi Commerce Association had been eyeing Dr. Eisenberg for a long time and would likely take the opportunity of this trial to make a move, yet they still let them in.

Now, Duan Mingyuan had enough reason to believe that the command department of Universe Company was suspected of collusion and should be thoroughly investigated.

Block D17 had been unbearably hot for a long time, and now, in addition to the heat, there was also a strong smell of blood.

This was an indiscriminate slaughter; along their way, they saw not a single living soul.

No signs of resistance were left at the scene; the prisoners with their heads blown open simply lay there on the ground, as if they had been killed by the Hive drones before they even realized they were under attack.

But this couldn’t be entirely blamed on them, as most of them had been in this block for too long, oblivious to the outside world’s technological advancements.

More importantly, the prolonged extreme heat had long made their reactions sluggish.

The two finally found Warden Norton and the bodies of all the production team members outside the bathhouse.

The lens of the camera used for the live broadcast was shattered. Judging from the situation at the scene, the operation seemed to have been aimed at Norton.

Once the Warden died here, the prison would be without a commander.

They could take Dr. Eisenberg out of the prison before the chaos subsided.

And now, Duan Mingyuan needed to get Norton back to the front lines.

He gathered the dissipating energy together, and Norton, regaining consciousness, finally issued the warning he hadn’t had time to release before collapsing.

—"It’s the Hive drones, get down!"