Li Ban immediately sprinted back to the third level.
He couldn't just rush to the front lines without knowing the situation.
The moment he returned to the utility room and set his things down, two figures blurred past the doorway.
With his sharp eyesight, Li Ban recognized them instantly: prison officials Zhang Baishan and Huo Jiang.
He quickly peeked out, just in time to see Zhao Yu walk past, lagging a step behind.
Seeing Li Ban, Zhao Yu actually stopped to question him.
"Go get Zhou Gu. Didn't he hear the warning whistle? Is he still hiding in his room?"
With that, Zhao Yu continued on his way, his pace still unhurried.
He was blatantly slacking off.
"Zhao Yu, stay and guard the third level! Tell Zhou Gu to get his ass over here!"
Zhao Yu turned right back toward the third level's main entrance. Passing the utility room again, he glared at Li Ban, who was still standing blankly in the doorway. "What are you waiting for? Go!"
Li Ban hesitated, caught in a difficult position.
Who could have predicted an enemy attack right at the critical moment of Zhou Gu's seclusion to fuse his third element?
If he forcefully interrupted him now and caused the fusion to fail, Zhou Gu would absolutely vent his fury on him.
Yet he couldn't ignore Zhang Baishan's orders either.
Squeezing his eyes shut in resignation, Li Ban jogged over to Zhou Gu's room. He could only hope the prison officials would easily crush this assault.
That way, Zhou Gu wouldn't need to come out at all.
And Li Ban wouldn't end up as his punching bag.
Knock, knock, knock. Li Ban rapped softly on the door and kept his voice low. "Lord Zhou, Official Zhang is ordering you out to repel the enemy."
Silence answered him.
Li Ban didn't try a second time. He immediately turned and sprinted toward the upper levels of the Death Prison.
With Zhang Baishan and Huo Jiang currently up there, it would be relatively safe to go up and check the situation.
Besides, he had already delivered the message. If Zhou Gu refused to come out, there was nothing he could do about it.
But as Li Ban hurried up the stairs, he spotted Tree-Person B—who was supposed to be stationed on the first level—walking down.
"Where is Official Zhou?" Tree-Person B demanded, grabbing Li Ban's shoulder.
His expression was a bit strange.
"I called Lord Zhou, but he won't come out."
Tree-Person B released Li Ban. "Go upstairs and help. I'll get Official Zhou."
Without another word, he hurried down the stairs, looking almost impatient. The stiff branches jutting from his body constantly scraped against the walls, leaving behind fresh marks.
Li Ban took one step up, then paused.
Something about Tree-Person B felt entirely wrong.
Had Zhang Baishan really sent him down to fetch Zhou Gu?
Trusting his instincts, Li Ban crouched low to spy on the tree-person's movements.
He watched as Tree-Person B marched up to Zhou Gu's door and knocked twice.
The blows were far heavier than Li Ban's, striking so hard it seemed he wanted to smash the door to splinters.
Then, the tree-person's hoarse voice rang out.
"Official Zhou! Official Zhang wants you on the first level for the pursuit! Please hurry! This isn't the time for seclusion! Whatever you're doing, it isn't as important as an invasion of the Death Prison!"
From the sound of it, Tree-Person B was desperately urging Zhou Gu to emerge. Yet, from his hiding spot, Li Ban watched in disbelief as the tree-person shouted those very words while actively sprinting toward the fourth level.
A moment later, his figure vanished behind the hidden door to the fourth level.
Li Ban's jaw dropped.
What was Tree-Person B doing going to the fourth level?
Sneaking into the fourth level during the chaos... was he a traitor too?
Scrambling to his feet, Li Ban bolted for the upper levels, pretending he hadn't seen a thing.
Is Tree-Person B compromised too? he thought.
The Death Prison wasn't large, and it didn't have many staff, yet hardly a single person here seemed normal.
He felt bad for Lord Du for a second.
Then he felt bad for himself for a full minute.
He hurried through the Second Level corridor. It was completely quiet.
It seemed the enemy hadn't fought their way down yet.
Official Zhang and the others must be holding the line.
Li Ban breathed a sigh of relief. The situation hadn't devolved into a total breach yet.
He continued his sprint upward.
Just as he passed Number Ten, he heard a low voice mutter, "Don't go."
Li Ban jumped. He hadn't expected the prisoner—the one whose second tongue he had just sliced off—to actually speak.
In all his time here, it was the very first time Li Ban had ever heard the man's voice.
Pausing in his tracks, Li Ban shot him a glance.
Number Ten gripped the wooden bars with one hand. He tilted his head toward Li Ban, a thin trail of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. "It's not... an invasion."
Not an invasion?
Li Ban turned fully toward him, but Number Ten had exhausted the last of his strength and couldn't utter another word.
If it wasn't an invasion, then it was a... prison break?
Li Ban's head whipped toward the stairs leading to the first level.
There had been no commotion on the Second Level, which meant it was the prisoners on the first level trying to escape.
And the first level held... the Cat Girl.
He forced his legs up the stairs again, though his pace dragged significantly.
If the Cat Girl was truly breaking out, could he even stop her?
His mind swirled with panic. Before he could figure it out, he found himself standing on the first level.
Yet, there was no sign of the fierce battle he had imagined.
He ran straight to Cell 13.
Just as he suspected, the battle had happened here.
And not just at Cell 13, but Cell 14 as well.
The wooden bars of both cells were completely obliterated.
It looked like the blast marks of gunpowder.
Or perhaps the destructive force of a specific elemental ability.
The prisoners inside were gone.
The heavy iron chains that had bound them were severed, piled haphazardly on the stone floor.
It was undeniably a premeditated prison break.
The bodies of two newly assigned slaves lay sprawled on the floor outside the cells.
One had been disemboweled, while the other had been literally blown to pieces. Viscera and gore spilled everywhere, coating the floor in a slick, greasy sheen.
Li Ban took a sharp breath, and the pungent stench of blood immediately assaulted his nose.
He waded through the gore, his boots making squelching noises with every step.
Then, near Cell 10, Li Ban spotted Liu Mu slumped on the floor, clutching his stomach.
"Brother Liu!" Li Ban hurried over. "How bad is it? I brought bandages."
Liu Mu groaned in pain, fresh blood seeping through the fingers pressed to his gut. "The two new prisoners... and the Cat Girl. They all got away."
What?
The shock almost made Li Ban accidentally slam his palm straight onto Liu Mu's open wound.
All three prisoners on the first level had escaped.
Did the Cat Girl simply seize the opportunity to tag along, or was there another reason?
Shoving his chaotic thoughts aside, Li Ban crouched down to help staunch the bleeding.
The moment he pressed the cotton pad to the gash, it soaked through with bright red.
He grabbed several more layers of cotton, pressing them tight before wrapping the bandage firmly around Liu Mu's waist.
Li Ban was no medic. His clumsy first aid had Liu Mu gritting his teeth in agony, thoroughly drenched in cold sweat.
Still, it beat bleeding to death.
Just as Li Ban was finishing up the bandaging, heavy footsteps echoed from outside.
He quickly looked up. It was Zhang Baishan, gripping his saber in one hand and lugging a severed head in the other as he strode back in.
Li Ban recognized the grisly trophy immediately. It was the escapee from Cell 6 on the first level.
It seemed Zhang Baishan had managed to catch one of them.
But the moment Zhang Baishan saw Li Ban alone with the wounded servant, his face darkened. "Where is Zhou Gu?!" he roared.
Li Ban trembled, stammering his reply. "Lord Zhang, Official Zhou wouldn't come out! prison guard B went back down to call him, so I rushed up here to help!"
"Useless trash!" Zhang Baishan spat.
Li Ban suspected that insult was meant for both him and Zhou Gu.
From the floor, Liu Mu spoke up weakly. "My Lord... what about the others?"
"I killed this one, and Huo Jiang wounded another. But the remaining two managed to get away."
Zhang Baishan glanced at Liu Mu's wound. Seeing the severity of the injury, he turned his glare onto Li Ban. "Huo Jiang is tracking the escapees. You go help him."
Li Ban wanted absolutely nothing to do with it, but Zhang Baishan was already in a towering rage. If he dared utter a single syllable of refusal, the official's saber would cleave him in two before he could blink.
"Yes, my Lord!" Li Ban answered loudly. He shoved the rest of the bandage into Liu Mu's hands, scrambled to his feet, and darted for the exit.
Zhang Baishan grabbed Li Ban by the shoulder and unclipped a spare dagger from his back, shoving it into the young man's hands. "You've got sharp eyes. Even if you can't fight them, help Huo Jiang track their path."