Chapter Three: The Legendary Skullcrusher!

The prison guard had just woken up and was stunned by the sudden threat, but with a blade at his throat, he had no choice but to comply. Shang Yi quickly handcuffed the guard to a chair. At that moment, subtitles floated across the system interface: "You have taken control of a prison guard, completing the first step of your escape." "You have obtained an offensive item—the Skull-Crushing Hammer."

The subtitles vanished, and in Shang Yi's hand appeared a strikingly extravagant metal hammer. Its silver-gray head was massive, with a metal skull carved on either side, and sharp spikes for bloodletting protruded from both ends. The handle was segmented, wrapped in red nylon cord, and at its end was a three-pronged claw.

"This is like an epic weapon straight out of a fantasy game!" Shang Yi glanced back at the surveillance screens and quickly understood the positions of all the guards. He worried that Dr. Gao hadn't seen the lizard and the prisoners pass by, so he reported to the warden via walkie-talkie. The warden would question the surveillance room guard or send someone to check the room.

He struck the guard with the hammer, knocking him out cold, then went to work—a screen for each hammer blow, swiftly smashing all the monitors to pieces. He exited and descended to the third basement level, entering the armory. Upon seeing the thermal imaging night vision goggles, he remembered there was an electrical control room next door and immediately formed a plan.

He placed several weapons—submachine gun, tranquilizer gun, stun baton, grenades—into his storage space. Leaving the armory, he entered the electrical control room next door, pulled out the submachine gun, and unleashed a hail of bullets into the various circuit boxes.

The sound of gunfire echoed, followed by a magnetic snap—the lights throughout the prison went out.

Donning the night vision goggles and wielding the tranquilizer gun, Shang Yi stepped out from the control room. He quickly made his way to the ground floor, heading down the corridor not far from the first-floor guard station.

The entire prison had been carved out of the mountainside, built within a cavern; only sunlight at the main entrance illuminated the darkness. With the power out, the prison was pitch black, and the guards near the entrance were moving toward the light.

Through the night vision goggles, Shang Yi saw two red silhouettes ahead. He hurriedly raised the automatic tranquilizer gun and fired twice; the two forms collapsed silently. Near the guard station, another red silhouette emerged, nearly colliding with him.

The distance was too close—there was no time to shoot! Swiftly, Shang Yi pulled out the stun baton and struck the figure at the neck; the red shadow dropped unconscious.

Approaching the interrogation room, he subdued another red figure and saw sunlight streaming in ahead. He stashed all his weapons and entered the entrance hall, where eight guards stood.

Shang Yi waved and spoke in the lizard's voice, "Something's happened inside! Hurry, come with me!"

"What happened?" "What's going on in there?" "Where's the prisoner you brought?"

Shang Yi quickly pieced together a plausible story. "Today's prisoner is dangerous. As soon as I entered the cell, he ambushed me and knocked me out. He took my keys and entered the armory, using night vision goggles and various guns to sabotage the electrical room—he's killing our people in the dark!"

"Hurry, follow me to the armory, grab night vision, and take him down!"

He injected urgency into his tone.

"Damn! Is that for real?" "Who is this prisoner?" "Let's go, stop wasting time!"

The guards were about to move inside when a guard with a face full of pockmarks suddenly asked, "Lizard, if you were knocked out, how do you know all this?"

"Damn! There's a flaw in my story, and this guy caught it!"

Staring at the pockmarked guard, a thousand curses raced through Shang Yi's mind. Noting the suspicion on the guard's face, he improvised, coming up with an explanation even he hadn't expected.

"After I was knocked out, my lizard form emerged and followed him, witnessing everything. But he was so strong, I didn't dare make a move. When my body woke up and the lizard returned, I came to inform everyone."

Having delivered this dubious explanation, Shang Yi anxiously watched the group, ready to turn and run if needed.

The pockmarked guard's face twitched slightly. "Lizard, I never thought you..."

Shang Yi braced for exposure, his hair standing on end, ready to fight.

But the guard simply waved his hand. "Everyone, go inside, quickly!"

At that moment, subtitles floated before his eyes: "You have deceived a group of guards, completing the second step of your escape. HP +50."

"HP: A value that sustains life when attacked by ghosts and monsters."

Shang Yi deliberately slowed his pace, trailing behind the group. As they entered the dark corridor, he swiftly donned night vision goggles and raised the tranquilizer gun, firing at their backs.

"One, two, three, ..."

Shang Yi, a master with the gun, quickly took down all eight guards. Then, he spotted new red silhouettes and retreated to a hidden spot. He peeked out and counted five figures.

Unable to determine if the warden and deputy warden were among them, he dared not take risks and quickly returned to the entrance hall on the first floor.

Standing in the sunlight at the doorway, he glanced at his shadow with his left eye.

Ninety-five percent! Just a little more.

If he could stall for a few more minutes, Tang Ya would awaken!

Shang Yi found a suitable cover, exposing half his head and quietly watched the pitch-black corridor ahead.

After a short wait, five red silhouettes appeared in his vision. He aimed and fired the tranquilizer gun in bursts; the five forms fell quickly.

He wondered why the warden and deputy hadn't emerged when suddenly, everything turned blood-red—his health bar plummeted.

"Fifty, forty-nine, forty-eight, forty-seven... nine, eight, seven, six..."

Feeling something was wrong, Shang Yi turned and fled.

At that moment, his shadow behind him changed dramatically.

One hundred percent!

Tang Ya, her hair cascading in glossy black waves, stood with arms outspread, protecting him like an eagle shielding its chicks.

Shang Yi sensed movement behind him and, seeing his health bar hadn't dropped further, quickly looked back.

Seeing Tang Ya's silhouette and his own nearly depleted health, he broke out in a cold sweat.

He could just make out, in the darkness before Tang Ya, two massive black shapes writhing incessantly.

They must be the monsters from the warden and deputy warden's bodies, now separated from their hosts.

The figure on the left stood four meters tall, resembling an upright giant crocodile. Its enormous head was filled by a gaping maw, its body covered in black scales. On its chest was a white ghostly face; a crimson tongue flicked back and forth, and bloodthirsty desire burned in its eyes.

The one on the right was five meters tall, a tyrannosaurus covered in black spots. Its forearms were unnaturally thick, with claws ending in octopus-like enormous tentacles—a terrifying sight.

Earlier, Shang Yi had only been lightly brushed by the crocodile's ghostly tongue, instantly losing forty-nine HP.

If the system hadn't granted bonus HP, he wouldn't have lasted a single second.