NOVEL NEXT Chapter 110
Chapter 110
The Assistant Duty Officer and Duty Chief were bewildered as they watched the CCTV screen.
The inmates were surprisingly orderly, standing in the hallway without a trace of disorder or complaints.
There were no abrupt actions from anyone.
That was because they had heard Si-hyun’s voice.
Since the directives had come from Si-hyun, they obediently followed like lambs.
“Stay quiet here.”
Si-hyun said that and left the Duty Room alone.
“Phew…”
The Assistant Duty Officer finally exhaled in relief.
“What a menacing gaze they have.”
The Duty Chief shook his head disapprovingly.
“Shouldn’t we intervene?”
The Assistant Duty Officer cautiously asked.
“How on earth? Look at how they glare at us like they want to kill. If we keep trying to intervene, something might actually happen.”
“It was indeed frightening…”
“Just stay quiet for now. We’re just helpless bystanders, you know?”
The Assistant Duty Officer nodded repeatedly at the Duty Chief’s words.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Fools!”
Someone muttered among the Orcs.
It was a gray-haired man dressed in black.
The man certainly appeared human.
Yet, the aura radiating from him felt anything but human.
He stood with arms crossed, watching the Orcs struggle to break down the main gate and wall.
The Orcs wielded various weapons, striking the door and walls with spears, axes, and clubs.
Despite the loud noise, there was no progress.
The steel door looked exceptionally sturdy at first glance.
However, the wall, which appeared breakable, didn’t budge an inch.
It seemed that not merely simple rebar but an actual heavy iron wall had been erected and covered with concrete.
“I can’t stay still any longer; this is unbearable. Hey, Trital.”
The man called out to someone.
An Orc next to him responded.
But he was no ordinary Orc.
The Orcs rampaging in front were not your average Orcs either.
They were more like mutants.
Brutal beasts towering at 2m in height.
But the Orc next to the man was even more extraordinary.
He stood over 3m tall and boasted massive arms and legs the size of an average Orc’s torso.
Just looking at him was enough to sense his incredible strength.
The monster knelt down politely before the man and bowed its head.
“Trital, the greatest warrior of the Orc tribe. Go and smash that steel door.”
“Grugh.”
The Orc named Trital nodded vigorously as if he understood.
Then he rose to his feet and began stomping toward the main gate.
“GRAAAAAA!”
As he approached the gate, Trital stopped and let out an ear-splitting roar.
It was a scream loud enough to burst eardrums.
Hearing it, the other Orcs lowered their weapons and began to back away orderly.
It seemed Trital was the highest commander of these Orcs.
“GRRAAAAR!”
Once the Orcs had retreated, Trital roared once more and charged toward the main door with vigor.
In his hand, he brandished an enormous iron club.
With ease, Trital swung the massive club like a toothpick and struck the door hard.
RUMBLE!
A resounding crash echoed, a sound of collision unlike any heard before.
The gate noticeably shook.
It felt as though the ground around was trembling like an earthquake.
“Huh, huh…?!”
“What… what’s happening?!”
The staff in the guard post shouted in panic.
They felt a shock that was utterly different from before.
BANG!
Once again, a loud booming noise resonated as the door shook violently.
The staff’s faces turned pale.
“Shouldn’t we check on this?”
“Y-You do it.”
“W-Why must I go? You go!”
With the surveillance cameras broken, the only way to assess the situation outside was to approach the door and peek through a crack.
But none wanted to get close to the gate in fear.
“L-Let’s report it….”
“What… what do we even report?”
“Just say something feels off. I’ll do it… Huh?!”
As the staff panicked and scrambled about, it happened.
BANG!
A third tremendous shock was felt.
And in that moment, the thick, sturdy steel door began to bend, witnessed clearly by the staff.
“Oh no…! This is bad. Hurry and report!”
“Forget the reports, let’s get out of here!”
“AAAH!”
The staff started fleeing the guard post, their expressions filled with terror.
Amidst their escape, one staff member hastily grabbed the TRS and shouted urgently.
-Y-You’re at the main gate! This is a serious emergency! The gate is…
◈ ◈ ◈
“Director, there’s been a call from the Warden.”
The Security Department Head nodded and picked up the phone.
When he had first reported, the Warden stated that since he was unaware of the urgent situation, he could not issue commands but instructed that everything should be judged and handled by the Security Department Head.
This was their second call.
“Yes, Warden. Yes, yes, we’re holding out inside by relying on the main gate. Yes, the inside, where the wards are located, is mostly fine. Yes, understood. We will proceed accordingly.”
Putting down the phone, the Security Department Head looked at his staff.
“The Warden is on his way here with Hunters who will rescue us. So just hold on a little longer. If we can endure a bit more, help will arrive soon.”
It was a cliché that help would come, but hearing it directly from the Security Department Head brought a slight sense of relief to the staff.
“Understood.”
“Let’s endure a little longer!”
“Let’s do it!”
A few staff members clenched their fists and lifted the heavy atmosphere.
Then, suddenly.
A voice rang from the TRS.
-Y-You’re at the main gate! This is a serious emergency! The gate seems likely to burst! The gate seems likely to burst!
“….”
Silence enveloped the Security Department Office in an instant.
No one dared to speak recklessly.
In the unreal quiet, the Security Chief slowly approached the TRS.
His steps appeared heavier than ever.
The staff silently observed the Security Chief’s movements without uttering a word.
The Security Chief picked up the TRS.
“…Say that again. What’s happening?”
-T-The gate seems like it will burst! It’s serious! We need immediate orders!
This was no misunderstanding.
Everyone’s complexion turned ashen.
The terrified eyes of the staff turned toward the Security Department Head.
They seemed to wish for him to issue commands.
The Security Department Head wore a stunned expression, appearing half in a daze.
But biting his lip so hard it bled, he stood up.
He couldn’t just die like this.
Something had to be done.
Suddenly, the term ‘retreat’ that Si-hyun had mentioned earlier popped into his mind.
Right, retreat.
That was what needed to happen for now.
“Everyone, immediate evacuation to the upper floors of the ward building! And staff members who are Hunters must do whatever it takes to protect the ward! Anyway, we need to move to the ward building!”
This place was wide and open, unsuitable for defense.
At least the ward building had some defensive advantages.
“Run!”
“Hurry!”
As soon as the Security Department Head’s command dropped, the staff began to sprint with all their might.
The terrified staff surged toward the door all at once.
With so many rushing into the confined space, they crashed into each other, pushed, and even someone fell over.
It was a scene akin to chaos.
No one was present to calm them down.
The Security Department Head’s expression twisted in horror.
At that moment, the Security Chief beside him spoke.
“U-Um, Director.”
“What?”
“What about the inmates…?”
“How could we take care of those brutes in this situation?”
The Security Department Head replied in an annoyed tone.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Gather over here.”
Si-hyun said as he stepped into the hallway.
The inmates began to converge towards Si-hyun with precise movements.
Instead of being confused, they lined up in orderly rows of five, resembling a well-drilled squad.
The inmates stood at attention, waiting for Si-hyun to speak again.
“Now, I will inform you of the urgent situation.”
“….”
The inmates focused silently on Si-hyun.
Si-hyun opened his mouth again.
“A gate has appeared, and monsters have emerged from it. These monsters are targeting this Special Detention Center.”
Shock spread across the inmates’ faces.
However, they didn’t panic, nor did their formation falter.
No elite special forces would remain this calm upon hearing that monsters were targeting them.
“We are currently holding out against the main gate. And we sincerely hope the main gate holds up. However, judging coldly, I believe the likelihood of that happening is low.”
Si-hyun assessed that if there were such monsters at the gate, they likely had the ability to break through the main door.
Thus, he had resorted to this extreme measure of bringing the inmates out of their cells.
These inmates were the strongest asset of the Special Detention Center.
Using them was key to overcoming this crisis.
“I doubt the main gate will hold out much longer. Be prepared mentally. And…”
Before Si-hyun could finish his statement, the Duty Chief burst out from the Duty Room in a panic.
He had moved so hastily that he slipped and fell once in the hallway.
However, he seemed oblivious to the pain and quickly got up, rushing toward Si-hyun with a pale face.
The urgency was readable just from his expression.
No way?
Si-hyun asked with a grim face.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s… it’s bad, Chief! The main gate… it looks like it’s going to burst!”
“Oh really?”
Si-hyun wasn’t surprised; he expected it.
However, his expression grimaced in disappointment.
He had secretly wished for his predictions to be wrong.
Regardless, they needed to hurry.
There was no time to waste, not even a second.
“What should we do, Chief!”
“Head to Unit 2 and….”
Si-hyun paused in mid-sentence.
As a correctional officer to the core, he knew those inmates wouldn’t listen to direct orders in this situation.
He figured the only option was to take time and physically go over to Unit 2 himself.
“For now, head to the Duty Room and wait for instructions from the Security Department Head.”
“Y-Yes, understood!”
The Duty Chief hurriedly rushed back to the Duty Room.
Si-hyun looked at the inmates.
“You’ll have to fight if you want to survive. Got it?”
“Yes!”
The inmates shouted back in unison.
Si-hyun nodded and opened his inventory.
He intended to distribute even low-grade weapons and armor.
Of course, the inmates’ inventories were completely empty.
In a correctional facility that checked even the smallest blades for safety, there was no way they would allow dangerous weapons to remain.
Before being imprisoned, every item in their inventories was thoroughly confiscated using an item response check.
Si-hyun quickly pulled out weapons and armor and placed them on the floor.
Luckily, there were leftover items from the raid that had yet to be disposed of in his inventory.
There were no rare items but some magical-grade ones still remained.
Swords, spears, and staffs of various types were present.
However, all the armor was light armor.
Heavy armor was hard to find at lower levels.
Nonetheless, this was enough to equip them reasonably well to tackle the monsters.
Being high-level Hunters, this amount of gear should adequately allow them to fight back.
“Pick what suits you best. Hurry up!”
As Si-hyun spoke, the inmates rushed out to grab weapons and armor.
Meanwhile, Si-hyun also removed his work clothes and put on his armor.
It was a leather outfit obtained from a Giant Monkey.
While it looked like an ordinary red-furred leather outfit without flair, it was indeed a unique-grade piece of armor.
Its effectiveness was certain.
The inmates donned their armor as well.
Weapons were simply stored in their inventories.
Unlike armor, which took time to equip, weapons could be pulled from their inventories before combat began.
Once it looked like the inmates were ready, Si-hyun declared.
“Follow me to Unit 2. Let’s move quickly. We have no time to waste.”
The priority was to release the inmates imprisoned in Unit 2 to bolster their forces as much as possible.
Si-hyun started sprinting toward the location of Unit 2.