Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

Chapter 650

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Chapter 650: The Space Police Bureau (6)

—Y-Yeongwoo-nim… just what in the world have you…?

Shero.

The tour officer of the Space Police Bureau.

At this very moment, he was personally witnessing the scene of an escape attempt at Pahalufe, something that until now had only been passed down in legends.

Indeed, the Planetary Shipmaster—called the Vigil of the Cosmos—had not come here for no reason.

—Executor-nim! Please issue the lockdown order… quickly!

Having finally come to his senses, Shero raised his body, which had somehow ended up sprawled on the floor, and from over there he saw the blood-soaked Jeong Yeongwoo… no, 2142, being flung through the air toward him.

He had been struck by Executor Ketu’s whip and sent flying.

■ You crazy bastard—do you even realize what you’ve just done?

Ketu’s voice trembled like the leaves of an aspen.

He was afraid.

After all, in just a moment the Grade-3 prisoners would be taking over the detention block.

Although Ketu was the person in charge of Pahalufe, he did not actually possess the martial power necessary to suppress Grade-3 prisoners.

■ Damn it.

Ketu then pressed the jewels on his belt one by one, executing the Pahalufe lockdown order.

Kiiiiiiiiing…!

A long, piercing alarm blared from the mechanical devices beyond the walls.

Then the transport vehicle that had entered the detention block suddenly burst into flames and crumbled, and at the same time the white disc outside the detention block slid shut again, sealing the exit.

■ …Mm.

Having finished issuing the lockdown, Ketu went to the wall near the tightly sealed exit of the detention block and leaned his body against it, as if he had done everything he could.

And around that time—

Kuu-kung, kugugugung!

The Grade-3 prisoners that had fallen from the dizzying height of the ceiling began raining down onto the floor of the detention block.

Perhaps because they had been imprisoned for such a long time.

Since they all fell without any resistance whatsoever, at a glance it almost looked as though corpses were pouring down like rain.

—Uuuh…

Even so, Shero let out a sound like sobbing as he crawled across the floor toward where Yeongwoo lay face-down.

—2, 2142…!

“Ah, Mr. Shero.”

Yeongwoo felt puzzled that the way he was being addressed had changed from “Yeongwoo-nim” to “2142,” but for the moment he simply reached out and grabbed Shero by the shoulder.

“Are you alright? What happens now?”

The spot where he had been whipped by Ketu earlier had already almost completely healed.

So Yeongwoo slowly raised his upper body and looked around.

Still, no additional forces had been deployed inside the detention block.

Ketu, a few guards he had brought with him, and Shero—those were the entirety of the Police Bureau personnel inside the detention block.

—In, in several tens of seconds the prisoners will be able to move. And once that happens…

“Once that happens? What happens?”

At Yeongwoo’s question, Shero’s body trembled violently.

—We will all die. Of course, 2142, you—

“Ghk!”

“…?”

Shero suddenly twisted at the waist while trying to continue speaking.

Startled, Yeongwoo hurriedly stood up, and over there, among the pile of Grade-3 prisoners stacked like a mountain, he saw one of them stretching out an arm toward Shero.

“Huh?”

A prisoner had already regained the ability to move.

“H-Hey, wait!”

Just as Yeongwoo waved his arm at the prisoner, sensing something—

Crack!

Shero’s body twisted grotesquely like a twisted pastry.

“…Mr. Shero?”

Kuuung!

Shero collapsed onto the floor just like that, without even the slightest movement, and soon Yeongwoo saw that inside the translucent glass covering Shero’s head was smeared with dark green fluid.

Just as he had predicted himself—he was dead.

“Crazy.”

Even though the first death of a Police Bureau member had occurred, Ketu and the guards did not budge from in front of the tightly sealed exit.

‘So they already knew that the moment the prisoners were freed, everyone would die.’

While Yeongwoo stood there with his mouth hanging open, the very prisoner who had killed Shero finally rose to his feet.

Ssswk.

Completely naked, the opponent was a four-eyed being whose entire body was covered in strange tattooed patterns.

Even the colors of the four eyes were all different, and for some reason one of the eyes was tightly shut.

—Was it you? The one who caused the trouble.

Three eyes simultaneously turned toward Yeongwoo.

Yeongwoo stood there awkwardly, holding a letter in his hand.

“Uh… yes. That’s correct, but…”

The final contents of the letter that President Herisa had made him bring simply read “red-green-red-red-blue,” and that created one particular problem.

‘Shit, who the hell is my client?’

There was no way to know which Grade-3 entity President Herisa wanted him to free.

Of course, the contract itself had been simply “to read the letter aloud in front of Ketu,” so technically there was nothing more Yeongwoo had to do here.

But if these prisoners failed to escape, then Yeongwoo himself wouldn’t be able to safely get out of Pahalufe either.

“So, um… perhaps…”

Thus, just as Yeongwoo was about to raise the letter and ask the man whether he knew President Herisa—

■ All inmates, listen!

Ketu, who had been blocking the exit, raised his whip high into the air and shouted.

■ The Security Block has already prepared for arrest! You cannot leave Pahalufe no matter what!

At that, the Grade-3 prisoners who had just begun moving—including the four-eyed one—laughed quietly.

—Ah, Ketu.

—Seeing you again ‘outside’ feels quite nostalgic.

—I can sense fear from you.

The prisoners said whatever they pleased, completely ignoring Ketu’s threats.

Even though they were still technically confined in the prison.

However, Ketu was not an ordinary person either—befitting the person in charge of Pahalufe—and he swung his whip before the hundreds of Grade-3 entities who were slowly beginning to emit malice.

Chwaaaaat!

Ketu’s whip sliced through the air of the detention block with a sharp sound.

■ Don’t forget! Anyone who earns merit by stopping this escape attempt can have half of their sentence reduced. And—

Just as Ketu was about to continue by saying that those who did not wish to escape should remain where they were—

Poooooong!

Ketu’s head exploded.

‘…What?’

Someone among the hundreds of prisoners had made a gesture and killed Ketu.

Of course, no one among the crowd bothered to try to find the killer.

—Now it’s finally a bit quieter.

—If he hadn’t swung that whip, he might have lived a little longer.

—Now then, let’s clean up the rest and gather opinions.

Let’s clean up the rest.

The moment someone said that, the bodies of the guards standing beside Ketu’s corpse separated in all directions.

‘These lunatics… they’re killing guards like they’re crushing bugs.’

Every prisoner here was a Grade-3 entity, a powerful figure of the universe.

So Yeongwoo wasn’t shocked that a guard had been killed easily.

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What shocked him was that they killed officials of the Space Police Bureau without the slightest hesitation.

For the prisoners here, things like “aftermath” or “lines you shouldn’t cross” simply did not exist.

‘Do you have to be this extreme to end up imprisoned by the Police Bureau…?’

While Yeongwoo was finally realizing just where he had ended up, the prisoners began gathering in front of the detention block exit.

—Behind this is the Security Block. Anyone who doesn’t want to leave here can step back.

Surprisingly gentlemanly proceedings.

In response, about forty percent of the prisoners actually stepped back.

They were likely those who had already served long sentences, or those who intended to reduce their sentences by stopping the escape attempt instead of gambling on escaping.

—Quite a lot, aren’t there?

—Was I really imprisoned together with cowards like these?

—Better to cut them down right here and now.

Sure enough, the side that had chosen escape immediately began jeering, and the prisoners standing opposite them bared their teeth in response.

—And if you break through the Security Block? What then?

—Are you planning to swim your way out of Police Bureau jurisdiction?

—A lockdown has been issued. Every ship in Pahalufe will have been destroyed. Even if you pass the Security Block, you still won’t escape.

Both prisoner factions consisted entirely of Grade-3 entities.

Thus, although sharp words were exchanged, no one resorted to force as recklessly as before.

Even though the numbers were imbalanced, everyone knew that if the two sides actually clashed, neither would escape without considerable bloodshed.

Then finally, someone from the anti-escape faction pointed at Yeongwoo and spoke.

—Who brought that one here? Someone must have started this whole incident in the first place.

“…!”

Just as Yeongwoo flinched—

Tap.

Someone approached him from behind without a sound and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Who…?”

Yeongwoo turned around with goosebumps rising along his skin, and a tall man whose face was half-covered by long hair came into view.

“Huh?”

The first ‘human’ he had seen in this place.

And so Yeongwoo instinctively realized.

This man was the one President Herisa wanted freed.

‘So this is my client!’

As Yeongwoo stood there with his mouth open, unable to continue speaking, the man in question pointed toward the prisoners divided left and right ahead of them.

—If we’re going to break through the Security Block, we need to mobilize as many prisoners as possible. But if that many remain here, the escape will fail. In effect, it will only give the Police Bureau justification to carry out executions.

Then he slightly tightened the hand resting on Yeongwoo’s shoulder and continued.

—So tell me. Why did Herisa choose you? Give us the answer.

The moment the man finished speaking, hundreds of Grade-3 gazes converged upon Yeongwoo alone.

“Ah… no, shit.”

He now had to give some kind of answer to the greatest villains in the universe.

After thinking for a moment, Yeongwoo pulled out another item he had kept in his pocket.

Sssk.

It was none other than the Return Stone of the Earth Ship.

Naturally, it could not even activate here inside the detention block, but in that icy gale region he had seen when first entering this place, it should function.

So Yeongwoo raised the Return Stone high into the air.

Hwaeet!

Hundreds of Grade-3 prisoners lifted their heads at once and asked.

—What is that?

—Is that the answer you brought?

—Speak, brat. Can that object save us?

The long-haired man also urged Yeongwoo on.

—If you have something to say, it would be wise to hurry. Once your neck begins to twist, there will be nothing I can do.

So Yeongwoo immediately looked beyond the ceiling of the detention block and said:

“Outside Pahalufe, my ship is currently docked to take you all aboard.”

For a moment there was silence.

Then sighs broke out.

—A ship?

—The moment we leave Pahalufe, you’ll watch that ship sink.

—A foolish attempt.

—Hah…

The prisoners were greatly disappointed at the news that only a single ship was waiting for them.

The long-haired man also turned Yeongwoo halfway around, as if he could not believe it.

—A ship? You’re saying you only brought a single ship?

Yeongwoo shook his head.

“As if that were the case.”

—Then?

“What I brought… is a planetary ship.”

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