Era of Magic and Martial Arts-Chapter 310 - 294: The Worst Answer

At this moment, in Feng Mu’s view, those kneeling seemed to be standing, and those standing seemed to be kneeling.

And indeed, that was the truth.

Qian Huan’s arm dangled in mid-air, his neck stiffly turned as he lowered his head, and the anger on his face froze.

He could feel countless gazes around him focusing on him like fervent flames, their scorching expectations seemed to melt him.

He knew he was being seen as a lifeline, but he, he couldn’t save those prison guards.

Qian Huan took a deep breath, slowly withdrew his tightly clenched fist, then slowly squatted down and reached to grab the badge that had fallen to the ground.

Zhao Xing covered his face and wept, his eyes stung with tears that he couldn’t open them, yet somehow, seemingly aware, he moved a step forward on his knees, pressing the badge beneath his thigh.

Qian Huan’s hand was a beat too slow, his face twitched, and the muscles on his face involuntarily spasmed a few times. Perhaps there were countless angry thoughts in his heart, but in the end, he forced a smile of three parts on his face.

He placed his hands on Zhao Xing’s shoulders, enunciating each word:

"Supervisor Zhao, why say such harsh words? Your subordinates are hanging by a thread, are you going to abandon them at this critical moment?"

But Zhao Xing only hung his head, ignoring him, unable to accept Qian Huan’s reasoning, depicting the image of someone overwhelmed by grief in vivid detail.

His voice was choked and trembling as he mechanically repeated the sentence:

"It’s my incompetence, it’s my fault for harming them, Warden, please save them, save them..."

He cried so miserably, humbling himself, shouting out his incompetence, what else could you do to him? Could you, as the warden, take off your badge and cry alongside him on the ground?

Qian Huan tightly clutched Zhao Xing’s shoulders, even digging through the fabric into the flesh beneath.

Zhao Xing’s shoulders trembled violently, and he cried even more miserably, even the hands covering his cheeks trembled slightly.

Yet under the palms stained with snot and tears, the corner of his mouth curled into an unseen arc.

The death KPI assigned to him by Station Chief Lou, he was about to fulfill.

Moreover, he planned not only to fulfill it but also to have Warden Qian Huan do it for him in front of everyone.

"Ahhh—"

Suddenly, another shrill, piercing scream echoed from the surveillance, causing the prison guards watching to widen their eyes in terror. One nervously turned to Qian Huan, his voice urgent and trembling:

"Warden, it’s not good! The inmates are pulling... pulling Wang Fei’s neck."

This report was aimed at Qian Huan, but the heavy weight of it was communicated to everyone in the room.

At that moment, everyone instinctively held their breath, even Zhao Xing, who was always in grief, paused his heart-wrenching cries for a moment.

Qian Huan abruptly let go of his grip, hastily got up and turned to look at the surveillance.

On the surveillance screen, a laughing inmate, with one foot stepping on Wang Fei’s chest against the wall, supported Wang Fei’s chin with both hands as if holding a bowl and then suddenly exerted force.

Wang Fei’s neck elongated, and the skin and muscles tore first, making a teeth-chattering sound as they pulled like snapping lotus roots.

Then the throat and bones were mercilessly ripped out, exposed to the cold air.

Finally, with the spurting of a blood fountain, Wang Fei’s head deformed and spun to hit the camera, blood splattering everywhere, instantly dyeing the entire surveillance screen a bright red.

Qian Huan had seen death before, but witnessing someone killed so brutally in front of a camera was a first for him. The visual shock left him gritting his teeth audibly.

Qian Huan forced himself to calm down, snarling, "Report again, what’s the current situation in Death Row."

The prison guard quickly replied, "There are a total of 124 water cells in Death Row, more than half of them have already been opened, and at least 500 death row inmates have escaped, participating in this riot."

"Today’s duty in Death Row had 101 prison guards. Through surveillance confirmation, 21 prison guards, oh no, with Wang Fei now confirmed, 22 prison guards can be confirmed completely dead."

The prison guard reported, wiping the sweat from his brow. Since the establishment of Second Prison, there had been riots and suppressions, but mostly the inmates died. Such a large-scale incident of prison guard deaths was a first.

And visibly, 22 was by no means the final number.

The prison guard swallowed, continuing, "Likewise confirmed by surveillance, 33 prison guards have had their limbs broken and are suffering brutal torture."

Thanks to the ubiquitous surveillance cameras, every horrific scene of prison guards being tortured was captured in detail, divided into countless smaller frames.

At this moment, they all displayed together on the large screen of the surveillance center, forming a shocking panoramic view.

Qian Huan’s forehead veins bulged and pulsed.

Feng Mu sighed softly, then stepped out from the ranks, solemnly addressing all the prison guards in the room:

"I suggest everyone should voluntarily hand over their phones now and wait until the warden handles the riot to get them back.

During this period, I hope no one uses any means to leak news from inside the Second Prison, especially these brutal images outside."

Qian Huan hesitated slightly, then hurriedly ordered Feng Mu, "That’s right, everyone hand over your phones now, Feng Mu, collect them."

The riot of such magnitude in Second Prison, news surely couldn’t be contained. Maybe by now, the Executive Government and the upper echelons of the prison system have already received the information.

But, the blockade must be still kept, at least reducing more bloody pictures or scenes from spreading on the internet.

As Qian Huan ordered, he continued to instruct the prison guards watching the surveillance, "Don’t stop, continue reporting."

The technical prison guard in front of the surveillance screen immediately resumed reporting, his voice slightly trembling yet striving to remain calm:

"Reporting to the warden, I checked all the surveillance, there are 46 prison guards whose whereabouts are currently unknown, not appearing in the surveillance view.

According to preliminary judgment, they are most likely controlled by the inmates and detained in the water cells of Death Row." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Qian Huan wasn’t surprised by this answer, he frowned and asked, "Are they still alive?"

The technical prison guard nodded, "I investigated the surveillance and saw footage of them being put into the water cells, so they should still be alive."

The technical prison guard spoke while hastily pulling up surveillance footage showing some prison guards being kicked into the water cells by inmates.

Though the footage was only brief clips, it was enough to confirm the technical prison guard’s correct assessment.

"As expected, it’s the worst-case scenario."

Qian Huan’s face slightly relaxed but his heart grew more irritated. Truth be told, he had hoped to hear that all those guards had been killed by the inmates.

...