Full-Time Public Enemy

After a brief silence, Gong Shuxu was the first to ask, "Why is Wei Jiangqi so willingly staying in the Confederation's prison?"

"He had numerous opportunities to escape before but chose not to; why does he now want to flee?"

Chen Jixian kept his eyelids drooped and said nothing. Chen Gu thought for a moment, speculating. Maybe he needed to find something in prison, or perhaps he was using the Confederation's prison as a form of protection, hiding from some powerful enemies. "In any case," he said, "let's first head to the Poshan secret prison and see for ourselves. Speculating here could lead us completely astray."

Just twenty minutes later, a spaceship lifted off from the base. After accelerating to escape the planet's atmosphere, it then engaged its main engines and shot into the Star Sea at maximum speed.

***

After sixteen hours of interstellar travel, Chen Gu and their group landed their spaceship on this desolate planet.

No sooner had they landed than Chen Gu's phone suddenly rang, this time through an encrypted military channel.

Bai Yunpeng solemnly informed him, "The Mutant Insect Race just raided one of our research bases and stole three experimental 'Nebula Bombs'!"

Chen Jixian was the first to react, his face changing color. As a military man, he was well aware of the power of the secret military weapon, the 'Nebula Bomb'—a kind of antimatter bomb with annihilation capabilities strong enough to utterly destroy an entire nebula!

This was a weapon of mass destruction in the interstellar age. Nuclear bombs were now even standard issue for ordinary warriors, but due to their prohibitive cost, they were only used by special mission forces and not widely distributed.

Chen Gu, unable to comprehend, asked, "How could this have happened? How could such a weapon be stolen so easily?"

Everyone knew the importance and danger of such unconventional and potent weaponry. The military guarded it under strict secrecy and with heavy protection. Contingency plans were in place, ensuring a swift response to any attack.

Such weapons absolutely could not be stolen as effortlessly as portrayed in literature and films.

Bai Yunpeng said disheartenedly, "There was a traitor inside the research base—several deep-cover Mutants. They coordinated with the Mutant Insect Race, swiftly breached the facility, seized the weapons, and fled."

He continued, "Aviloya and I have shared information, and we know the Mutant Insect Race helped Wei Jiangqi escape. Therefore, it's highly probable that True Knowledge Sin is also involved in the theft of the Nebula Bombs. You should understand the dire consequences if weapons like these fall into their hands!

"We must share information promptly, capture Wei Jiangqi before True Knowledge Sin acts, and retrieve the Nebula Bombs!"

"Alright!" Chen Gu immediately agreed.

This news weighed heavily on everyone's hearts. The joy they had felt from their success on the Sparta No.11 planet dissipated in an instant.

The environment of the Farseer VIII planet, where the Poshan secret prison was located, was extremely harsh. Everyone had to wear light individual Mecha suits for protection to move freely on the planet's surface.

As they stepped out of the spacecraft, a squad of guards already in light Mechas awaited them. The one in charge stepped forward, "Greetings, I am Hou Yinan, the warden of Poshan secret prison, assigned to meet you all!"

The site where the spacecraft landed was a deserted, unmanned base, not inside the prison—obviously a security measure taken by the prison authorities.

Everyone boarded Hou Yinan's vehicle. The warden said with utter helplessness, "This time... we really are innocent."

He quickly added, "It's not that I'm trying to shirk responsibility. You'll understand once you see for yourselves."

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at the Poshan secret prison. After passing through several stringent security checks, they finally entered the special jailhouse, constructed hundreds of meters underground and almost inescapable.

Gong Shuxu stepped forward to ask, "Exactly how did Wei Jiangqi manage to escape?"

Hou Yinan answered earnestly, "This prison incarcerates many special criminals. Many, like Wei Jiangqi, are not allowed any contact with others.

"Including Wei Jiangqi, there are seven inmates whose identities even I, the warden, do not know.

"The cells where the prisoners are kept are constructed with special technological materials designed to shield against almost all professionals' abilities.

"Moreover, the cells are filled with surveillance cameras, even under the beds."

Hou Yinan said helplessly, "But we really don't know what went wrong. Jiang Qi simply strolled out as if it were nothing."

The group was stunned. Before they could ask more, Hou Yinan had already activated a holographic projection. "Let me show you the entire process," he said. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

On the screen was a hallway between cells. Guards, in pairs, performed their routine inspections, peering through finger-sized observation holes to check on the condition of each inmate in their cells.

Everything appeared normal until they reached Wei Jiangqi's cell. There, for some reason, the guards inexplicably opened his cell, allowed Jiang Qi to walk out, and then unshackled him from the highest level of security restraints.

Seeing this, Marcus couldn't help but exclaim, "It's not the work of a professional's abilities! How exactly did he do this?"