“Are you sure the test subjects can create enough chaos? There must be more Mihe than just those in the square; the entire island is likely their territory,” Richard said, concern evident in his voice.

  “Did you see the Mihe in the square? A large portion of them were mimicking civilians, and those didn’t seem to possess any combat capability. If we release all the test subjects, it might just be enough,” Charles replied.

  Just then, the sound of a door creaking open made Charles tense up. He quickly retreated and climbed back onto the bed.

  The white-robed Mihe walked in slowly, murmuring something as it did.

  Charles’s expression hardened. He knew this creature was merely mimicking human behavior from the last era, but its actions—killing Salin and torturing him—made him wish he could crush it into dust.

  “Let’s find a chance to take this guy out,” Richard said through gritted teeth in Charles’s mind.

  “There will be a chance. We need to escape first.”

  The white-robed Mihe picked up the pink dress from the table and shook it in front of Charles, making his eye twitch.

  Charles clenched his prosthetic hand tightly, resisting the urge to smash it in the Mihe's face.

  With a flick, the Mihe produced a small photograph.

  It was a picture of a silver-haired little girl happily lying in her mother’s arms, making a peace sign for the camera.

  As Charles had suspected, 134 was the little girl from Sodom. The girl in the photo bore no trace of her past horrors; her sweet smile was utterly adorable.

  The white-robed Mihe’s tone softened considerably as it placed the photo in Charles’s palm.

  Touching the smooth surface of the photo, Richard whispered, “This looks like a comfort, but it’s actually a threat. It indicates that 134’s parents have been captured by them.”

  Charles remained silent, his expression grave as he looked at the white-robed Mihe.

  He had always maintained a neutral stance toward the Foundation, but witnessing the actions of this creature made it hard for him to feel anything but disdain, even knowing they had long since vanished.

  After a moment of persuasion, the white-robed Mihe gently patted Charles’s head with its dry hand before turning and leaving the room.

  Seizing this opportunity, Charles noticed a row of fully armed black Mihe standing outside the door. Clearly, rushing out would be futile; he needed a different plan.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  As soon as the door clicked shut, Charles sprang to his feet. Regardless of 134’s fate, he had to leave. He scanned the cozy little girl’s bedroom, searching for an exit.

  However, the room had no windows, and apart from the door, there was no other way out.

  “Don’t move too obviously; they must be monitoring us,” Richard cautioned.

  Charles picked up a small white comb from the table and threw it at the ceiling, plunging the room into darkness.

  At that moment, he noticed the beautiful crystal chandelier above him. An idea sparked in his mind. He raised his prosthetic arm and activated the harpoon, which easily pierced through the ceiling.

  “There’s a gap above! Let’s go!”

  Pushing off the walls, Charles broke through the thin ceiling and climbed up.

  The ceiling was dusty, but he couldn’t afford to care. He crawled forward like a gecko, quickly finding a ventilation duct and crawling inside.

  But before he could get far, an ear-piercing alarm blared, echoing through the duct.

  “Dude, they’ve discovered we’re gone! That room definitely had surveillance!” Richard shouted.

  “Stay focused! You report the map location, and I’ll control my movements. We can’t let them catch us again! This is our only chance!” Charles urged, scrambling through the ventilation duct.

  With determination, he drew closer to the first holding point.

  Suddenly, the sound of fluttering wings echoed behind him. He turned to see a colorful dragonfly clinging to him, its tail glowing red.

  The flickering red light drew the attention of more of its kind in the distance. Although Charles didn’t know what they were, it was clear they meant trouble.

  “How much longer?” Charles yelled.

  “Go straight for 100 meters, and take a left at the first junction! If there’s no junction, make one!” Richard directed.

  The strange buzzing of wings grew louder, and as their numbers increased, they began to swarm around Charles, trying to attach their glowing tails to him.

  “Here! It’s just below!”

  Hearing Richard's call, Charles raised his chainsaw prosthetic and struck downward with all his might. The ceiling shattered, and he fell through, landing alongside the swarm of bugs.

  Suspended in mid-air, Charles quickly noticed two black Mihe looking up, preparing to respond.

  “Thud!” The harpoon shot out, piercing one black Mihe’s head.

  The chain pulled tight, and Charles plummeted toward the remaining Mihe.

  As the other black Mihe raised its weapon, Charles swung his prosthetic arm down, severing its arm with a swift motion, causing it to drop the weapon with a panicked scream.

  With one swift action, he dispatched the creature and turned his gaze toward the test subjects behind the iron bars.

  Behind the thick bars, a dozen or so humans, shackled and naked, stared wide-eyed at the chaos outside, seemingly in shock at what was happening.

  Among them, Charles spotted his first mate and the cook. Without pausing to speak, he revved the chainsaw, the screech of metal against metal filling the air as sparks flew.

  With a loud clang, the bars were cut through, and the prisoners rushed out.

  “Captain! I knew you’d come to save me!” the cook, Frey, exclaimed, joy radiating from his face.

  Seeing their condition, Charles didn’t waste time with words. He charged toward the exit; he needed more help.

  The Mihe seemed unaware that Charles had made it to this area. Compared to where he had been, the security here was noticeably lax.

  Leading the freed prisoners, Charles cleared out any stray Mihe and made his way to the second holding point.

  There, he found his other crew members and two surviving followers of the Light Church.

  However, the numbers were even fewer than before—only nine people in total. Charles’s expression darkened, but he said nothing as he pushed onward to the next holding point.