- First of all, I will hack the security system and unlock every cell in the Prison. That way, the Perseids will be distracted by the surge of prisoners. Amidst the chaos, we'll sneak out of the prison and I'll initiate a lockdown so that nobody escapes to the upper levels. After that, we will come back to our dorms and try to contact the others from there. Is that clear for you? - Arika explained her escape plan.
- I get it, but won't it be more dangerous with all those criminals running around? - I expressed my doubts.
- It obviously will, but I think that it's better than sitting here and waiting unti the bad guys recapture us - Arika replied. I remembered that Vlad and Bruise were talking about disposing of me, so I figured that this plan is better than that.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXx4ZqGWDr
- Yes... - I ultimately agreed.
- Good - Arika opened up a program which showed a map of the Prison - We'll go to the B block, as that's where the nearest lift is - she pointed to the top right corner of the map. She promptly closed the program and opened another one and started typing swiftly. In the meantime, I was on lookout duty. Luckily, nobody was nearby when Arika pressed the enter key.
Suddenly, all the lights in the Prison turned red with an annoying buzzer accompanying them, indicating that every prisoner had been released.
- Now! - Arika ran out of the room and I followed her.
Outside, it was already getting chaotic. Many criminals were running around, trying to flee, while others started fighting. A middle-aged man dressed as a ninja flashed ahead of us, busting into a room and knocking out one of the guards before taking their weapon and coming back to block our way. He now pointed a pistol at us, smirking menacingly.
- Only one of us can escape and it's definitely not you! - He fired at us and we dodged his first shot at the last moment.
Seeing as I only went through a week of training in the academy, my fighting skills were lacking, but one thing that I remembered from that week was that the best way to defeat an armed enemy agent is to disarm them.
We decided to split up and confuse the enemy. Arika would stay ahead of him, backing up and luring the ninja into a dead end. I'd then come in from the back and try to take the attacker's pistol. I really hoped that this plan will work, otherwise, we'll both die.
With no other choice, Arika was forced to use her tablet as a provisional shield. It turned out to have a bullet proof outer casing, but for some reason, it gave in after a few shots and the tablet's screen soon went dark.
- You think that a device like that will save you? - the ninja taunted her - That only works in a video game, not reality.
Arika eventually lured him into a cell as I followed the enemy agent, avoiding other criminals along the way. As he was about to shoot Arika, who had reached the back wall at this point, I lunged forward and knocked him over. I expected better reflexes from a ninja, but I figured that this guy wasn't a real one and he only dressed as one to look more threatening. Either way, I caught him by surprise and he was now lying on the floor. We seized the opportunity and reached out for his gun. He was holding us back, so we decided to play a game of time, in which Arika prevented the ninja from getting up while I tried to snatch his gun. Eventually, he did let go out of exhaustion, but before that, he fired. The bullet ricocheted off the back wall and almost hit another criminal behind us, missing him by mere inches.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtI8AUSmQbx
The other criminal, who wore a mask to cover up his face was clearly upset by this and wanted to attack us. However, we moved out of the way quickly enough for him to land on the ninja, preventing him for pursuing us. As we ran away, I got the impression that I've seen the masked criminal before, but I pushed it aside, having more important things to focus on. Like surviving in a prison full of dangerous enemies.
At the corner of my eye, I noticed Vlad and Bruise fighting a man with an abnormaly long beard. Thanks to that, the two didn't notice us as we slipped into the B block.
Obviously, there were many criminals in this block as well, but in this case, it was easier to sneak past the Perseids, as we perfectly blended into the crowd, especially with a gun. Most prisoners had some kind of weapon, whether it's a knife, a pistol or a tray.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ymx8pz0ur
We were getting closer and closer to the exit as the prison guards failed to supress the dozens of criminals on the loose. I didn't know how many of those guards were real and how many were moles, but they did not have control over the chaos. All of a sudden, I noticed that Arika was gone, only to reappear with a shield and a pair of handcuffs.
- These should help us take down any remaining criminals on our way - Arika gave them to me and made a run for the exit. Carrying the two items and being on the lookout, I was a bit slower but eventually caught up to her. The shield did come in handy as it protected me from a surprise attack by the guy with the long beard.
- So, is this the exit? - I gazed upon the giant metal gate ahead of me.
- Yes, but... - Arika seemed concerned - I think I made a typo in the code. This thingy won't open and my tablet is dead thanks to that jerk from earlier. I think that we might be stuck here - she sighed in embarassment.
At that moment, I remembered around the camera I had in my pocket. Conveniently, there was a socket next to the gate, so I quickly plugged it in and waited.
- What are you doing? - Arika asked. Then, the gate opened.
I grabbed the camera and ran out of the prison with Arika behind me. Unfortunately, due to the death of Arika's tablet, she had no way of initiating the lockdown, which meant that we freed at least a hundred criminals from the Prison. That was until a particularly explosive thought crossed Arika's mind.
She reached into her utility belt and grabbed another stick of dynamite from it. She tossed it at the ceiling, which soon collapsed, cutting off the prisoners from their escape route. We weren't harmed by the explosion, as we had already reached the elevator. Unlike those from the public floors, this one was just a gray box that seemed to be at least a decade old. We hopped into it at went up two floors before the elevator broke.
- What's going on? - I asked.
- I have no idea, but it seems like we must leave - Arika replied. There was a slight issue: the doors were jammed.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphYw4XyXDf
I came up with a solution: I wedged the shield between the two doors tried to pry them apart, which worked, but it took a lot of effort. We came into the Robot Bay, or floor 2.
The neon lights that we were used to finally returned, albeit they were used sparingly on this floor. All of them were either blue or red. There were several small pods, each containing an android in the process of charging. However, far more robots were active, mainly conserving other robots and patrolling the halls. We snuck around them, only to bump into our friends.
- Oh, you're alive! - Sebastian smiled along with Claudius and Amber.
- Were you captured? - I asked.
- No, the bad guys forgot about us. We only had to find a way out of Smelly Garbage Land, which took us three hours and led us here - Amber told us.
- The Junkyard - Claudius corrected her.
- Anyhow, the bad guys imprisoned us on floor 0 and tried to interrogate us, but we lied our way out of it. We learned two important things: firstly, they are plotting something besides luring us into a death trap, and secondly, the detective is their ally and his name is... wait, what was his name? - Arika debriefed them on our adventure in the Prison.
- Vladislav Kilov - I was shocked when I found out that I actually remembered this.
- Wait, he's Russian? Is he a member of the Perseids? - Claudius asked.
- We think so - I nodded.
- Okay, since we're reunited, let's get out of here before someone notices - Sebastian told us.
We snuck into a mechanic's area, but froze in terror as we did so.
Standing right in front of us was Leonid, one of the key members of the Perseids. He was the masked criminal from before. Worse still, next to him stood the other members that escaped towards the end of our previous mission: Rill Gomana and Alia.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.