Chapter 4: Activation!

The thirty-minute recreation period was extremely brief. Soon, under the roaring shouts of Head Guard Jason, all prisoners handed in their utensils and were once again escorted back to the underground prison.

The prisoners would have to endure another seven days of lightless, fearful life, yearning for the next recreation feast.

After the cage was locked and the guards left the underground prison with disgust, Chen Chong did not stay idle like the other prisoners. Instead, he began doing prisoner fitness exercises like push-ups, single and double-leg squats, leg raises, and handstand push-ups.

This was not a sudden whim for Chen Chong. From his very first week in this strange world, he had started training this frail body, not only to survive Katherine’s various cruel methods but also to prepare for escaping this place someday.

After three months of extreme exertion and training, Chen Chong’s body had now become strong and sturdy. Although it was still far from comparing to the muscular giant Head Guard Jason, his muscle lines were becoming defined, making him look full of a lean, fierce feeling.

Regarding the escape plan, Chen Chong did not reveal too much to Lin Kun. He only asked him to inform the other three participants and wait patiently for the right moment. People’s hearts were unpredictable, and Chen Chong did not want any accidents to happen.

The first day after the recreation period passed in calm for the entire prison. Lin Kun was secretly passing messages to three other prisoners not far away, seemingly discussing something. The information Chen Chong provided was very important, and they also felt they needed to plan and prepare well.

On the second day, the calm was broken. Four ferocious white guards entered the prison, grinning as they opened a cell.

Inside the cell was a middle-aged prisoner who clearly knew the fate awaiting him. His already suppressed spirit collapsed completely. However, whether he cursed, wept, roared, begged, or went hysterical, it changed nothing about reality. He was still controlled by the four strong white guards without any ability to resist and taken away from the prison.

Chen Chong watched all of this coldly from the sidelines.

In chaotic times, human life was worth less than a dog’s. In this underground prison, he had become accustomed to seeing life and death and had long passed the stage of righteous indignation. From the first day he arrived in this strange world, he knew that fear, weakness, and pleading were all useless. If he wanted to survive, or even gain freedom, he had to rely on himself, fighting with blood and risking his life!

An entire day passed, and the prisoner who was taken away never returned.

…

The third day.

The light in the underground prison was dim. Most of the idle prisoners were in a daze, and the cell area was silent.

Day and night were indistinguishable in the underground prison. The only way to judge time was the shift change of the duty guards. This was the 233rd guard shift change Chen Chong had recorded, and it was also the time, calculated by Chen Chong, when Supervisor Diris and his squad would leave the base to transport supplies each month!

Silence filled the cell. Chen Chong waited silently for the time, his ten fingers constantly scraping and rubbing against the rough ground. Each untrimmed fingernail became as sharp as a wild beast’s.

“It’s time!”

Listening to the commotion from the guard room at the end of the prison corridor during the shift change, Chen Chong opened his eyes. His gaze seemed increasingly bright in the shadows—a ferocious look of a hunter who had finally waited for the right moment and was about to pounce and kill!

Chen Chong scanned the various cells, confirming no one was paying attention to his own cell, and took a deep breath:

“Now, it’s time to verify whether the things in my mind are true or false. If this incomplete Main God really is as I think, and the items it can materialize truly possess dreamlike effects in reality, then…”

Inside the cell, Chen Chong focused all his spirit, his consciousness making a selection toward the “Main God” in his mind:

“Materialize, Ultra Divine Water!”

Buzz!

The very instant Chen Chong made his decision and wholeheartedly issued the command to the “Main God,” his mind suddenly shook violently. It was as if something had been extracted, leaving it completely blank for a moment!

His vision blurred. In that instant, Chen Chong felt as if his soul had left his body, losing all perception of time and space.

However, this strange state was extremely brief, lasting perhaps no more than the blink of an eye. Chen Chong’s senses returned to normal; his body was still that body, and the cell was still that cell.

But in the next moment after his senses returned to normal, Chen Chong’s gaze suddenly froze!

Because before him, in the dim light, a small teacup had appeared out of thin air on the originally empty, cold floor without any warning! The teacup was filled with a crystalline liquid, as if it had been there all along!

From nothing to something, creating objects out of thin air—a dreamlike miracle vividly appeared before Chen Chong’s eyes.

Staring intensely at the cup of liquid that had abruptly appeared before him, Chen Chong carefully reached out and picked it up. He gently sniffed it near his nose but smelled nothing.

This was the Ultra Divine Water?

At this moment, Chen Chong’s heart was boiling, and it pounded fiercely.

Within the entire Experimental Base, there were over thirty guards, all armed with live ammunition, strong as oxen, and well-trained. Escaping the base safely under the watchful eyes of these people was an impossible task for Chen Chong, who had received no training. Against these wolves, tigers, and leopards, an empty, strong will was useless.

In his previous life, as a partial manga and novel enthusiast, Chen Chong naturally knew the magical effects of the [Ultra Divine Water] from the Dragon Ball world. The young Goku, who had Saiyan blood, had his potential erupt after drinking it, and his strength skyrocketed from being beaten badly by King Piccolo to directly facing him head-on!

As an ordinary person with no mutations or divine martial arts skills, Chen Chong certainly did not think drinking the Ultra Divine Water would have the same astonishing effect as the manga’s Goku, but it could still completely transform him and greatly increase his plan’s success rate!

Chen Chong had already weighed his options. Given his current situation, materializing [Ultra Divine Water] was the best choice. Time was pressing; he lacked the Materialization Power for the [Marrow Cleansing Pill], and the risks of the [Modified T-Virus] were hard to control. Only the [Ultra Divine Water] could take effect and transform into combat power in a short time. Although it had the drawback of requiring willpower to resist deadly poison, Chen Chong had now tempered a strong will through torment and had considerable confidence.

The opportunity of Diris and the armed squad leaving was rare. His next actions were extremely dangerous; he had to pull chestnuts out of the fire and take a risky gamble!

In the cramped cell, Chen Chong stared intensely at the small cup of Ultra Divine Water in his hand.

Concealing his claws, enduring everything, it was all for this moment.

“There’s no more time for me to accumulate Materialization Power… Life or death, success or failure, it all depends on this act!”

Chen Chong tilted his head back and drank the small cup of Ultra Divine Water in one gulp.

Then—

“AAARRRGGGHHH—!”

It was as if he had drunk a cup of blazing magma, and in an instant, it flowed through his limbs and bones, burning every nerve. Chen Chong collapsed directly to the ground as if struck by a heavy blow, his body convulsing. At the same time, an extremely agonizing roar erupted from his mouth, echoing throughout the entire underground prison!

“Who?”

“What’s going on?”

All the prisoners were suddenly shocked and looked in unison toward Chen Chong’s direction!

“It’s 416.”

The howls Chen Chong made were too horrific, barely sounding human. For a moment, all the prisoners were alarmed.

A few prisoners closer to him could only vaguely see through the gaps between the bars that Chen Chong was now curled up on the cold ground, as if suffering some unbearable torture. His face was distorted, his whole body trembled violently, and he let out one terrifying howl after another.

“416, 416! Can you talk!?”

“What’s happening to him!?”

A few prisoners called out in fear, but the only response they got was one beast-like roar after another.

The prisoners in the cages looked at each other. No one knew what had happened, and no one knew why Chen Chong, who had been perfectly fine just moments ago, was going crazy like this. All the prisoners knew how tenacious the will of 416 was. What could have happened to make him become like this?

Staring intently at Chen Chong’s cell, Lin Kun and the three others who knew of the escape plan felt their hearts thump, becoming extremely nervous:

“What is he doing?”

They had just formed an alliance three days ago, but Chen Chong had not revealed the specific escape plan. How to use the underground river to escape to freedom was still being planned and prepared! No matter how hard they racked their brains, they could not understand why Chen Chong would make such a big commotion at this time!

Just as Lin Kun was feeling uncertain, a clang sounded, and the prison’s electronic door lock was opened. The guards at the prison entrance had heard the commotion and rushed over.

“Which damn bastard is yelling and screaming?”

Four or five white guards walked in with furious expressions, swinging their electric batons, their eyes cruelly scanning the cages one by one:

“Whatever trick you’re playing, you’re in trouble!”

The prisoners looked fearful: “It’s 416! Something seems to have gone wrong with his mind or body.”

“Hm?”

The agonizing, intense roars did not stop for a moment. One guard raised an eyebrow, suppressing his anger, and followed the sound to Chen Chong’s cell. One of them, after getting closer, pulled out a flashlight and shone it inside.

Under the flashlight’s beam, inside the cage, Chen Chong was curled up on the cold ground, twisting, trembling. His entire face was covered in bulging veins, and roars continuously came from his throat. He looked like a fierce ghost, a startling sight!

“Oh, shit, this guy doesn’t seem to be faking it!”

Chen Chong’s bulging veins and his face twisted in extreme pain startled the guard. He quickly pulled out the walkie-talkie from his waist:

“This is prison guard, calling Captain Jason, calling Captain Jason. Prisoner number 416 is showing severe abnormal vital signs. It doesn’t look like an act. Requesting instructions, requesting instructions!”

Unlike the other prisoners, Chen Chong was important material, a subject Dr. Katherine had ordered to be focused on for observation. With Supervisor Diris currently away, seeing such a severe abnormal reaction from Chen Chong, the guard immediately reported it to Guard Captain Jason.

“Severe abnormal reaction?”

After a few seconds, Captain Jason’s voice paused over the walkie-talkie and responded:

“You guys watch him there. I’m going to inform the Doctor.”

“Yes!”

Inside the prison, the other three white guards turned around and asked a prisoner closest to Chen Chong’s cell:

“I’m asking you, did he have any other abnormal behavior before this? Tell us honestly!”

The prisoner glanced fearfully at Chen Chong, who was still trembling and roaring, and said:

“He… was the same as usual. No special behavior. We don’t know what’s wrong with him either.”

The guards questioned a few more prisoners and got the same answer. Just as they were about to ask again, Captain Jason’s voice sounded once more from the walkie-talkie:

“The Doctor needs to study her toy. Bring the person to the lab immediately. Don’t mess this up!”

“Understood!”

After receiving the order, one of the guards unlocked Chen Chong’s cell with a key. Then, the four guards, cursing a few times, entered, quickly restrained Chen Chong, who was trembling violently on the ground, and dragged him out, heading outside.

The guard locking the door smiled strangely and looked around at all the prisoners:

“It seems our warrior’s luck has run out! Don’t you plan to say goodbye to him?”

No one answered. The prisoners in the prison silently watched as the five guards carried Chen Chong, who had no strength to resist, outwards. Their eyes were filled with a sense of mourning for a fellow creature’s misfortune.

The legend of 416 was finally over. Prisoners whose spirits completely collapsed or who died were never brought back here. Research materials that lost their value were usually placed directly on the lab table and then dissected into piles of minced meat by that vicious woman, adding another set of data to her experiment log.

They understood that they themselves, and number 416 alike, were nothing more than interesting toys toyed with by that vicious woman’s hand, all destined for the same end.

And at this very moment, Lin Kun inside his cage stared intently at Chen Chong’s retreating figure, feeling that this entire sequence of events was bizarre from the inside out:

“What exactly is he trying to do!?”