Chapter 655

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 655: The Great Prison Break (4)

—That’s… a Planetary Vessel?

When the long-haired man stared at the fireball in the distance with a disbelieving expression, the other prisoners around him widened their eyes in admiration.

—Ooh…!

—As expected, a Planetary Vessel really is different.

—Truly a wonder of the universe!

Since it was everyone’s first time seeing a Planetary Vessel, they assumed that its current state—engulfed in flames—was simply how such ships normally looked.

However, Yeongwoo, the owner of the Planetary Vessel, and the long-haired man who was standing right beside him and observing his pale face, both knew that something had clearly gone wrong.

—Speak. What in the world happened here?

When the man asked this, Yeongwoo hurriedly waved his hands.

“W-wait a moment. It’s probably just a temporary issue.”

Then he quickly asked Earth.

‘What’s going on? Did it actually get shot down or something?’

Soon afterward, Earth’s faint presence stirred within his consciousness.

○ Something like that.

‘What?’

○ No, we were just sitting still, but the Police Bureau suddenly sent ships over.

‘Uh, well that’s obviously….’

Because this side attempted a prison break.

Of course, since Earth had not been able to see what happened inside Pahalufe, it was only natural that it hadn’t anticipated an attack.

‘So? How bad is the damage?’

○ We lost about forty percent of the external shield, so the outer layer of our atmosphere caught fire.

‘Whaaat? Is that even possible?’

○ The fire will go out soon, but the real problem is…

‘The problem is?’

The moment Yeongwoo asked back, a massive explosion erupted behind the Earthship that was approaching from the distance.

KUUUUUUUUNG!

Looking now, it was still being chased by the Police Bureau fleet.

—Uh…!

—What’s that?

—Aren’t those Police Bureau ships?

The prisoners who had been cheering at the sight of the burning Planetary Vessel suddenly stiffened all at once.

They had finally realized it.

The real reason why the Planetary Vessel they were supposed to board was on fire.

—Wait a second, this…

—Why is the Planetary Vessel being chased?

—Isn’t it a wonder of the universe? Shouldn’t it be able to win even against the Police Bureau’s main force?

At this, Yeongwoo snapped and whipped his head around.

“Hey, Presidents. I told you clearly, didn’t I? I didn’t have enough money to mount enough cannons on it.”

—But you never said it would turn into a fireball.

—No matter how you look at it, it’s in the middle of being shot down.

“It hasn’t been shot down yet. We can still escape. Probably.”

The moment Yeongwoo said this much, Earth urgently spoke to him.

○ What about you? Are you done preparing to return? It looks like you’ll have to use the Return Stone right now.

Even during this conversation, the Earthship continued charging toward Pahalufe.

‘What the hell are you trying to do?’

At that, Earth uttered just three words.

○ Headbutt.

‘…?’

○ The plan is to crash into the wreckage of Pahalufe and use it as a shield.

‘Who? Mr. Mantero?’

Acting captain Mantero.

Well, if not him, who else would be holding the helm?

‘Good grief.’

Yeongwoo quickly pulled out the Return Stone from his pocket and raised it high.

Hwaet!

Then he warned Earth in advance.

‘By the way… there are going to be quite a lot of people coming along.’

○ …What?

‘So widen the summoning range. Like you did in Tehen. There are at least…’

Swoosh.

Yeongwoo looked around.

‘At least a thousand people here.’

○ What? A thousand? What are you talking about? Who’s coming with you?

Having sensed something ominous, Earth’s voice was filled with dread.

At that, Yeongwoo scratched his chin as he answered.

“Prisoners… no, our Presidents.”

○ What? You crazy bastard…!

Villains of the universe ranging from Grade 3 at the highest down to Grade 6.

And not just any villains—these were people who had committed crimes severe enough to be directly imprisoned by the Police Bureau.

Yet now those very criminals were about to fill the Earthship.

○ Escapees again? No wonder the Police Bureau suddenly started firing cannons…

‘We don’t have time to argue about pointless things. I’m pressing the Return Stone right now.’

After finishing those words, Yeongwoo shouted to the prisoners around him.

“Presidents, and CEOs! Gather around me! We’ll transfer to the Planetary Vessel!”

At once, the vicious criminals who had been gathered in a dark mass outside Pahalufe rushed toward Yeongwoo.

—So it’s finally our escape.

—But that… is it really okay to board that thing?

Escaping Pahalufe aboard a burning Planetary Vessel.

If they somehow survived today, it would surely become a memory they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

“Here we go!”

Soon, Yeongwoo—surrounded by the escapees—raised the Return Stone high into the air and activated it, and immediately a blue beam shot out from the Earthship charging toward them.

PIAAAAAAAT!

The blue light of the Earthship that would grant freedom to everyone present.

—Oh…

All the prisoners present received the light with swelling anticipation, and Yeongwoo also began the return journey with half expectation and half anxiety.

No matter how the process had gone, winning the favor of Grade-3 prisoners—powerful figures of the universe—was undoubtedly a good thing.

But at the same time, hadn’t he angered the Police Bureau, the organization that maintained the lowest line of order in the universe?

Kaujo, powerful enough to beat even the Presidents into submission.

And the forces of the Police Bureau’s core territories, whose true nature he had never even seen… he had effectively turned all of them into enemies.

“I guess I’m completely screwed now, right? The Police Bureau is going to put me on the wanted list, aren’t they?”

When Yeongwoo asked this within the blue light, the long-haired man—whose form had now become little more than a silhouette—slightly turned his head.

—According to protocol, they will pursue the highest-risk fugitives first. But the Planetary Vessel you brought will also rise near the top of the wanted list.

“…Because finding my Planetary Vessel would basically be the same as finding all of you Presidents.”

—Most of us possess our own factions anyway. Once we successfully escape, we will leave the Planetary Vessel of our own accord.

“You’ll leave on your own?”

That was quite different from what Yeongwoo had imagined—that countless monsters would cling to the Planetary Vessel.

—Each of us has the path we originally walked. Now that we’ve regained our freedom, we must return to that journey.

“Ah.”

Each person’s own life.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Especially in the case of Grade-3 prisoners, most of them were Presidents of massive organizations, so of course they had places they needed to return to.

For example, think about Chairman Dogo.

If he had been imprisoned and then managed to escape, what would he try to do first?

Whatever it was, he certainly wouldn’t hide in some shelter and waste time.

‘I was thinking too simply.’

Just as Yeongwoo nodded, having come to some understanding, the light covering the surroundings spread into a brilliant white and pulled everyone beyond space.

HWI-AAAAAAK!

And in the blink of an eye.

PAAAT!

Yeongwoo and more than a thousand prisoners were transferred to the Earthship.

Into the helm chamber, no less.

“Ugh?”

At the edge of his vision, he could see the helm chamber’s large window showing outer space.

And the reason the window wasn’t fully visible right now was simply because there were far too many prisoners inside the helm chamber.

More than a hundred prisoners had filled the entire room.

“What the hell is this… there’s tons of empty space outside. Why didn’t you summon them there?”

When Yeongwoo shouted while wedged among the prisoners, Earth’s voice came from beyond the Presidents.

『The Return Stone’s destination was set here in the first place. I thought there might be one or two guests at most—who would’ve expected a whole crowd like this?』

“……”

Well, Earth wasn’t wrong.

Yeongwoo had nothing to say in response.

“Then what about the rest?”

『There wasn’t enough space, so they were probably automatically relocated just outside. They’re probably wandering somewhere in Gwangjin District right about now.』

“What a mess.”

『You’re the one who caused it.』

And around this time, Mantero—who suddenly had a hundred Grade-3 beings beneath his feet—spoke in an extremely awkward tone.

—We will collide with Pahalufe shortly. There may be some impact, so please grab onto something—anything.

At those words, the Grade-3 prisoners who had only just crawled out of Pahalufe all raised their heads simultaneously and looked at Mantero.

—Collide with Pahalufe?

—What exactly does that mean?

Mantero cleared his throat once.

—We have currently lost a significant portion of our external shield. So we plan to collide with Pahalufe and use the resulting debris as a substitute shield.

In other words, they intended to block the attacks of the Police Bureau ships pursuing them by using fragments of Pahalufe.

After all, they needed to preserve as much shielding as possible until they could enter a nearby black hole.

And at that moment—

KUUUUUUUNG!

Another follow-up strike from the Police Bureau slammed into the Earthship’s rear shield with a thunderous roar.

At this, the prisoners inside the helm chamber all pointed toward Pahalufe visible outside the window.

—Th-that’s a good idea.

—As expected of the captain of a Planetary Vessel.

—Hurry up and smash that damned place.

Of course, even if the prisoners hadn’t said anything, it was something they had to do anyway.

The news of the prison break at Pahalufe had already spread throughout the entire Jegwit Galaxy, and the number of ships chasing the Earthship was steadily increasing.

—Collision in 2 seconds!

Soon Mantero announced the imminent collision and accelerated toward the scarred surface of the star, and Pahalufe rapidly rushed closer through the window of the helm chamber.

Hwaaaaaat!

And then—

KWA-AAAAAAANG!

With an impact so great it felt as though the entire Earthship shook, the Pahalufe outside the window began splitting apart in real time.

—Huh…?

—Pahalufe…

None of the prisoners could take their eyes off the sight outside the window.

And no wonder.

It had been the place that imprisoned them for eternity.

Yet that iron fortress was now shattering into pieces from a single head-on ram by a Planetary Vessel.

KWAJIK!

Pahalufe, struck by the Earthship, split into three enormous chunks and scattered countless fragments across space.

And at that same moment—

Piiiiiiing!

In front of Yeongwoo’s eyes, strange lights scattered in all directions while emitting a sharp signal tone.

‘Huh? This is….’

Yeongwoo widened his eyes at the unexpected system activation.

It was none other than an Achievement being triggered.

[Achievement Acquired: Prison Break]

| Achievement Rank: Cosmic

| Completion Rank: #3

「Destroyed a high-risk security prison.」

‘Prison Break? Does that mean destroying the prison?’

As Yeongwoo stared with his mouth open at the ominous-looking achievement description, a follow-up message soon appeared in his vision.

「Calculating the number of escapees to determine the achievement reward.」

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]