Chapter 823: Chapter 782: Turtle in the Jar
20 minutes later, the prison break operation officially began!
It’s not that tens of thousands of people were ready.
In fact, up to now, they had just gathered over 1,000 swords, as well as several times more kitchen knives, sickles, and grass forks.
—To be honest, without the support of the skill system, the players with real swords might not necessarily be able to beat those with grass forks…
The reason they acted so hastily was not because the rest of the people couldn’t get weapons, but because they worried that if they continued to wait, the people in the prison would be released…
With Lincoln’s help, 90% of the first batch of imprisoned players had already been released.
Now, the players are all ordinary people, and it’s not easy for them to commit serious crimes.
Most of them were caught by the guards as soon as they appeared, and it was impossible to continue committing crimes or resisting, or stacking up crimes to an astonishing degree. So Lincoln’s softness basically allowed them to be released before they had a mental breakdown.
However, even with the “sentence” shortened, this experience should leave them with enough lessons to reduce the crime rate in Chang’an for some time.
Until the players have enough power and confidence to escape or hide from the pursuit of the guards, their behavior should be somewhat restrained.
…
In Longevity and Ambition Squares, a large number of players quickly gathered, and the scene became lively and bustling.
The residents of these markets were mostly rich and noble, so even when it was busy, it wouldn’t be too noisy and chaotic.
But today, Chang’an’s largest gang—the Beggar Gang’s first gang gathering completely changed the atmosphere of these Squares.
Fortunately, everyone had some sense of secrecy, keeping the weapons in weapon storage boxes and not taking them out.
If so many people were gathered with weapons in front of the homes of princes and nobles, not far from the Imperial City, the Imperial Guards would have rushed over.
The players gathered here were not targeting the princes and nobles, nor did they have any ideas about the princesses and noble ladies—at least not this time.
The real reason was:
The Left Golden Guard was in Chongren Square, and the Right Golden Guard was in Buzheng District, which were respectively on the west side of Ambition Square and the north side of Longevity Square.
Everyone gathered here to get as close to the Golden Prison as possible without alerting the Golden Guards, in order to achieve the element of surprise.
But even so, they didn’t dare to stay long.
They set a strict 10-minute gathering time, and after that, regardless of how many people had arrived, the operation would begin immediately.
Winter Melon had always kept one thing in mind: since “Speed Chase”, Cloud Dream had a special NPC chain mechanism.
If this system were also applied in “Chang’an”, then even if they didn’t appear in the sight of the Golden Guard soldiers, once they took out their weapons, it’s very likely that the information would be passed on by passerby NPCs.
So—quick in, quick out!
Time passed minute by minute, and Thomas stood outside the gate of Ambition Temple, carefully scanning the crowd.
He wasn’t there to participate in the prison break – he was there to find a thief.
Although he continued to sell items afterwards, his net worth had already multiplied several times since he was robbed, but he just couldn’t swallow his pride!
But there were too many players here, with people crowded together and coming and going, making it difficult for Thomas to locate anyone.
—Of course, he couldn’t find him, as What’s Your Problem wasn’t even there. He had lost eight lives in a row in the blacksmith’s shop but was still unyielding, insisting on becoming an apprentice.
This frustrated Hardy so much he wanted to report him to the authorities.
Unbeknownst to Thomas, Wu Di silently appeared on the outer wall of the Ambition Temple and found a place to sit, without Thomas noticing him at all.
Since leaving Chang’an, Wu Di had been constantly urging Cloud Dream online, as well as thinking about it day and night.
He always wanted to come back and see what had changed in Chang’an.
Upon learning that making a wish could grant early access to “Chang’an, he chose the invitation without hesitation. As soon as Lincoln launched the closed beta, he logged in immediately.
Like other players, he didn’t receive any special treatment: he wore modern clothes, the money he saved last time disappeared, and the two short swords at his waist were gone as well.
The waiters and girls at Dream Spring Building all forgot about him, and when he went to the pharmacy in West Market to find Master Hardy, he found the herbal warehouse and the huge pill cabinet were still there, but Hardy himself had vanished.
A strong sense of loss surged in Wu Di’s heart, making it difficult for him to get excited about many of the things he had planned to do before entering.
His only consolation was that the many trainings he had previously undergone in the mission were still effective.
The enhancements to his physical fitness were gone, as well as the effect of silencing his footsteps, and the special strong presence prompts when moving fast.
But in terms of basic skills like agility, dodging, fighting, and parkour, the effects were not weakened too much. Although it could not be called “extraordinary,” it was still very useful.
That’s why he could easily climb up the more than three-meter-high wall and sit down without making a sound, and Thomas below had no idea that there was a person sitting on top of his head.
However, Wu Di came here not for the [Prison Break Action].
He simply wanted to watch the excitement.
As someone who had once committed countless crimes in Chang’an City, playing hide-and-seek with the City Guard, Golden Guard, Unscrupulous People, and even the other Imperial Guards, he was deeply impressed by the strength of the city’s defense system.
According to his previous valuable experience: the regular army can only be outflanked and outmaneuvered, not confronted head-on.
But he had never seen large-scale confrontations before, so even though he didn’t have high hopes, he still rushed over to witness it with his own eyes.
The players below, of course, couldn’t hear Wu Di’s voice, nor could they be persuaded by him even if he tried.
*
“Time’s up! We won’t wait any longer, let’s start the operation! Target——”
“Chongren Square/Buzheng District, Golden Prison! No matter what happens in between, don’t stop, just rush into the prison in one breath!”
Winter Melon directed from the outside, while Group Friends were in charge of on-site command in the game.
So, the prison break operation officially began!
“Charge, charge, charge!”
The long-thirsty players took out their weapons and surged forward. Just across the street was the Golden Guard’s office, and behind the office was the Golden Prison.
The route couldn’t be simpler or clearer.
But even with such a glaringly straight line, some people still went astray!
As soon as a group of people saw the gate of the Golden Guard Yamen, they rushed in without thinking, unable to be stopped.
With someone taking the lead, others dared to follow, and immediately, a group of people followed in.
The two Golden Guards on duty at the entrance were quite responsible. As soon as they saw people rushing in, they immediately drew their swords.
But the number of enemies pouring out far exceeded their expectations!
Before they could even decide whether to run or not, they were already swarmed by players—an extremely close distance, just having enough time to slash two players before getting hit by seven or eight sword strikes and instantly dying on the spot.
Players passing by grabbed their swords and helmets and continued to follow the main force rushing into the Yamen. Inside, the shouting of NPCs, the clashing of swords, and the breaking of objects could be heard…
Chaos spread rapidly.
Fortunately, the main force didn’t dissolve into chaos, instead quickly rushing through the Yamen to the prison gate.
There was a clear increase in security here— not only were there four guards stationed at the entrance, but there was also a 12-person squad circling the entire jail on patrol.
However, these people couldn’t stand against the thousands of players armed with weapons and unafraid of death!
After inflicting four times their own casualties, these jailers eventually fell in battle.
With the removal of these obstacles, the subsequent resistance greatly weakened— the speed of the players was simply too fast, with the NPCs unable to form an organized response in time. Many were even surrounded by several, sometimes tens of players before they could even put on armor.
Even with great strength, one couldn’t do much when facing ten times more enemies.
Some of the most fierce Capital Commandants fought while running, taking down more than a dozen players before finally falling.
One even more fierce prison warden didn’t die since players couldn’t catch him.
However, he also couldn’t prevent the players from breaking into the prison, ultimately retreating in helplessness and choosing to support the Yamen in front.
Yelang and Yi heard the sounds of fighting outside the prison cells and less than five minutes later, the army of players successfully broke in, appearing before them.
One player wielding a large hammer emerged from the crowd and with a huge swing aimed at the lock—
With a loud “clang!”, the prison cell door opened to their command.
Yelang and Yi walked out of the prison for the second time— in the meantime, Yi had also attacked a jailer, but failed.
“Mission accomplished! Handing over command!”
Winter Melon decisively handed over the command, seamlessly switching to being a spectator.
Yi stepped out of the cell, looked at the prison full of players and NPCs, and shouted with both hands raised:
“Now, on behalf of all the brothers and sisters who participated in the [Prison Break Action], I declare: in celebration of the arrival of players in Chang’an, today—amnesty for everyone!”
The NPC prisoners were dumbfounded.
But the player prisoners boiled with excitement instantly!
“Hurry up and get moving!”
“Awesome! Count me in for the next prison break!”
“Thanks to my brothers for rescuing me, I’ve been in here for the second time, having no time acceleration, really unbearable.”
…
Players participating in the prison break quickly took action, smashing the door locks with hammers and axes, and those without suitable weapons used the jailer’s keys, trying one by one.
Yi asked someone to help break the lock of the cell opposite him and said to the disheveled middle-aged prisoner inside, “Let’s go, you’re free now!”
But this NPC didn’t answer.
Before, when Yelang had attacked a jailer, he had only looked up and not reacted to anything else.
Now when the players were breaking into the prison, causing such a commotion, he still remained silent.
Yi tried to persuade him a few more times, but the man remained immersed in his world, completely ignoring the invitation to “run towards freedom.”
This curiosity made Yi wonder: what was up with this guy?
But time was running out, so he could only leave an unhappy, “Stubborn!” before calling his friends to withdraw.
At the very moment they broke out of the prison and basked in the bright sunshine, Yi couldn’t help but shout loudly—
“Freedom!!”
He had entered the game not long ago and had been imprisoned ever since, nearly driving him mad!
Yelang also couldn’t help but shout, “I declare, the [Prison Break Operation] was a great success!”
The players around them cheered with enthusiasm:
“Oh~~~”
“Awesome!”
“Invincible!”
“Where to next?”
“The palace!” One player excitedly pointed to the northeast.
That was Shunyi Gate, the middle gate of the Imperial City.
“Damn!” Yi and Yelang immediately sensed something wrong, hurriedly waved their hands to try and calm everyone down.
But before they could say a word, they saw the Shunyi Gate open wide, and a group of fully armored, awe-inspiring soldiers led by the Left Valiant General emerged from the Imperial City!
At the same time, to the south, on the road they charged from, large numbers of soldiers wearing golden armor and robes formed a blockade.
Those were the familiar Golden Guards.
However, the players had never seen so many Golden Guards at once!
Golden Guards on the west side of the prison, Imperial City wall on the east side, Left Valiant Warriors on the north side, and Golden Guards on the south side.
In the blink of an eye, they were trapped!