Chapter 98: Escape from the Cage
Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Addis
“What the heck is this place!?”
“I can’t see anything here, pitch-black.”
“My weapon got stolen, damn it!”
“What’s going on!? Is everyone locked up?”
“The main brain really knows how to play! Creating such a map and starting with imprisonment.”
Upon entering the scene, voices filled the team’s communication channel almost immediately. Almost everyone was either locked up or trapped somewhere in the map, facing various degrees of restrictions. Su Mo’s hands were shackled, rendering him unable to move or access the minimap. “Everyone, check your surroundings. See if there are any guards, if your movements are restricted, and if your weapons and equipment are confiscated.”
“No restrictions here, and no guards.”
“I have guards here; my weapons were confiscated.”
“I can’t see anything in this pitch-black.”
“I have a guard here… I think I see ScarletFruit; he’s in the cage opposite mine.” HealsFor25000 glanced over and saw someone locked in the cage diagonally across from him, hanging still without movement. “He seems knocked out, no response.”
After everyone reported their situations, Su Mo finally understood the current situation. They were all locked in cages in different environments, each with varying additional restrictions, but clearly without freedom of movement. The map of the [Mechanical Iron Prison] seemed quite extensive, and their first challenge was to escape the guards’ supervision and leave this place, which was crucial.
“Can anyone access the map?” Su Mo asked.
CloudTraveller said, “Can’t open it, it’s locked. Seems like we need to find the map to unlock it.”
At that moment, ZenSlasher’s voice came through the channel, “The monster guarding me seems to have something tied around its waist, looks like parchment. Could that be the map we need?”
Apple asked, “So next, are we trying to escape from these cages, get the map, and leave this dungeon?”
Cold Family’s Little Treasure added, “That sounds pretty challenging. I just locked onto the guard watching over me; it has thick health. Not sure if we can take it down.”
Su Mo looked at the guard outside his water cell; indeed, it had thick health. Judging by its 5-star difficulty, he could infer its attack power was likely considerable. Unable to see the map himself and analyze the structure of the iron prison, he relied on the information provided by his teammates to piece together valuable insights.
The entire group of 15 people could be divided into roughly three types of environments:
- Those guarded by wardens, with their hands and feet bound or rendered unconscious.
- Those without wardens but confined in cages.
- Those in dark environments where surroundings couldn’t be discerned.
But they all faced one common issue: their weapons had been confiscated.
“Those without wardens might be the breakthrough point,” suggested Master Global’s kawaii, “I tried the dark environment here, not sure of its structure, but I couldn’t move at all.”
CloudTraveller reported, “Just did a headcount. Watermelon, FireworksAndLanterns, Bitter Melon, UnchainedWanderer, and Old Daoist, five people are unguarded. Check your situation there, see if you can escape from the cages.”
“Weapons were confiscated, so there was no way to get out, and most of our skills couldn’t be used,” Old Daoist said, just as another voice appeared on the voice channel.
“FireworksAndLanterns, “I’m out.”
“??? How did you get out so quickly?” Watermelon asked.
FireworksAndLanterns effortlessly retrieved his weapon from the wall and looked back at the cage. “Oh, the bars on my cage were a bit wide, so I squeezed out from inside.”
“??? Can you still do that?”
FireworksAndLanterns chuckled, “Probably because I have a child-sized body advantage? But it was still pretty tough; my head almost didn’t fit through.”
Upon hearing this, Su Mo paused briefly and added, “What’s the situation now? Be careful and observe.”
Outside the cage, there was a prison gate, and getting out through that gate was the real pathway. FireworksAndLanterns cautiously ran to the prison gate and saw several guards conversing on the pathway. At the same time, he could faintly see from nearby iron cages that other teammates were still locked inside.
“This place seems to have many iron cages. Some have people inside, and some don’t. Beyond the iron cages is a pathway where guards patrol. Guards can lock on and attack, but I’m not sure what happens after they attack,” FireworksAndLanterns reported.
Su Mo’s hands and feet were restricted, preventing him from using skills or accessing other information. “Do the guards have the map?” he asked.
“No, only some guards have the map,” FireworksAndLanterns replied.
The Mechanical Iron Prison, literally analyzed as a prison constructed of mechanisms.
At the beginning, all of them were locked up. The next objective should have been for some players within the team to find ways to escape on their own, obtain the map from NPCs carrying it, and rescue other teammates. However, the game set by the mainframe certainly wouldn’t be as simple as it sounded literally, with several potential issues lying ahead of them.
- What was the situation with the guards’ health? What would happen if they attacked the guards?
- In the Mechanical Iron Prison, where would potential mechanisms appear?
- How would the random death event be explained? What would happen if the entire team died or was captured?
From the current situation, it seemed like they started the team in a scenario of being captured. Following this rule… could it be that the failure would only be determined if the entire team was captured after getting out?
FireworksAndLanterns continued, “I happened to check the situation of my cage and found the key to the iron prison on the wall. I have keys to open both the cage and the iron door. You should have corresponding keys on your side. See if you can open them… Quest items and skills are unusable…” As he said this, he suddenly saw a figure swiftly passing outside the cage—
“I see someone!!” FireworksAndLanterns exclaimed in surprise, rushing to the iron prison to see what was happening. Just then, he caught sight of the array master’s figure passing by. “Brother, how could you run without taking me?!”
He hurriedly used the key to open the door, only to find the door opening just as a patrolling guard approached.
FireworksAndLanterns exclaimed, “…!!”
“Someone’s escaped!” The voice of the guard rang out amidst the clamor of gongs and drums. At this moment, everyone inside the prison heard the commotion outside.
The demon guard stationed outside Su Mo’s water cell spat and cursed, “Who’s the blind fool?”
After cursing, he walked away from the water cell, all his attention focused outside the prison door.
Su Mo hesitated briefly. Could these guards be distracted?
The quiet Mechanical Iron Prison suddenly became lively in this instant. The banging of gongs and drums, the shouts of the demon guards, and various other scattered noises instantly alarmed everyone inside the iron prison.
Watermelon had been attempting to reach for the keys outside the cell door. Upon hearing the noise, he turned around and saw FireworksAndLanterns dragging about ten guards, sprinting down the corridor outside the iron cells. He hesitated with the stolen keys in hand, then chose to return to his original position and sit down.
By now, the voice channel was buzzing with activity. FireworksAndLanterns’s voice filled the entire channel with panting and shouting, turning their earlier escape plan into a loud commotion.
“Little Firework, what’s happening?”
“It seems he’s been spotted. I just saw him running past my cell door.”
“That’s intense, being chased by a dozen guards.”
“What happens if they catch him?”
“Back to confinement? Or get killed by those little monsters?”
Su Mo heard only voices but saw no one. Considering the situation, he came up with a new idea, “FireworksAndLanterns, lead the guards away, keep running, don’t stop.”
“Ah?” FireworksAndLanterns replied hastily, but the blades behind him were already dangerously close. “What should I do? Just keep running?”
Su Mo continued to strategize, “Summon a bear to block their path, try using your skills.”
FireworksAndLanterns instantly understood his meaning and summoned the bear. However, due to the scene’s restrictions, the towering bear shrank considerably upon appearing in the iron prison, barely able to stand. The bear, though imposing, couldn’t completely block the path, and immediately came under attack from the guards’ blades.
“This bear can’t hold them off!” FireworksAndLanterns exclaimed. “The scene restriction has shrunk it!”
The guards were fully armed with blades and nets, accompanied by others banging gongs and drums. More and more guards were gathering around them.
In a short period of time, FireworksAndLanterns summoned several more creatures, but the guards, though short in stature, had thick health bars, high attack power, and their nets allowed them to completely control the summoned creatures.
“These guards have weapons. Their blades are for attacking, and their nets are for control,” FireworksAndLanterns saw the bear fall and continued running, explaining as he went, “They have different health values. They attack with blades and control with nets. Their attacks are strong, and the control lasts a long time. But their defense isn’t very high, so they should be killable…”
He was cut off as a net almost caught him.
The rest of the team discussed quietly on the voice channel,
“Should we go out together and kill them?”
“Can we handle it? It seems like there are a lot of them.”
“It’s going to be tough to get out, even if FireworksAndLanterns comes to rescue us.”
“But there’s no time to fight. Each small monster can control us. With so many monsters, getting surrounded means certain capture…” FireworksAndLanterns said, “These small monsters are multiplying!”
Su Mo frowned slightly at this, then after a moment, he said, “FireworksAndLanterns, keep pulling aggro. The rest of you take this chance to escape. We’re running out of time, and the more people get out, the safer it will be.”
Inside the mechanical iron prison, FireworksAndLanterns dashed around, drawing more and more guards behind him. The noise he made attracted the guards away, making the other cells comparatively safer.
“Use pets if you have them. Let them fetch the keys.” At that moment, Yu Zhen’s calm and steady voice appeared on the voice channel, “FireworksAndLanterns, be careful. There are traps on the walls outside the corridor. Don’t touch them randomly.”
FireworksAndLanterns darted around randomly, running wherever there was a path. “I’m starting to lose track of directions. Is this place a maze?”
……
ClearWind was stunned. “Damn, Brother Wanderer newbie, do you want pets to fetch the keys?”
Upon hearing this, Watermelon immediately released his pet, whose fur suddenly expanded and crowded him into a corner. The already cramped cell became even more packed, leaving everyone unable to move. “Are you sure pets can do this?”
Yu Zhen chimed in briefly, “Small spirit pets.”
HealsFor25000 fell silent for a moment. “It’s time to put pets on a diet.”
Watermelon retorted, “Is this really about dieting?!”
Watermelon withdrew his summoned pet. “I don’t think I have a small spirit pet either.”
Old Daoist released his spirit pet, saying, “My spirit pet is small, but not very smart. I’m not sure if it can fetch the keys.”
Pets became a breakthrough method. Watermelon reluctantly recalled his large cat and suddenly discovered another breakthrough: there were several knives in his backpack that were still usable. He said, “There are other weapons in my backpack that can be used. The weapons stored in the backpack are not locked!”
Players’ weapon slots were restricted, and the other weapons inside were marked with a disabled emblem. The weapons they carried were hung on the prison walls, leaving them with almost no tools to use, except for scattered torture devices in the cell.
Upon hearing this, Apple was surprised, “Weapon slots are all restricted… and the backpack slipped through?”
CloudTraveller replied, “It’s possible.”
Apple couldn’t believe it, “Watermelon, you actually put weapons in your backpack? Is your bag that empty?”
The emptiness of the backpack was, of course, deliberately planned.
Watermelon fell silent for a moment. “This is called being prepared. You wouldn’t understand.” He took out the weapons from his backpack and looked at the remaining knives inside. He felt deeply moved. Who could have imagined that the knives he prepared yesterday would come in handy today? After testing them, he said, “The chains here can be cut, and the weapons can be used.”
Unable to use the weapons not stored in the backpack, and with both the item slots and weapon slots disabled, Watermelon had to find other ways to explore. Various tools from the cells were dragged to his feet in no time. Meanwhile, Old Daoist was still teaching his own pet to steal keys. At this moment, the hopes of the entire team were pinned on these few individuals…
25000 expressed concern. “I’m starting to worry about the future of our team. Can we really escape?”
Apple replied, “You’re not so bad off. It’s pitch black where I am, cold and damp. I don’t even know where I am.”
Watermelon said, “Almost there, almost there. I just need to try a bit harder.”
No one was watching, and only five players managed to escape. FireworksAndLanterns was being chased, while UnchainedWanderer and Watermelon had already escaped. Bitter Melon and Old Daoist were still seeking ways to break free. The game master must have left escape methods, but each person’s cell was different, and Su Mo couldn’t guide them to their locations. From the current situation, it seemed that only these few people could be rescued.
“We can sacrifice FireworksAndLanterns. After the others get out, don’t expose your positions. Let’s save people first.” Su Mo glanced at the guard outside his water cell. There seemed to be some distance between him and the commotion at FireworksAndLanterns’ location. The gatekeeper hadn’t left yet. “FireworksAndLanterns, find a way to make more noise.”
In addition to the five who easily escaped, Su Mo, CloudTraveller, HealsFor25000, Little Treasure from the Cold Family, and ZenSlasher were all under guard by the jailers. MasterGlobal’s kawaii, Apple, and ClearWind were in dark environments…
ScarletFruit and IHaveAColdHeart didn’t respond at all, indicating they were probably unconscious.
Given the situation, ZenSlasher’s guard had the map.
FireworksAndLanterns ran desperately, with more and more guards chasing him, forcing him to use his acceleration skill. He found a moment to ask, “How do I make this commotion bigger?”
Su Mo responded directly, “Release all your summoned creatures. The louder, the better.”
FireworksAndLanterns understood instantly, “Got it. I think I can hold on for another minute. You guys hurry and escape.”
“Those in dark environments might be sealed in containers or other large storage units. Be cautious of these during your escape and prioritize rescuing ZenSlasher to obtain the map. Conceal yourselves as much as possible to avoid detection,” advised Su Mo. “Especially those who manage to escape, leave yourselves a way out. The Assassin’s stealth and sneak abilities should be helpful.”
Watermelon took his weapon and immediately blended into the surroundings, disappearing stealthily. “Alright, I’m going to rescue someone.”
At this moment, amid the noisy discussion, Yu Zhen’s calm voice suddenly emerged, —”HealsFor25000, use the public broadcast to draw the guards’ attention away.” Su Mo paused briefly, his gaze resting on UnchainedWanderer’s ID within the team. HealsFor25000, also known as Xiao Er, looked towards the guard standing by the prison door, peering outside. He hesitated, “How should I distract them?”
“However you like,” Yu Zhen’s voice remained calm, “Just make sure it notices you and follows you away.”
“Are you coming to rescue me?” HealsFor25000 reacted quickly, glimpsing through the gaps in the bars towards a faint figure hidden in the shadows ahead. His spirits lifted instantly. “If you’re causing a scene for me now, I wouldn’t know how to handle it. I might start speaking in riddles and confuse the kids. As a token of respect, how about I sing a song for everyone?”
CloudTraveller hesitated, about to say something.
Kawaii delicately suggested, “…Maybe you could try a different approach.”
Apple exclaimed, “Wait a minute!”
ClearWind asked, “What’s going on?”
Old Daoist wondered, “What?”
Yu Zhen was left speechless.
FireworksAndLanterns’ commotion seemed distant as HealsFor25000 switched to public broadcast, belting out a loud and chaotic song. The nonsensical lyrics, coupled with a bizarre melody and a mix of unrelated tunes, sent shivers down everyone’s spine in the voice channel.
Inside the cell, the guard was indeed drawn by the commotion, approaching aggressively with a whip in hand. Undeterred, HealsFor25000 bravely continued singing loudly. Just then, a figure swiftly passed behind the guard through the cell door.
Guard: “What’s all this noise!?”
HealsFor25000’s gaze followed the figure, now growing distant, as the voice faded.
Yu Zhen’s voice resurfaced, “Don’t stop, keep singing.”
25000: “???”
At that moment, Su Mo noticed the commotion outside the cell door. Suddenly, a fear array appeared before him, instantly immobilizing the guard inside his cell. One of Yu Zhen’s spirit pets leaped over from Su Mo’s water cell, landing gracefully to snatch the key from the wall—
It was one of Yu Zhen’s spirit pets, the petite yet fierce Heartfire Tiger among tiger-type spirits.
Author’s note: 25000: Aren’t you here to rescue me?!
For being named 25000, he’s quite poor
Bahaha