CHAPTER 21: FAILED ESCAPE

"Urgh," Brian groaned, feeling his head pounding. The last thing he could remember after Linda's death was being put under a control spell, fainting, and falling asleep. He hadn't even been allowed to log out of the game.

Opening his eyes, he was met with a scene that stunned him. He was in a small cell, barely large enough to fit him, and he wasn't the only one locked up. Along with the adventurer team he had tagged along with, he saw many others imprisoned—women, children, and men—all crammed into cells. Their total numbers reached the hundreds.

He was shocked by the revelation. How had the bandits managed to capture so many people without being discovered by the authorities? It seemed they had been capturing travelers passing through the forest on their way to the capital. The thought was terrifying—such powerful bandits living so close to the village, and the village head had no idea. Everyone knew about the bandits, but they were believed to only collect tolls in exchange for safe passage. Clearly, that wasn't the case anymore.

"Surprising, isn't it?" a voice spoke from the cell adjacent to Brian's.

Brian turned to see a man watching him. "I used to be part of the bandit group," the man continued. "I sided with the previous leader. We lost, and now I'm stuck here."

"Who are you?" Brian asked.

"Doesn't matter," the man replied. "We're all going to end up as puppets or slaves. Or worse—dead. Depends on which category you fall into."

"How did this happen?" Brian pressed. If he couldn't get information about the man, he might as well learn about what was going on.

"You see, we were just normal bandits," the man explained. "We took reasonable tolls and allowed travelers safe passage. A win-win situation for us and the village merchants. We even made sure there were no beasts lurking along the forest path, and in return, we collected 'protection funds.' That was the routine for years. But everything changed when the new bandit leader and his goons joined us.

"At first, he was obedient—after all, he was weaker than our leader. But things started shifting when some mysterious bead-like substance appeared. The substance gave a power boost, but at the cost of gradually succumbing to madness. Our leader, realizing the danger, banned it. But that traitor! He continued dealing with the mysterious traders who sold the substance, secretly converting more people to his side. Slowly, like an infection spreading, he gained enough followers to stage a coup, overthrowing our leader. The rest of us were imprisoned.

"Then he made a deal with those nasty, evil traders—offering captives in exchange for more of the substance. As for what happens to the captives… well, I'm sure you can guess. Just resign yourself to your fate. Escaping is impossible."

Brian absorbed the information calmly before closing his eyes. He needed to think of a way to escape. The fact that he couldn't log out gave him a foreboding feeling that things could get ugly—and he wasn't planning on experiencing that firsthand.

Thinking of a plan, Brian checked his inventory to see if he could access it. He had some swords there—being a meticulous person, he always ensured he had extra swords for emergencies. To his amazement, he discovered he could retrieve one. Of course, he didn't retrieve it immediately. Biding his time, he closed his eyes and waited for the right opportunity.

Sleeping through the night, he woke up the next day, prepared to take action. He chose the day because, well, he was dealing with bandits, and bandits worked during the day and rested at night. This meant that most of them, including the leader, would likely be in the forest, waiting for their next prey. Checking for any patrolling bandits, he retrieved a sword from his inventory and destroyed the cell, escaping from it. To create chaos and increase the difficulty of being caught, he destroyed many other cells, freeing numerous captives—including the entire adventurer team he had tagged along with.

"Thank you," Cole said, his head lowered. To think the same person he had almost picked a fight with was now saving his life. "I'm so—"

"That's not necessary. We need to escape first," Brian cut Cole short, earning admiration from the team.

After releasing a sizeable number of captives—though not all, since he was short on time—Brian remained pragmatic. He wasn't a saint who would risk his life to save everyone. His own survival came first. If he could save more people along the way, perfect. If not, so be it.

The escapees rushed toward the exit and soon encountered the unprepared bandits guarding it. Charging at them like wild beasts, the bandits quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.

"Let's take this opportunity to escape!" Brian said, calculating calmly and coldly. He rushed toward the bandits, targeting those within his level, while leaving the stronger ones to his teammates.

"Don't give them a chance to take that substance! Attack them without giving them room to breathe!" Brian shouted to his newfound allies.

Heeding his call, they pressed their attacks, preventing the bandits from taking the mysterious pill, causing them to fall one by one.

With hope of victory, Brian fought ferociously, sparing no bandit. While attacking, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Without thinking, he screamed, "Everyone, duck!"

The adventurer team, who had already accepted Brian as their leader without discussion, immediately obeyed, as did some of the captives.

Then it happened—a phenomenon Brian could only describe as pure horror.

A dark red light surged toward the captives and his teammates. Those who were too slow to duck were sliced in two the moment the red light passed through them.

"Ooooh, that's some pretty good instinct," the bandit leader said, forcing Brian to lose every last shred of hope for escape.

********

"Yes?" the president of Country M responded after picking up the telephone call from his personal assistant.

"Your excellency, you have a guest," the voice of the assistant said, a bit shaky.

"I do not have an appointment with anyone today. Send the person on his way; I need to rest."

"Well... Sir, that will be difficult... The person is... Will George... And he says he's not taking no for an answer," the assistant stammered, scared of the repercussions.

Hearing the name, the president couldn't help but frown deeply. Will George, the richest man in the world, of course, had deep connections and great control over political figures and powerhouses around the world. He wasn't like other businessmen who focused only on their business; he placed just as much importance on controlling the politics of the world. His visit was absolutely a headache for the president.

"Send him in," the president told the assistant, knowing he had no choice but to see the dangerous man.

Will George walked into the president's office. "Mr. President, it's good to see you're well," he said, a smile plastered on his face.

"Likewise," the president replied, though deep down he thought otherwise.

"Please, have a seat."

"Thank you, your excellency," Will George said, the smile still firmly in place.

"Alright, from this moment on, all audio tapping and any form of listening to our conversation should be blocked. I plan to talk about some confidential matters with the president," Will George said, still smiling.

The president just watched the drama unfold and couldn't help but sigh. He didn't have that much authority, even as the president. He could say whatever he wanted, but they wouldn't listen to him, which was why he had to use "special places" to have confidential discussions. But there Will George was, nonchalantly giving instructions, and the president was extremely sure that his command had been obeyed. He felt deeply wronged in his heart.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Will George finally looked at the president and began the "confidential conversation."

"Alright, Mr. President, I don't plan on beating around the bush. Drop the tag about Nemesis. I mean, the branding of him as a terrorist should be stopped. If possible, I want you to portray him in a good light when the opportunity arises."

"Impossible! So it was you, the backer he had," the president said, his voice raised for the first time since he'd been sitting across from Will George.

"Yeah, yeah, that's all I have to say. It can be done, right?" Will George asked before standing up, planning to walk away. After all, all he needed to say was done.

"You know..." the president said, forcing Will George to halt his movement. "...Nemesis is still a traitor, and you could go down for being an accomplice," the president said, his face showing no emotion.

"Well, that would be brave of you, Mr. President," Will George replied. "I hope one of your secret dealings doesn't get exposed before then, or worse, you suffer a mysterious and sad accident, forfeiting your life in the process. That would truly break my heart, sir President."

He continued, his voice still carrying a cheerful tone and his smile still ever-present on his face. The only thing telling the president that he was serious about it were his cold eyes.

"It... It will be done," the president succumbed to Will George's pressure.

"Excellent, Mr. President. Thanks for a fruitful conversation," Will George said before exiting the office.

"Crazy guy," the president muttered. "To think he threatened the leader of a powerhouse nation like that... He's a scary man."