Chapter 504: Threat Unleashed

Stan’s gaze hardened.

That was exactly what he had been afraid of.

Damien was no longer a known threat confined within four walls. He was now an unknown variable somewhere outside the prison, potentially surrounded by other escaped criminals and possessing abilities that he hadn’t possessed before entering the facility.

Camilla watched Stan carefully.

She could tell from his expression that the situation had become far more serious than either of them had initially expected.

The commissioner spoke again.

"There’s something else."

Stan looked toward the phone. "What?"

"The officers who saw him before the escape all said the same thing."

"What did they say?"

"They said Damien looked different."

Stan’s eyes narrowed. "Different how?"

"They couldn’t explain it properly. They said there was something about his presence that had changed. He seemed... stronger. More confident. Almost like he knew exactly what his body was capable of."

Stan fell silent.

That detail bothered him more than the prison bars.

An awakening was one thing. But instinctively understanding the changes so quickly was another.

If Damien had only recently comprehended the Dao and become a cultivator, then there should have been at least some period of confusion while he learned what he was capable of. Yet according to the commissioner’s description, Damien had quickly transitioned from being beaten by other prisoners to dominating them and escaping his cell.

That suggested either his newfound abilities were exceptionally intuitive, or something else had happened during those hours.

Stan’s eyes narrowed as he considered the possibility.

"What happened to the prisoners Damien fought?"

"The ones he attacked?"

"Yes."

"The prison medical team treated them. None of them died, as far as we know."

Stan gave a slight nod.

"And Damien?"

"We don’t know."

The answer hung heavily between them.

The commissioner continued, "He disappeared during the evacuation. By the time the authorities regained control of the facility, he was already gone."

Stan slowly leaned back against the sofa again.

For the first time since the call began, his expression became completely unreadable.

Damien Bale had escaped.

And judging from everything the commissioner had told him, the man who had escaped Blackridge Correctional Facility was no longer the same Damien Bale who had been imprisoned there.

Whatever had awakened inside him had given him enough strength to tear through the prison’s defenses.

And Stan had a feeling that this was only the beginning.

The sheer fact that Damien had managed to escape from Blackridge Correctional Facility was already troubling, but what concerned Stan even more was how easily the prison seemed to have lost control of the situation.

"Why didn’t the guards stop him?" Stan asked, his voice calm but carrying a hint of disbelief. "They had guns."

"They tried," the commissioner replied with a heavy sigh. "According to the officers on the scene, the situation deteriorated extremely quickly. Once several cells were opened, the entire prison descended into chaos. The guards were suddenly dealing with multiple escaped inmates at once, while Damien was moving through the facility like he had nothing left to fear."

The commissioner paused before continuing.

"And there’s another factor. The guards aren’t authorized to simply execute prisoners, even during a violent escape. They were forced to hesitate before using lethal force, and Damien took advantage of that hesitation."

Stan remained silent for a moment before asking, "Did he simply break his way out, or did he attack the guards?"

"Yes," the commissioner answered immediately.

Stan’s brow furrowed slightly.

"Yes?"

"He attacked the guards."

"How many?"

"We don’t have an exact number yet. Some officers were injured during the confrontation, while others were forced to retreat to more defensible positions when they realized they were no longer dealing with an ordinary prisoner."

Stan’s expression grew more serious.

He had already expected Damien to be stronger after awakening, but the commissioner’s description suggested that the difference between the man Damien had been before entering prison and the person who had escaped was enormous.

"And then came the part that convinced me this wasn’t simply some unusually strong man," the commissioner continued. His voice became noticeably more serious as he recalled the reports. "Damien encountered an armed response team."

Stan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"A firing squad?"

"Essentially," the commissioner replied. "Several armed officers had their weapons trained directly on him. They ordered him to get on the ground and surrender, but Damien simply stood there and looked at them."

"And he still advanced?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

The commissioner gave a humorless laugh.

"Confidence. At least, that’s how it appeared. He seemed completely convinced that the officers couldn’t stop him. There was no hesitation in his movements, and according to the officers, he didn’t appear particularly frightened when he saw the weapons pointed at him."

Stan’s expression darkened.

That detail immediately caught his attention.

A normal person facing several armed officers would instinctively understand the danger. Even someone possessing extraordinary physical strength should hesitate when staring down a group of people carrying firearms.

Damien, however, seemed to have developed a dangerous level of confidence after awakening.

"The footage shows Damien standing there while the officers repeatedly ordered him to get on the ground," the commissioner continued. "He ignored every command. The officers were eventually forced to open fire."

Stan’s eyes narrowed, but he remained silent, allowing the commissioner to continue.

"Damien moved," the commissioner said. "Very quickly. The officers managed to hit him, but he avoided the majority of the shots."

"But he didn’t dodge everything."

"No."

"He was shot?"

"Yes."

Stan’s expression changed slightly.

"Then how did he survive?"

There was a brief pause on the other end of the call.

"He grabbed another prisoner."

Stan’s eyes immediately sharpened.

"What?"

"He pulled one of the escaping inmates in front of himself and used him as a shield."

For a moment, Stan said nothing.

The commissioner’s description painted a very different picture of Damien than the initial reports might have suggested.

Damien had been willing to confront armed officers, but the moment bullets actually started flying, he had instinctively protected himself by sacrificing another prisoner.

"So he was afraid of the guns," Stan concluded.

"That’s our assessment," the commissioner replied. "Whatever ability Damien gained seems to have made him extremely strong, but bullets can still hurt him. He clearly understood that, which was why he used the other prisoner as a shield."