Chapter 505: Request

"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."

Stan slowly nodded. "That makes sense."

"After that, Damien broke through another section of the facility," the commissioner continued. "By then, the prison was already in complete disorder. Guards were trying to regain control, prisoners were running in every direction, alarms were sounding, and several sections of the facility had effectively become impossible to secure."

"And eventually he escaped?"

"Yes," the commissioner said with another sigh. "Eventually."

Stan leaned back slightly as he processed the information.

Damien had not become invulnerable.

That was useful information.

Strength could be countered. Durability could be measured. If conventional weapons were still capable of injuring him, then Damien was not yet beyond the reach of ordinary forces.

The fact that Damien had not yet reached a level where bullets were meaningless gave Stan confidence in his ability to handle him.

After all, bullets and even bombs were nothing to Stan as of right now.

"So his strength isn’t enough to make him invulnerable," Stan said.

"That’s what we’re assuming."

The commissioner paused.

"Good."

There was a brief silence.

"Good?"

Stan’s expression remained serious.

"If guns can still hurt him, then he isn’t impossible to stop."

"That’s what I told my people."

The commissioner hesitated before continuing.

"But there’s something else you need to understand."

"What?"

"His physical strength."

Stan waited.

"The officers estimate that Damien is several times stronger than an ordinary man."

"Several times?" Stan asked. "Do they have any accurate multiplier?"

The commissioner sighed.

"Not yet. We don’t have enough data to quantify it accurately. Everything is based on eyewitness reports and the security footage we’ve recovered. But bending reinforced prison bars with your bare hands is obviously not something a normal human being can do."

"No," Stan agreed.

The commissioner continued, "I know this is going to sound absurd."

"At this point, I’m listening."

"We’re beginning to suspect that something happened to Damien while he was in prison. Something that gave him these abilities."

Stan’s eyes narrowed.

"You’re thinking some kind of enhancement?"

"Exactly. We don’t know what caused it, but whatever happened to him fundamentally changed his physical capabilities."

Stan remained quiet.

The commissioner sighed before adding, "We’ve also heard reports of other people doing strange things recently."

Stan’s expression remained unchanged.

"Strange things?"

"Nothing confirmed," the commissioner quickly clarified. "At least, not officially. There have been several unusual incidents reported over the past few days. People surviving injuries they shouldn’t have survived. Individuals displaying abnormal physical abilities. Cases that don’t make much sense when viewed from a normal perspective."

Stan’s gaze became distant.

"So Damien isn’t necessarily an isolated case."

"We don’t know," the commissioner admitted. "That’s the problem. There isn’t enough reliable information yet to determine whether these incidents are connected."

Stan didn’t answer.

He already knew considerably more than the commissioner realized.

The world was beginning to change, and the awakening of the Dao was only the beginning of what was coming.

Ordinary people were beginning to encounter forces they had never imagined possible, and Damien appeared to have stumbled onto his own path through hatred, resentment, and an overwhelming desire for revenge.

The commissioner eventually broke the silence.

"Stan?"

"I’m here."

"What are you thinking?"

Stan remained quiet for a moment before answering in an almost casual tone.

"That this is quite unbelievable."

"Really?" The commissioner immediately agreed. "It’s quite unbelievable that all of this happened inside a supposedly secure correctional facility."

"Exactly."

"Even I was surprised when I first heard about it. In fact, I had to personally ask my colleagues to send me the recordings because I didn’t want to rely solely on the initial reports. Some of the things described in those reports sounded so exaggerated that I assumed the officers might have been misinterpreting what they saw."

"And after watching the recordings?"

"I couldn’t dismiss it anymore," the commissioner replied. "The footage doesn’t lie."

"No," Stan said quietly. "It doesn’t."

He leaned back and considered the situation more carefully.

The prison escape itself was serious, but it was not the part that concerned him most.

"What about the other prisoners?" Stan asked.

"We’ve already recaptured several of them."

"And the rest?"

"They’re still being searched for."

"How many?"

"We’re still confirming the exact number. The prison was in such chaos that we’re having difficulty establishing exactly who escaped and who remained inside. Search teams are working through the surrounding area, while other officers are checking roads, abandoned buildings, transportation routes, and locations where fugitives might seek shelter."

"Good."

"We’re treating it as a major manhunt," the commissioner added. "Every available unit in the surrounding area is being informed, and we’re coordinating the search as carefully as possible."

Stan nodded slowly.

"That makes sense."

A brief silence settled between them before the commissioner spoke again, his tone becoming noticeably more personal.

"There’s another reason why I called you, apart from telling you this."

"What is it?"

"Considering Damien’s history with you and Sophie..." The commissioner paused briefly, as though carefully choosing his words. "I’d strongly urge you to be careful."

Stan smiled faintly.

"I’ll be okay, Commissioner."

He waved away the concern despite knowing the commissioner could not see the gesture.

"I can handle myself."

"I know," the commissioner replied. "But that doesn’t mean you should underestimate him."

"I’m not."

"Good."

The commissioner paused before continuing.

"Because based on everything I’ve seen and everything the officers have reported, Damien isn’t behaving like a normal fugitive."

Stan’s expression hardened.

"I figured."

"He deliberately confronted armed officers instead of attempting to avoid them. He escaped from a secure facility, overpowered guards, and demonstrated enough physical strength to break through reinforced barriers. More importantly, from what the officers told me, he seemed unusually confident after discovering what he could do."

"That’s dangerous."

"Exactly."

The commissioner took another breath.

"Someone who suddenly gains that kind of strength may not fully understand their own limits. Damien might not know what he can and cannot do yet. He could injure or kill someone simply because he doesn’t understand how much force he’s capable of using."

Stan remained silent.

That was exactly what made the situation dangerous.

Damien had only just awakened.

He had no proper understanding of his newfound strength, no training, and no discipline. Unlike someone who had spent time learning how to control Qi within them, Damien’s first experience with extraordinary power had occurred in the middle of a violent prison escape.

His emotions were already unstable, and his hatred toward Stan and Sophie had only grown stronger during his imprisonment.

Power had now been placed in the hands of someone driven by revenge.

That combination was dangerous.

Stan’s fingers tapped lightly against the armrest as he considered everything he had just learned.

The escape itself was only one problem.

The greater problem was that Damien had now entered the outside world with nothing holding him back.

No prison walls.

No guards.

No restraints.

And, most importantly, no reason to suppress the hatred he had been nurturing for so long.

If Damien’s first instinct after awakening had been to escape, then Stan could only imagine what his next move would be.

The commissioner suddenly spoke again.

"Stan?"

Stan lifted his eyes.

"Yes?"

"Are you still there?"

"I’m here."

The commissioner hesitated.

"What are you thinking?"

Stan remained silent for several seconds.

His mind was already moving through countless possibilities.

Damien could run.

He could hide.

He could seek out other awakened individuals.

He could attempt to gather criminals around himself.

Or, considering his hatred toward Stan and Sophie, he could do something far more direct.

He could come for them.

Stan’s eyes became cold.

If Damien truly intended to pursue revenge, then allowing him to move freely would eventually become a problem.

But Stan wasn’t going to wait for that moment.

"Commissioner," Stan finally said.

"Yes?"

"I have a request."