It took Sanbica three days to reach the island's central lake on foot. Instead of immediately trying to figure out how to get onto the island, she first circled the lake's perimeter.
She found no small docks for boats, let alone any boats themselves… there was nothing.
'There are no boats, and also no bridges leading to the prison island. So, how did the people on the prison island travel back and forth?'
Sanbica didn't dwell on the question and began thinking about how to cross the vast, seawater-filled lake to sneak onto the prison island.
She knew very well that she had to use the prison island's communication equipment to contact the outside world, but this task was extremely difficult. She had no knowledge of the prison's layout and could easily be discovered.
But although it is difficult, it is the only path she could choose.
The forests around the lake were dense and lush, with a wide variety of plant species. The only common feature was that they were all unusually tall and thick.
In the dense forest, Sanbica found a plant similar to a lotus leaf. She removed one of its oversized leaves to use as a small boat and gathered some other plants for camouflage.
After making preparations, she patiently waited until deep into the night before setting off on her leaf boat toward the prison island at the center of the lake.
The full moon hung high in the night sky, casting silver moonlight over the land. However, clusters of clouds drifted by, occasionally blocking the moon.
Sanbica, riding on a leaf boat, gradually approached the central island under the flickering moonlight.
After considerable effort, she finally landed on the island.
Sanbica hid the leaf boat in a crevice between rocks and then made her way to the base of the prison's outer wall.
The wall was five meters high, but with the enhancement of her Aura, Sanbica easily scaled it, taking the first step in infiltrating the prison.
Without knowledge of the prison's layout, Sanbica proceeded with extreme caution, observing every step before acting.
The prison covers a large area, with tall towers surrounding the walls. Inside the walls are mainly black buildings standing side by side, with corridors in the air connecting all the buildings.
Overall, the prison's architectural style was solid and imposing, exuding a heavy, solemn atmosphere.
Sanbica began her operation. She noticed that there weren't many surveillance cameras, but the number of guards patrolling the perimeter was substantial. They were all armed with submachine guns, while the guards in the watchtowers carried sniper rifles.
These guards were ordinary people, but the firearms they carried posed a significant threat to Sanbica.
She wasn't Law, nor was she an Enhancer with a body strong enough to withstand bullets. Even with her Aura protecting her, a few shots could be fatal.
Feeling the constant danger, Sanbica carefully navigated through the gaps left by the guards, avoiding the few cameras, and successfully infiltrated the buildings. She began searching for a room with communication equipment.
While there weren't many cameras outside the buildings, the number inside increased significantly. However, the number of guards decreased accordingly, indicating that the prison's defense focus was on the perimeter.
Sanbica wasn't a professionally trained spy, but with her Aura, she could perform many tasks even better than a spy. The middle of the night was also the best time for infiltration.
She cautiously explored the prison buildings for over an hour, but she still couldn't find the room with communication equipment. As time passed, the risk she faced increased.
Seeing that there was less than an hour left until dawn, Sanbica felt that she needed to take risks. She began to speed up her search, and as she covered more ground, she gradually noticed something unusual.
Although she had never been inside a prison before, she had some general knowledge about it, but the prison atmosphere in this place is a bit strange...
Sanbica realized something was wrong, but she didn't have the time to investigate further. As time continued to slip away, she still hadn't found the communication room.
In desperation, she had to take the risk of being discovered and began using her Nen Ability, [Pandora's Box], to knock down several prison personnel. However, she didn't find any phones on them.
As more and more people fell victim to the virus, the likelihood of Sanbica being discovered also increased.
However, since she had already started, she couldn't give up halfway.
Whenever she encountered someone outside the camera's view, she would either knock them out or kill them, using various methods to neutralize her targets.
However, after taking down over a dozen people, she still hadn't found a phone… until she encountered a Nen User in a black uniform...
With dawn approaching, Sanbica used a sneak attack to take down the Nen User. While searching his body, she finally found a phone.
The moment she saw the phone, Sanbica felt a surge of joy. Her first action was to send a message to Law, rather than calling the Hunter Association.
This was her first reaction, an instinctive one!
At this moment, an unconcealed Aura fluctuation appeared at the front, and a Nen Arrow shot out from the other end of the wide corridor.
When Sanbica sensed the Aura fluctuation, her expression changed abruptly and she looked up in the direction the arrow was coming from. In that instant, she made the correct decision, which is to press the send button, but her message was only half-written.
Crack!
The Nen Arrow struck the phone accurately, shattering it into pieces. The shards cut through Sanbica's gloves, leaving several wounds on her hands.
In less than a second, blood flowed from the cuts, covering her pale skin.
She was in a long, straight corridor with yellow lights hanging on the walls, providing ample illumination.
The crisp sound echoed through the corridor, followed by a chilling, murderous laugh from ahead.
As the phone shattered, Sanbica didn't know if the message had been sent successfully. However, at this time, she had no time to think about it and immediately turned to run.
She hadn't seen the attacker's face, but she knew the Nen Arrow was the work of the short-haired woman.
"Hehe, do you really think you can escape?"
The purple-haired, sharp-toothed woman strolled leisurely toward Sanbica, her narrow eyes squinting as she watched her run. She didn't seem the least bit worried.
Sanbica had only run a few dozen meters when she stopped. It's because there were two men blocking the road ahead, one tall and one short.
"To act so boldly, I thought you were a big rat. Turns out you're just a little hamster." The short, thin man said in a sharp, piercing voice.
His name is Pelican, and his codename was also his name.
"And a woman at that." The burly, bald man said. And his eyes flashed with a sick, violent gleam. His scar-covered hands twisted slightly, producing loud cracking sounds.
His name is Bear.
Creak…
Pelican's fingernails were long and claw-like, extending over a meter. As they lightly scraped against each other, they emitted a piercing sound, much like his voice.
He glanced at Bear, who was growing increasingly excited, and warned, "Calm down."
Bear ignored him and stared at the disheveled Sanbica with eyes full of desire. With just one look, he could tell Sanbica is a woman.
Tap, tap.
At that moment, steady footsteps echoed from behind the two men. It was a young man with spiky black hair.
This young man had sharp, angular features and icy-cold eyes. Like the others, he wore a black uniform with the Flower of Death emblem on his arm.
In his hand, he held a uniquely shaped, semi-circular fan-blade. He walked calmly behind Bear and Pelican, then said coldly: "We need her alive."
The young man's codename was Hawk.
Bear glanced at Hawk and said with a sinister smile: "Don't worry, I'll be very careful. As long as she's not dead, it doesn't matter if she loses an arm or a leg."
"When you get excited, this little girl might end up losing more than just an arm or a leg." Pelican cackled, his comical mustache twitching slightly.
"Enough talk. Let's move." Hawk said coldly, his eyes fixed on Sanbica in front of him.