c2 Brett's Redemption
At the same time, within the underground research base on Punk Hazard, a certain room served as the main control center. All images captured by the large number of surveillance Den Den Mushi installed throughout the base were transmitted and summarized here in real time.
Although it was already deep into the night, several Marines were still on duty inside the monitoring room. They yawned repeatedly while staring at the screens, maintaining vigilance to prevent any unexpected incidents.
Then, something unexpected happened.
"What's going on? What happened to that fish-man?"
An exclamation suddenly broke the quiet atmosphere of the control room.
The Marines who had been half-asleep instantly sobered up and gathered behind the Marine who had spoken.
That Marine pointed at one of the surveillance screens and said, "He looked a bit uncomfortable earlier. He was exercising just now and then suddenly collapsed."
"Is he sick?"
Someone voiced a guess.
"Could it be an act?" A certain Marine officer asked suspiciously.
"It doesn't look like it. He glanced at the Den Den Mushi, but he didn't show any intention of calling for help."
"This guy has been very obedient these past few months. He should understand the consequences of causing trouble. Fish-men may sound powerful, but they're ultimately just an inferior race. How would he dare oppose the World Government?" A Marine said casually, his tone filled with contempt.
"That's right. Send someone to take a look. The doctor won't allow anything to happen to him."
"I'll notify them immediately."
On the screen, Bright appeared to have completely lost consciousness and was no longer moving. If it weren't for the faint rise and fall of his chest, he would have looked like a corpse.
Bright lay quietly on the cold metal floor, yet his body was burning hot, like it was on fire.
His heart was beating at an abnormally rapid pace, forcefully pumping blood into every corner of his body.
It was clearly the most intense moment possible, yet his state of mind was unusually calm.
Of course, he wasn't sick, and Vegapunk had not conducted any cruel experiments on him. At most, they only drew blood or extracted skin tissue and hair samples. For research focused on bloodlines, that was already sufficient.
His current appearance was naturally nothing more than an act.
I endured everything for three full months just for this moment.
This method was old-fashioned and not particularly clever, but it should still be effective.
It was impossible to make the Marines completely relax their guard against him. It was enough if they were just a little less alert than they had been at the beginning.
Even if it only reduced the difficulty from one hundred to ninety-nine, it was still worth it.
squeak.
Bright heard the heavy metal door slowly open.
It happened very quickly, which meant they likely didn't have time to go to the medical department to fetch a doctor.
That was very good news.
The moment he had been waiting for had arrived.
The extreme tension and excitement further stimulated the secretion of adrenaline, yet at this moment, Bright felt calmer than ever before.
Footsteps echoed.
One, two, three——
Seven people?
Four of them stopped at the doorway, while only three walked inside.
boom.
Bright felt a heavy kick strike his arm.
It hurt a little.
Then someone roughly grabbed his hair, yanked his head upward, and forced his right eye open.
Bright deliberately relaxed his pupils, making sure they did not tremble in the slightest.
Since there was no doctor present, he had nothing to worry about.
"What do fish-man pupils even look like? Is this normal?"
A voice filled with impatience sounded.
"I don't know, but the captain, he's not moving at all. Looks like he's passed out." Another voice replied.
Just a captain?
It seemed that three months of deliberate obedience had indeed paid off.
"He's really troublesome. Sleeping so soundly! Damn fish-man, why don't we just leave him here and let him die? At least the fishy smell would be gone." Another Marine muttered.
"Don't say stupid things. He's important experimental material for the doctor. Even if you die, he can't. Hurry up, put him on a stretcher and send him to the medical department immediately." The Marine addressed as the captain scolded.
"Damn it, fish-men stink. You won't catch some disease just by touching him, right?"
"That's why I told you to wear gloves."
Bright listened as several Marines argued before he was lifted up and roughly thrown onto a stretcher.
"This guy is ridiculously heavy! Get two more people over here!"
Two of the four Marines guarding the door came forward, and together the four of them lifted him, making Bright feel his body rise into the air.
Then, at last, he was carried out of the cell.
Bright silently calculated in his mind.
The Marines began to turn. They had already exited the cell. There were additional Marines stationed outside, clearly forming an escort.
Four more?
So the total number was eleven?
A patrol unit.
He could vaguely hear the sound of metal clashing against metal. They were carrying weapons.
So their vigilance hadn't truly dropped after all.
But it was enough, it was enough that the real senior officers of the Marine Science Unit did not appear in person.
The Marines were chatting casually as they walked, and Bright silently tensed his entire body.
Turn left.
Then, turn right.
Go straight ahead.
Turn right again.
Then, this should be it.
The bathhouse inside the base was one of the very few locations that deliberately had no surveillance Den Den Mushi installed, due to privacy regulations even within a Marine research facility.
The memory of the route he had taken when escorted to the medical department for routine examinations was finally being put to use.
One final confirmation, there were eleven enemies in total. The four Marines leading the way and the two following behind were definitely armed.
The four Marines carrying the stretcher would not be able to free their hands easily.
That meant the most critical target was the Marine captain walking alongside him.
Based on his observations over the past three months, the leader of each patrol unit always carried a Den Den Mushi used for communication and emergency alerts. Pressing it once would put the entire base on high alert.
so--
"Cough cough cough cough!"
Bright suddenly opened his eyes, his body convulsed violently, and he began coughing as if choking, his head jerking erratically as though he had just regained consciousness.
His sudden movement caused the stretcher to shake, startling the four Marines carrying it.
"What happened?"
The bearded Marine captain frowned and stepped closer. "Hey, fish-man, what's wrong with you?"
"Um?"
The Marine captain froze slightly. He saw the ferocity in Bright's eyes vanish in an instant, replaced by a terrifying calm.
Oops!
The captain's expression changed sharply.
But he never got the chance to shout. Bright's massive left hand had already clamped directly around his neck.
"Fish-Man Karate—Same!"
The muscles in Bright's left arm bulged explosively, and his fingers, hardened through years of combat, dug into the captain's throat like steel hooks.
During more than ten years surviving in Fish-Man District and three years fighting as a member of the Sun Pirates, Bright had never neglected his combat training, not even once.
The Marine captain couldn't scream at all. His airway was crushed, his muscles and bones twisted violently, producing a harsh cracking sound.
"Captain!!"
One of the Marines carrying the stretcher screamed in shock.
After a brief moment of disbelief, the six armed Marines in front and behind finally reacted and raised their guns.
At this distance, Bright didn't even need to aim carefully, and he certainly didn't need the Marine captain to block bullets for him.
And he was not a user of Haki. No matter how strong he was, he was still flesh and blood and could not withstand gunfire directly.
So he sprang up from the stretcher in a single motion, his left arm lifting high as he used the captain's body like a weapon and hurled it forward.
Just like a bowling ball smashing into pins, the four Marines in front were knocked flying, tumbling across the floor in a tangled heap.
Under normal circumstances, bound by seastone handcuffs and heavy shackles, Bright would never have been able to move so violently.
But at the instant he leapt up, the chains on both the handcuffs and shackles snapped simultaneously.
A Marine who had been carrying the stretcher and fell hard to the ground stared in disbelief.
"That's a special alloy chain! Even giants can't break free from that!"
A faint, almost cheerful smile appeared at the corner of Bright's mouth.
So it's not yesterday, nor the day before yesterday, nor the day before yesterday, but today!
Don't underestimate a shark's teeth!
Every night when the lights were turned off, he would curl up quietly, never disturbing anyone. For three full months, he had ground his teeth little by little, polishing all one hundred and seven of them. Finally, he severed the physical restraints binding him.
Clear droplets of water seeped from Bright's palms, gathering instantly. He flicked them forward casually.
"Hit the water."
In the next instant, the two Marines behind him were struck directly and blasted backward.
Perfectly round holes appeared in their chests, as if they had been pierced clean through by heavy-caliber artillery.
Bright landed firmly, his powerful legs driving force into the ground as his body shot forward again.
The Marines who had been smashed aside earlier hadn't even had time to stand up before massive fists came crashing down upon them.
Bang bang bang bang.
After finishing his movement, Bright twisted his body and turned around. The four Marines who had originally carried the stretcher had already drawn their weapons.
Their hands were shaking violently, and some of them even fumbled while loading their guns.
It was fear.
For the first time, they were no longer looking down on him.
"Hit the water."