Suppose a criminal is in the middle of committing a crime, and you are a security officer. Would you arrest them?
At a time like that, over ninety-nine percent of security officers would undoubtedly choose to arrest them without a second thought.
But what if the person committing the crime is just a low-level lackey? What if arresting them now would tip off the enemy, causing the mastermind behind the scenes to raise their guard or even escape?
When that time comes, the disasters and consequences brought by the mastermind would be far greater than those of this single lackey.
Under those circumstances, would you still choose to make the arrest?
In truth, this is a variation of the trolley problem.
No matter what you choose, you will regret it in the future.
But for Xia Yitiao, there was never any trolley problem.
Saving lives always came first!
To him, if he didn't save them now, the people in front of him would die. This was reality—a reality happening right at this very moment.
And the future was uncertain. The mastermind might escape, leading to even more deaths.
But they might also suddenly drop dead, leaving them no time to harm anyone else!
If that were the case, wouldn't the people sacrificed now just to 'avoid exposure' have died in vain?
Therefore, for Xia Yitiao, this was never a multiple-choice question.
He would not gamble real human lives today on a probabilistic future!
A perfectly promoted Demigod possessed terrifying strength.
In less than half an hour, he had located all the secret rooms in this 【Prison Escape Room】.
He rescued twenty-one girls and six young boys.
He discovered nine “players” currently in the middle of their games, along with over thirty staff members and more than forty logistics and security personnel.
This place was practically a complete industrial chain.
Players came here to play some 'decompression' games. Once the 'toys' broke, they would be recycled and dismantled, and every single sellable part would be sold off, as if they had never existed in this world in the first place.
Xia Yitiao stood in front of those players and staff members. The spirituality floating behind him transformed into chains, binding them together in a line as he flipped through the surveillance footage he had just copied.
These surveillance videos were secretly recorded by the escape room's boss. After all, the players who could afford to play here were of no ordinary status, so these recordings could be kept as emergency leverage.
“Are you people really human?”
Having finished watching the videos, Xia Yitiao asked a soul-searching question.
“I really want to skin you all to see if some evil spirits are pretending to be human underneath.”
“If you are human, how could you be so cruel to your own kind?”
Hearing this, several of the players paid him no mind at all, and one of them even began to struggle.
With a wave of his hand, Xia Yitiao lifted the 【Silence】, and the man finally regained the power to speak.
“I don't care who you are. Do you know who I am? Do you know what kind of place this is?”
“I don't care what your goal is. I only came here to relax, and you've ruined my fun.”
As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at another middle-aged man.
“Go back and tell your boss that I had a very unpleasant time playing today!”
The man nodded repeatedly, looking deeply apologetic.
They had clearly fallen into Xia Yitiao's hands, yet they didn't seem to take him seriously at all.
It was as if they were absolutely certain he wouldn't kill them.
Only after he finished speaking did he turn back to Xia Yitiao.
“Alright, I don't care what your mission is this time. Call your superior right now and tell him to come see...”
“Sigh.”
Xia Yitiao sighed and waved his hand casually, silencing the man once more.
“I thought you would show some remorse. Do you know? More than ten years ago, I already touched the threshold of Sequence 4. Do you know what that means?”
Hearing this, the expressions of everyone looking at Xia Yitiao changed.
The number of Demigods in Central City was not small; every family even had a few.
Regardless of whether they were artificially 'cultivated' or not, their combat power was at least incomparable to low-Sequence transcendents.
But a Demigod who could touch the threshold of Sequence 4 was of a completely different level of rarity!
In fact, each of them could secure a significant amount of investment.
For example, Su Baadao!
Many people invested in him, partly because his teacher was Wan Tianqing!
Another reason was that his talent and strength were both exceptionally good.
If nothing unexpected happened in the future, his advancement to Sequence 4 was practically set in stone.
And the friendship of a Sequence 4 was incredibly valuable.
Two of the players narrowed their eyes, studying Xia Yitiao carefully, and suddenly shuddered.
They had clearly recognized Xia Yitiao. Instantly, they began to struggle even more violently, though it was unclear whether they wanted to surrender or try to curry favor.
Yet Xia Yitiao acted as if he saw nothing, continuing to speak to himself.
“More than ten years... It really changes a person so much.”
“If it were the me of ten years ago, I would have definitely sent all of you to Headquarters, watched them put you on trial, and made you pay the price you deserve!”
“But the me of ten years later understands a truth: prisons cannot hold you.”
Hearing this, those people struggled even more frantically, their eyes filled with terror as they looked at Xia Yitiao.
They seemed to have guessed what Xia Yitiao planned to do.
Seeing this, Xia Yitiao smiled.
“Look at you, overthinking things, aren't you?”
“As a retired security officer who has enforced the law for most of my life, why would I make an exception for scum like you?”
Hearing this, these people let out a collective sigh of relief, thinking that as long as he didn't kill them directly, everything would be fine.
As for any subsequent trials or jail time, they didn't care in the slightest.
But before they could celebrate for long, they heard Xia Yitiao say in a low, quiet voice.
“So, I will hand the evidence over to your political opponents or enemies, and let them subject you to the judgment of the law.”
Their expressions froze instantly, and they began to struggle even more violently.
Xia Yitiao then looked at the staff members and smiled.
“Your case is much simpler.”
“At best, you are just consumables. No one will care about you.”
...
The next morning, a news story quickly spread throughout Central City.
#Shocking! On the Surface an Escape Room, but in Reality a Life-and-Death Flight?#
This piece of news gained tens of millions of views in a short period, but not long after it began to spread, the story was blocked.
This news prompted countless netizens to start spinning conspiracy theories, while the culprit behind the whole thing was currently leaning against a wall, smoking a cigarette.
“Mr. Xia, please rest assured. Your evidence is very thorough. This scum will definitely face the punishment of justice.”
“Mhm.”
Xia Yitiao acknowledged with a grunt and turned to leave.
“Then I'll leave them to you. Bye.”
“Mr. Xia.”
The captain called out to stop him, waiting until he turned around before speaking.
“The people in the video...”
“Don't worry, they are all in my hands.”
Only then did the captain show a smile.
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