449 Chapter 449: Escape

With Ling Dan over my shoulder, I reentered the stealth field that Melina's device generated and urged the kids.

"Okay, let's go. Let's get the hell out of here."

Adrian and Melina were still staring at me, unable to comprehend what had just happened. I sighed and gestured with one free hand for them to move.

"We don't want to be still around when they find out that their prisoner is missing from his cell. Hurry."

"Oh, right." Adrian snapped out of it and led the way. A second later, Melina followed, as if in a daze. She glanced at the unconscious Ling Dan propped up on my shoulder.

"Is that really necessary?"

"Yeah. Did you think he'll come along if we ask him to? Didn't you see how he was literally trying to kill me?"

"I saw." Adrian's lips twisted into a sneer. "Ungrateful bastard. If you didn't need him, you would have killed him in retaliation, right, Brother Richard?"

"Uh, what?" I raised my eyebrow at his bloodthirsty declaration. I mean, he wasn't wrong, but that vengeful thought didn't cross my mind. No doubt I would kill an enemy if his actions and aggression warranted it, but I wasn't edgy enough to put it in such a manner. "It depends on the situation, I guess? I don't kill unless absolutely necessary."

Unlike what edgelords espoused, murder was not the solution. You couldn't just go around killing everyone without any hesitation, or what difference would there be between you and a villain? I was aiming to be a hero, not an evil overlord with the desire to conquer the world or something. It wasn't as if I was completely averse to killing – if I felt as if my life or the lives of the people close to me were being threatened, I wouldn't hesitate to slay my enemy. I had done that many times before – against Assassins and whatever.

But the way Adrian made that remark disturbed me. I wasn't some bloodthirsty murderer like some of the edgelords who infested the comment section, or like Chen Fan (or Chen Bei Xuan) or Qin Xuan. Seriously, I was a little taken aback over how these bloodthirsty, ruthless cultivators just killed whoever so much as annoyed them, even over the most trivial of matters. Chen Bei Xuan, in particular – he killed a dude just because the guy refused to bow to him. JUST FOR REFUSING TO BOW TO HIM. Like, what?!

And this was supposed to be the protagonist? What made him any different from the "evil" grand masters and greedy families he was supposed to be defeating?

Not to mention both Chen Fan and Qin Xuan went around wiping out entire families (I had a sneaking suspicion that the author of Rebirth of the Urban Mad Immortal Cultivator just straight-up ripped off Rebirth of the Urban Immortal Cultivator – not that I was in any position to criticize anyone, given how I was just blatantly copying Battle Frenzy and a ton of other anime, web comics or manga). Was there really a need for that? man, good thing China had strict gun control, or you would see a spike in school shootings if every reader buys that whole bullshit of ruthlessness, strong eat the weak, might makes right, etc.

"Killing should always be a last resort," I told Adrian. "When you think there's no other choice, when it comes down to protecting yourself or your loved one, then you take someone's life. However, it should never be a decision made lightly. Webnovel and Qidian writers make it sound so bloody fucking easy, but it's not. They never consider the repercussions. One you take someone's life, it's irreversible. The victim is never coming back – there is no such thing as resurrection magic. Death is permanent. The loss you inflict on their loved ones is tremendous. Think back to your dad. How would you feel if someone kills your parents over a stupid reason such as 'offending' him or just because he happens to be part of the Stuart family, despite not having anything to do with the murderer's grudge?"

If some motherfucker like Chen Bei Xuan or Qin Xuan just decided to wipe out the entire Stuart bloodline, killing Adrian, Sacha, Stewart, Cecilia and their relatives just because of something Lionel did, just to make a stupid point and establish their tyrannical reign over the Federation, I was pretty sure I would go take revenge. I would admit to being extremely hypocritical here, aiming to kill Chen Fan or Qin Xuan out of vengeance for my murdered friends, but partly also because I couldn't allow such a ruthless tyrant to sit on the throne. Who knows how many other families and their innocent relatives he would go eradicate on a whim just because, I don't know, one person tried to kill him?

This was just the height of stupidity. Tyranny never endured. Even the Qin Emperor's dynasty collapsed eventually when he tried to rule by terror and ruthlessness. I honestly didn't know what went on in those Qidian authors' heads.

"I'll kill him!" Adrian shouted, completely missing the point. I would have buried my face in my palm if I wasn't half-carrying Ling Dan's body.

"Okay, sure, and you'll be justified in doing that. But that wouldn't bring your parents back to life, would it?"

"Uh…" Adrian trailed off. "No…"

"Exactly. Prevention is better than cure. Too many edgelords just throw out stupid comments at the side demanding for this person's death or that person's death without considering the consequences or the morality of it. Now, if you have no choice, and if it comes down to kill or be killed, if it involves the lives of yourself or your loved ones, then yes. You are justified in killing. But if there is absolutely no reason for you to kill, if you have the chance to leave the dude alive without anyone else being threatened or in danger, then why resort to murder? Just incapacitate him and leave him to justice. And don't believe that whole 'leaving them alive just so they can return to attack you in future' bullshit that the edgelords beyond the fourth wall spout. I'm not saying let them go. I'm saying, lock them up and leave them to the authorities instead of taking justice into your own hands and becoming the very same criminals that you condemn. We are civilized human beings, not raging psychopaths who murder every antagonist dumb enough to cross our paths."

"Uh, so kill only out of necessity, and don't make the decision lightly?" Adrian asked, finally understanding the point.

"Yeah. People might not realize this, but what goes around comes around. Do unto others what you want others to do unto you. If you want people to respect you, respect them first. If you don't want people to kill you, don't just kill people. Give others the benefit of the doubt, but only apply the whole eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth after the deed is done. Not before."

Respect had to be earned, yes, but that didn't mean you should be rude to others and then expect them to respect you. Obviously if you were rude to others, they were going to be rude to you in return. And you deserved it, no matter how "strong" you were.

By now, we had rounded up the stairs and were jogging up the first level, where the labs were. The corridor was stil as empty as ever. There were a couple of Barbaric Baboons still clawing at the locked doors of the lab, trying to get in, but we ignored them. As we silently snuck past the pair of shrieking monsters that slashed uselessly against the reinforced metal, to no avail. I noted that it was the lab belonging to the old man and his entourage of surviving scientists – the group I had spoken to earlier when pretending to be part of the security staff.

How ironic. They wanted to force Ling Dan's cooperation and pressure him to help them concoct combat drugs or psyhcoindoctrination drugs to brainwash monsters into obeying them, but here I was ferrying away their prisoner right under their noses. Well, not literally – there was still a thick wall of steel and ceramite between us and them, so they couldn't actually see us even if I had Melina deactivate the stealth field. Not that I was going to take the risk, of course.

I tiptoed past the Barbaric Baboons, holding my breath for a few seconds and praying they wouldn't turn around. The two of them chittered, and then moved along the wall, probing for gaps or openings through which they could enter, but they continued to have their backs facing us. Exhaling lightly, I led an extremely nervous Adrian and Melina away from the monsters, almost running out of the corridor.

"What happens if he wakes up?" Adrian asked, pointing at Ling Dan, as if suddenly remembering something after we escaped the view of the monsters. I understood his point. The fucker would certainly make a ruckus, render the stealth field useless and draw unwanted attention to us. Unwanted attention from both the monsters and the Dark Church.

I cynically bet that this bastard would stoop as low as using me and the kids as bait to distract the enemy while he escaped on his own, and I felt rage clutch my gut. Snorting, I deliberately banged Ling Dan's head against the wall for emphasis as we continued moving out into the lobby.

"Hmph. I'll just knock him out again when that happens."

"Sounds like a good idea," Adrian agreed, while Melina watched with wide eyes, obviously wondering if I was overdoing the violence. Hey, at least I wasn't killing the bastard. He tried to kill me, you know?

"Phew…"

We finally managed to get to the lobby, where sporadic gunfire and bestial shrieks resounded from the far end. The small group of security personnel were still holding out, and it sounded as if there were very few Barbaric Baboons left. I spotted a team of security staff rushing toward our position, and then hurriedly had Adrian and Melina take cover behind a bunch of overturned furniture. I also propped Ling Dan's unconscious body against a desk while crouching, my eyes fixed on the small team.

The trio didn't turn in our direction and directly headed into the corridor where the labs were. There was a burst of gunfire, the roar of flames as the mage among them unleashed a fireball spell, and the ferocious screeches of the Barbaric Baboons when they were hit. They were still alive, though, and I heard the three security guards shouting as the pair of monsters lunged at them. From the noise, it seemed that a furious fight was still taking place, so they should be keeping each other occupied for a while.

Now was the chance to keep going. Hauling Ling Dan's body over my shoulder again, I gestured quietly to Adrian and Melina, and they automatically leaped to my side before following me. Swerving around the ground, which was slick with blood and filled with debris, we made our way toward the exit.

The gate was still open and mostly unmanned, probably because the security staff and Dark Church members were too busily focusing on the pack of Barbaric Baboons overrunning their base and couldn't care less if a few of the monsters escaped into the open. Rather, it was better if a few monsters fled back into the mountains, because it meant that they would have less opponents to deal with. And unlike humans, I seriously doubted the Barbaric Baboons will return to take revenge on them, not if they wanted to preserve their lives. It was a moot point, anyway, given that the Silver Wolves had slaughtered all of the Babaric Baboons who had escaped (well, more like they were pursuing our scout team), and even I had a hand in their annihilation.

"Almost there!" I encouraged the two kids, and they nodded, not daring to speak. A few more dozen or so meters and we rushed past the entrance, the air transforming from the stale, sterity of the facility into the fresh wilderness of the mountains.

"Finally!" Adrian gasped as he staggered into the grass, clutching at his chest in relief. Melina nodded as she panted beside him, but she refused to let go of the stealth device, which remained activated. I was glad I didn't have to remind her to keep it on until we reached the forest, where we would be safe with the Silver Wolves.

"Ugh…" on my shoulder, Ling Dan stirred and groaned, and I dropped him onto the ground before kicking him in the solar plexus to knock him out again. Like hell I was going to allow him to jeopardize us all, not when we were so close to freedom. Ignoring the astounded stares from Adrian and Melina, I scooped Ling Dan's unconscious body up again and began jogging up the slope.

"Time to go," I told them, snapping them out of their stupor. They immediately scrambled after me, and somehow we managed to complete the journey to the forest edge without any problem at all. The moment we reached Feng Hai and the rest, I had Melina deactivate the stealth device and march up to the Silver Wolves leader.

Dropping the poor Ling Dan on the ground, leaving him to lay in an undignified heap, I snapped up a salute.

"Target secured, Instructor Feng Hai," I informed him. "But you might want to be careful. This Ling Dan is a little…erratic."