CHAPTER 27

After parking the old car in a hidden location, Yuri headed towards Iron Heights Penitentiary.

A massive steel structure that rose from the ground, like a mountain forged from steel. The entire "Iron Heights" was surrounded by a seven-meter-high, three-meter-thick iron wall, which was awe-inspiring.

Four watchtowers were located at the four corners of the prison, each with four snipers. Eight snipers were also positioned on the prison's rooftop, two on each side.

Below the wall, prison guards were stationed every five meters, and countless guards patrolled around the prison.

Although it wasn't as strict as having a guard every three steps and a sentry every five steps, it was close.

Wolfe issued an ironclad order to them: if they saw an unidentified person entering the prison or a prisoner attempting to escape, they should shoot to kill without any consideration or waiting for instructions.

Once, a group of robbers tried to rescue their companion, but they were shot dead as soon as they climbed the wall without even showing their heads. In reality, their crimes only required a three-year sentence.

Only one of them was a superhuman, with a right arm twice as thick as a normal person's, while his left arm and legs were normal.

Because of his huge arm, it was difficult for him to move, and he couldn't even run fast. He was caught during his first crime.

As a result, he was fortunate to be imprisoned for three years and released upon completion of his sentence, while his teammates all died.

However, it was said that when he was released from prison, he was in a miserable state, with no good flesh left on his body...

In fact, for the citizens of Midtown, Iron Heights was a very mysterious place. Although Wolfe had made many appearances, no media had ever entered the prison.

As is well known, people are most afraid of and also most attracted to mystery. There were countless urban legends about Iron Heights Penitentiary in the city, with various versions available.

Each version of the Iron Heights legend was accompanied by a bloody, terrifying story, causing people to naturally feel a sense of fear towards the prison.

Yuri grew up listening to these stories, and he knew that the "stories" were usually false, but the terror and danger of Iron Heights might be even worse than in the stories.

"Every three meters on the wall, there is a hidden surveillance camera. The angle of each camera just covers the blind spot of another camera, so there is no blind spot within a 30-meter range near the wall. I'm afraid even a mosquito flying by wouldn't escape the prison's watchful eye."

From a tree hundreds of meters away, Yuri observed the prison environment with a telescope.

"Anyone who can break through this prison must be incredibly powerful."

Yuri thought carefully, and with his current situation, the only ones who could forcefully break into Iron Heights and leave unscathed were probably Four Arms or Diamond Head.

Fortunately, he didn't need to force his way in.

Raising his left hand to reveal the Omnitrix, he chose the most suitable alien hero for infiltration—Ghostfreak.

In fact, before the first time he transformed into Ghostfreak, Yuri had doubts because the Ectonurite race had a racial talent that could be considered a bug: their consciousness could be stored in their DNA. As long as a bit of DNA remained, the Ectonurite would not truly perish.

This talent caused a lot of trouble for the protagonist in the original story, as Ghostfreak gained self-awareness and escaped from the watch.

So, Yuri was initially worried that his frequent use of Ghostfreak might awaken its self-awareness.

But later, he confirmed that this wouldn't happen.

Yuri's omnitrix was different from all the watches that had appeared in the original story. Although he didn't know whether the watch was created by Azmuth or the adult protagonist, it was definitely a masterpiece that eliminated all previous negative effects.

The fact that Ghostfreak's consciousness was stored in its DNA was an Ectonurite racial talent. It wouldn't be difficult to remove this talent through DNA modification technology, but then the sample would no longer be an Ectonurite, which would go against the original design intention of the omnitrix.

Since they couldn't tamper with the DNA, why not tamper with the consciousness instead?

When Yuri first transformed into Ghostfreak, the omnitrix automatically ran a program that removed the original Ghostfreak's consciousness from the sample and allowed Yuri's consciousness to enter the sample, replacing the original Ectonurite consciousness.

In other words, when Yuri transformed into Ghostfreak, he truly became an Ectonurite, and his consciousness was the Ectonurite consciousness.

Therefore, Yuri could confidently transform into Ghostfreak without worrying about it developing self-awareness.

Otherwise, such a convenient and practical DNA sample would be wasted if it could only be stored and collect dust.

—-—

Transformed into Ghostfreak, Yuri boldly floated through the main entrance of Iron Heights, passing through the heavy iron gate as if it didn't exist.

Not a single guard on duty noticed Yuri.

"I only have ten minutes. I must hurry."

Yuri flew over the patrolling guards' heads, although he could have passed through them directly. However, any living being passed through by an Ectonurite would feel a bone-chilling cold, making it easy to detect something was wrong.

Being cautious and careful in everything was always the right choice.

Upon entering the prison, Yuri was greeted by a seemingly bottomless dark corridor, with only a few hanging light bulbs emitting a faint glow.

It was then that Yuri suddenly realized that the entire prison had no windows, and sunlight couldn't enter this gloomy building.

Ordinary people might turn around and leave immediately upon entering such an environment, but for the sunlight-hating Ectonurites, this place was like heaven.

As Ghostfreak, Yuri inevitably carried the Ectonurite's nature, and the dark and gloomy environment made him feel extremely comfortable, with his power even stronger than in normal conditions.

The first floor housed prisoners with the lightest sentences, generally within three years.

The second floor had sentences between three and five years, the third floor between five and ten years, the fourth floor between ten and twenty years, and the fifth floor was the prison's office area.

Then there was the underground level, where criminals with sentences of more than twenty years were held.

The underground second level was quite special, as only extremely dangerous super criminals, as deemed by Warden Wolfe, were imprisoned there.

The underground third level was specifically for those serving life sentences and death row inmates.

That's right, the death penalty existed in Midtown, but only one method was used: lethal injection, similar to other states in the United States that still retained the death penalty.

In this aspect, it was actually better than states like Gotham that had abolished the death penalty.

However, the advantage was minimal, as they couldn't execute other forms of the death penalty when lethal injection failed to kill the criminal.

Yuri's time was limited, so he chose to go to the place most likely to have high-quality samples first, which was the underground second level.

He wasn't very familiar with Warden Wolfe's character, but Yuri believed that anyone who could be the warden of Iron Heights must have good judgment and courage.

Criminals considered extremely dangerous by Warden Wolfe must have terrifying power.

Yuri, as Ghostfreak, floated down to the underground second level, bypassing the security measures with ease. He knew he had to act quickly to find a suitable DNA sample before his time ran out.

As he moved through the dark corridors, he observed the cells of the dangerous criminals, looking for any signs of unique abilities or powers that could be useful to him.

With each passing minute, the pressure to find a suitable sample increased, but Yuri remained focused and determined, knowing that the success of his mission depended on his ability to remain calm and make the right decisions.

*****

A/N: I need stones (In Omen voice.)

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