Ren moved like a small shadow in the wet corridors of Sector 2. His body, a mere seven years old, was almost soundless amidst the heavy breathing of the exhausted, sleeping slaves. Vane had already initiated a small disturbance at the far end of the main room—intentionally loud shouts and whip cracks—causing most of the regular wardens to rush over there. That gave Ren the opening he needed.
He slipped behind an iron pillar, his sharp eyes monitoring the brightly glowing Lacrima on the eastern wall. The giant blue Lacrima orb pulsed like a living heart, with thick Ethernano pipes crawling from its core up to the ceiling, supplying power to the chains of all 300 slaves in this sector.
In front of the Lacrima, 5 wardens armed with Lacrima weapons stood on high alert. Two of them held Ethernano rifles, another carried a glowing baton, and the last two were ready with Lacrima shields. They were the special guards of the Lacrima room—the most dangerous ones in Sector 2.
Ren exhaled softly. Bungee Gum manifested at his fingertips, elastic and glossy like living bubblegum. He didn't attack right away. He observed first.
The perfect timing, he murmured to himself.
With one swift motion, Ren released Bungee Gum from his right index finger. The gum extended like an invisible whip, arching across the dark ceiling before adhering to the back of the neck of the guard at the very end. Its sticky property activated instantly.
SREEEET!
The warden jolted, but before he could scream, the Bungee Gum pulled him backward with incredible elastic force. His body was thrown into the darkness, his head hitting an iron pillar with a soft thud. He was knocked unconscious immediately.
The other 4 wardens instantly whirled around.
"Who—?!"
Ren was already in motion. He made a small leap, attaching Bungee Gum from his left hand to the ceiling, swinging his body like a bungee jump. In a split second, he was behind the second warden. The gum in his right hand wrapped around both of the warden's arms at once—super sticky and super elastic. The warden tried to break free, but the harder he pulled, the stronger the gum pulled back.
"A kid?! What the—?!"
Ren twisted his wrist. The Bungee Gum twisted the warden's arms like rubber bands, forcing him down to his knees. A sharp, precise kick to the nape of the neck—aided by a slight push of the gum's power—and the warden collapsed.
The last two wardens raised their rifles.
"Intruder! Alarm—!"
But Ren was already faster. He released Bungee Gum from both hands simultaneously. Two strands of gum shot out like arrows, sticking to the barrels of the two wardens' rifles. Then Ren pulled both of his hands back with full force.
Bungee Gum—Contract! The Lacrima weapons snapped back violently into their own faces. BAM! BAM! Two Ethernano blasts exploded in the air, but they hit the ceiling instead of Ren. The two wardens staggered back, their faces burned by the shards of their own Lacrimas.
Ren landed in front of the Lacrima. His hand extended, and he punched directly into the center of the orb.
CRACK!
Blue fractures spread like a spiderweb. The Ethernano inside began to leak, and the pipes on the ceiling vibrated violently. But the Lacrima was still intact.
Ren smiled faintly—the smile of a child at play, but his eyes were cold.
"Still not hard enough, huh?"
He took two steps back and leaped high into the air. Bungee Gum from both of his feet adhered to either side of the Lacrima, pulling his body back like a slingshot. At the apex of his leap, he spun his body and hammered the Lacrima with his small right fist, the blow amplified by maximum elastic spring force.
BOOM!
The Lacrima shattered into pieces. Blue light exploded like fireworks, but without heat. All the Ethernano pipes on the ceiling went dead instantly. The iron chains across the entire main room rattled loudly and fell limp to the stone floor. All the slave chains in Sector 2 detached immediately.
Screams of victory and confusion exploded from hundreds of slaves. Vane laughed loudly in the distance,
"That's it! Now you are free!"
The last three wardens who were still conscious tried to run for the alarm button, but Ren was ready. Bungee Gum shot from his hands like a living spiderweb. Within seconds, the three wardens were tightly bound, their arms and legs wrapped in gum they couldn't tear. They fell to the floor, rolling around helplessly.
Ren stood in the middle of the Lacrima debris, which was still smoking blue. He was breathing a bit heavily, but his eyes were filled with satisfaction. The Bungee Gum slowly vanished from his hands, leaving a small sticky residue on the floor.
"Sector 2... complete," he murmured softly.
In the distance, Vane was already leading the newly freed slaves toward the tool storage to grab weapons. The planned chaos had officially exploded. Ren wiped the sweat from his forehead with his dirty sleeve.
"One Lacrima down."