"We’re going to die while trying to escape or die living in this place. We might as well die fighting."

A heavy silence settled over the square.

Back then, fighting to the death had been nothing more than a fool’s dream because they never stood a chance. But now, with capable people standing beside them... that dream suddenly felt possible.

"That damn bastard..." Suddenly, a man hissed as he marched toward the crawling captain. "You bastard!"

He grabbed the captain by the shoulder, flipped him onto his back, and drove his fist straight into his face.

"Motherfucker!" he roared, and struck him with a punch.

And another one. Then another one until everyone lost count.

Everyone watched as years of hatred poured out with every blow.

As if a dam had broken, the timid prisoner who had been forced to fight earlier suddenly screamed.

"You bastard!"

Still sobbing, he rushed over, shoved the other man aside, climbed on top of the captain, and began raining punches down on him.

The blows were weak — everyone could tell. Yet watching him awakened something they hadn’t felt in a long time.

The courage to fight back.

The spirit that once made them men.

The part of themselves they thought had died the day fear took hold of them.

Eventually, the prisoner exhausted himself. He slumped onto the ground, panting heavily.

The captain had already passed out, his nose broken and blood covering his face.

"Let’s fight." Old Fool’s voice suddenly echoed through the square. "Let’s... fight again. One last time."

He slowly straightened his hunched back and looked around at everyone.

"These people have put us through hell!" he shouted. "If we’re going to die, we might as well drag one of them down with us!"

He took a ragged breath.

"Even if we escape this place, these bastards will haunt us for the rest of our lives. I’m done being a prisoner of this place."

"I’m going to beat the hell out of these fuckers!" another prisoner roared.

Soon, more voices joined in and the square erupted with renewed determination.

Gin quietly watched the scene before glancing at Red with a faint smile.

"Things never really go the way he wants," he muttered.

Still, he couldn’t help smiling.

How could he? He could feel the men’s resolve.

Their determination.

The fighting spirit that had finally returned to these men.

Red, meanwhile, frowned and scrunched up his nose.

"Hey!" he shouted, sounding more like he was scolding them. "I told you I’m not asking you to fight with us! Were you even listening?!"

The men paused, but ignored him.

"If three of us gang up on one, we’ll have a better chance!"

"Let’s split into groups!"

"No, first we have injured people here! There are more in the infirmary!"

"And in production!"

"The warehouse too!"

"We have to let them know!"

"Let’s get the injured out first—"

"I’m talking!" Red shouted in disbelief. "Didn’t you hear a single word I said?"

This time, everyone actually stopped and looked at him. Charm and Old Fool exchanged amused chuckles.

"We heard you," Charm said with a smile. "But... isn’t this our fight too?"

Old Fool nodded.

"These people stole our lives. Our spirit. Our identities," he added. "If someone came here to rescue us—or at least burn every inch of this place to the ground—then the least we can do is stand beside the people fighting for the same goal."

"We don’t know why your boss wants this place destroyed," he continued. "But we know exactly why we do."

"Running away doesn’t mean we’ll ever escape this place," another prisoner said quietly. "We all know it’ll keep haunting us."

"Even in our sleep."

"This place is a nightmare," another man said. "One we’ll probably never wake up from, even after we leave."

He lowered his head before continuing.

"I don’t know how to wake up from it. But at the very least... I want to tell myself that when the chance finally came... I fought."

"I fought as hard as I could when someone finally came and gave us a sliver of hope."

"Don’t take that right away from us," Charm said after everyone had spoken.

His eyes met Red’s. "Let us help. Let us fight. Allow us to remember who we were... before we were brought here."

Because many of them had already forgotten.

Not everyone had been thrown into this place because they were criminals.

Like Charm, many had simply become threats to the Di Carpios.

So they were erased.

Forgotten.

Red silently studied every face before him.

Just moments ago, those faces had been filled with fear, shock, confusion, and many more.

Now... He saw something entirely different.

Determination.

Despite the dirt covering their skin...

Despite the bruises and exhaustion...

Their faces looked alive again.

After a long moment, Red sighed.

"Man..." he muttered, scratching the back of his head. "You guys are so damn stubborn."

That earned him a wave of laughter.

"Fine!" Red threw both hands into the air in surrender. "If you want to die, then go ahead and die."

He paused before a subtle grin tugged at the corner of his lips. "But die fighting. And before you do, make sure you take at least one of those bastards with you."

"Beat the living shit out of them first. Shoot them first." He paused. "If you miss, find cover and wait. If it’s tough, run. There’s this so-called tactical retreat. You know the drill."

Gin smiled to himself. "Now, that sounded much more like him."

"Anyway," Red continued, glancing toward the direction where faint gunfire continued echoing, "I don’t know what’s happening over there..."

But he knew one thing.

The battle had already begun.

Just as Red turned back toward the prisoners, the captain let out a weak laugh.

"Hah... ha... ha..."

Everyone looked over in surprise.

He had regained consciousness far sooner than expected.

"Hah... ha..." the captain coughed, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "You roaches..." he wheezed. "You actually think... you can win?"

He laughed again. "You’re all going to die. All of you. Because you actually believe that—"

"You bastard!" the timid prisoner screamed. "I’ll kill you first!"

He climbed back on top of the captain and unleashed another flurry of frantic punches.

Red simply shook his head before looking back at everyone.

"As I was saying, our people have probably started on the other side, and—"

Again, he halted as a deafening screech suddenly blasted through the speakers. Everyone instinctively covered their ears.

Then Ashley’s voice echoed across the entire base.

"Hey! I’m talking to Baldy and the Addict—you know... the idiots running this place. Be careful, you two... I’ll skin you later."

The prisoners exchanged confused looks.

Red and Gin, however... their expressions slowly stiffened.

Both of them realized the same thing.

The command center... was somewhere near the men’s sector. Right where they were.

Then, as if she truly had lost her mind, music suddenly flowed through the speakers.

Fly me to the Moon...

Almost at the same time, the roar of multiple engines echoed from somewhere within the compound. And they were heading straight toward them.

Red groaned and threw both hands into the air.

"Ugh... fuck me!"