Too much happened this day, leaving Hafeez's mind completely blank.

He didn't understand why Marshall would incite a riot in the prison.

This Lower City scumbag neither wants them on trial nor ever planned to let them escape from here. Unmoved by temptations, his true intent is unknown.

Hafeez knew people like this are the most terrifying.

Once someone like Marshall gains power...

"Why, Marshall!"

He summoned his courage, interrupting Marshall's negotiation with the prisoners. The explosive demise of a prisoner was still vivid to him, and the others dared not advance rashly.

This was a game played with lives as its stakes.

"Bang—!"

An unexpected gunshot answered Hafeez. He was stunned until his right leg lost support, collapsing onto the ground as the searing pain surged through him, rendering both Hafeez and the gathering prisoners incredulous.

A mere Lower City scumbag had shot mercilessly through the former mayor's knee!

A complete lunatic now seemed, in their eyes, like some other creature wrapped in human skin.

"You're insane, Marshall!"

The prisoners questioned him.

Each joined the riot harboring different motives; after witnessing the unstoppable beast breach through C2's defenses, some truly believed they could escape this nightmarish place. Others were simply eager to unleash the anger pent up from years of confinement.

But none came seeking death.

The night before the Upper City officials were brought in, the acting Prison Warden had personally addressed them, outlining these individuals' significance.

They were all subjects of Saint Mary's direct attention, with an imminent trial promising unprecedented changes for Oasis City, using these people as stepping stones toward reform.

Foremost among them was Mayor Hafeez.

If they killed Hafeez here, it would be equivalent to declaring war against Saint Mary and the entire Church Court, a folly beyond anyone with a brain.

"Bang, bang bang—!"

Several more gunshots rang out; Marshall ignored the prisoners' protests, his face never losing its fanatical and sweet smile.

Both of Hafeez's legs had been pierced by bullets, the last shot avoiding vital areas, hitting his abdomen. He lay curled on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Marshall had gone mad!

Not merely aiming to kill Hafeez, but reveling in the execution's process.

"Stop it! Anyway, he's as good as dead; soon he'll be sent to the scaffold!"

The prisoners shouted, "If you want revenge, parading him for everyone to see would be more satisfying, wouldn't it?"

Even they hadn't anticipated this scene.

When the beast tore open their cells, letting them escape, everyone was prepared to cause chaos before the guards.

But now, they found themselves in the role of guards, persuading an armed psychopath to spare his hostage.

What blasphemous reversal!

"Revenge?"

An amused sneer responded to them, "Why seek revenge? Did he ever do anything to me?"

"Then why are you—"

"I admire him greatly."

The cell fell silent, even Hafeez momentarily stopped his wailing, eyes filled with shock.

Marshall admired him greatly.

The form of admiration was to shoot through his legs, intentionally avoiding vital areas to prolong the execution.

No one could grasp Marshall's mindset, thus they suddenly felt Marshall was more terrifying than the previous beast.

"He was this city's former mayor, meaning if he wished someone dead, tomorrow you'd find their half-buried corpse in the sand outside the city."

Marshall stated, "The power to judge life and death—don't you find it wonderful?"

That power transformed Hafeez in the eyes of Lower City's people, appearing as a different species, their ruler.

And now, he only had to shift the gun muzzle slightly and pull the trigger again to end this 'ruler's' life.

"Don't you understand yet?"

He glanced at the prisoners, his gaze ultimately landing on those heart-shaped, pulsing red fruits in the basket, "Before God, even the mayor is but a crushable ant at Their whim, and now the Goddess has offered you a chance to transcend everything."

Marshall aimed the gun at Hafeez's brow, "Of course, that includes you."

In that moment, Hafeez finally understood.

This was never about justice or revenge; Marshall simply reveled in the freedom to decide one's life or death.

This riot's nature was the same.

Neither rescue nor revenge but to relish chaos, a celebration akin to the eve of an apocalypse.

"Mayor Hafeez, swallow the fruit meant for you."

Marshall commanded, "Or else the next bullet will blow your brains out."

This was an open conspiracy, also a gamble.

The roulette now pointed at him.

If he ate the whole fruit, he might gain power stronger than the Security Office's director, or explode like that unfortunate prisoner earlier. But if he didn't do as Marshall said, he had no doubt this madman would really pull the trigger.

Hafeez never let himself fall into a dilemma, but now he had no choice.