"I'll go..."
Silently mouthing the words, An Ke untied the elastic holding her ponytail and fastened it to the steel rod, explaining with her hands and lips.
"There are broken wires over there. I can climb into the ventilation duct and pull it to make noise."
"Once they come, I can still get away through the duct."
The method wasn't complicated. An Ke glanced at the ventilation duct above them. With her build, she could easily fit inside and move quickly.
If she tied a wire to the other end of the rod, she could even make noise from a distance, then crawl back herself.
Everyone was surprised. Even Hu Jia hadn't expected An Ke to volunteer in his place.
Before he could give her a grateful look, she quickly took off her shoes and crept toward the other end of the corridor.
"One minute!"
She signaled the time with her hand, tapped her watch, and motioned for everyone to get moving.
She wasn't trying to save Hu Jia. To her mind, doing it herself was much "safer." After all, nobody could be certain Hu Jia wouldn't hide and then become too frightened to make a sound.
Besides, Ye Lin wasn't entirely wrong. Even if she didn't crawl back to join them, hiding somewhere would be safer.
Without hesitation, Ye Lin and He Zheng exchanged a look and nodded.
They waved everyone back around the corner to the right, then waited for An Ke to act.
...
Fifty-eight...
Fifty-nine...!
Pressed against the wall, they waited until almost the final second.
A metallic crash rang out in the distance, as piercing as thunder on a rainy night.
The statue-still Aberrants moved as one. Locating the sound, they screeched and rushed toward it.
Watching them in the mirror, He Zheng released a huge inward sigh of relief. His spirits rose!
There was no time to marvel at An Ke's work. Once every Aberrant had rounded the corner, he grabbed his weapon and sprinted.
"Go!"
Mouthing the command, they hurried toward the laboratory as fast as they could, trying to keep their footsteps quiet.
Barely a dozen seconds later, He Zheng, the fastest, slid to a stop beside the corpse and kicked the key toward Ye Lin.
"Quick, Ye Lin! Open it!"
Dried bloody handprints covered the heavy laboratory door. They had no idea what lay beyond it, but all they could do now was gamble.
Stooping to snatch up the key, Ye Lin rushed straight to the door.
It went far more smoothly than expected. The key slid into the lock. With the heavy movement of machinery, the five-centimeter-thick alloy door slowly opened.
The stench of rot rushed out, along with a glow of red light.
Ignoring the foul smell, Ye Lin slipped inside and aimed his pistol into the darkness. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Before he could see what was in there, a piercing alarm blared overhead.
"Warning! Intrusion detected. Emergency mode engaged!"
Fuck!
Ye Lin's expression changed, shock and anger surging through him.
He had never expected the laboratory's alarm to still be working.
The Aberrants hadn't gone far. If they were drawn back from this distance, everyone would die!
"Run!"
Shoving the door as wide as it would go, Ye Lin shouted at the others.
He hardly needed to. At the back of the group, Hu Jia screamed and slipped to the floor in terror.
He could already hear the Aberrants screeching. They were so close they sounded right behind him!
"Hu Jia! Crawl! Hurry up and crawl!"
Everyone except Zhang Tie had made it inside. Seeing him still waiting, Hu Jia broke down. In his terror, he even began to hate himself for being such a coward.
If he'd known the Aberrants would come back this quickly, he might as well have gone to lure them away himself!
"My legs won't work!"
His voice broke into a sob. Injured already, he felt as if all strength had drained from his legs. He couldn't even stand.
"Zhang Tie! Leave him!"
From behind the door, He Zheng roared at Zhang Tie not to be an idiot.
At this distance, wasting another second might cost him his own life, never mind whether he could save Hu Jia.
Zhang Tie's eyes filled with conflict. Then, despite He Zheng's angry shout, he dropped his weapon and ran back toward Hu Jia.
"Grab my hand!"
He hauled Hu Jia up, heaved him onto his back, and ran.
But another person was too heavy. Even putting everything he had into it, veins bulging across his forehead, Zhang Tie couldn't run fast enough.
A fishy stench filled the air. With the relentless screeching behind them, the stretch of less than ten meters felt like an impassable chasm.
On Zhang Tie's back, Hu Jia was utterly desperate. Staring at the bloody jaws snapping toward him, he could almost see himself being torn apart.
Bang!
A gunshot cracked.
On the slick surface, it couldn't immediately get up. The Aberrants charging behind it collided with its body.
Hu Jia looked up, staring blankly at Ye Lin, who had fired from inside the doorway. Before he recovered, several hands dragged him and Zhang Tie inside.
"Shut it!"
Bang!
The door slammed closed. In the darkness, they collapsed to the floor, gulping air.
Almost as soon as it shut, a series of violent impacts hammered the other side.
They were so powerful it felt as though the door had barely managed to hold!
"Brother... Th-thank you..."
Shaken, Zhang Tie looked at Ye Lin with gratitude. He had wanted to save someone, but he knew exactly how "stupid" his actions had been.
If Ye Lin hadn't been such a good shot, he and Hu Jia would both have died outside.
Under the red emergency lights, Ye Lin's expression was hard to make out.
He sighed softly and gave a slight shake of his head.
"That was my last bullet..."
He hadn't been trying to save Hu Jia. He had been saving Zhang Tie.
If Zhang Tie died too, He Zheng would be the only fighter left in the entire team.
Ignoring their stunned expressions, he raised his head to look across the enormous laboratory complex. Beneath the red lights, everything about the place felt unsettling.
Corpses whose shapes they couldn't make out floated in row upon row of transparent tanks.
On the wall at the far end was a map of the laboratory area.
"Toxin Synthesis Lab"
"Anti-Creature Armory"
...
"Mutagenic Chamber"
...
Following Ye Lin's gaze, the others stared. They weren't certain of the exact meanings, but the symbols on the map gave them a rough idea.
They were looking for the Anti-Creature Armory, marked with what appeared to be an ammunition symbol. But a region filled in with deep black made every heart jolt.
Even He Zheng's mouth fell open.
He might not have had much education, but there were some words he recognized!
Especially when that black region contained only one word, dominating their view.
"[GOD]!"