The journey went smoothly enough. The worst never happened.
He Zheng wasn't sure he had guessed correctly. Honestly, if Ye Lin really intended to do that, he wouldn't know what to do.
He might act as though he didn't care whether the others lived or died, but he had never actually spilled another human being's blood.
However ruthless he was, it had never gone beyond refusing to save someone.
...
"The lights are still on here? There's got to be something good inside!"
Pushing aside his thoughts, He Zheng felt a huge sense of relief at the white light ahead.
It was the first time they had seen lights this bright. Delighted, he hurried to the entrance and shoved the partly closed door aside.
Excitement filled his eyes at the sight of a storeroom covering several thousand square meters.
They couldn't have asked for better news.
Lights meant electricity. This biological weapons area was still functioning normally.
He wasn't educated, but even he knew that things like anesthetics needed refrigeration.
Ye Lin, however, frowned instead of celebrating.
"Having power isn't a good thing."
"Huh?"
He Zheng raised an eyebrow in confusion. Before he could ask, Ye Lin sighed and pointed ahead.
"See those refrigerated cases?"
"Can you get past the fingerprint scanners? Or do you have the passwords?"
Ye Lin turned and quickly instructed Zhang Tie and the others.
"This place is huge. We have to split up. If you see anything you can take, bring it out. Don't worry about what it is. I'll identify it afterward."
"Be careful. If anything seems wrong, call out immediately."
With no more wasted words, Ye Lin strode toward the rear of the storeroom.
The biological armory resembled a server farm, with thousands of refrigerated units arranged in tiers. A quick look told him that most of the front section contained biological preparations. To the left were unidentified biological limbs.
Despite the armory's name, the supplies at the front were clearly intended for research.
Thinking along the same lines, He Zheng began assigning areas.
"I'll take the right. Zhang Tie, you and Hu Jia go to the rear left. As for you..."
Lin Ya stood silently, clearly frightened of being alone. He Zheng frowned in irritation.
"What are you looking at? Don't expect to follow me. Just search wherever. If you're scared, keep watch by the door."
"No... That's not what I meant. I... I can help search too."
"It's just... It's just..."
"What about An Ke?"
They were both girls, and An Ke wasn't any older than her, but she had looked after Lin Ya the whole way. Lin Ya had almost come to rely on her for all sense of safety.
"An Ke?"
"Hah. Don't worry about her. She's a lot safer than you are."
He Zheng was surprised, but he couldn't be bothered with someone who still didn't understand the situation.
He checked his watch. Seeing no death notification, he turned away.
An Ke should be fine. The plan had been to lure the Aberrants to her, but they had turned back halfway.
Compared with the rest of them, she couldn't have been safer.
Before he had passed more than a few refrigerated cabinets, a heavy crash suddenly rang out in the distance.
He Zheng started and instinctively looked toward the sound.
Shit! It had come from the way they entered.
That door had been broken open!
"Ye Lin!"
"The monster's inside!"
Shocked and furious, He Zheng shouted a warning to Ye Lin, who was still searching.
Five minutes...
No. Two!
The armory was a fair distance from the laboratory entrance, but at an Aberrant's speed, it could be here in two minutes at most.
And anything capable of breaking through that door had to be far stronger than an ordinary Aberrant!
He couldn't even imagine how it had done it!
As if things weren't bad enough, a screech rang from the back of the storeroom like a death knell.
Heavy objects toppled. Hu Jia's cries for help followed at once.
"Help me! Brother He, help!"
"A monster! There's a monster hiding in here!"
...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Get away! Get the fuck away!"
Between the rows of refrigerated cabinets, Zhang Tie frantically pushed over the surrounding units, trying to block the charging Aberrant.
It had happened too suddenly.
If the monster hadn't been trapped here so long that its body had shrunk, he had no doubt he would already be dead.
He was covered in blood. One swipe had nearly ripped his belly open.
The pain made him shake!
There was no room to swing his long pole. Hu Jia, who had been with him, had fled the instant the Aberrant appeared.
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The Aberrant screeched, its split jaws opening to their limit.
Springing quickly past an overturned cabinet, it launched itself straight at Zhang Tie's head.
Zhang Tie's face went white at the sight of the bloody maw that seemed intent on swallowing him whole. His heart raced.
He had killed an Aberrant before, but the others had been there!
On his own, he couldn't possibly defeat this monster. He couldn't even escape.
What could he do? What could he do?!
The storeroom covered thousands of square meters. It would take the others at least ten seconds to reach him!
On the brink of death, blood like molten lava surged through his limbs.
A second. Perhaps two.
As the ragged mouth loomed larger and larger, an overwhelming will to live erupted inside him.
He didn't want to die. He absolutely did not want to die here!
He had no idea how to survive. But some animal instinct seemed to tell him that as long as his head wasn't bitten off, he could live a few seconds longer!
Eyes bloodshot, adrenaline surging to its limit, Zhang Tie suddenly roared. Like a madman, he lowered his head and charged the leaping Aberrant!
Putting everything into that collision, he actually knocked the creature off course.
Bang!
Like two trucks crashing head-on, Zhang Tie slammed into the Aberrant. The tremendous impact sent him flying backward.
Flat on his back, he clutched his chest in agony. Broken ribs stabbed into it like steel needles.
Ducking his head had saved him from the bite, but a sharp claw had grazed his shoulder, sending blood spraying.
He had no time to catch his breath. Facing the thoroughly enraged Aberrant, he could only force himself up, grab the steel rod from the floor, and swing desperately.
His resistance meant nothing. No matter how hard he fought, he couldn't hurt the monster.
Even if Ye Lin had been there, he couldn't have saved him without bullets.
But Zhang Tie refused to be eaten without even putting up a fight!
The Aberrant snarled, instinctively irritated by the struggling bug before it.
Having gone so long without food, it was nearly out of strength too. Two failed attacks had exhausted what little patience it possessed.
It leaped again, abandoning its attempt to eat him headfirst.
Its jaws split wide, snapping straight at Zhang Tie's unprotected legs.
It would bite this bug apart, grind him down bit by bit, and swallow him!
"Duck!"
Suddenly, almost at the instant the Aberrant bit down, Ye Lin's voice rang out.
Zhang Tie's heart jolted. Reflected in the creature's eye, a figure standing on a refrigerated cabinet raised a gun and opened fire.