Basement Level Two?
What did that mean?
Fuck!
Understanding hit He Zheng like a blow.
He instinctively looked back at the door. White frost coated it, and its biting chill seemed to burrow into his heart.
Fuck!
If Ye Lin was right, they'd started on Basement Level Two. Going up would take them to Basement Level One, and going down would lead to Basement Level Three!
"What are you standing around for? Get down here!"
Ye Lin strode through the acid covering the floor. White vapor hissed up, and pain stabbed through his feet.
He'd avoided it as much as possible, but more kept pouring in. Like a swimming pool filling, it was spreading across the entire first floor.
By the sealed hall's right wall, Huang Bin's corpse resembled a pot of boiling rice porridge. Concentrated acid hissed and steamed through it, eating away half his head.
Luckily, Ye Lin's shoes were made of relatively corrosion-resistant leather. Otherwise, he had no doubt the acid's dehydrating effect would already have charred his feet, leaving bones that crumbled at a touch.
Less than three minutes left!
He reached the lower door, raised the fire axe, and swung at the chain with every ounce of strength he had.
They wouldn't even have to wait for the "danger" at the ten-minute mark.
At the rate the acid was gushing out, it would reach their ankles in three minutes at most. Nobody would be able to remain standing in it then.
The question wasn't just testing whether they could make the right choice. It was testing whether they had the courage to act on it immediately!
Clang!
Metal rang and sparks flew.
The shock through the handle split the skin between his thumb and forefinger.
The chain bore a nick so small he could barely see it. Ye Lin's face darkened, and he turned to roar at He Zheng and the others.
"Two and a half minutes! If we don't break this thing, we're all dead!"
It wasn't only the chain that required He Zheng's strength. The door itself was immensely heavy. Even with the chain broken, pushing it open would be a problem.
Upstairs, He Zheng's expression kept changing.
With his life at stake, he couldn't immediately trust Ye Lin's conclusion.
But perhaps he couldn't find a flaw in it. Perhaps Ye Lin had already performed far better than any newcomer should. Cornered, he felt an urge to gamble.
If he stayed here and failed to guess the password, he'd die. Even if he guessed right, who knew what was behind the door?
What if it really was Basement Level One?
"Fuck!"
Swearing under his breath, He Zheng stopped hesitating. He covered his nose and mouth with his clothes and charged down.
His soles struck the acid, sending up acrid white vapor.
Pain!
The acid gushed louder.
A mechanical rumble sounded. Jets of sulfuric acid erupted from all around the hall like fire hoses, blasting the floor.
Liquid splashed everywhere. When Ye Lin had crossed, it had barely covered the soles of his shoes. Now He Zheng felt as though he were charging through lava, surrounded by splashes of molten iron.
Fast as he ran, a few drops hit his face, making him howl.
"Give me the axe!"
He reached the door first and took the fire axe. Drawing a deep breath, he seemed to swell, his arms thickening before their eyes.
"Fucking break!"
Bending like a drawn bow, he roared and brought the axe down with all his strength.
Clang!
The air seemed to shudder with the shock.
It was a blow that looked capable of splitting a mountain. The impact rang as sharply as two trucks colliding.
He was far stronger than Ye Lin. Sparks sprayed, and a deep notch opened in the finger-thick chain.
The recoil was immense, too. The web of his hand split, veins bulged on his forehead, and blood covered his face like some maddened beast.
Good.
Ye Lin silently exhaled.
He'd thought He Zheng might have been exaggerating.
But the man's strength really was astonishing. Breaking the chain might not be impossible.
A few points could make someone this strong? Those points really were valuable.
Pushing the thought aside, Ye Lin looked back at the four people still upstairs.
Perhaps Huang Bin's death had terrified them. Apart from Zhang Tie, who was holding up somewhat better, their legs shook so badly they couldn't bring themselves to come down.
Lin Ya hid behind another tall girl like an ostrich burying its head. She couldn't even look up.
"I don't want to... I don't want to go down..."
"Zhang Tie! Bring them down!"
"If you can't, come alone!"
They still needed hands to push the door. Ye Lin shouted for Zhang Tie to stop wasting time.
He had neither the capacity nor the intention to squander sympathy on strangers.
If they were too scared to face even this much danger, they'd die in the next round even if they survived this one.
"I... I got it!"
Zhang Tie answered gruffly. He glanced at the two girls behind him, then reached for Hu Jia.
"Hu Jia! You've got thick shoes. Take Lin Ya. She's light!"
"I'll take An Ke!"
The acid was already deep. Although the floor below served as an outlet, it had risen halfway up a finger joint.
An Ke and Lin Ya both wore sneakers. Their thin rubber soles wouldn't last ten seconds in strong acid. Falling would be almost a death sentence.
"No! I can't! I can't carry anyone!"
Terrified at being told to take someone across, Hu Jia hurried out of reach.
He wasn't particularly frail, but with his life on the line, he didn't dare help anyone. His fingers were injured, too. One mistake could cost him his life.
"You don't have to carry her! Just hold each other up...!"
"No need. I can make it myself."
Before Zhang Tie could finish getting angry at Hu Jia's cowardice, the normally quiet An Ke spoke.
She dropped her jacket, then stripped off her short-sleeved shirt without hesitation and wrapped it around the soles of her shoes. Only a white tank top remained on her upper body.
"Have Lin Ya take off her jacket, too. Wrap it around your face!"
Picking up her own jacket to cover her lower face, An Ke spoke rapidly.
"The sulfuric acid produces a corrosive aerosol as it evaporates. We're upwind for now, so we're fine. But once we're down there, one deep breath could burn your windpipe!"
Zhang Tie nodded blankly, surprised that An Ke was calmer than he was. Before he could say anything else, she hurried downstairs.
She was so fast that she overtook Hu Jia outright.
Even Ye Lin couldn't help giving her another look.
He'd been about to remind Zhang Tie of that danger himself. He hadn't expected her to think of it, too.
Fast. But from the way she moved, she'd done more than study dance.
...
Downstairs, at the door.
"One, two, three! Push!"
Bang!
"He Zheng! How much longer?"
"Can't! I can't cut through!"
Clang!
A dull crack rang out. He Zheng shouted in shock as the axe nearly flew from his hands and rebounded into his face.
He'd almost split his own skull. With no time to be afraid, he yelled,
"The axe is chipped!"
It was the worst possible news. Everyone turned. A chunk the size of a baby's fist was missing from the red fire axe's blade.
The brutal hammering had pushed it past its limit.
"Ye Lin! What do we do?"
Seeing He Zheng, and everyone else, look to him in panic, Ye Lin felt his heart sink.
The worst had happened.
Only a little of the chain remained intact, but with the axe ruined, He Zheng's strength was useless.
Unless...
"Ye Lin!"
He Zheng was beside himself. When Ye Lin said nothing, he couldn't help shouting again.
Somewhere along the way, he'd begun placing his hopes in this newcomer. If Ye Lin couldn't find a solution, he had no idea what to do.
"Use the acid."
"What?"
He Zheng stared. Ye Lin repeated himself expressionlessly.
He looked down at the sulfuric acid and understood. But faced with a liquid that could dissolve bone, he couldn't bring himself to touch it.
As though seeing his fear, Ye Lin took a deep breath and looked coldly toward the first floor.
"I'm not telling you to scoop it up with your hands!"
"Use Huang Bin's body! Bring it down! Use his body, his skull, as a bowl!"
Everyone's expression changed. Even He Zheng, who prided himself on having seen a thing or two, shuddered.
He understood. But just imagining it...
"We're running out of time!"
"You're the only one who can bring the body down."
"Wait any longer and there won't be anything left to use!"
At Ye Lin's emotionless words, He Zheng clenched his fists, struggling with himself.
He was right. Any longer, and there might not even be bones left. Disgusting as it was, it beat dying here.
"Fuck it! I'll go!"
"I have to do every fucking thing! If we get out alive, you're paying me ten points!"
He made up his mind, threw the fire axe to Zhang Tie, and charged toward the first floor.
Ye Lin watched him run and scream in pain, offering no answer. He simply waited.
He Zheng wasn't much of a good man, but he had guts, and he was useful.
"Ye... Ye Lin. Aren't you scared?"
Clutching the axe, Zhang Tie asked nervously, perhaps because Ye Lin seemed so composed.
They'd put clothes under their feet to delay the acid, but they didn't have long. In mere tens of seconds, they could all be dead.
"Being scared won't help."
Ye Lin shook his head, offering no further explanation.
The acid needed time to eat through the chain. Pushing the door would take time, too. If He Zheng didn't get back with the body in twenty seconds, they would all die.
Ye Lin drew his pistol and counted silently.
Nineteen...
Seventeen...
...
Sixteen...
Five...
"Get out of the way!"
At the end of the stairs, He Zheng roared and charged like a maddened beast.
White vapor hissed from his arms. A deep hole had been burned into the back of the hand gripping the corpse.
He didn't know whether he was holding Huang Bin's spine or intestines. All he wanted was to smash the body against that fucking chain before the acid in its abdomen finished leaking out!