Spine-backed Dragon Form!

Looking at the male corpse lying motionless on the ground, Bai Yuze, to prevent the creature from waking up again, pulled the kitchen knife out of its head and hacked off its other hand.

The stinging pain in his palm continued to irritate his nerves; he lifted his left hand and let out a sigh of relief as he watched the wound on his palm slowly heal.

Wounds caused by a Zhenxie Guiqi to a supernatural entity are impossible to erase, and Bai Yuze's actions were also a test to see if he could still be considered human after being strengthened by the Gui Dan.

The result did not disappoint him; he was merely an ordinary person with a slightly stronger healing ability.

Tap, tap, tap—

Bai Yuze stood up abruptly, looking toward the direction the sound was coming from.

"Another supernatural entity?"

But upon seeing who was approaching, Bai Yuze froze for a moment.

He saw Yukino slowly approaching while draped in a bedsheet; she had tried her best to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible, but in front of Bai Yuze, who was currently under the influence of the Gui Dan, she had nowhere to hide.

"Is that you, Yukino?"

Bai Yuze called out, though his right hand remained tightly gripped around the kitchen knife.

Upon hearing Bai Yuze's voice, Yukino stopped her advance, but she did not speak.

Seeing this, Bai Yuze realized that she was afraid the sound she had heard earlier had been made by a supernatural entity.

Therefore, Bai Yuze picked up his flashlight and shone it toward Yukino.

The warm light was not blinding, allowing Yukino to clearly see Bai Yuze's figure in the beam.

"Is that you, Bai-kun?"

Once Yukino confirmed Bai Yuze's identity, she quickened her pace, but before she could take more than a few steps, Bai Yuze stopped her.

"Don't come any closer yet; keep a safe distance."

Bai Yuze couldn't be sure if the Yukino in front of him was the real one; who knew if this basement contained some monster capable of disguising itself as others?

Besides, Bai Yuze had just gone through a life-or-death struggle, and his nerves were currently frayed, much like a stressed-out, defensive animal.

He wasn't in the mood for anyone; even a stray dog passing by would have been met with a blade.

Yukino also knew that Bai Yuze's current state was unstable; she had come to the basement specifically because she heard the sounds of fighting and wanted to confirm if it was him.

As a cat lover, Yukino didn't know what to do when a human was stressed, but she knew how to handle a stressed cat, so she stopped in her tracks, not even caring as water droplets fell onto her.

"Bai-kun, don't be nervous."

"I know, but first, tell me how you survived."

While his words claimed trust, his eyes never left her for a second; if Yukino showed even the slightest sign of being "off," the kitchen knife in his right hand would fly toward her head within 0.5 seconds to perform a craniotomy.

"Since the Gate of Life that Yuigahama Yui and I found could only accommodate one person, I decided to head toward the Green Gate. During that time, I kept hoping in my heart that I could avoid the pursuit of the supernatural, which is how I've managed to survive until now."

Yukino laid out the entire sequence of events, yet Bai Yuze's vigilance did not diminish in the slightest.

"Then why, when I wished in my heart to find your location, did so many coordinates appear?"

"Related to me? You mean the bedsheets, right? To prevent the supernatural from tracking me by scent, I specifically tore up the bedsheet I was wearing, hid pieces in various rooms along the hallway, and then changed into new sheets from those rooms, repeating the process."

Upon hearing Yukino's answer, Bai Yuze calmed down. Indeed, what he had wished for in his heart was "something related to Yukino," and since the bedsheets were draped over her, they were naturally related to her.

"One last question: you've been moving in the dark for so long, didn't you encounter any supernatural entities?"

"No."

Yukino shook her head. She had been busy trying to escape and hadn't had the time to carefully observe her surroundings, so even if the environment had changed, she wouldn't have noticed.

Bai Yuze fell silent, only reacting when a droplet of water from the ceiling landed on him.

"I believe you. Come over."

Bai Yuze believed that the Yukino before him was the real one because he noticed that her clothing had been partially corroded by the water droplets, and the skin underneath showed signs of chemical burns—injuries clearly caused by not being able to cover her body while running.

At the same time, through his enhanced vision, he saw a droplet land on her; although Yukino didn't react as if she were in pain, Bai Yuze saw her pupils contract for a split second.

This was a physiological trait that humans cannot hide when they are injured.

"What about Yuigahama Yui?"

After approaching Bai Yuze, Yukino first asked if Yuigahama Yui had escaped safely; upon receiving an affirmative answer, she let out a sigh of relief.

The prolonged high-pressure environment and the urgency of the escape had kept Yukino's nerves taut, and the sudden relaxation nearly caused her to lose her footing.

Fortunately, Bai Yuze was quick-witted and caught her.

"Thank you for coming to save me."

Facing Yukino's gratitude, Bai Yuze offered a faint smile.

"Don't mention it. I would have come here regardless of whether you were here or not."

"But you could have easily waited until tomorrow."

Yukino also revealed a smile; she could finally let go of her frayed nerves and catch her breath.

"Heh, it was just on the way. How is the situation on your end?"

"Not very smooth. I couldn't find any other Gate of Life. That Green Gate requires a key to open, and I suspect that the Green Gate is the true path to survival."

Yukino told Bai Yuze what had happened afterward; no matter how she searched, she could not find the other Gate of Life, as if it simply did not exist, while the only Green Gate required a key, and there were eerie corpses chasing her from behind.

Facing such a situation, it was truly a testament to her strength that Yukino hadn't suffered a breakdown.

Draped in bedsheets, the two exchanged information in the hallway.

"I see. No wonder I always felt something was off; it turns out I was being influenced by the weirdness here?"

After hearing Bai Yuze's deduction, Yukino had an instant epiphany. She had always felt that the hints carried a sense of urgency, and everything was far too coincidental, just like a play that had been scripted in advance.

One might even think a dragon was about to appear, and after defeating it, one would become a true hero!

"Let's go take a look first; staying here won't do us any good."

Bai Yuze handed the flashlight to Yukino, while he dragged the male corpse behind her, draped in a bedsheet himself.

"Is this corpse still of any use?"

Yukino was somewhat puzzled. Dragging it along was clearly a burden; wouldn't it be enough to just pull out the scalpel? Its hands had already been severed anyway, so it posed no threat, and at worst, they could just cut off its legs too.

"This corpse is not affected by the corrosive water droplets, which means this guy won't naturally disappear if left here. Leaving him behind is equivalent to a hidden danger, and keeping him might prove useful later on."

"Whatever makes you happy."

Yukino said no more and focused on walking ahead.