Rescuing "Doctor"

Anna's scream cut through the silence of the night like a knife.

The sounds of dragging, struggling, and bodies hitting walls with dull thuds came through the crack in the equipment room door. Every detail was chillingly clear. Lin Xiao could picture it: two Purge Squad members hauling Anna by the arms, her feet dragging across the floor, the hem of her lab coat sweeping through the dust as she kept resisting with the last of her strength.

Su Ying's fingers rested on Lin Xiao's arm. No words were exchanged, but the pressure came through her tactical glove—she was asking him with her eyes: Should they save her?

Lin Xiao's mind calculated frantically. Rescue success rate: if there were only two of them, he and Su Ying could launch a surprise attack and end it quickly, perhaps within three minutes. But the risks were clear: gunfire would draw the other Purge Squad members; their position would be fully exposed; their only retreat route was the drainage pipes, and there was no telling whether they were passable; Grey Falcon was still fighting desperately and could not support them.

Anna's value: a top biotechnology expert, someone the future Continental Hotel desperately needed. She knew the Radical Faction's experimental work and might know the truth about Asset K. She still had a conscience. She would be furious over the destruction of the samples.

Time was slipping away. The dragging sounds were moving downstairs, and the footsteps were growing more distant.

Three seconds. Lin Xiao made his decision.

He looked at Su Ying and nodded.

Hand signals flashed rapidly through the darkness.

Lin Xiao held up three fingers, then pointed downstairs—rendezvous below in three minutes. Su Ying nodded, pointed at herself, then toward the other side of the equipment room—she would go down first and clear the route. Lin Xiao gave a thumbs-up, then drew his suppressed Glock 17 from his waist and checked the magazine.

Su Ying had already moved to the other side of the equipment room. There was a small window there, its glass long shattered, leaving only a rusted iron frame. She leaned out to observe. Moonlight shone over her face, outlining her cold features. Below was an alley behind the building, piled with discarded construction materials and oil drums, thick with shadows.

She glanced back at Lin Xiao, then flipped out the window, moving as lightly as a cat. Lin Xiao heard a faint landing, followed by two muffled impacts—someone had been taken down.

He took a deep breath, made one final check through the door crack to confirm the rooftop was empty, then pushed open the iron door with its severed hinges. It gave off a faint scrape, nearly inaudible in the night wind. He slipped outside and quickly moved to the edge of the roof, looking down.

Su Ying had already dealt with two patrolling Purge Squad members. Their bodies lay in the shadows, their necks twisted at unnatural angles. She stood in the middle of the alley, looked up at Lin Xiao, and made a safe gesture.

Lin Xiao grabbed the rooftop drainpipe, let his body hang in midair, then released it. He dropped three meters, rolling as his feet hit the ground to absorb the impact. The concrete was cold and hard. Dust rose and slipped into his nostrils.

"Next building over, second-floor corridor." Su Ying lowered her voice and pointed to the building on the left. "They're taking her toward the stairwell. They should come out through the back door."

Lin Xiao nodded. The two moved along the wall. The alley reeked of rotting garbage, mixed with the smell of gunpowder drifting from afar. The ground was slick, whether from standing water or something else. As they passed the two bodies, Lin Xiao glanced at them—the Purge Squad members were both young, no older than twenty-five, their faces still frozen in terror.

"They were brainwashed too," Su Ying said quietly. There was no sympathy in her voice, only calm acknowledgment of a fact.

"I know," Lin Xiao said. "But we have to survive."

They reached the end of the alley. Around the corner was the back door of the neighboring building. It was an old three-story warehouse, its outer walls peeling and its windows mostly broken. The back door stood open, and marks from a violent forced entry still remained on the frame.

Lin Xiao pressed himself against the corner and peeked out.

The inside of the warehouse was dim. Only the green glow of emergency lights barely illuminated the corridor. Footsteps came from the stairwell, heavy and hurried. Two dark figures appeared at the end of the corridor, with a woman in a white lab coat between them.

Anna Koch.

She looked younger than Lin Xiao remembered, just over thirty, with messy short blond hair stuck to her forehead. Her glasses were crooked, and her left cheek was swollen red from an obvious slap. Her lab coat had been torn open, revealing a gray experimental uniform underneath. The two Purge Squad members held her by either arm with brutal force.

"Let go of me! You lunatics!" Anna kept struggling, her voice hoarse. "Those samples need to be stored at low temperatures! You'll destroy—"

"Shut up." The Purge Squad member on the left slammed his rifle stock into her back.

Anna groaned, pitching forward and nearly falling. The other member grabbed her by the hair and forcibly dragged her onward.

They were heading for the back door.

Lin Xiao immediately stepped back and signaled Su Ying: two escorts, one target, exiting in ten seconds. Su Ying nodded and shrank into the shadows by the wall like she had become part of the darkness.

Lin Xiao moved to the other side, where several discarded oil drums were stacked. He crouched down, extending his gun barrel through a gap between the drums, his sights trained on the door.

The footsteps drew closer.

"Where's the vehicle?" one Purge Squad member asked.

"In the back alley, armored vehicle," the other replied. "Hurry up. The captain said all technical personnel were to be gathered in Area B."

"This woman's a real pain."

"She'll behave once she gets to Area B. I heard Blood Axe is personally handling the interrogation."

Lin Xiao rested his finger on the trigger.

The door opened.

The two Purge Squad members emerged first, cautiously scanning the alley. Anna was dragged out behind them, her eyes searching the darkness for something—perhaps a chance to escape, perhaps hope of survival.

Now.

Lin Xiao pulled the trigger.

The suppressed pistol made a soft pop. The bullet flew across ten meters and drilled precisely into the left Purge Squad member's temple. His body jerked, his eyes instantly losing focus before he collapsed limply.

Almost at the same instant, Su Ying lunged from the shadows.

She moved so quickly she was nearly impossible to see. Her right hand seized the right-side Purge Squad member's gun wrist and twisted hard—the crisp crack of shattering bone was especially clear in the silence. Her left hand had already closed around his throat, her thumb pressing his carotid artery while her index and middle fingers locked onto his cervical vertebrae.

The man did not even have time to make a sound.

Su Ying spun, using the momentum to hurl him into the wall. There was a dull impact as the back of his head struck the brickwork, followed by the crack of his neck snapping. The body slid to the ground, eyes wide open in death.

The entire process took less than three seconds.

Anna stood frozen in place, dumbfounded. Her mouth hung open, but no sound came out. Moonlight shone on her face, revealing her deathly pallor and terrified eyes.

Lin Xiao emerged from behind the oil drums and strode forward. He checked the two bodies first, confirming they were dead, then quickly searched them—taking their communicators, magazines, and ID cards. Su Ying had already dragged the bodies into the shadows and covered them with discarded canvas.

"Dr. Anna Koch." Lin Xiao turned to her, his voice low but clear. "Come with us. Now."

Anna finally snapped out of it. She took a step back until her back hit the wall. "You... who are you?"

"People who can save you," Lin Xiao said. "The Purge Squad was taking you to Area B. You know what that means. Interrogation, forced experiments, or a direct execution."

"I... how do I know you're not another Purge Squad faction?"

"If we were, you'd already be dead."

Anna breathed rapidly, her chest rising and falling violently. She looked at Lin Xiao, then at Su Ying, her gaze shifting between them. Explosions sounded in the distance, firelight illuminating half the sky. Sporadic gunfire crackled like festival firecrackers.

"The samples..." she suddenly said. "The samples in the laboratory. If the temperature goes out of control, they'll release neurotoxins. The entire base..."

"Where are the samples?" Lin Xiao asked.

"B-3 Building, second basement level. But the access system has already been locked down. Only my authorization card can open it." Anna pulled a blue keycard from her lab coat pocket. "If the Purge Squad forces the door open, or if a power failure causes the temperature controls to fail..."

Lin Xiao took the card. The plastic was still warm from her body, its edges worn.

"We'll handle it," he said. "But right now, you have to come with us. Otherwise, you'll be silenced, or forced to continue those experiments—you know exactly what experiments I mean."

Anna's face turned even whiter. She bit her lower lip, which trembled. A few seconds later, she nodded, stiffly but firmly.

"Okay," she said. "I'll go with you."

Lin Xiao tucked the keycard into the inner pocket of his tactical vest, then gestured to Su Ying: prepare to withdraw. Su Ying had already checked both ends of the alley and confirmed they were temporarily clear. She returned to Lin Xiao's side, her gaze falling on Anna as she assessed the woman's physical condition.

"Can you run?" Su Ying asked.

"Yes." Anna took a deep breath and tore off her ruined lab coat, revealing her experimental uniform and running shoes. "I run ten kilometers every week."

"I hope you're not lying," Su Ying said, then turned to Lin Xiao. "Back the way we came? Through the drainage pipes?"

Lin Xiao shook his head. He took out a base map—the wrinkled paper map unfolded under the moonlight, with several locations marked in red pen.

"The drainage pipes are too slow, and they may be blocked." His finger moved across the map. "East from here, through the warehouse district. There's a maintenance passage leading to the outer perimeter. Wolf and Nightingale are at Backup Rendezvous Point B, 1.2 kilometers from here."

"The Purge Squad will definitely have sealed the main routes," Su Ying said.

"Then we go underground." Lin Xiao's finger stopped at a marked point on the map. "Here. The Old Ventilation Duct System. The entrance is in the warehouse basement, and the exit is at an abandoned Observation Station three hundred meters outside the base wall."

Anna leaned in to look at the map. Her glasses had been straightened, and her eyes were focused. "The old ventilation system? It was abandoned ten years ago. The structure may be unstable."

"Still better than staying here and getting shot," Lin Xiao said, folding up the map. "Move."

They left the alley and moved along the building shadows. The warehouse district was deathly silent. Most buildings were dark, with only a few windows giving off the green glow of emergency lights. Spent casings, shattered glass, and dark red bloodstains littered the ground. The air was thick with gunpowder, blood, and the sharp stench of some leaking chemical agent.

Lin Xiao took point, Su Ying covered the rear, and Anna was protected in the middle. The footsteps of the three echoed through the empty streets, every step carefully placed. Lin Xiao's ears caught every sound around them: distant gunfire, explosions, and farther away, the roar of armored vehicle engines.

As they passed an intersection, Lin Xiao suddenly raised a hand—stop.

Everyone crouched down, concealing themselves in the shadows by the wall.

Lin Xiao peeked out to observe.

On the other side of the intersection, a Purge Squad patrol was moving through. Six people, fully armed, their tactical flashlights sweeping across the street and building walls. They moved slowly, checking every corner with care.

"Go around," Lin Xiao whispered, pointing toward a narrow alley on the left.

They withdrew and entered the narrow alley. It was darker there, with high walls on both sides and crisscrossing antenna wires and clotheslines overhead. The ground was slick, trash floating in the puddles. Anna stepped on something soft and nearly screamed—it was a dead rat, its body already flattened.

Su Ying caught her and pressed a finger to her lips: quiet.

They continued forward. At the end of the alley stood a rusty iron door, its lock already broken. Lin Xiao gently pushed it open, and the hinges gave off a harsh groan.

Beyond the door was a small parking lot, containing several abandoned trucks and an armored vehicle.

An armored vehicle.

Lin Xiao's heartbeat skipped.

The vehicle was parked in the center of the lot. Its headlights were off, but its engine was still rumbling. A Hydra emblem was painted across its body, and its side door stood open, a faint red glow spilling from within. Two Purge Squad members leaned against the vehicle smoking, sparks from their cigarettes flickering in the darkness.

Worse still, footsteps and shouted orders came from the other side of the parking lot—at least four or five more people were approaching.

"The disturbance came from this direction!"

"Search every building!"

"The captain said not a single one gets away!"

Lin Xiao rapidly surveyed the surroundings. The parking lot was hemmed in by buildings on three sides, and the only exit was blocked by the armored vehicle. They were trapped.

Su Ying had already drawn her dagger, her gaze icy. Anna tightly covered her mouth, her body trembling.

Lin Xiao's mind raced. Force their way through? Impossible. There were too many enemies, and they had an armored vehicle. Hide? There was no suitable cover in the lot, only several abandoned trucks, but the Purge Squad would certainly search them.

There was little time left. The footsteps were getting closer, and flashlight beams had already swept across the edge of the parking lot.

Then static crackled in Lin Xiao's earpiece, followed by Grey Falcon's urgent, weakened voice, broken up by gunfire and explosions:

"Captain... we're surrounded... at the Maintenance Workshop... can't hold much longer... Blood Axe is leading them personally... they... ah!"

A cry of pain, then the busy signal of a severed transmission.

Lin Xiao's expression changed.

Grey Falcon was in critical danger. Blood Axe—the Purge Squad's ace commander, notorious for brutality and efficiency. If Grey Falcon fell into his hands, he was as good as dead.

And right now, they themselves were in a desperate situation.

Near the armored vehicle, the two Purge Squad members who had been smoking seemed to hear something. They crushed out their cigarettes, raised their guns, and walked toward the corner where Lin Xiao's group was hiding.

Their flashlight beams swept across the wall, only three meters from them.

Two meters.

One meter.

Lin Xiao gripped his gun tightly, his finger on the trigger. Su Ying's body tensed like a leopard ready to pounce. Anna closed her eyes, holding her breath.

The beam swept over the wall above them, then turned—

And stopped.

The Purge Squad member's flashlight shone into the shadows by the corner, illuminating the tip of Lin Xiao's shoe.

"Someone's there!" someone shouted.

Gun barrels rose.

Lin Xiao was about to fire—

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

But it had not come from the Purge Squad members.

A bullet flew from the other side of the parking lot, punching precisely through the helmet of the Purge Squad member holding the flashlight. Blood burst out, and the body fell backward.

Before the second Purge Squad member could react, a second shot rang out, and he fell as well.

The red light inside the armored vehicle suddenly went out. The engine died.

The entire parking lot fell into dead silence.

Lin Xiao froze. So did Su Ying. Anna opened her eyes and stared blankly at the scene before her.

Footsteps came from the other side of the parking lot, unhurried and steady. A figure emerged from the shadows, holding a suppressed sniper rifle.

Moonlight fell upon him, revealing a familiar face.

Wolf.

"Captain." Wolf walked up to Lin Xiao with a tired yet resolute smile. "Nightingale cracked their communications channel and heard that you were in trouble."

Lin Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately asked, "What about Grey Falcon?"

"Before communications were cut off, Nightingale pinpointed his location." Wolf's expression turned serious. "The Maintenance Workshop, eight hundred meters from here. At least twenty Purge Squad members, with Blood Axe personally commanding them. Grey Falcon's team has... probably three people left. They're all trapped inside."

"Is Backup Rendezvous Point B safe?"

"Safe. Nightingale has set up interference devices and temporarily blocked surveillance in that area." Wolf glanced at Anna. "Who is she?"

"Dr. Anna Koch, biotechnology specialist," Lin Xiao introduced briefly. "We need to get her somewhere safe."

Wolf nodded, then pointed at the armored vehicle. "The vehicle still works. The keys are on the bodies. We can drive it out, but it'll make a lot of noise."

Lin Xiao considered it. Driving was indeed the fastest option, but they would become obvious targets. Going on foot was slower, but more discreet.

He looked at Anna. Her face was pale, but her eyes were steady. She had gone through capture, rescue, and escape, yet she could still keep calm. Her mental resilience was good.

"Doctor," Lin Xiao said. "Do you know the exact location of the entrance to the old ventilation system?"

Anna nodded. "It's in the B-3 Building basement, but that place is now..."

"Under Purge Squad control," Lin Xiao finished. "So we can't go there."

He took out the map and unfolded it again. His finger moved across it before stopping at a marked location. "Here. The Wastewater Treatment Plant. The underground pipes connect to the old ventilation system. The entrance is in a maintenance manhole."

"The Wastewater Treatment Plant is four hundred meters from here," Su Ying said. "But we have to cross the open training grounds. No cover."

"Then we need a distraction." Lin Xiao looked at Wolf. "Can you create some chaos?"

Wolf smiled. "Captain, did you forget what I do? Nightingale gave me a few little toys."

He pulled several cylindrical devices from his backpack—remote-detonated flashbangs and smoke grenades.

"Set them on delayed detonation and create a disturbance on the far side of the training grounds to draw the Purge Squad's attention," Wolf said. "You cross the training grounds and enter the Wastewater Treatment Plant while they're distracted. I'll drive out along another route and draw off the pursuers."

"Too dangerous," Su Ying said.

"Safer than staying here and waiting to die." Wolf had already started setting the detonation timers. "They'll go off in thirty seconds. Head toward the training grounds now. Once you hear the explosions, sprint at full speed."

Lin Xiao looked at Wolf. This intelligence officer usually did not say much, but he never backed down at critical moments.

"Come back alive," Lin Xiao said.

"I will." Wolf grinned. "Captain, the Continental Hotel hasn't even been built yet. I can't die now."

He turned and ran toward the armored vehicle, jumping into the driver's seat. The engine roared, and the headlights suddenly came on, their blinding white beams tearing through the darkness.

"Move!" Lin Xiao told Su Ying and Anna.

The three rushed out of the parking lot and sprinted toward the training grounds. Their footsteps echoed through the empty streets. Lin Xiao could hear his own heartbeat, Anna's ragged breathing, and the gunfire drawing closer in the distance.

They reached the edge of the training grounds. It was an open expanse once used for soldiers' physical training, now completely deserted. The ground was packed earth, scattered with training equipment: tires, sandbags, and barbed-wire obstacles. In the distance stood the base wall, searchlights sweeping across the night sky.

There was no cover. Four hundred meters of open ground—if the enemy spotted them, they would be living targets.

Lin Xiao crouched behind cover at the entrance to the training grounds and looked at his glow-in-the-dark watch.

Twenty-five seconds.

Twenty seconds.

He could hear the armored vehicle's engine roaring away. Wolf was deliberately making noise to draw off the pursuers.

Fifteen seconds.

On the other side of the training ground, the beams of the Purge Squad's flashlights were moving. There were at least ten of them, chasing after the armored vehicle.

Ten seconds.

Anna's breathing grew more and more rapid. Su Ying placed a hand on Lin Xiao's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze—she was ready.

Five seconds.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

"Boom!"

An explosion erupted from the other side of the training ground. Not one blast, but three in succession. The thunderous detonations of the stun grenades shook the ground, while smoke grenades spewed thick white smoke that rapidly spread, blanketing the entire area.

Shouts from the Purge Squad, gunfire, and chaotic footsteps carried over.

"Now!" Lin Xiao barked.

The three of them burst from cover and sprinted at full speed.

Mud sprayed beneath their feet as training equipment flashed past on either side. Lin Xiao could hear his own ragged breathing, Su Ying's light, steady footsteps, and Anna's muffled grunts as she gritted her teeth and pushed on. Four hundred meters was not far for trained people, but sprinting through a hail of bullets made every meter a test of life and death.

The smoke began spreading toward the center of the training ground, thick white fog rolling in like a tide. Lin Xiao charged into it, and his vision blurred instantly. He could only move forward by memory and instinct, listening for Su Ying and Anna's footsteps beside him.

Gunfire came from beyond the smoke. Bullets whistled past, striking the dirt and kicking up clouds of dust.

"Get down!" Su Ying suddenly shouted.

Lin Xiao ducked on instinct. A bullet grazed over his head and struck a tire ahead, producing a dull thud.

They kept sprinting. His lungs burned, and his leg muscles began to ache. Anna was visibly slowing down; after all, she was not a professional fighter.

Su Ying grabbed Anna by the arm and practically dragged her forward.

"Hold on!" Su Ying said. "We're almost there!"

Lin Xiao could already see the silhouette of the building at the far end of the training ground—the Wastewater Treatment Plant. It was a low concrete structure with weathered outer walls and shattered windows. The entrance was on the side: a half-underground maintenance shaft.

Fifty meters.

Thirty meters.

Ten meters.

They rushed beneath the outer wall of the Wastewater Treatment Plant, pressing their backs against the concrete as they gulped for air. The smoke had already spread this far, reducing visibility to less than five meters. Gunfire continued, but its direction had changed—the Purge Squad had been lured away by Wolf and the explosions.

Lin Xiao found the maintenance shaft. Its cover was a rusted iron plate, with pry marks around the edges. He shoved it open, and it let out a harsh scraping screech.

The shaft below was pitch-black. A damp, moldy stench surged upward, mixed with the pungent odor of sewage and chemical agents. An iron ladder stretched downward, vanishing into the darkness.

"Go down," Lin Xiao said. "Su Ying first, Doctor in the middle, I'll bring up the rear."

Su Ying did not hesitate and swung herself into the shaft. The iron ladder groaned with a creak, but it was still sturdy enough. Anna followed, clumsy but determined. Lin Xiao entered last, taking one final look at the training ground before descending—

The smoke was beginning to clear. The Purge Squad's flashlight beams were moving, but they were still some distance away.

He pulled the cover shut, leaving a narrow gap for observation.

The shaft was completely dark, save for the weak glow of Su Ying's tactical flashlight. The space was larger than expected: a circular vertical shaft around two meters in diameter and roughly ten meters deep. Its walls were damp concrete, covered in moss and mold. At the bottom was a cement platform connected to a horizontal pipe one and a half meters wide, large enough for people to pass through while crouching.

The sound of flowing water came from inside the pipe, along with the low hum of some kind of machinery.

"The connection to the old ventilation system is at the end of this pipe," Anna's voice echoed through the darkness. "About fifty meters ahead, then turn left. There's a maintenance door."

"Lead the way," Lin Xiao said.

The three entered the pipe. It was even darker inside, and the air was more stagnant. Their flashlight beam revealed the inner walls—rusted metal, peeling paint, and thick layers of dust. The floor was slick with shallow sewage, making wet slapping sounds beneath their feet.

They moved forward in a crouch, not very quickly. Their footsteps and breathing echoed through the pipe, along with faint explosions in the distance.

After roughly thirty meters, Anna suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Lin Xiao asked.

Anna crouched and shone her flashlight at the pipe wall. There was a faded red-painted marking, still recognizable: an arrow pointing left, with a line of small words beneath it—"Ventilation System B-7."

"This is it," Anna said. "Turn left. The maintenance door is just beyond."

They turned left. The pipe narrowed here, allowing passage only sideways. Lin Xiao squeezed through and shone his flashlight ahead—a rust-covered iron door was set into the pipe wall, its handle rusted solid.

"We need tools," Su Ying said.

Lin Xiao drew a pair of multipurpose pliers from his tactical vest, clamped them onto the handle, and twisted hard. Rusted metal shrieked, but the handle did not budge.

"Let me try," Anna suddenly said.

She took a small bottle from the pocket of her lab coat—laboratory lubricant spray. She sprayed the lock and hinges several times, and the clear liquid seeped into the cracks in the rust.

"Now," she said.

Lin Xiao tried again. This time, the handle turned. It was difficult, but it was moving. He gritted his teeth and threw his full strength into it.

Click.

The lock opened.

Lin Xiao pushed open the door. Stale air poured out, carrying the smell of dust and mold. Beyond it was another space—the main duct of the old ventilation system. It was wider than the pipe, allowing them to stand upright. The inner walls were metal grating, and the floor was covered in non-slip steel plates. Far ahead, ventilation fan blades stood motionless, thick with cobwebs.

The flashlight beam swept across it, illuminating dust motes drifting through the air.

"Clear." Su Ying entered first and checked the surroundings.

Lin Xiao and Anna followed. Once the door was shut, the outside sounds were almost completely cut off. This place felt like an isolated underground world, with only their breathing and footsteps echoing through the metal ducts.

Anna leaned against the wall and finally let out a breath. Her body was trembling, whether from cold or lingering fear, he could not tell.

"We're... safe?" she asked.

"For now," Lin Xiao said. "But Grey Falcon is still in danger."

He pressed his communications earpiece. "Nightingale, can you hear me?"

There was a brief crackle of static, then Nightingale's voice came through, clear but tense. "Captain! Where are you? Wolf drew off the pursuers just now, but he's trapped in the warehouse district too!"

Lin Xiao's heart sank.

Wolf was in danger too. Grey Falcon was on the brink of death. And they, though temporarily safe, were still inside the base, with no known way out.

"Nightingale, report your position and safety status." Lin Xiao forced himself to stay calm.

"I'm at Backup Rendezvous Point B. I'm safe. But surveillance shows the Purge Squad is closing in around this area. They'll arrive in twenty minutes at most." Nightingale's voice was urgent. "Captain, we need an evacuation plan."

Lin Xiao looked at Anna. "Doctor, where exactly is the exit for this ventilation system?"

Anna closed her eyes, recalling it. "The abandoned Observation Station, three hundred meters outside the base perimeter. But the exit is in the Observation Station's basement. The door may be locked, or blocked by debris."

"Is there a backup exit?"

"Yes... another branch of the ventilation system leads to a drainage ditch outside the base. But that route is more dangerous. There could be a collapse, or chemical contamination."

Lin Xiao considered it. Two choices: the Observation Station exit might be sealed off, but it was relatively safe; the drainage ditch exit might be clear, but the environment was dangerous.

There was not much time left.

He had to make a decision.

And at that moment, a sound suddenly came from deep within the ventilation duct.

Not their footsteps.

Something else.

The sound of metal scraping.

And... breathing.