A Moment of Peace

Fortunately, perhaps because Zhou Ze had already suffered so much that day, Lady Luck finally took pity on him.

"Ding~"

No further surprises arose before the elevator reached his destination floor. The peace felt almost unreal.

Zhou Ze cautiously poked his head out to look around before stepping out of the elevator.

Everything was quiet, with no one in sight.

This was the office area, with comfortable surroundings that stood in stark contrast to the hellish containment area he had just experienced.

Everything was exactly as it had been on his previous visit, from the spotless marble floor to the steaming coffee cups on the round tables in the semicircular lounge.

At least this suggested that the Site's staff had evacuated in an orderly manner, without causing any chaos.

It was almost funny, really. Perhaps the people here had long since gotten used to this sort of thing.

Zhou Ze had also considered finding an opportunity to leave the Site outright, but as a poor member of the Class-D Personnel, he naturally had no idea how to find an exit in this enormous underground maze.

The office area was the safest place he could think of.

After carefully checking his surroundings, Zhou Ze entered the only office with an open door.

The automatic door behind him slowly closed with a faint hiss, separating Zhou Ze from the unsettling world outside.

Doors of every kind possessed this same fascinating magic.

They shut out the sounds and sights of the outside world, creating a world of their own the moment they closed.

Even when they were hardly sturdy at all, they always brought an inexplicable sense of security.

In that respect, they were much like warm bedding on a winter's day.

The office was small but neatly arranged.

At its center stood a solid wooden desk piled with files, with an expensive-looking ergonomic leather chair sitting quietly in front of it. An elegant curved sofa and a glass coffee table stood by the window.

To Zhou Ze's surprise, a graceful figure was sitting on the sofa.

He truly had not expected anyone to remain in an office after the Site had explicitly sounded an evacuation alarm.

Fortunately... it was someone he knew.

Wang Lei sat elegantly on the sofa, holding an open hardcover book in her left hand, with a lit, slender cigarette between the delicate fingers of her right.

She wore a loose beige knitted cardigan. Sunlight slanted through the half-open blinds and fell across her, gilding her outline with a soft golden edge. The flecks of light dancing through her hair enveloped her in a dreamlike atmosphere.

As Zhou Ze entered the office, Wang Lei looked up at him. There was little surprise in her eyes, and she then gave him a familiar, welcoming smile.

It was the same gentle, charming smile he had seen when he first met her in the interrogation room.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Zhou Ze. We meet again," Wang Lei said softly, a hint of curiosity in her voice. "But you look... as though you've run into some trouble?"

"You could say that..." Zhou Ze nodded, then narrowed his eyes slightly.

Although the woman before him was no different from how he remembered her, Zhou Ze had just experienced a series of bizarre incidents and was not about to let his guard down so easily.

"Ms. Wang Lei... why are you here?" Zhou Ze paused before adding, "You must know there's been an incident. Why didn't you evacuate with everyone else?"

"This is my office... if anything, you're the one whose sudden appearance is surprising." Wang Lei shook her head with a smile.

"As for your second question... we'd only have to come running back a few hours later anyway. That seemed like a waste of time, so I decided to be lazy for once."

Hey! Is that really the point here?!

Strangely enough, however, Wang Lei's blunt yet rather dubious answer instantly won Zhou Ze's trust.

Ever since arriving in this world, Zhou Ze's instincts had almost never been wrong.

She probably isn't some monster in disguise...

That's good enough...

Zhou Ze inwardly sighed with relief and gave a slight smile. "You really have a sense of humor."

"Make yourself comfortable. I only have black tea-is that all right?" Wang Lei gestured for Zhou Ze to sit on the opposite side of the curved sofa, her manner relaxed and natural.

"Anything's fine... thank you."

Zhou Ze sank his exhausted body deep into the soft sofa and could not help letting out a long sigh.

His earlier harrowing encounters had truly left him drained.

"I did hear the evacuation alarm earlier, but I don't know exactly what happened."

Wang Lei handed Zhou Ze a steaming cup of tea and asked softly, "You look as though you were involved, Mr. Zhou Ze. Would you like to tell me about it?"

Zhou Ze murmured his thanks and accepted the cup. Watching the tea leaves still swirling inside it, he fell silent.

As an ordinary person, he naturally needed someone to talk to. Even a man made of iron could not live indefinitely in such a high-pressure environment with his nerves stretched taut.

Previously, the only person he had been able to talk to was Old Yang.

But clearly, that fellow Old Yang was hardly a suitable person to dump his feelings on.

Whether in terms of her position and profession or the impression she gave him personally, Wang Lei was the most ideal confidante Zhou Ze could hope to meet in this godforsaken place.

"Of course."

Zhou Ze drained the black tea in one go, finally bringing some relief to his parched throat.

As far as he was concerned, he had not caused the incident, nor was he the only person involved. He would have to give a full account afterward anyway, so there was naturally no need to hide anything.

"Here's what happened..."

Zhou Ze cleared his throat and slowly recounted the earlier events.

Throughout his account, Wang Lei listened quietly, occasionally offering an exclamation or asking a follow-up question.

He had to admit that, as a counselor, Wang Lei really knew how to make someone feel heard.

"That sounds terrifying... what happened next?" Wang Lei sighed softly and lit another cigarette.

She took a gentle drag, and smoke slowly escaped her slightly parted lips, forming a hazy curtain in the sunlight.

Her gaze met Zhou Ze's through the smoke, her eyes full of curiosity and anticipation, silently encouraging him to continue.

"Then the wall was smashed open, and out came a..."

Zhou Ze paused, instinctively recalling what Old Yang had told him-the things that should not have been in his memory.

That did not really matter, though. He immediately worked out how to phrase it.

But the words already on the tip of his tongue caught in his throat.

For Zhou Ze suddenly noticed that the faint smile Wang Lei had worn all along had vanished, and a mesmerizing blue gleam flashed in her pupils.

That light was like a cold sword, sharp and icy.

Her almost tangible gaze pierced the smoke between them, as though trying to see straight through his thoughts.

"You know it..." An icy voice sounded beside Zhou Ze's ear, as if it had entered his mind directly from the void.

Goosebumps rose over his skin almost instantly, and he jerked upright on the sofa as though he had been electrocuted.

At that moment, Wang Lei seemed like an entirely different person, her whole body seemingly shrouded in an invisible darkness.

Her presence bore down on Zhou Ze with an unprecedented pressure, far surpassing even the fear he had felt when facing that hideous giant beast.