God?

"I'll go..."

Without making a sound, An Ke mouthed the words as she untied the elastic from her ponytail and fastened it to the steel rod, explaining with gestures and silent words.

"There are broken wires over there. I can climb onto the ventilation duct, then make it clang."

"Once I've drawn them over, I can escape through the duct."

The plan was simple. An Ke glanced up at the ventilation duct overhead. With her slight build, she could slip inside easily and move through it quickly.

If she tied a wire to the other end of the rod, she could even make noise from a distance, then crawl back.

Everyone was surprised. Even Hu Jia hadn't expected An Ke to volunteer in his place.

Before he could give her a grateful look, An Ke quickly took off her shoes and tiptoed toward the other end.

"One minute!"

Holding up a finger to signal one minute, An Ke tapped her watch and motioned for everyone to get moving.

She wasn't trying to save Hu Jia. As far as she was concerned, sending her was much "safer" than sending him. After all, no one could be completely certain that Hu Jia wouldn't hide and become too terrified to make a sound.

Besides, Ye Lin wasn't entirely wrong. Even if she didn't crawl back to rejoin them, hiding would be safer.

Without hesitation, Ye Lin and He Zheng exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement.

They waved everyone back behind the corner on the right, then waited for An Ke to act.

58...

59...!

They pressed against the wall. Almost at the very last second of the countdown,

a metallic clanging rang out in the distance, as piercing as a thunderclap on a rainy night.

In an instant, the Species, which had stood motionless like statues, all stirred. Once they pinpointed the sound, they charged toward it, screeching.

Watching the scene reflected in the mirror, He Zheng felt an immense surge of relief, his spirits lifting!

There was no time to marvel at how well An Ke had done. Once he confirmed that every Species had rounded the corner, He Zheng grabbed his weapon and sprinted.

"Go!"

He mouthed the sharp command without a sound. The others dared not waste a moment either, racing toward the laboratory as fast as they could while keeping their footsteps as quiet as possible.

Barely a dozen seconds later, He Zheng, the fastest of them, slid to a stop before the corpse and kicked the key toward Ye Lin.

"Quick! Ye Lin! Open the door!"

Dried bloody handprints covered the heavy laboratory door. They had no idea what lay inside, but now they could only take the gamble.

Ye Lin bent down, scooped up the key, and charged straight toward the door without hesitation.

It went far more smoothly than expected. As soon as the key entered the lock, heavy mechanisms began to turn, and the alloy door, a full five centimeters thick, slowly swung open.

The stench of decay rushed out, with red light spilling from within.

Ignoring the pungent odor, Ye Lin slipped inside and aimed his pistol directly into the darkness.

But before he could make out the interior, a shrill alarm suddenly sounded overhead.

"Warning! Intrusion detected. Emergency mode engaged!!"

"(Warning! Unauthorized intruders detected. Emergency protocols activating!!)"

Damn it!!

Ye Lin's expression changed, shock and anger flaring inside him.

He had never expected the laboratory's alarm system to still be working.

The Species hadn't been drawn far enough away. If they came back from this distance, everyone would die!

"Run!!"

Shoving the door open as far as it would go, Ye Lin shouted at the others.

He barely needed to warn them. Hu Jia, bringing up the rear, screamed and slipped to the floor in terror.

The reason was simple: he could already hear the Species screeching. They were so close that they seemed to be right behind him!

"Hu Jia! Crawl! Hurry!"

Seeing that everyone except Zhang Tie, who was still waiting for him, had rushed into the laboratory, Hu Jia broke down. In his overwhelming terror, he even began to hate himself for being so cowardly.

If he'd known the Species would return so quickly, he would have been better off luring the monsters away himself!

"My legs won't work!!"

His voice shook with tears. Already injured, he felt as though every ounce of strength had drained from his legs. He couldn't even stand.

"Zhang Tie! Leave him!"

From behind the door, He Zheng roared, warning Zhang Tie not to do anything stupid.

With the Species this close, any further delay would put Zhang Tie's own life at risk, never mind whether he could save Hu Jia.

But despite He Zheng's furious rebuke, conflict filled Zhang Tie's eyes. He dropped his weapon, turned, and ran straight toward Hu Jia.

"Grab my hand!"

Hauling Hu Jia up, Zhang Tie heaved him onto his back and broke into a run.

But carrying another person was simply too much weight. Even though Zhang Tie strained with everything he had, veins bulging on his forehead, he couldn't move any faster.

A foul stench assaulted his nose. With screeches sounding right behind him, the distance of less than ten meters felt like an unbridgeable chasm.

On his back, Hu Jia sank into utter despair. Watching a gaping, bloody maw snap toward him, he could almost see himself being torn apart.

Bang!

Suddenly, a gunshot exploded.

The Species lunging through the air jerked as though struck by a hammer. With a howl of pain, it crashed heavily to the floor.

The slick floor kept it from getting up immediately, and the Species charging behind it slammed into it.

Hu Jia looked up, staring blankly at Ye Lin, who had fired from inside the doorway. Before he could recover, several hands grabbed him and Zhang Tie and swiftly hauled them inside.

"Shut the door!"

Boom!!

The door slammed shut. In the darkness, everyone collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.

Almost the instant the door closed, a rapid series of violent impacts hammered against it from the other side.

The blows were so powerful that the door seemed just a hair's breadth from being battered open!

"Bro... th... thank you..."

Shaken by how close he had come to death, Zhang Tie looked gratefully at Ye Lin. Though he had only wanted to save someone, he knew just how "stupid" his actions had been.

If Ye Lin hadn't been such a good shot, both he and Hu Jia would have died outside.

Under the red alarm lights, Ye Lin's expression was difficult to make out.

He let out a soft sigh and shook his head slightly.

"That was the last bullet..."

He hadn't been trying to save Hu Jia. He had been saving Zhang Tie.

If Zhang Tie died too, He Zheng would be the only real fighting strength left in the group.

Ignoring everyone's stunned expressions, he raised his head and looked toward the enormous experimental area farther inside. Under the red lights, an unsettling air pervaded the entire laboratory.

Bodies whose forms he couldn't make out floated in rows upon rows of transparent containers.

On the wall at the far end was a map of the experimental area.

"Toxin Synthesis Lab (Toxin Synthesis Lab)"

"Anti-Creature Armory (Anti-Creature Armory)"

"Mutagenic Chamber (Mutagenic Chamber)"

Following Ye Lin's gaze, everyone froze. Though they weren't entirely certain what the words meant, the symbols on the map gave them a rough idea.

But compared with the Anti-Creature Armory they were searching for, marked with what looked like an ammunition symbol, a section shaded deep black on the map sent a jolt through every heart.

Even He Zheng couldn't help gaping.

He might not have had much schooling, but there were still a few words he recognized!

Especially since that black area contained only a single word, dominating the entire space!

"[GOD]!"

"(God)!"