Huang Liang

Boom!!

The grenade flew out, and orange-red flames instantly lit up the darkness.

The shock wave spread, and armor-piercing fragments shot out at tremendous speed, bursting into dense sprays of blood across the Goddess of War's body.

But after hurling another vial of anesthetic, Huang Liang grabbed Ye Lin and kept running without the slightest hesitation.

We can't hurt God.

He still had a few fragmentation grenades on him, and his two teammates had guns as well.

But against a monster of this caliber, their attacks could only inflict superficial wounds. Killing her was out of the question.

If they wanted to survive, they could only use the terrain to obstruct her and buy every second they could.

Bang, bang! Bang, bang!

Drawing his pistol with one hand, Huang Liang swiftly shot down two pursuing Species, then looked anxiously at Ye Lin.

Although Ye Lin looked capable of walking on his own, Huang Liang could tell at a glance that his injuries were serious. Sheer willpower was all that kept him going.

"Can you still hold on!? If not, I'll carry you!"

Although the two were enemies in the outside world, here, he had no choice but to worry about Ye Lin.

Especially since he had read Ye Lin's file before setting out. Some of it had been redacted, but the records still left him stunned.

Ye Lin was strong! Only by working together would they have even a sliver of hope of getting the information out.

"I won't die."

"Cut the crap..!"

"Are there any ventilation ducts along this route?"

Unable to describe how he felt, Ye Lin snatched the pistol from Huang Liang's hand and fired back at the pursuing Species, making them shriek incessantly.

Perhaps the anesthetic mist had interfered with her, because the Goddess of War, who should have caught up by now, still hadn't appeared.

He didn't know whether to praise the buzz-cut guy for his loyalty or curse him for being an idiot.

At their current speed, a horde of Species would catch up within seconds.

Carrying him would only make them slower. He might as well wait to die.

"Ventilation ducts!?"

"Yes! Turn right at the next junction!"

Huang Liang froze for a moment, then immediately understood what he meant. After leading everyone around the right turn, he kicked his gun with one foot to chamber a round, then turned and laid down suppressing fire at the pursuing Species.

"Go on ahead!"

Rat-tat-tat!

Flames spat from the muzzle. With terrifyingly precise marksmanship, Huang Liang blew apart the heads of the three closest Species.

He Zheng stared, dumbstruck by such incredible shooting.

Even as they fled, he couldn't help drawing a sharp breath. The gun in his own hands felt like nothing more than a fire poker.

Ye Lin's ability to use a gun had surprised him enough, but this buzz-cut guy was even better.

And especially...!?

With a quick swing, Huang Liang shifted the rifle hanging against his chest onto his back, then sidestepped a lunging Species.

His gaze was calm. As though slipping into its blind spot, he stayed close to the Species' body and dodged its slashing claws.

The next second, he drew the dagger at his waist with a backhand grip and thrust it out!

The palm-length tactical dagger pierced the Species' eyeball with a wet squelch. Huang Liang twisted hard, churning its brains into mush.

Thud.

The corpse fell. Only after confirming that no Species were close behind did he stride after the others.

He Zheng's pupils jolted, and Zhang Tie couldn't help gaping at the sight either.

Honestly, after killing so many Species, they knew that as long as they overcame their fear, they could kill them with guns.

But fighting one with nothing more than a dagger, as Huang Liang had, was simply outrageous.

In close combat, reacting even a second too slowly would mean having their heads bitten apart.

"These things are stupid. They're not that hard to kill."

Noticing that everyone was staring at him, Huang Liang seemed uncomfortable and explained in a low voice.

Then he pointed at the ceiling a short distance away, signaling for everyone to climb up quickly.

The Species would charge over soon. Although he was confident he could use the terrain to wear some of them down, the truly dangerous God could catch up at any moment.

Bang!

The door shut tight. The heavy alloy door gave them a faint sense of security.

Leaning against it, they gasped for breath, feeling as though they had narrowly escaped death.

He Zheng swallowed hard. After catching his breath, he couldn't help looking at Ye Lin and Huang Liang.

The two seemed to have known each other for some time, and Ye Lin's earlier questions had been about Huang Liang's group.

"Who exactly are you two?"

Huang Liang, who was bandaging Ye Lin's wounds, looked up at those words, momentarily taken aback.

Before he could decide whether to speak, Ye Lin raised a hand and cut him off.

"Now isn't the time to ask that."

"Our priority is figuring out exactly what we're supposed to find!"

He Zheng's expression froze. The heart that had just settled instantly tightened again, while Hu Jia turned deathly pale, looking somewhat hopeless.

Yes, they had escaped with their lives, but there were only nineteen minutes left on the countdown.

Without any idea what the supposed answer was, hiding here would only mean waiting to die, even if those Gods never came after them!

"What happened on your side? Why did so many people die?"

"And what was your question?"

Ye Lin turned toward Huang Liang and questioned him rapidly.

He noticed that Huang Liang had only two people left with him, and their clothes showed no signs of sulfuric acid corrosion.

That meant Huang Liang's first-round task had been completely different from theirs. But given his skills and the guns they had brought, they shouldn't have lost even more people than Ye Lin's group.

"Question?"

Huang Liang paused, then quickly understood what he meant.

"Our first round was to escape from a room. The second was to find out where God came from."

"As for why so many people died.."

Guilt crept across Huang Liang's face, and he couldn't help clenching his fists.

"The room in the first round could move, and in our first round.."

"We ran into God!"

"Move!? God!?"

Ye Lin was stunned, and He Zheng and the others looked shocked.

Was this a joke? They had seen how terrifying God was! If they had encountered one in the first round, Huang Liang couldn't possibly have survived, no matter how good his shooting was.

Although the second God to appear hadn't demonstrated any abilities, their sheer size alone made it clear that humans couldn't stand against them.

"Was the God you encountered unusual? Or did you get anesthetic in the first round? Also, what do you mean by moving?"

Ye Lin took a deep breath and asked directly.

Just as he had suspected, the two teams had faced different encounters and questions. If Huang Liang hadn't suddenly found them, with this arrangement, both teams would have died without ever knowing where the problem lay.

"No, that monster was terrifying!"

Behind Huang Liang, a young man who looked like an athletics student suddenly stood up.

"If Huang Liang hadn't risked his life, none of us would've survived!"

Wang Yuanyang looked agitated. His experience in the first round seemed to have shaken him deeply.

Ye Lin frowned. He didn't like being interrupted.

Seeing Ye Lin's displeasure, Huang Liang wasted no words and took a dull, lusterless ring from his pocket.

"There was no anesthetic in the first round. We survived because of this."

"Those monsters all seem afraid to look at it."

"But I don't know why either..."