Found

The roads were nearly empty—everyone was holed up indoors, too scared to step out.

Aside from the occasional car veering toward them, Xie Yi drove without much trouble.

What usually took half an hour she covered in ten minutes. A sudden slam on the brakes sent the tires screeching, the sound piercing everyone's ears. Their hearts were in their throats as they clutched the handrails for dear life. The moment the car stopped, they threw open the doors and bolted out.

There were fewer bugs here. The Research Institute's main gate was sealed tight, but the wailing alarm from inside was impossible to muffle—a chaotic symphony spilling out into the street.

Song Weishi felt a bit carsick, but she was much better after getting out.

Xie Huiying rushed to the gate, pacing anxiously. The gate was locked, the walls tall and topped with electric wires—how were they supposed to get in?

In her panic, she was about to climb up using the car as a step.

Song Weishi yanked her down.

"That won't work. Let's call her. If that fails, I still have a pager. We'll have her open the door. We can't let ourselves get taken out before we even get inside."

Song Weishi was all about method. She came up with a solution right away.

Xie Huiying's eyes were red. It was only after being pulled back that she calmed down. She had been too tense just now. Her little sister was in trouble, and as the older sister, she was more anxious than anyone—just as her sister worried about her, she worried about her sister.

Xie Yi chimed in, "Auntie, isn't there an underground passage at the Research Institute? Can we get in through there?"

Xie Yi's mind was racing. If the main entrance and Xie Huiqing were both unresponsive, going underground was definitely the fastest route.

Not many people knew about this. As family members, they had certain privileges and inside knowledge.

Xie Huiying took a deep breath after hearing this, forcing herself to calm down. She exhaled slowly, telling herself over and over that all her friends were here, that there was nothing to fear.

"Alright!"

The two of them first tried to message Xie Huiqing, but there was no response—or rather, the message just wouldn't go through, endlessly looping.

Song Weishi switched on the walkie-talkie and tried to contact Xie Huiqing. She hadn't put the device away, and it came in handy today.

She called out a couple of times, but there was no reply on the other end—whether it was off, not received, or inconvenient to answer, they couldn't tell.

From inside, the sounds of fighting drifted out intermittently, making their already racing hearts beat even faster.

There was only one option now: take the underground passage into the Research Institute as quickly as possible.

The longer they delayed, the worse things would get inside. She didn't believe those pharmaceutical company people would show any mercy.

Besides, not everyone in the security team was trustworthy—she had a feeling there was a mole.

Then again, Song Weishi had been able to slip out and work on the side, which just went to show how loose this organization was.

They absorbed talent on a massive scale but skipped the training, leaving the ranks a mixed bag. It was all too easy for someone to harbor second thoughts.

Xie Huiqing had been too hasty, too eager to prop up this city. Over the past few days, Song Weishi had come to see how she operated—cut from the same cloth as Xie Huiying and Xie Yi: always doing everything herself, running herself ragged.

Centralized power had its pros and cons. Now the cons were biting back, and when it burst, no one could hold it back.

Xie Yi tightened her grip on Xie Huiying. "Let's go. I have the key to the underground passage. Don't worry—we'll get Auntie out."

They split up the tasks: the aunties would stay outside to provide backup; Song Weishi, Xie Yi, and Xie Huiying would go in; Jiang Qingrou and Ke Shaoyi would wait outside. That way, no matter what happened inside, there would still be people outside to support them.

The three of them moved quickly, disappearing in a flash.

The tunnel leading out of the city from the Research Institute was quite far away. Unsure whether the trio would emerge from the tunnel or the main gate, the others split up to wait at both spots.

Finally, in a small manhole cover on the outskirts, the three found the way down.

The path down was spotless. Climbing down the steel rungs, they found a heavy laboratory door below.

A cold blue light indicated that no one had come through recently. Xie Yi pressed the button on the door, scanned her iris, and the door groaned open.

They slipped inside, and the door sealed shut behind them.

The underground passage was well-built and spacious, originally designed as a bomb shelter for researchers. But after Xie Huiqing's renovations, it had been connected to the outside, creating a hidden escape route.

Perhaps anticipating this, Xie Huiqing had told them about this secret passage beforehand, and now it was coming in handy.

The passage was wide enough to fit a sports car. As soon as they entered, Song Weishi spotted a row of utility carts parked along the wall—it seemed Xie Huiqing had thought of everything. The three of them hopped on and sped off.

It felt just like the time she'd ridden through the tunnel in the snow. Revisiting that sensation was oddly refreshing. Song Weishi rode fast—she had great stamina—but Xie Huiying needed the most care.

It was quite the reversal. Back on the road, her weak-as-a-chick body was no match for the aunties.

It seemed that after gaining her abilities, her body had changed, making her feel completely reborn.

Song Weishi led the way, and the path was smooth without any obstacles.

They soon reached the end of the passage—a lab door stood before them. Xie Yi wasted no time, setting down her cart and stepping up to verify her identity and open the door.

It was quiet up above, not a sound of fighting. Song Weishi poked her head out from below, and the world was pitch black.

She made a gesture, pointing to the headlamp on her forehead. Only when both nodded did she switch it on.

The moment the light flicked on, a pale green glass jar loomed before her, with a pair of enormous eyes staring straight at her. Song Weishi jumped in fright, almost letting go of the handhold.

She stumbled back, but Xie Yi was right behind her, steadying her as she climbed out.

All around, countless jars and bottles gleamed in the headlamp's beam. It was eerily quiet here—the specimen storage on the second basement level of the Research Institute.

Aside from the initial scare, Song Weishi quickly got used to the room's assortment of grotesque specimens.

No one ever came here. The Research Institute had multiple passages, and Xie Huiqing had been wise to put the specimen room here. No one would think to look for a secret entrance in a place like this.

Their entry point was hidden beneath a hollow jar embedded in the floor, so securely that almost no one would ever notice.

Song Weishi observed for a while. Once Xie Huiying was out too, the three crept to the door. The second basement level was deathly silent, muffling almost all sound from above.

That meant any noise would be especially jarring here. The walkie-talkie in her pocket crackled, and suddenly Xie Huiqing's voice came through: "...in... Qing..."

The signal was terrible down here—probably a signal jammer, which explained why they couldn't hear her earlier.

Or maybe she could hear them, but her messages couldn't get out.

Good thing they'd come in; otherwise, they'd have no idea what was happening inside.

Song Weishi tried asking again a few times, waiting for Xie Huiqing to respond, and slowly pieced together the full sentence.

It seemed she was in the dissection room. None of them were very familiar with the Institute—Xie Yi was probably the most familiar, but even she didn't know where the dissection room was.

Xie Huiying frowned, gripping the walkie-talkie. "So we know the location, but where exactly is the dissection room?"

That room was usually used for dissecting and studying dead monsters. Song Weishi had never been there, and neither had Xie Yi.

All three were total newcomers, knowing the name but clueless about the actual location.

Song Weishi said, "How about this: let's head upstairs and see what's going on. If worst comes to worst, we grab someone and ask. What do you think?"

Xie Huiying nodded in agreement. Then she turned to Xie Yi, who glanced at Song Weishi without voicing any objections.

"Alright, let's go. I'll take point, Sister Xie, you follow behind me."

"Okay, Xie Yi, watch our backs. Let's move!"

The three slipped out of the specimen room, pressing close to the wall. Even though they knew no one would see them, they were still on edge.

When they reached the first floor and opened the door, the stench of blood hit them like a wall, so strong they could smell it even through their protective suits.

Bodies of security guards lay scattered across the floor, along with some researchers in white coats.

The two groups seemed to have clashed, and the security guards were particularly numerous among the dead. Song Weishi remembered that these people had been quarantined—why had they suddenly broken out and gone after the researchers, ending in mutual destruction and death?

There wasn't a single trace of the pharmaceutical company's blue uniforms. The three avoided the bodies and made their way down the corridor. It was eerily quiet, with only the sounds of fighting still echoing from outside.

They didn't have time to investigate further. They quickly found their way to where the fighting arena was.

Along the way, all the doors were mostly open, except the medical room, which was tightly shut.

They searched everywhere but couldn't find the dissection room Xie Huiqing had mentioned.

They didn't dare use the walkie-talkie to ask again; they just searched quietly, heads down.

The sounds of fighting outside grew closer, and there was a commotion from the upper floors too, but they still hadn't found the dissection room.

Xie Huiying's voice trembled with tears: "What do we do? Where is this place?"

The three huddled behind the reception desk, nearly lying flat on the floor to talk. Gunfire thundered outside, blood pooling across the lobby, and stray bullets occasionally ricocheted in, sending chills down their spines.

Song Weishi held her hand, trying to calm her, her mind practically smoking from overthinking.

They'd searched for half an hour, checking every room—most doors were wide open, leaving no privacy. They'd covered everywhere they could think of.

They'd even checked the specimen room below, and run into a few security guards who had clearly gone mad, shooting at them without a word.

Song Weishi didn't have time to explain. She and Xie Yi took them down one by one. Now they were crouched here, racking their brains for another hiding spot.

She remembered that there seemed to be two elevators below the fighting arena. She'd ridden one of them back and forth, but where did the other go?

They'd overlooked this place at first, and with so many people fighting below, they hadn't even thought about it.

But the most dangerous place is often the safest.

She looked up, meeting Xie Yi's eyes. They said in unison, "The fighting arena!"

Xie Huiying was confused. "But we just checked there—there's no place to hide."

Song Weishi nodded. "Right, but there's an elevator there too."

Xie Huiying's eyes widened slightly. "You mean Qing is in the elevator?"

Song Weishi: "Can't rule it out. Let's go check."

The three moved quickly. There were quite a few people below, but aside from the center of the fighting, the lighting was dim, making it hard to notice the three gray figures. They hugged the wall and reached the elevator. As they pressed the button, the doors opened silently.

The elevator light flicked on, illuminating the space in front of them.

Inside stood a familiar figure, clutching a bleeding wound on her abdomen, holding a knife and staring at the three of them with fierce determination—it was Xie Huiqing.