Still carrying the IV bag, Chu Chenli strode towards Dr Du and Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai’s gaze felt glued to the giant spider, still pinned to the wall, watching it closely, half expecting it to open its monstrous eyes and charge them.
Usually, monsters like this would quickly turn to ashes after being killed.
However, this large spider did not.
It was nearly impossible for ordinary people to kill mutants, even with weapons— the ordinary IV stand that Chu Chenli had thrown at it was hardly suitable for combat training, let alone killing mutants.
Yet, the spider lay motionless on the ground as Chu Chenli approached the two.
Chu Chenli observed the IV bag in his hand. The last dregs of medicine had dripped out, and blood had started to flow back into the thin tube. He reached out, removed the needle, and casually threw both the needle and the bottle onto an empty table nearby.
Clang.
The clatter snapped both men out of a daze.
Chu Chenli’s expression was calm. Xiao Bai found himself taking deep breaths, relaxing the slightest bit. His eyes widened, finally processing something other than his impending death.
Chu Chenli was awake!
Xiao Bai was momentarily stunned. Joy flooded through him. “Are you okay?”
Chu Chenli raised his hand, pulling out the IV pole that had been stabbed into the spider’s head. Thick, dark-grey brain matter splattered everywhere, and he took a step back, narrowly avoiding the disgusting fluids.
The spider’s head crashed to the floor, sending a minor tremor through the ground.The IV pole dragged against the ground with a grating screech.
Chu Chenli leaned on the stand, looking down at Xiao Bai.
The moon cast a faint glow over his pale face. Standing over Xiao Bai, ringed in the silhouette of the moon, he cut an ethereal and lonely figure.
Without a smile softening his features, he just seemed cold.
“I’m not okay.” Chu Chenli said slowly, eyelids half lidded. He looked rather indifferent to his situation. “I still feel dizzy.”
—That indifference seemed more like weariness.
Xiao Bai: “…”
Dr Du: “…”
In unison, they turned their heads to the spider, still lying sprawled in the corner. They looked back at Chu Chenli’s cold expression. Both opened their mouths to say something, but thought better of it. They closed their mouths.
For a moment, they felt the slightest bit of pity for the spider’s untimely demise, but that was quickly smothered by their vindication. In a better situation, maybe they would have celebrated with applause.
Dr Du silently stood up, bracing himself against the wall, wincing and rubbing his head. When Xiao Bai pushed him earlier, he had bumped into a pillar— the corridor wasn’t that spacious after all.
A concussion was infinitely better than getting eaten alive.
As Dr Du helped Xiao Bai up, Chu Chenli turned to Xiao Bai. “Have you experienced any changes since you woke up?”
Xiao Bai hesitated, thinking of those inner voices. The truth was on the tip of his tongue, but glancing at Dr Du next to him, he hesitated for a moment. “I heard some weird sounds.”
Chu Chenli eyed the giant spider on the ground, “Could you hear its voice?”
Xiao Bai hesitated for a moment and shook his head.
He wasn’t referring to the screeches of the monster. What did he mean? Xiao Bai had only heard those just now.
“Well…that’s troublesome,” Chu Chenli looked as if he was getting a headache. Maybe it was due to exhaustion, but his expression stayed placid, “I can’t control anything with my abilities here. It’s beyond my control.”
Not that he couldn’t use them at all— if he used them now, he could destroy the entire base.
The energy in his body was surging, like an inflated balloon, and Chu Chenli could only struggle to contain it. After all, reality wasn’t a game, where teammates could lose limbs in a fight and recover in the next world. Here, it meant certain death.
Left out of their silent communication, Dr Du decided to drop the topic. Although he had his suspicions, he didn’t dwell on them, looking around for an escape route.
“We must report this to Commander Ye!” Dr Du frowned, his face full of concern. “The medical department is filled with unawakened and injured people. There’s no way they can deal with those monsters. In the event there’s another incident like this…”
He found it strange. The medical department was located in the heart of the base. Even if the protective shield was breached, others would have intercepted the attack.
How did the monster infiltrate the medical department completely undetected?
Even if the protective shield and the laboratory were both destroyed, it should still be guarded by experienced awakened people on duty. An intruder this large should never have been able to breach the compound.
Unless they…
He didn’t dare think about that possibility. His mind was filled with one thought—
Find Commander Ye.
It was the instinctive reaction of most people in the base when encountering unexpected situations. As the leader of the base, the absolute strongest, Commander Ye Lanzhou could handle problems and protect ordinary people without combat capabilities.
Xiao Bai glanced at Chu Chenli, giving his agreement. They had no other choice.
Chu Chenli stayed silent. His expression was calm, seemingly indifferent to the matter. To Xiao Bai, he looked like he could fall asleep any second.
A brief discussion later, Xiao Bai and Dr Du agreed that it was best to retrace their steps: they would use the medical building’s stairs to find their way back down.
The alternative was dangerous at best: the building behind them originally slated for renovation had fallen into disrepair, with several flights of stairs rotting, the railings completely gone. Even the ceiling lighting wasn’t spared.
If someone’s untimely demise, instead of mutants, was caused by a set of stairs, it would be nothing short of a joke.
As they passed by the corpse of the giant spider, both Dr Du and Xiao Bai both walked a little lighter on their feet, holding their breath, fearing that it would regain consciousness.
Carefully stepping over its body, they quickened the pace, leaving the corpse behind. So caught up in their fear, they failed to notice the eerie silence outside the medical department.
Their scuffle had gone completely unnoticed.
Chu Chenli, supporting himself with the IV stand, brought up the rear. When they reached the end of the corridor, he stopped walking. His eyes swept over the medical wing, pausing over the experimental building.
It was the only place that still had lights on.
Walking in front, Xiao Bai nervously scanned his surroundings. Several railings and ward doors in the corridor were smashed, the ceiling lights in shards all over the floor, the place was in disarray. A few emergency lights emitted a faint green glow from below the wall.
The only other source of lighting in this place was the moonlight streaming in from large holes in the ceiling, illuminating the entrance.
Fortunately, other mutants had yet to appear.
Xiao Bai breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at Chu Chenli with no small amount of concern. He leaned over, and whispered to Dr Du, “Does the medicine have side effects? He looks like he’s in a lot of discomfort.”
Dr Du’s face was still pale, and he sighed before saying, “He probably woke himself up with sheer willpower. Neutralising agents don’t take effect so quickly.”
He had prepared a week’s worth of supplies, and Chu Chenli had only used one-fourteenth of it.
Oh, another fourteenth of the potion for the night had been stepped on by the mutant spider.
Despite seeing the mess on the ground, Dr Du still felt a stifling sense of relief. “Him waking up is already much more than we can ask for. What, do you prefer him bedridden and a good snack for the spider?”
Xiao Bai couldn’t refute that. He didn’t dare to speak up after that.
They reached the spot where the monster had descended earlier— directly underneath the giant hole. Xiao Bai’s legs felt like jelly.
The darkness below felt endless, like it could swallow a person whole.
His pace slowed involuntarily.
“How pathetic.” Dr Du scolded under his breath.
Xiao Bai didn’t know who the reprimand was directed towards: Dr Du had also slowed his pace.
When he’d last encountered mutants…it was at least three or four years ago, when he was a logistics doctor, not a front-line medical officer. Afterwards, Commander Ye Lanzhou had repeatedly assured him that he would ensure the safety of the medical department to the best of his ability.
He had kept his word.
As a result, people in the medical department were accustomed to being unarmed, with only a small amount of firearms and ammunition stored in the first-floor warehouse. Those on duty every night had undergone basic firearm training, but it had almost never been put to use.
When the spider mutant had appeared, no gunshots had rung out downstairs. It had been completely silent.
Xiao Bai, with his limited experience and a mind too busy worrying after Chu Chenli, was too frightened to notice these anomalies.
However, Dr Du had already realised that something was wrong.
The people downstairs had either all…
Or they encountered the worst case scenario— an awakened mutant.
If that truly were the case, there was another, more terrifying monster hidden in the depths of the medical department.
Considering they hadn’t even heard a scream, Dr Du was more inclined to believe the latter.
They’d truly hit the jackpot—the worst situation possible.
Dr Du sighed inwardly, his heart sinking, already dreading what was to come. But they had to keep moving—standing there meant certain death.
Fears about monsters and the dark kept them from moving forward, the two hesitating at the entrance of the stairwell.
At this moment, Chu Chenli walked in front of them and started going downstairs.
“Be careful!” Xiao Bai shouted.
Chu Chenli spared him a glance.
“I don’t think waiting for our death is a good idea,” he said lightly.
Knowing that these two were not frontline combatants, he added, “I’ll lead the way, alright?”
Xiao Bai had wanted to show his bravery, but he looked at the thick darkness beneath his feet. The nasty image of the giant spider came to his head unbidden, and the protest died on his lips. He swallowed his saliva, shut his mouth, and obediently followed behind Chu Chenli.
Dr Du followed closely.
It was strange. The dense darkness seemed to deliberately avoid Chu Chenli. Although the darkness persisted, the eerie, oppressive feeling was diminished. Standing behind Chu Chenli, he felt an immediate sense of security.
Xiao Bai’s breathing gradually stabilised. Before he realised it, he had reached out and tugged Chu Chenli’s clothes. The hospital gown was a bit big for him, and Xiao Bai looked like he was dragging a little tail behind Chu Chenli.
Chu Chenli just glanced back at Xiao Bai, not minding it. Xiao Bai felt a bit embarrassed but didn’t dare to let go. For some reason, after he had woken up, Chu Chenli felt more capable and reliable.
Before he could think further, he heard Chu Chenli say to him, “You can try to communicate with them.”
“Ah.” Xiao Bai said blankly.
“Your ability,” Chu Chenli prodded, “If we get trapped in a barrier or an illusion, you’ll be our last hope.”
Xiao Bai felt like he was in a daze— only to be rudely snapped out of it by Chu Chenli’s last line. Abruptly, he could feel his breath coming faster— he was hyperventilating.
Just how bad would the situation have to be for someone like him, a useless piece of garbage, to have to save someone?
Surely, it had to be a situation with no hope of escaping alive.
Chu Chenli sighed softly. “Just kidding.”
Unfortunately, Xiao Bai couldn’t laugh at all.
The eerie rustling sound was back.
“It’s here again.” Xiao Bai covered his mouth, suppressing the urge to vomit. His hand tightened into a vice grip, wrinkling Chu Chenli’s clothes. “That’s the same sound as before…”
Dr Du had also paled.
They had already descended to the third floor. One side should have been filled with injured patients affected by the recent explosion. The other side led to the stairwell that would take them downstairs.
Everyone hesitated, as their footsteps came to a halt.
Xiao Bai looked up and couldn’t help but stammer, “C…Camera!”
There was no need for the exclamation, really. Everyone else had seen it too.
A surveillance camera was installed at the upper corner of the stairs, and the red light emanating from it seemed particularly eerie in the darkness.
Not to mention it suddenly blinked a few times.
With everyone’s attention on it, that red light suddenly seemed to go mad, frantically swaying left and right.
Xiao Bai took a step back in fear, wanting to pull Chu Chenli back.
Dr Du also looked around nervously.
Chu Chenli, however, seemed thoughtful as he spoke to the camera. “We can’t go left?”
The surveillance camera shook up and down twice, as if nodding.
Unable to go to the wards, they had to go downstairs.
But just as they made a decision, a miserable scream suddenly erupted at the end of the corridor.
“Help, help! What is this thing? Save me, ah ah ah ah——”
Dr Du’s heart tightened, immediately recognizing who it was, “It’s Xiao Peng’s voice.”
Xiao Bai also said, “It’s, it’s Nurse Peng.”
Nurse Peng was an emotional person with a loud voice. She had often shouted, and her screaming was particularly distinctive.
Dr Du looked at Chu Chenli, hesitated for a moment, and then gritted his teeth, decision made. “Let’s go out first and find Commander Ye!”
The timing of the distress call was so coincidental— it was impossible to tell if it was a trap.
Even if Nurse Peng was really in danger, he and Xiao Bai wouldn’t be able to save her. As for the only one with the ability, Chu Chenli…
Dr Du felt awkward asking him for help, given it was Nurse Peng’s neglect that led to Chu Chenli falling into a coma.
Even if she wasn’t the mastermind, objectively speaking, she was an accomplice.
He couldn’t risk involving Chu Chenli.
The surveillance camera on the ceiling was also frantically swivelling left and right, as if advising them not to go.
“Help, help!”
Her pleas for help were growing hoarse, but her desperation was loud and clear.
Chu Chenli pried Xiao Bai’s hand off his clothes, lightly tapping his back with the IV stand, and Xiao Bai staggered forward.
“You guys head down first.” Chu Chenli said.
“But…” Xiao Bai desperately scrambled for anything that would dissuade him.
“Go out and find Lanzhou to save us.” Chu Chenli pointed. “He should be in the lab.”
With that, he turned, not giving Xiao Bai time to form a protest, and disappeared into the darkness.
Dr Du understood his intentions, his own apprehension disappearing. Grasping his hand, he dragged Xiao Bai downstairs.
Xiao Bai’s heart gave a strong throb.
[Food…delicious…come quickly…]
An unfamiliar voice, sharp and piercing, suddenly entered his mind.
A few sparse words, like a cluster of dense fireworks, exploded in his mind, blocking out all other sounds and movements.
His limbs were numb. He didn’t remember how he managed to get downstairs.
Finally, he glimpsed the night sky outside, dotted with stars, the vague silhouette of a crescent moon peeking out from behind a layer of fog.
Dr Du’s face, full of anxiety, suddenly appeared in his field of vision. His mouth was moving, as if saying something.
“We’re going to find Commander Ye to save Chu Chenli!”
