Xu Hao scrambled backward, leaning against the wall, staring at the iron door easily pierced by the scalpel.
What’s going on? Wasn’t it supposed to be safe once inside the room? Was Little Bai’s analysis wrong?
At the moment of his utmost horror, the incessant shrill alarm suddenly snapped him back to reality.
When the lights flashed just now, he was too preoccupied with escaping to close his eyes.
With this thought, Xu Hao quickly shut his eyes.
The alarming sound of the iron door being pierced still exploded in his ears, refusing to cease.
The long knife was withdrawn and thrust in again and again.
In less than half a minute, dozens of holes riddled the iron door, flaking rust cascading down.
Xu Hao repeated the experiment of closing and opening his eyes, but after several unsuccessful attempts, he sat down heavily on the cold floor.
This door won’t hold much longer!
He panted heavily, a sharp pain drilled from the wound on his left shoulder, forcing him to grit his teeth in agony.
He quickly stripped off his hospital gown, tearing it into several cloth strips, and haphazardly wrapped the bleeding wound.
Then he fixated on the now thoroughly battered iron door, thoughts racing rapidly.
The threat of death had never felt so real.
This damned place was far more dangerous than he had imagined.
That guy named Xiao Shuai was right.
One person could never possibly make it out.
Meanwhile, in the dark ventilation duct, Xiao Shuai was dragging his body forward slowly.
After separating from Xu Hao, he carefully felt his way through and finally found the safety passage.
But reaching the second floor, the stairway platform leading to the third floor had completely vanished, replaced by a bare wall.
It seemed the designer deliberately sealed off the upward path, blocking any shortcut or loophole.
Helpless, he could only push open the fire door on the second floor and retreat back into the corridor.
However, after only a few steps, the alarm suddenly blared again, and the lights began flashing wildly. Thıs content belongs to NoveI(F)ire.net
The corridor was instantly and tightly blocked by "patients" swarming in from both ends.
With life on the line, he glimpsed the ventilation duct above, scrambling in with all his strength, narrowly escaping disaster.
He intended to continue crawling through the duct, seeking a way to the third floor.
But suddenly, a strange, piercing "thud-thud" sound came from below, like a sharp object slicing through metal.
He immediately stopped, peering down through the grille slits.
He saw Xu Hao, covered in blood, trapped inside a room resembling a laboratory.
The tightly shut iron door was being frantically pierced by something outside with a long knife.
Suddenly, a massive blast echoed, and the iron door completely collapsed.
Then, a tall figure in a white nurse’s uniform burst in, dragging an absurdly long scalpel.
Xiao Shuai couldn’t see its face but noticed it relentlessly chasing Xu Hao with deadly precision.
Xu Hao could only clumsily dodge between the lab tables, adding several more wounds to his body.
"This reckless fool..."
Xiao Shuai frowned tightly, mumbling to himself.
To save or not to save?
That reckless guy brought this on himself if he died.
But then he reconsidered; this hellish place was strange in every corner.
The "patients" were troublesome enough, and that knife-wielding nurse was absurdly strong. Who knew how terrifying the "primary doctor" mentioned in the rules could be?
The reckless fool might not be the brightest, but he was physically stout and a fierce fighter, at least a usable meat shield and brawler.
Xiao Shuai cursed under his breath, instantly making up his mind.
He squeezed the lighter in his pocket, his eyes rapidly scanning the laboratory below.
Alcohol lamps, oxygen bottles, and that stainless-steel laboratory table in the center...
A crazy and bold plan quickly formed in his mind.
Xu Hao was still barely holding on with his formidable stamina, awkwardly dodging in the vast laboratory.
At that moment, Xiao Shuai quietly pried open the vent’s grille and leapt down.
As he frantically dodged, Xu Hao caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye, nearly scared out of his wits, thinking it was another monster.
Upon a closer look, he realized it was that pretty boy.
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Shut up. If you want to live, listen to me!"
Xiao Shuai spoke so fast it was like a machine gun, racing to the lab table while lighting an alcohol lamp with his lighter and shouting to Xu Hao:
"Throw that oxygen bottle over there, smash her with it!"
Xu Hao was stunned, then quickly understood the lunatic’s plan.
He didn’t have time to think, rolling to dodge the knife’s sweeping arc.
In one smooth motion, he grabbed a half-man-high oxygen bottle from the corner, bellowed loud, and hurled it at the charging "nurse" with all his might.
In the face of the flying heavy object, the "nurse’s" instinctive reaction was to attack.
She let out a shrill shriek, her long knife slicing a remnant shadow, precisely and fiercely against the oxygen bottle’s body.
The sturdy bottle was cleaved open, a crack forming. High-pressure oxygen instantly gushed out, forming a dense white fog, enveloping the "nurse’s" figure.
Xiao Shuai shouted, hurling the burning alcohol lamp forcefully into that mass of white fog.
Almost simultaneously, he and Xu Hao crazily dove toward the room’s thickest lab table, desperately curling behind the solid steel base.
A tiny flame arced through the air, tracing a faint path.
Then it plunged directly into the cloud of high-purity oxygen.
A deafening explosion erupted.