Four diverging paths, four bloody paths.
Deep inside the second passage on the left.
Sophia and Shizuku stood back-to-back, surrounded by corpses lying on the ground—thirteen guards and two researchers wearing white lab coats.
Blood flowed along the floor, shimmering with an eerie luster under the red alarm lights.
"Keep moving," Sophia said.
Shizuku nodded, and the two continued deeper.
The leftmost passage.
Machi Komacine and Kastro encountered the first wave of organized resistance.
More than twenty guards rushed out from around the corner, holding automatic rifles and firing wildly at the two.
Kastro's figure flashed, and he disappeared from where he stood.
In the next second, he had already appeared among the group of guards, his hands formed into claws, and every strike took a life.
Machi Komacine sighed, but his movements did not stop, precisely twisting the necks of every enemy.
"Let's go," he said.
Kastro nodded. The two continued forward.
The rightmost passage.
Hisoka had already killed twenty-six guards and five monsters.
He stood in the middle of a pile of corpses, looking down at the last monster still twitching at his feet, and curled his lip.
"Boring," he said, raising his head to look deeper into the passage.
From there, several powerful auras could be faintly felt.
Hisoka's eyes lit up.
"Finally... something decent has arrived." He licked his lips and strode forward.
The middle passage.
Leo and Ashir walked quickly.
The journey was surprisingly smooth—no guards, no monsters, no obstacles whatsoever.
Ashir followed behind Leo, still wearing those special handcuffs on his wrists.
As he walked, he looked around, his eyes full of unease.
"Something's wrong," he whispered. "It's too quiet."
Leo did not speak. He just continued walking forward.
A closed metal door appeared ahead, with a keypad on it, its red numeric keys flashing.
Leo walked up to the door and raised his right hand. He clenched his fist. And smashed it down.
"Boom—!!!"
The metal door caved in, tore, and shattered as if it were made of paper!
Debris flew behind the door, hitting the ground with a harsh clattering sound.
Leo stepped over the ruins and entered the space behind the door.
It was a huge circular space, at least half the size of a football field, with walls covered in dense pipes and cables.
The air was filled with a heavy smell of blood, mixed with disinfectant and some indescribable stench of decay.
On the ground, countless corpses lay scattered about. There were guards in combat gear, researchers in white lab coats, and some beast-like creatures; corpses were everywhere.
And in the center of this mountain of corpses—a huge red sphere was slowly writhing.
The sphere was over five meters in diameter, with a smooth surface, displaying an unnatural dark red color.
It was like a giant heart, regularly contracting, expanding, contracting, expanding; each pulsation was accompanied by a low "thump" sound that echoed throughout the space.
Leo stopped and frowned slightly. "What is this thing?"
Ashir, following behind him, turned pale the instant he saw the red sphere.
"Number Three... Experiment Number Three!" His voice trembled. "They've been released! They released Number Three!"
The red sphere seemed to sense someone's arrival. Its pulsation stopped. The entire space fell into a deathly silence.
Then—the sphere began to change. Its red surface started to twist and deform, caving inward and bulging outward.
The changes became faster and more violent, as if something were struggling to break free from within.
"Hiss—!!!" A sharp hiss tore through the silence!
The red sphere exploded suddenly! Mucus splattered everywhere! A massive creature rushed out from the sphere!
It was a centipede—if a centipede could grow like that.
It was over thirty meters long, covered in dark red armor, with the armor covered in eerie patterns.
Its head was a giant mouthpart, filled with dense, sharp teeth arranged in inward-facing circles, capable of shredding any creature into pieces.
Its body was divided into dozens of segments, with sharp legs growing on both sides of each segment, and transparent mucus dripping from the legs.
Experiment Number Three, Blood Centipede.
It coiled in the center of the space, its hundreds of legs dancing simultaneously, making a "rustling" friction sound.
Those compound eyes stared fixedly at Leo, its mouthparts opened, and it let out a deafening hiss!
Then—it moved! Its massive body tightened like a spring, then shot out, and that huge mouthpart bit straight toward Leo!
Ashir's face turned pale, and he turned to run—but Leo was faster.
He exerted sudden force with his feet, and the ground shattered! His figure turned into a golden streak of light, shooting straight toward the giant insect! He was so fast he left afterimages!
The two collided in mid-air! Leo clenched his right fist, Nen gathering on his knuckles into a blinding golden light—and he threw a punch!
"Bang—!!!" A dull, loud sound! The fist slammed solidly into the centipede's head!
That huge head exploded instantly! Armor shattered! Flesh flew everywhere! Viscous body fluids splattered all around!
The centipede's massive body suddenly stiffened, and then—a new head emerged from the original position! Good as new!
Leo landed, looked up at the centipede, and raised an eyebrow slightly. He noticed that the centipede's body was one segment shorter.
"Interesting," he muttered. "Is its vitality linked to its body length?"
He glanced at the centipede's body—there were at least twenty-five segments left. In other words, it could regenerate at least twenty more times.
Leo's lips curled up slightly. "Let's see how many times you can regenerate."
The centipede seemed to be enraged by him, letting out an even sharper hiss as it lunged at him again!
Leo advanced instead of retreating, and the two collided again! Bang! The head exploded! A new head regenerated! The body was one segment shorter!
Bang! It exploded again! Regenerated! One segment shorter! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each collision was accompanied by a dull, loud sound! Each loud sound meant a head exploded! Each explosion meant a new head regenerated!
Leo's fists poured down like a rainstorm, each punch precisely striking that constantly regenerating head!
And that centipede, despite becoming more crazed after each regeneration, could not touch Leo in the slightest!
Ashir hid behind a pillar, watching the battle, his face as pale as paper.
"..." He muttered. "They're both monsters..."
He desperately wanted to take this opportunity to escape. As long as he ran into the passage and found a place to hide, he might survive.
But he looked down at the special handcuffs on his wrists, then at the figure fighting crazily in the distance, and ultimately gave up on the idea.
He couldn't run away. Even if he could, with that man's speed, it would only take a few seconds to catch up to him.
He could only hide here and pray he wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.
Finally—Bang! The last punch landed. The centipede's head exploded.
This time, no new head regenerated. The massive body stiffened for a second, then collapsed with a roar!
"Boom—!!!" The entire space was trembling! The centipede's body twitched a few times, then went completely still.
A warm sensation came from the tattoo on the back of his hand. [Life Energy +6%] [Rank: Level 71 (28%) → Level 71 (34%)]
Leo withdrew his fist and lightly shook off the mucus on his hand. He looked at the corpse, which was now only a few meters long, and shook his head slightly.
"Its vitality is indeed tenacious; interesting."
He turned around, preparing to continue forward—suddenly, he stopped.
He looked down at the ground beneath his feet. It was a concrete-poured floor, at least one meter thick. The third floor was right under his feet.
Leo raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the huge space, over the scattered corpses, and over the dead centipede. Then, he realized something.
"Why look for an entrance?" He muttered to himself. "Now that I'm this strong, why do I have to follow the prescribed route?"
Ashir heard his words and was stunned. "Wha...what do you mean?"
Leo did not answer. He just raised his right fist and slowly pulled it back.
The muscles in his arm tightened like steel cables, with every fiber poised and ready. Veins bulged under his skin like winding snakes.
Nen began to surge, crazily gathering toward his fist, compressing, and compressing again!
The light turned from white to incandescent white, from incandescent white to gold, and finally to a nearly blinding bright gold!
A huge ball of light condensed and formed in front of his knuckles, the energy inside spinning and colliding crazily, emitting a low, roaring hum!
The surrounding air was distorted by this energy, and the light seemed to be swallowed up!
Ashir's eyes widened. He suddenly understood what Leo was about to do. "You're crazy—!!!"
Before he could finish—Leo smashed his fist into the ground!
"Boom—!!!" An earth-shattering roar! The cracks were like a spiderweb, spreading crazily in all directions from the point of impact!
One! Two! Ten! The entire ground was collapsing! Concrete fragments splashed in all directions! Rebar twisted and snapped! Dust rose into the sky!
Rumble—!!! The entire second floor was shaking violently!
Those who were still fighting in the passages stopped simultaneously, looking toward the source of the tremor in shock!
Hisoka's pupils contracted slightly. "This guy..." His lips curled, revealing a crazy smile.
Sophia and Shizuku held onto the walls to barely stand steady. Machi Komacine's expression changed drastically. "Leo—!"
Kastro's eyes were full of admiration. And deep in the middle passage—Leo and Ashir, along with the collapsing floor, fell into the third floor together.
"Leave the second floor to them," Leo's voice came from the dust.