The third floor.
Leo expanded his En to 400 meters, carefully searching.
Passing through one metal door after another that had been violently blasted open, Ashir followed behind him, cautiously avoiding the twisted metal fragments.
His gaze swept across the rooms on both sides of the passage; with every glance, his face grew a shade paler.
Those rooms were filled with mummified corpses.
Some were collapsed on the floor, some curled in corners, and some remained in their final poses—reaching out for help or clutching their heads in agony.
There were men, women, the elderly, and even children.
At a rough estimate, just the rooms they had passed along the way contained three to four thousand human corpses.
Including the animal mummies, the total was at least over twenty thousand.
More than twenty thousand lives had been completely drained, turned into these ugly, twisted mummies.
It was precisely because of this that he had been caught by Leo; Ashir's legs began to feel weak, and he stole a glance at Leo walking ahead.
That man was emitting an aura that made him feel suffocated.
It wasn't Nen Pressure or Killing Intent, but something even more terrifying—a death-like calm.
That kind of calm was more frightening than any angry roar.
'So terrifying...'
Ashir thought to himself.
'The Doctor is in trouble.'
But on second thought, he fell back into despair.
If the Doctor won, he, as a traitor, would surely die.
If Leo won, he, as the Doctor's confidant, would also be unable to escape death; either way, he was dead.
Ashir was utterly despondent, and his steps became heavy.
Ahead, they reached the end.
A massive metal door stood there.
Above the door was a blood-red sign—a giant "0", looking exceptionally piercing under the red light, as if warning of something.
Leo stopped walking.
"Looks like this is the place."
Ashir walked to his side, looked at the door, and swallowed hard.
"This should be where number zero is being held."
Leo didn't say much; he simply raised his hand.
Seeing this, Ashir's face instantly turned deathly pale.
Without a word, he turned and ran, all the way to a corner of the passage, hiding behind a pile of debris over a hundred meters away before daring to peek out.
Leo's right fist slowly pulled back.
Nen began to surge, frantically gathering, compressing, and re-compressing into his fist!
The light changed from white to brilliant white, then to gold, and finally to a near-blinding bright gold!
A massive ball of light condensed at the front of his fist, the energy inside spinning and colliding wildly, emitting a low, roaring hum!
The air in the entire passage was vibrating!
Leo struck down with his fist!
The fist slammed into the metal door— "Crack!"
The first crack appeared.
Then— "Crack, crack, crack—!!!"
Cracks like spiderwebs spread wildly from the point of impact!
The entire door was covered in cracks!
And then— it shattered!
"BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!"
An earth-shattering roar!
Metal fragments flew in all directions, slamming into the walls and floor with ear-piercing impacts!
The entire third floor vibrated slightly!
Dust filled the air!
A few seconds later, the dust cleared.
Behind the door, a second metal door was revealed.
Leo raised an eyebrow and threw another punch!
"BOOM—!!!"
The second door shattered!
A third door appeared before him.
Without hesitation, Leo threw another punch!
"BOOM—!!!"
The third door shattered!
Behind the door, a massive circular space was finally revealed.
Leo stepped forward, about to enter— the moment his toe stepped into the space, alarm bells rang in his heart!
Every hair on his body stood on end!
His pupils shrank suddenly!
"Not good!"
Nen erupted instantly, and "Ken" covered his entire body!
The next second— "BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!"
Scorching flames and explosions filled the entire space!
Those were "Super Bombs"—the power of just one was enough to level a building!
The Doctor had placed Super Bombs at the entrance as a last resort!
The shockwave of the explosion spread wildly!
Flames swallowed everything!
The entire isolation room shook violently!
Hiding in the distance, Ashir was sent flying by the shockwave, slamming heavily against the wall!
He spat out a mouthful of blood, his whole body in agony, but he ignored it and stared fixedly at the center of the explosion—
'Is he dead?'
'He should be dead this time, right?'
A glimmer of hope rose in his heart.
The explosion lasted for a full two minutes.
As the flames gradually died down and the dust slowly settled, Ashir's eyes widened.
In the center of the explosion, a figure was kneeling on one knee.
Leo's clothes were in tatters, his body covered in burns, his skin charred, and he was bleeding profusely.
There were multiple gashes on his body, and blood dripped from the wounds, forming a small pool on the ground.
But he was still alive; he slowly stood up.
"Cough, cough..."
Leo coughed up some bloody phlegm, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth.
He looked up at the four special alloy walls that had already risen ahead—that was the Doctor's backup plan, protecting the Incubation Pod tightly.
The alloy walls protecting the Incubation Pod were five meters thick, enough to withstand any attack.
The surrounding walls were also built with alloy to prevent collapse from explosions.
"Good thing I reacted in time,"
He said softly.
"Otherwise, it would have been dangerous."
With a thought— the next second, black, living-like stripe patterns instantly began to spread from his neck!
Those patterns crawled over his body like vines, winding and moving, finally forming a complex and mysterious design!
"Shivering Soul," activated!
"Convert."
The black patterns on his body writhed slightly, light flowing through them.
Recovery, enhanced to the maximum!
His body began to recover at a speed visible to the naked eye!
The burned skin began to peel off, revealing new skin underneath!
At the edges of the gashes, granulation tissue grew wildly, weaving and healing! The bleeding stopped instantly!
Three minutes, in just three minutes, Leo was restored to his original state.
His skin was as smooth as new, without even a single scar left.
In the distance, Ashir slumped on the ground, watching this scene, completely stunned.
His mouth hung open, but he couldn't make a sound.
'Not dead...'
'Such a massive explosion, and he didn't die...'
'Injured like that, and he recovered in three minutes...'
Only one thought remained in his head.
'This guy isn't human!'
'Too terrifying!'
'Maybe... maybe the Doctor really will die at his hands...'
He couldn't even summon the thought of a sneak attack.
Facing a monster like this, a sneak attack? That was seeking death.
Leo didn't care about what Ashir, hiding behind, was thinking; he just stared fixedly at the four special alloy walls surrounding the area ahead.
Behind the walls was that massive transparent Incubation Pod.
Inside the Incubation Pod, in a pale green nutrient solution, a blood-red humanoid Flesh Cocoon was shaking violently.
The surface of the cocoon was covered in blood-vessel-like patterns; with every shake, those patterns would flash red, as if something inside was struggling frantically, trying to break out of the cocoon.
Leo walked to the first alloy wall.
He raised his right fist, and Nen gathered.
He struck down! "Bang—!!!"
A dull, heavy thud!
A deep fist print appeared on the alloy wall.
But that was all; the wall didn't budge.
Leo frowned.
The hardness of this alloy far exceeded his expectations.
Five-meter-thick high-grade alloy was more than ten times harder than the previous door.
He felt the Flesh Cocoon shaking violently behind the wall; no matter what that thing was, he couldn't delay any longer.
"Convert."
The black patterns on his body writhed again, light flowing through them.
Strength, doubled!
He took a deep breath and clenched both fists simultaneously.
Nen frantically gathered into both fists, forming two dazzling golden balls of light!
Then— he moved!
"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—!!!"
His fists were like pile drivers, alternating left and right, frantically pounding the same area!
Every punch made the wall vibrate violently!
Every punch left a deeper fist print on the wall!
"Crack—"
With a crisp sound, a crack appeared.
Leo's eyes lit up, and he increased his speed!
"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—!!!"
His fists were so fast they left afterimages! Every strike was accompanied by an earth-shattering roar!
The entire space was vibrating! The cracks grew larger and more numerous!
Behind the wall, the Flesh Cocoon in the Incubation Pod shook even more violently.
Tiny cracks began to appear on the blood-red surface, and an eerie light shone from within.
The race on both sides was accelerating.
Two minutes later, the entire alloy wall was covered with over a dozen deep cracks.
Leo stopped his movements and took a deep breath.
He raised his right fist and slowly pulled it back.
His arm muscles tightened like steel cables, every fiber poised and ready.
Veins bulged under his skin like winding snakes, and Nen began to surge, frantically gathering, compressing, and re-compressing into his fist!
The light changed from white to brilliant white, then to gold, and finally to a near-blinding bright gold!
A massive ball of light condensed at the front of his fist, the energy inside spinning and colliding wildly, emitting a low, roaring hum!
The air currents in the entire space were twisting!
"Super Destruction Fist—!!!"
Leo slammed his fist into the alloy wall!
"BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!"
An earth-shattering roar! The cracks spread wildly from the point of impact like a spiderweb!
Chunks of alloy flew in all directions! The entire wall collapsed!
At that very instant— inside the Incubation Pod, that blood-red humanoid Flesh Cocoon also suddenly burst open!
A blurred figure flashed by.