Upon reaching the rooftop, Xiao Shu was gasping for breath, yet Hao showed absolutely no sign of fatigue. The two pushed open the heavy door to the roof, revealing a blinding expanse of white sunlight illuminating the space. In the southeast corners, two doctors lay still, both clad in sterile hazmat suits.

The pair consequently split up, heading towards the southeast, eyes constantly scanning their surroundings as they walked. Before Xiao Shu even reached the eastern corner, he spotted another doctor collapsed in the north corner. As he hesitated—whether to move toward the south or north—a sharp whoosh cut the air past his ear. Hao burst from behind him, tackling him to the ground.

When Xiao Shu scrambled back up, he saw a brownish-yellow boomerang jammed rigidly into the door panel directly behind where he had just been standing. Had Hao not reacted so quickly, Xiao Shu’s head would likely have been severed from his body.

“You just saved my life?” Xiao Shu asked, his voice laced with resentment.

“I wasn’t trying to save you; I just didn’t want to face the enemy alone,” Hao replied coolly.

This time, the two were wiser. Faced with the tactical disadvantage of being exposed while the enemy was concealed, splitting up was clearly the worst course of action. They positioned themselves back-to-back, slowly advancing toward the doctor in the east. Xiao Shu knelt to examine the body while Hao stood guard behind him, watching every angle of the rooftop.

“He’s dead, same as A’Mang and 9457—the wound is dead center in the heart. Should we check the other three?” Xiao Shu inquired.

“No need. He achieved his goal,” Hao said with a noticeable drop in his voice. He moved swiftly, almost flying off the rooftop, back toward the room where 9457 had been.

Xiao Shu didn't grasp the situation at first. It wasn't until he cautiously stepped over A’Mang’s corpse—picked clean by the flesh-eating Ghost Mites—that the realization hit him, understanding why Hao had suddenly bolted downstairs. When he finally reached 9457’s room, he froze, utterly stunned.

9457’s body was gone. The entire room was crawling with the sickeningly undulating mass of the Ghost Mites. Thankfully, before leaving, they had arranged for Yingzi to move Hua Gu to Xing’er’s room; otherwise, she too would likely be nothing more than a pile of bleached bones by now, perhaps not even that.

Those insects bred with terrifying speed; they would rapidly divide and multiply with any available protein, their numbers increasing exponentially. What might have started as a tiny cluster on the corpses had now completely overrun the room, leaving no safe space to stand.

Hao swiftly retrieved blankets and bedding from the adjacent room, tossing them onto the densest concentration of the swarm. He struck a lighter and threw it onto the pile. A small flame gradually began to creep around the fabric before it erupted with a loud bang as the lighter exploded under the intense heat. A blinding pillar of fire shot up, slowly swallowing the room in flames, punctuated by sharp, cracking sounds.

“You’re going to burn down the entire hospital?” Xiao Shu asked, bewildered.

“What else can we do? These bugs will track human scent and crawl out. By then, the entire hospital will be theirs—living or dead, they’ll all be on the menu. Do you want to see that?” Hao retorted coldly.

“It seems we can’t stay here. I’ll take responsibility for getting Xiao Yu, Old He, Hua Gu, A’Li, and Xiao Yu’s sister out. You just handle Xing’er and Yingzi. Can you lend a hand with that?” Xiao Shu conceded, resignation heavy in his tone. This must be fate; no matter how reluctant he was, how much he didn't want it, he still had to rely on his rival for help.

“It’s rare to have such an honor,” Hao replied with a faint smile. He pulled a small, ceramic bird from his tunic and blew sharply on the tip of its tail. Though Xiao Shu heard nothing, exactly ten seconds later, Bai Hua Qian appeared behind them as silently as a ghost.