Six more chapters! Please grant me a monthly ticket! …… The group left the basement and headed toward the city center. As their numbers swelled, the speed of their zombie hunting increased significantly. Occasionally, they encountered three or four zombies along the way, all of whom were dispatched with a single glance.

Led by the well-built young man, they managed to open a manhole cover leading to the sewers. Bai Long peered into the darkness below and muttered softly to Ye Chen, "Can we truly trust them?"

Ye Chen’s eyes flashed. "Mo Feng has already poisoned their food. If they try any tricks, they’ll be the first to die."

"Besides," Yue Heng said with a wry smile, "at our current condition, if we keep walking outside, the virus will likely break out before we even reach the city center, turning us into zombies."

Bai Long glanced at his wound, frowning slightly. He said in a low voice, "If I turn, don't hesitate. Kill me!"

Yue Heng’s mouth twitched, then he relaxed into a smile. "Don't worry, I'll be the first to put you down. But if I become a zombie by then, who will kill me?"

Zhuge Fan was startled. "You were bitten too?"

Yue Heng nodded with a bitter smile. "Just a scratch."

Bauer and the others looked at Ye Chen’s group strangely. Most people, when scratched by a zombie, would desperately hide it to avoid being abandoned by the team, yet these individuals seemed completely unconcerned?

The group followed the strapping young man into the sewer system.

"There's a shortcut here that leads directly to the city center. It should take about five hours to walk," the strapping young man explained, taking the lead.

Ye Chen and his group followed behind. Everything was pitch black, the light faint. The young man seemed very familiar with the route, leading them through a maze of sharp turns in the complex tunnels.

Mo Feng suddenly leaned close to Ye Chen and whispered, "He isn't leading us astray."

Ye Chen nodded slightly. He had memorized the direction from the map. Although the young man had taken many turns, the overall direction remained unchanged.

In the pitch-black sewers, the sound of their footsteps echoed loudly.

Three hours later.

"I need a moment to relieve myself," a young man announced, walking over to a nearby drainage ditch and unzipping his fly. Ye Chen's group waited nearby.

Suddenly—

Splash!

The sound of something falling into water startled everyone. They rushed over. Bai Long pulled out the small flashlight he had brought from the basement and shone it into the ditch, revealing only shimmering ripples.

"Hey!" the strapping man exclaimed, a flicker of panic in his eyes. "Hurry up and get out."

Silence followed. The ripples in the ditch gradually smoothed out and disappeared. As the flashlight beam swept across, a dark shadow slowly began to rise from the water...

"Ah!"

The woman whose breast had been removed shrieked. The shadow was the young man who had stepped away, but now he floated on the surface like a piece of wood. Ye Chen realized something was terribly wrong and immediately shouted, "Let's leave this place, now!"

Everyone's faces turned pale. They scrambled back toward the tunnel entrance in a panic. The dark, silent passageway was instantly filled with a chilling dread.

Bauer’s face was ashen. He furiously confronted the strapping young man. "Didn't you say there were no zombies down here?"

The strapping man’s eyes were wide with terror. "I... I didn't know."

"You didn't know?" Bauer roared. "Then why bring us here?"

Ye Chen frowned. "What's all the shouting?"

Bauer shot Ye Chen a wary look, suppressing his anger. "This eerie hellhole—who knows how many monsters are inside? This idiot clearly brought us here with malicious intent."

Ye Chen glanced at the strapping young man. "Hurry up and lead the way. I feel like we’re being watched." At these words, everyone stiffened. Bauer’s mouth went dry, and he stammered, "Are there... are there really monsters?"

Ye Chen gave him a sidelong glance.

The young man began to tremble slightly, his face bloodless. "O-okay, everyone follow me." He took the lead and ran, the others quickly following. Yue Heng, nursing his leg injury, was half-carried by Mo Feng, hobbling frantically.

Zhuge Fan clutched his injured back, every step sending sharp pain through him. He gritted his teeth, cold sweat beading on his forehead, sticking close behind Ye Chen, his fists clenched against the agony.

Ye Chen positioned his sister at the front so he could protect her if danger struck. The man and woman traveling with Bauer supported each other, bringing up the rear.

After running for an hour, they collapsed, gasping for breath, too exhausted even to move their fingers. Having expended eight or nine tenths of their energy, they slumped onto the ground to rest.

"Huh?" Bauer suddenly wondered aloud. "Where are those two?"

Yue Heng snapped back irritably, "Which two?"

Bauer looked confused. "Sol and Tell. They were right behind us. How did they disappear?" A shock ran through the group. They looked around and confirmed that the headcount was indeed smaller. Only Ye Chen’s group of six, Bauer, the strapping young man, and two other men remained—a total of four people were missing!

The strapping man’s limbs felt icy. He trembled as he whispered, "H-how could this happen?"

Mo Feng frowned. "That monster is playing with us, draining our energy. Everyone stay calm; we have guns, it won't attack rashly."

Ye Chen nodded slightly, looking at the strapping young man. "How much further?"

The young man estimated. "If we run, ten minutes. If we walk, about twenty-five minutes." Ye Chen nodded. After resting for a few minutes and feeling some strength return, he stood up. "Let's go. Stay close together; don't fall too far behind."

The group rose, their eyes alert, watching the surrounding darkness as they proceeded cautiously, walking slowly this time instead of running.

Seven or eight minutes later, around a bend, the strapping young man let out a sudden cry of alarm. Everyone was startled. Bai Long hastily aimed his flashlight forward and saw a corpse lying on the narrow path ahead. Its face was pale, completely bloodless, and soaking wet. Its eyes were wide open, practically bulging, as if it had witnessed something horrifying.

"Tell!" Bauer shuddered, recognizing the body.

The group moved forward cautiously. Mo Feng frowned and squatted down to examine the corpse. He quickly discovered a small incision on the man's throat. Mo Feng borrowed the knife Ye Chen offered, cut open the throat, and found absolutely no blood inside, as if it had completely dried out.

Everyone was horrified.

Just as Bai Long was staring intently, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He frowned instinctively. "Stop messing around!" The moment he spoke, he felt a damp patch spread across his shoulder. His heart leaped. He spun around, his eyes widening in horror—tentacles!

These tentacles were dark and slick, writhing before Bai Long’s shocked gaze. One tentacle lunged toward his throat. Bai Long gasped and slapped backward, stumbling several steps until he bumped into Zhuge Fan. Zhuge Fan turned, saw the terrifying scene, and cried out, "Monster!"

Ye Chen and the others, who had been examining the corpse, were startled and shone their flashlights over. They saw a mud-like creature with no discernible eyes or nose, covered entirely in tentacles, with part of its body still submerged in the ditch, crouched on the path behind them.

"Run!" Yue Heng yelled.

Ye Chen’s arm trembled slightly before he stabilized it quickly. He gripped his pistol tightly and fired toward the monster. Given their current human physical condition, executing a three-round burst was impossible; the recoil alone would shatter his web of flesh between his thumb and forefinger.

Crack!

The bullet struck the creature, embedding itself. Then came a screech like fingernails dragging across glass. In their panic, everyone fumbled for their pistols and began firing at the tentacled horror.

"Run!" Ye Chen roared after firing two shots, then snatched the sharp knife from Mo Feng. Holding it in one hand, he slashed defensively while backing away.

The others continued to flee, while the monster shrieked repeatedly, its tentacles whipping toward Ye Chen's face.

Ye Chen’s gaze turned cold. He brought the knife down, severing the smooth, viper-like tentacle, then fired two more shots and turned to sprint. The tentacled monster chased a few steps before stopping, emitting two fierce shrieks, then slipped back into the ditch and vanished.

Ye Chen’s group ran relentlessly, drenched in cold sweat, forgetting their exhaustion. They only stopped when they reached an exit, all breathing heavily. The strapping young man pushed open the manhole cover, saw no monsters nearby, and led the way out.

Ye Chen told Bai Long and the others to climb out first while he gripped his pistol, cautiously watching the adjacent ditch. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened on another ditch not far away where a dark shadow seemed to flit past, almost like an illusion.

Splash!

Almost at the instant the shadow disappeared, there was a sound of spraying water as numerous tentacles shot out of that ditch, lunging at Ye Chen. Ye Chen’s pupils contracted. He immediately fired two shots into the ditch, gripping the sharp knife in one hand, slashing at the surrounding tentacles.

Whizz, whizz, whizz, whizz...

More than a dozen tentacles lashed out. Ye Chen severed four, but suddenly one coiled around behind him and stabbed fiercely toward his lower back. A searing, bone-deep pain shot through him. In anger and shock, he slashed back and threw himself into a roll on the ground. Seeing Bai Long and the others nearly scrambling out, he charged forward, grabbed the iron ladder, and began to climb rapidly.

"Hurry up and climb!" Bai Long and Yue Heng leaned over the manhole rim, their faces white, pulling at Ye Chen’s arms. Just as he was about to clear the opening, Ye Chen’s body suddenly sagged as a tentacle wrapped around his foot, pulling him down with immense force.

"This is bad!" Bai Long’s expression shifted, growing grim.

Mo Feng and Zhuge Fan also leaned over the rim, desperately hauling on Ye Chen’s arms. Ye Zhu clenched her teeth, struggling to hold back tears, and knelt down to help pull.

Ye Chen felt the incredible strength of the tentacle. Even with everyone pulling, his body was being dragged down inch by inch. He looked back and saw two masses of black slime-like monsters emerging from the ditch and crawling toward them.

Ye Chen’s heart sank. He roared, "Don't worry about me, get out first!" With that, he wrenched his arms free, shaking everyone off.

Freed from their grip, his body was immediately yanked downward.

"No—"