Fortunately, Li Xichen had joined them.
Half an hour later.
The massive mutated zombie finally crashed heavily beneath the ruins and stopped moving completely.
The zombified black cat, Mimi, had several deep wounds exposing bone. It licked its fur and injuries, letting out low hums from its mouth.
Chu Liuyue quickly stepped forward.
She raised her hand.
Mimi docilely closed its eyes.
She stroked it gently, and at the same time, her spiritual energy flowed over it like a warm river.
Li Xichen stood frozen in place.
He watched this scene in astonishment.
His heart was filled with shock.
Wasn't this the healing ability that Lao Yu had used? Why could Sister Xiaoyue use it too?
Zhou Yu'an watched this scene silently, saying nothing.
Yan Qingdu clutched his reopened wound, baring his teeth in pain, and said softly,
"She is right."
"Her ability is the strongest among us."
After a long while.
Chu Liuyue let go.
The zombie black cat, Mimi, let out a comfortable purr from its throat. It wanted to continue following her, but upon meeting her authoritative gaze, the cat paused its steps.
She spoke,
"Stay outside and heal your wounds properly, and guard this territory while you're at it."
"Wait for us to come out."
The zombie black cat wagged its tail obediently.
Chu Liuyue returned to their side and said, "Let's go. We need to be more careful from now on."
Zhou Yu'an looked at her, his mind full of doubts.
But he didn't voice any of them.
He could only attribute it to perhaps the effect of that red potion.
...
The group arrived at the main entrance of the research institute.
It was a silver metal door equipped with facial recognition devices at the entrance.
Yan Qingdu walked at the very front.
"Facial verification passed!"
"Information verified. Senior Researcher, Yan Qingdu."
"Please proceed."
An emotionless robotic voice sounded quietly.
The originally tightly shut door slowly opened from the inside out.
A damp and rotting smell reached everyone's noses.
Chu Liuyue frowned slightly.
Before she could even speak, Zhou Yu'an handed her a mask.
Meeting her questioning gaze,
he explained,
"I asked Lao Yu and the others for it when we parted ways."
"Thought it might come in handy."
Hearing this, Li Xichen revealed a displeased expression.
Letting him show off.
Yan Qingdu sneered lightly, making it hard to tell if it was praise or mockery.
"Doctor Zhou is as meticulous as ever."
"Thank you, An'an," Chu Liuyue took it with a smile and put the mask on.
The group continued forward.
Fortunately, the zombies they encountered along the way were all ordinary infected humans; their attack power was not as terrifying as the mutated zombie outside.
At the end of the corridor was an elevator.
Yan Qingdu explained,
"That was just the external area just now; there aren't many staff members there."
"Taking this internal elevator down to the tenth underground floor is the true core area."
As he spoke, he pressed the silver metal button next to the elevator.
Immediately after, the darkened screen on the side suddenly lit up with a sound.
The emotionless electronic voice rang out.
"Confirming entry into the internal elevator. Pupil verification in progress."
"Pupil verification passed."
"Internal personnel, Senior Researcher Yan Qingdu, please enter the security password."
Yan Qingdu entered six digits on it.
The elevator doors slowly opened.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yu'an tightened his grip on the steel pipe in his hand, and Li Xichen also entered a state of alert, shielding Chu Liuyue behind him, guarding against any zombies that might suddenly lunge out from the elevator.
However, the elevator doors opened.
It was completely empty inside.
There was nothing at all.
Only residual bloodstains and signs of a struggle indicated that some sort of accident had occurred.
Combined with the mutated creature they had just encountered outside the research institute,
Yan Qingdu guessed,
"Someone must have escaped, and during their escape, that mutated creature also managed to get out."
The group exchanged glances and, without saying much, stepped into the elevator one after another.
Zhou Yu'an was the first to press the -10 button.
The originally bright elevator lights instantly went out the moment the doors closed.
In the darkness, Li Xichen cursed, "What kind of broken elevator is this!"
Yan Qingdu's calm voice sounded.
"This is intentionally designed by the program. Because this elevator is made of transparent glass, turning on the lights would allow others to see the internal structure."
"It is classified as top secret."
"Once the elevator doors close, the lights will automatically turn off."
Chu Liuyue, on the other hand, was not afraid.
However, this was a rare opportunity.
"An'an," she paused and said, "I'm so scared."
Then she rubbed against Zhou Yu'an's side.
After a while.
Yan Qingdu suddenly let out a strange muffled groan and whispered,
"You are hugging me."
Chu Liuyue quickly let go.
Bah, bah, bah!
How unlucky!
Zhou Yu'an had clearly been in another position just now.
"Don't be afraid." A gentle voice suddenly rang out.
Before she could react, in the darkness, a broad and warm hand firmly held hers.
Even though it was pitch black.
Chu Liuyue could feel that Zhou Yu'an seemed to be smiling.
Li Xichen spoke up, seemingly innocent.
"Sister Xiaoyue, they are all men, they might be hiding some dirty thoughts."
"I'm different. I'm your little brother, so you can rest assured."
Chu Liuyue raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself, is that so?
The next second.
Li Xichen had already pressed her head against his chest.
His action left no room for refusal.
At this moment.
Her hand was tightly held by Zhou Yu'an, while her head was resting in Li Xichen's embrace.
Good, very good.
How could this not be considered a forced embrace from both sides?
"Negative tenth floor reached."
The moment the electronic voice sounded, the lights inside the elevator came back on.
Zhou Yu'an's hand quickly retracted.
Meanwhile, Li Xichen shamelessly continued to hug Sister Xiaoyue.
It wasn't until Chu Liuyue pushed him a little.
That he blinked innocently.
"Ah? We're here."
"I hadn't realized."
The vibrating sound of the elevator doors opening quickly attracted the zombies wandering nearby.
This time, there was no need for Chu Liuyue to speak.
The other three men were already cooperating tacitly, clearing out the surrounding zombies as they moved forward.
By the time they reached a place that looked like a central hall.
Zhou Yu'an was stunned.
Because in the hall, there were three glass enclosures over five meters tall, filled with a transparent blue liquid. In two of the glass enclosures, pitch-black monsters were stored, sleeping with their eyes closed.
They were obviously the same kind of creatures they had just encountered outside the research institute.
One of the glass enclosures had been shattered by an external force, and the blue liquid was spilled all over the floor.
It was the one that had escaped.
Li Xichen furrowed his brows and looked at Yan Qingdu.
"Researcher Yan, this thing didn't evolve naturally. It's a monster created by your laboratory?"
Facing the questioning.
Yan Qingdu also looked grave.
"Actually, half a year ago, I noticed something abnormal, so I kept trying to find a way to bypass Director Zhou..." As he said this, he glanced at Zhou Yu'an and continued, "I wanted to report directly to the higher-ups."
"Unfortunately."
"Before I got the chance, I was dispatched elsewhere."
