Roars echoed from the direction of the stairwell—

Going up meant running directly into the massive horde of mutants on the floors above.

Going down meant the underground parking garage was now a sea of fire.

The only escape route was the elevator, but the elevator was currently blocked by a guard completely engulfed in flames.

They had no way out.

“Come on! Over here, over here!” Bai Youwei pressed the elevator button with one hand and waved the other with all her might. “It’s safe over here!”

Her voice was far too loud—and far too cheerful. The guard, blinded by the fire burning over its body, suddenly noticed her. A screech tore from its throat as it lunged straight for Bai Youwei.

Shen Mo’s heart nearly stopped.

He fired without pause. The bullets drew agonized howls from the guard, but couldn’t drop it instantly.

Meanwhile, the sounds from the fire escape stairwell were drawing closer—a massive wave of mutants was almost upon them.

“Into the elevator!!!”

The guard was almost on top of them. Shen Mo grabbed Bai Youwei and shoved her into the elevator. The others had nowhere to go, so they fought their way back while retreating inside as well.

The moment the elevator doors began to close, the guard slammed itself against them—its flames raged wildly, and the temperature inside the elevator spiked.

Every gun barrel pointed at the same target.

They aimed at that enormous burning skull and opened fire with brutal intensity, spent shell casings carpeting the floor. Tongues of fire swept across the backs of their hands, searing their skin.

Under the concentrated barrage, the guard was finally driven back.

The doors closed.

Five people were trapped in that small, square space. They listened to the fading impacts outside, and the frenzied howling, and said nothing.

This was a true dead end.

Unless the mutants outside dispersed, they would never get out.

They’d just thought the tide was turning—how had it come to this again? A-Da crouched in frustration, yanking at his own hair.

“Do we still have any grenades?” Bai Youwei spoke up.

Everyone looked at her—expressions ranging from complicated to blank.

A-Da had to admit he was genuinely impressed. She actually had the nerve to open her mouth. Even if no one was officially blaming her for the current situation, shouldn’t she at least show a little guilt?

No.

Not a trace of guilt. She spoke without any psychological burden whatsoever, her tone calm and breezy.

“From the sounds outside, almost all the mutants from the lower floors have come down,” Bai Youwei said. “That burning guard—not sure if it’s dead or not. Can we blow them with grenades?”

At this point, convening a blame session was useless—it would only vent frustration without actually helping anything.

What mattered right now was finding a way out.

Everyone quickly took stock of their weapons and equipment.

A-Da said, “We’ve got two crates of grenades left—six per crate, twelve total. These things are expensive; throwing one costs five hundred thousand points. We need to use them sparingly.”

Yuri said, “Ammunition is down to half. We burned through a lot in the underground parking garage. Against ordinary mutants, what we have left should be enough—it’s the guards I’m worried about.”

The guards’ defensive capability was terrifying. Regular bullets couldn’t pierce their hardened shells.

“This terrain isn’t ideal for grenades either,” Shen Mo said, casually adjusting his equipment. “One wrong throw and we’ll hurt ourselves. If that guard from earlier is dead, we actually have enough ammunition left to risk a breakout.”

“That’s too dangerous…” Natasha pressed her fingers to her brow, exhaling a heavy breath. “If the mutants from the upper floors really have all come down, then the eighth floor cinema must have at least two hundred mutants in it right now.”

She paused, looked up at the ceiling of the elevator. “Can we open that…? In movies you always see that kind of scene—agents climbing out through the top of an elevator.”

“That’s an emergency hatch. Not every elevator has one,” Yuri replied gravely. “In reality, the top of most elevators is packed with cables and circuit boards. Trying to force it open would likely result in electrocution.”

—