The kill announcements over the broadcast gradually became more frequent. Besides the uniform reports of Experimental Subject 1513 eliminating other teams, there was also news that the Ghost-Hunting Squad had wiped out the Construction Site Brick-Carrying Team.
Static crackled through the communicator hanging at Bai Chunian’s ear. The Ghost-Hunting Squad’s captain, He Suowei, contacted him. “We’ve reached the fourteenth floor of Building C. There’s a password-protected safe in the middle of the lobby. It requires a twelve-digit code. Do you have it?”
“What does it look like?” Bai Chunian asked.
“There are twelve bottle-cap-sized electronic displays on the box, arranged in six rows and two columns, connected by hyphens.”
“Enter one line first: a1-b1.”
There was a brief silence filled with static on the other end. Then He Suowei exhaled in relief. “The green light for that row lit up. It should be correct. What about the rest?”
“Mm…” Bai Chunian licked his lips. “Try b1-a1.”
Suddenly, a piercing alarm blared through the communicator, followed by frantic footsteps and He Suowei’s furious cursing.
“Surname Bai, are you using us to test passwords?!”
“Ah, looks like the two elevator buttons don’t control each other after all.” Bai Chunian smiled apologetically. “Run. One of our earlier files mentioned that Experimental Subject 1513 has extremely sensitive hearing. It locates prey by listening for screams. Ha.”
“Damn you. When I get out of here, the first one I’m taking down is you.” He Suowei had no time to continue bickering. He roared at his remaining two teammates, “Move! Now!”
Heavy, chaotic footsteps pounded through the communicator. A young man’s hoarse scream pierced Bai Chunian’s eardrum. Then He Suowei’s voice howled through the channel, “Wenxiao! What are you spacing out for? Get over here!”
“Captain… it hurts… I can’t move… I can’t…”
He Suowei immediately doubled back into the lobby. His rifle unleashed suppressive fire toward the doorway as he scooped He Wenxiao up with one arm, hoisted him onto his back, and rushed downstairs. He roughly injected him with a recovery serum.
“Captain… I saw… a round one… with bloodshot veins… an eyeball… floating into the room just now… no eyelids… it could turn… it saw me. My head hurts so much.”
The skin on He Wenxiao’s arms gradually turned stiff and dry gray. His five fingers could no longer even bend. He Suowei handed him over to the team’s last remaining husky alpha, passed him the recovery syringes from his gun strap, and told him to administer them one by one to replenish He Wenxiao’s rapidly draining health bar.
Bai Chunian tapped his communicator. “You’re on the fourteenth floor, right? Head downstairs first. Go to the tenth floor, run along the connecting corridor to Building B, and wait near the elevator on the left.”
He Suowei ground his teeth. “Think before you speak.”
“No problem. Go. Hide in the elevator.”
As Bai Chunian began reading the second chip, he contacted Lu Yan, who was guarding the elevator on the third floor of Building A. “Rabbit, send the elevator in front of you to the tenth floor, then press open. Bi Lanxing, press the other one. Hurry.”
“Received.”
The chip was reading noticeably slower than the previous one. Bai Chunian tapped the desk rhythmically, waiting patiently. He glanced at Du Mo. “How much time do you have left?”
Du Mo calculated silently. “Four minutes.”
“Good. First, check the personnel distribution in Building B.”
Du Mo scanned floor by floor in his mind, then reported the positions. Bai Chunian nodded. “Run faster. Go to Building C and see which elevator has arrived at the tenth floor. Then send the one closest to you down to the third floor.”
Du Mo swallowed with difficulty.
“This is important. You’ll die for a reason.” Bai Chunian lifted a hand and ruffled Du Mo’s hair, his brows curving into a gentle smile. “If you’re scared, close your eyes. Be good.”
The alpha in front of him looked unreliable at a glance, yet his calm, mild voice carried a strange, bewitching reassurance. Du Mo closed his eyes helplessly and ran along the corridor toward Building C.
The tenth floor of Building C was empty, the lighting dim. His footsteps echoed hollow and sharp against the marble floor.
Ding!
The elevator chimed. “Tenth floor. Arrived.”
Du Mo braced himself between the two elevator entrances, fingertips trembling over the embedded floor buttons in the wall as he contacted Bai Chunian. “The elevator on the left has reached the tenth floor… I—I’m pressing the button for the third floor on the right-hand elevator now…”
“It feels like… there’s something in the elevator…” Du Mo’s voice was shaking. He forced himself to sound steady. “I’m fine… thirty seconds left… I think I still have a chance to get out.”
“Good job. Don’t be scared.” Bai Chunian chuckled softly in reassurance.
But Du Mo heard Bai Chunian say to someone else through the communicator, “Bi Lanxing, press the open-door button now.”
Du Mo’s eyes flew wide. The elevator door to his left slid open at once. Instinctively, he looked over—
A bloodshot eyeball shot out from inside, floating slowly in front of him. The pupil was a golden-orange vertical slit, exactly like a snake’s. The eye rotated a few times before finally locking onto its target, silently fixing its gaze on him.
In the tenth-floor lobby of Building A, Bai Chunian was still lounging in a computer chair, legs crossed and swinging lazily. He removed the communicator from his ear and listened to the overhead broadcast:
“Test Subject 1513 has eliminated [Is There an A] Du Mo.”
Lan Bo remained expressionless, unsurprised by the outcome. Sitting on the desk, he idly swished his tail and flipped the Desert Eagle in his hand a couple of times before speaking coolly, “Bullying… omega.”
“He predicted… he would die… no matter what. Because you… were going to kill him.”
Bai Chunian snorted. “Of course. That crow is way too suspicious. I’m reporting him to the president later. His purpose for coming here isn’t pure.”
“Alright, now we know a lot more.” Bai Chunian propped his chin on his hand and thought for a moment. “Just now, Bi Lanxing pressed the A2 elevator button to the tenth floor and proved by opening the door that A2 controls C1.”
“When we first came in, we pressed both elevators in Building A. So when the Ghost-Search Squad came in and saw an open elevator, that was ours. They searched C1 back then, but it was still dark before dawn. They made eye contact with the snake woman’s target eye in the darkness without realizing it. That’s why they lost the squad member who searched the elevator.”
“Just now Du Mo pressed C2 to the third floor. Let’s wait.”
At that moment, the Ghost-Search Squad contacted Bai Chunian again. “We’re still on the tenth floor. The B1 elevator opened. We went inside to hide for a while. It’s quiet around here. We should be safe for now.”
Bai Chunian lazily dug at his ear. “Did you hear anything?”
He Suowei thought back. “The elevator next to us dinged and said, ‘Third floor.’”
“Okay, that makes it clear. What you heard was the B2 elevator. That means the C2 button Du Mo pressed controls B2. So now we know another code.” Bai Chunian said, “Write this down: A1–B1, A2–C1, C2–B2. Now press the open-door button.”
Without realizing it, He Suowei was swept along by Bai Chunian’s train of thought. As if possessed, he obeyed and pressed the B1 open-door button.
Bai Chunian asked Lu Yan and Bi Lanxing, who were guarding the A1 and A2 elevators, “Any reaction on your end?”
Bi Lanxing replied, “My door opened.”
“Good.” Bai Chunian confirmed another pairing. “B1–A2.”
“We still don’t know which elevators control A1 and C2. When we first arrived, A1 went up to the third floor on its own. You were still in Building C then. Did you press any elevator buttons?”
“No. We were afraid there might be bombs.”
“Then that means B2 controls A1. Excluding the five confirmed pairs, the last code must be C1–C2.”
“Got it?” Bai Chunian asked He Suowei.
“I memorized it, sure. But we’re not the only ones who can press the elevators in these three buildings. What if someone else presses something and it just happens to match our answer?”
“What are you scared of? If it’s wrong, just run the same route again. We’ll help you press the elevators. Relax. We’re steady.”
He Suowei: “??? Why are we the ones going?”
Grinning into the communicator, Bai Chunian said, “Rabbit, send the Ghost-Search Squad to the fourteenth floor to keep testing the code.”
Lu Yan: “Received.”
He Suowei erupted over the communicator, “There’s an eye camping on the fourteenth floor! Damn it! Open the door! We’re not going!”
Bai Chunian shifted into a more comfortable position, propping his feet on the desk and shaking them. “You can do it. You’re in first place. Don’t lower your head—your crown will fall.”