Chapter Ten: The Shadow of the Black Room

On the other end of the line, Pan Han’s heavy, ragged breathing sounded like a broken bellows, dragging on for several seconds with a dying, rasping quality.

Mu Chen’s grip on the phone tightened until the knuckles turned stark white.

"Be specific," he said, his voice devoid of ripples.

"No! Absolutely not!" Pan Han’s voice suddenly climbed, filled with hysterical madness. "You have to give me the supplies first! My wife... she’s starving to death! Do you understand? I risked my life to get these secrets; do you really think I’d just hand them to you for nothing?"

Mu Chen remained expressionless and abruptly cut the call.

The phone was tossed onto the sofa with a dull thud.

Chen Jiahe huddled in the corner of the sofa, clutching her knees tightly, and looked over timidly. "He... he still won't tell you?"

"If you want something, you have to show corresponding sincerity." Mu Chen walked to the window, his gaze seemingly piercing through the impenetrable, thick black fog outside, settling on a specific direction.

"Building 7, it’s not too far from here," he said with a flat tone, as if speaking of the most mundane matter. "We’re going over there."

"What? Go to Building 7?!"

Chen Jiahe sprang up from the sofa, her voice hitting a sharp, distorted pitch, the last trace of color draining from her face.

"Are you insane?! You know how dangerous it is outside! Those... those man-eating rats! And that mad dog that bites everyone it sees... how could we possibly make it there?" She clenched her hands so tightly that her nails dug into the soft flesh of her palms.

"If you're afraid of dying, stay here," Mu Chen said without even looking back. With a flick of his wrist, a military dagger glinting with a cold, sinister edge appeared out of thin air, which he tucked neatly into his belt.

"I’ll go alone."

Chen Jiahe bit her lower lip so hard it turned white, drained of all blood. Her fingers unconsciously tore at the hem of her clothes, shredding the fabric into a mess. In her mind, the hideous faces of the monsters outside clashed violently with the boundless terror of being left alone in this dead silence.

A few seconds of agony felt like a century.

As if she had finally steeled herself, her voice still trembled, but it carried a desperate resolve: "I... I’ll go with you!"

Mu Chen then turned around, his deep eyes lingering on her for a moment.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Chen Jiahe nodded heavily. Even though the faint trembling had spread from her fingertips to her entire body, she struggled to straighten her slightly hunched back. "I’m even more afraid of staying here alone."

***

The two arrived before the cold security door.

Mu Chen didn't open it immediately. Instead, he pressed his ear against the door panel, listening in silence for several seconds before leaning toward the peephole to observe the activity outside. Throughout the entire process, he didn't make a single sound.

Minutes later, confirming there were no obvious disturbances in the hallway, he turned the handle with extreme caution, pulling the heavy security door open just enough for one person to slip through.

A stream of cold, damp air—a complex mixture of rust, decay, and the faint metallic tang of blood—immediately seeped through the gap, rushing toward them.

Chen Jiahe instinctively held her breath.

The hallway was terrifyingly silent, like the interior of a tomb. The dense, viscous black fog was pervasive, swallowing all light and shrouding everything in blurred shadows. In the distance, there seemed to be the whimpering of night wind passing through a broken window, perhaps mingled with the suppressed, intermittent, low growls of some large creature. The sound was far away, yet clearly audible, making one’s skin crawl.

"Stay close to me, and don't make a sound," Mu Chen whispered, his voice so low it was almost a breath against her ear.

Before the words faded, he stepped out of the room, his tall figure instantly blending into the deep darkness of the hallway.

Chen Jiahe shivered violently, but without a moment's hesitation, she hurried to follow.

The stairs were made of rough concrete; with every step, they moved with the utmost care, avoiding any friction between their soles and the ground. Chen Jiahe clenched her fists, her palms slick with cold sweat. Her heart hammered wildly against her ribs, thumping so hard she feared it might break through her chest and leap out of her throat. She held her breath, eyes fixed unblinkingly on Mu Chen’s blurred back, terrified that any movement might disturb the unknown dangers lurking in the dark.

One floor, two floors...

The surrounding fog seemed to grow thicker, and visibility plummeted until everything beyond three or four meters was pure chaos. As they carefully crept down to the landing on the 20th floor, Mu Chen, who had been leading the way, stopped without warning.

He suddenly raised a hand, signaling a halt.

Chen Jiahe’s heart jumped into her throat. She stumbled to a stop, nearly colliding with Mu Chen’s back out of inertia. She swallowed nervously, struggling to calm her ragged breathing.

In that suffocating silence, a heavy, oppressive sound of snoring drifted up from around the corner of the stairwell.

Hoo—pah—

Hoo—pah—

The sound was dull and rhythmic, appearing unnervingly clear and chilling in the dead silence of the stairwell.

Mu Chen leaned forward. On the landing below, the mutant bulldog lay sprawled, its chest rising and falling with heavy breaths as it slept soundly. Its body had grown even larger since their last encounter; knotted muscles bulged like boulders, and its sharp claws had left fresh gouges in the rough concrete floor.

Chen Jiahe took one look, and her legs went weak; she nearly collapsed. She shook her head repeatedly, her lips moving in a silent plea: "Go back... please, go back..."

Mu Chen ignored her and took a step forward.

Terrified out of her wits, Chen Jiahe grabbed his sleeve, her face a mask of desperate pleading.

Mu Chen brushed her hand away without emotion.

"Find a safe corner and hide. If I’m not back in ten minutes, go back upstairs yourself," he commanded, his voice low but brook no argument.

"No..." Chen Jiahe’s voice was as thin as a mosquito’s hum, laced with tears.

But Mu Chen had already strode forward, heading straight toward the sleeping beast.

Instead of being light, his footsteps were deliberate. With every step, he purposefully struck the concrete stairs, creating clear, audible thuds.

The sleeping bulldog’s ears twitched violently. Suddenly, its scarlet eyes snapped open, revealing pure, murderous malice as it locked onto the approaching Mu Chen. Deep in its throat, a threatening growl began to roll like a broken bellows.

"Come on, you beast." Mu Chen casually loosened his wrists, feeling the unprecedented, explosive power coursing through him—a gift from the System's enhancement.

The beast was clearly enraged. It kicked off the ground with its hind legs, its massive body transforming into a black blur. A gust of foul wind hit them as it charged straight at Mu Chen!

Mu Chen did not dodge or retreat. The muscles in his right arm bunched up instantly, and with his fist fully charged with power, he slammed it forward to meet the charging monstrosity!

"BOOM!"