"I didn't expect you all to have such good camaraderie." The young man sighed softly, then suddenly said something with an unclear meaning, "Since that's the case, they should be very happy to see you go down and keep them company, right?"
As these sinister words were uttered, the three of them immediately sensed something was wrong.
However, before they could react, the Refined Man standing at the very back, closest to the cellar entrance, abruptly let out a short, sharp sound.
"Ugh—"
Xu Xi and the High-Ponytailed Woman turned their heads and saw a figure, taller and larger than the white humanoid thing locked in Room 106, had silently appeared behind the Refined Man. Its arm, over a meter long, brutally pierced through the other man's chest.
The Refined Man's face was still frozen in an expression of shock and agony, as if he hadn't expected to die just like that.
"Hahahahaha! As expected, this thing evolves by fighting and killing its own kind! My experiment succeeded!" Witnessing this scene, the young man burst into maniacal laughter. He looked at the other two with a smug expression, "I still have to thank you for delivering yourselves as lab rats."
The thing that attacked the Refined Man violently retracted its arm. Blood sprayed onto the cellar walls on either side and also splattered onto Xu Xi and the High-Ponytailed Woman.
Without support, the Refined Man thudded to the ground and gradually stopped breathing.
Xu Xi finally snapped back to reality and immediately started running towards the young man's direction.
He didn't need to think at all to know that thing was definitely lured here by the young man.
The other party wouldn't dare do this without some kind of reliance; he probably had something on him that could counter that creature.
But he had only taken two steps when he saw the young man cast a disdainful glance at him, turn around, walk a few steps to the side, and vanish into a corner.
Only then did he realize there was a small space hidden behind a stack of piled-up boxes in that corner!
The man stood inside the small room, leisurely reached out, and untied a rope nearby. A metal grate immediately dropped from above with a loud *bang*, heavily separating the inner space from the outer cellar.
"Do you know how your rather burly companion mutated? I injected him with a toxin, one I painstakingly extracted from that white thing."
The young man wore a crazed smile on his face, as if unable to resist sharing his achievement.
"I've been researching how to make this thing evolve. Now I finally know: as long as it keeps fighting and devouring its own kind, it will evolve on its own."
"And I can continuously create more of its kind!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
What a lunatic.
Xu Xi silently cursed.
He turned his head to look.
The High-Ponytailed Woman had a necklace around her neck, likely some kind of life-saving item. It was currently emitting a glow. The evolved creature, enveloped in the light, stood motionless, frozen in place.
Meanwhile, the High-Ponytailed Woman was running towards the cellar entrance.
"Run! It can be immobilized for 5 seconds!"
Hearing her warning, Xu Xi didn't move.
Firstly, 5 seconds wasn't enough for him to circle around the evolved creature and run out of the cellar. Secondly, he didn't think escaping the cellar meant they would survive.
"I have a question."
Xu Xi turned his gaze back to the young man standing inside the metal grate.
The young man couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.
He hadn't expected the young man not far away to show not a trace of fear. Instead, he was looking at him with an utterly calm expression.
Not afraid to die?
"...Go ahead."
The young man thought, since this person was already at death's door, it wouldn't hurt to be merciful and answer.
"How did you lure this evolved creature here?"
"Of course, I used a special powder. This powder is mixed with wax oil and has a fatal attraction for that thing. Originally, I wasn't sure if it could lure an evolved creature, but it seems quite effective now."
"I've been sprinkling this powder along the way, and I sprinkled some on you all too. So don't worry, that woman won't get away. She'll eventually go down to keep you company, hahahahaha."
The item's duration had ended. The evolved creature turned the three pitch-black holes on its face towards Xu Xi.
Compared to the first-generation creature, the evolved one was not only taller and larger but also significantly faster.
Before his heart was ripped out, Xu Xi asked one final question, as if seeking confirmation.
"So, you still have that special powder on you?"
The young man didn't know why this person, about to die, would ask such a question. Instinct told him not to answer.
But Xu Xi had already gleaned the answer from his expression.
"Hah, just you wait."
——
"I didn't expect you all to have such good camaraderie."
The young man's sighing voice reached his ears.
The moment Xu Xi opened his eyes, without a word, he charged straight at the other man.
The young man, who was about to utter another sinister, cryptic phrase, froze in surprise.
The Refined Man and the High-Ponytailed Woman also looked bewildered.
"Pfft—"
While stunned, the Refined Man had his heart ripped out.
The young man finally realized the young man charging at him had clearly detected something abnormal.
He had just wanted to run towards the small room in the corner when something extremely hard smashed into the back of his head. His vision instantly went dark, causing him to stumble.
Delayed for just that moment, before his sight could recover, everything went dark again.
While charging over, Xu Xi had already taken off his backpack and pulled the zipper open. As he ran, he poured out the contents, rushed behind the young man, yanked the bag over the other's head, simultaneously drove his knee upwards, and then delivered a kick.
This series of exceptionally fluid movements was something he had mentally simulated before his death in the previous timeline.
The other party could exchange blows with the Burly Man and even control the size of his wounds. It was entirely possible he intentionally lost to the Burly Man. Who knew how high his actual combat power was?
It was definitely higher than that of a physically weak and fragile office worker like himself.
There was no way he could confront the other head-on. If he could use underhanded tricks, he would.
Before he could even pull the bag off his head, the young man, struck by sudden, excruciating pain in his groin, bent over with a pained expression. The next second, a fierce kick landed on his lower back, causing him to grunt and uncontrollably pitch forward.
Over there, the necklace around the High-Ponytailed Woman's neck had immobilized the evolved creature. She was just about to run towards the cellar entrance when she heard the young man shout, "Over here!"
After only a moment's hesitation, the High-Ponytailed Woman changed direction.
Passing by the young man curled up on the ground, she spotted the flashlight on the floor and casually snatched it up.
When she reached Xu Xi's side, Xu Xi didn't offer any explanation, hurriedly leading her into the small room in the corner.
His gaze immediately fell on the tied rope nearby. Without hesitation, he grabbed the rope end and yanked it.
*Bang—*
The metal grate instantly dropped.
The young man finally regained his senses and yanked the bag off his head.
But for him, the situation had already taken a drastic turn for the worse.
Carrying a large amount of the special powder, he became the target of the evolved creature once the immobilization effect ended. As if fixated on a delicious meal, the creature quickened its pace, striding rapidly towards the young man.
"No! Wait! Damn it—"