Chapter 79: The Labyrinth

After resting for about half an hour, all three regained some strength.

Su Xiao took off his shirt, pulled a large bucket of clean water from his storage space, and poured it over his head; pale red stains spread beneath his feet.

Ma Gui and Yuna did the same—this helped dilute the bloodstains on their bodies and reduced the chance of being detected by ghouls.

“Is every exploration of Zone 24 this dangerous?”

Su Xiao looked at the two; exploring Zone 24 was inevitably too dangerous.

“Of course not—I’ve never encountered this kind of ghoul before. Where did these things come from? They’re this strong even without using their kagune.”

Yuna’s reply surprised Su Xiao; she had been exploring Zone 24 for half a year—had she never encountered this situation before?

“Commandant Ma, you seem very familiar with these ghouls.”

Su Xiao regarded Ma Gui with a meaningful gaze.

Ma Gui removed his glasses and stabbed the broken lens through.

“They’re a special type of ghoul, unique to Zone 24—I don’t fully understand them either.”

Ma Gui’s expression remained calm; perhaps he answered Su Xiao’s question because they had fought side by side in blood.

“Is that so? Here.”

Su Xiao produced two bags of dried meat and tossed them to Ma Gui and Yuna.

Yuna caught hers easily, but when the bag of dried meat flew toward Ma Gui, he instinctively stepped back.

“Clatter~.”

The bag of dried meat fell to the ground; Ma Gui’s hand hung suspended in midair.

Ma Gui had failed to catch the dried meat Su Xiao threw—this was nearly impossible. With his close-combat skills, catching a bag at this distance should have been flawless.

Ma Gui put his glasses back on and picked up the dried meat from the floor.

Yuna ate her dried meat with relish, unaware of what had just happened.

But Su Xiao noticed—he sensed Ma Gui’s eyes were damaged, and he relied on those glasses to maintain his vision.

Su Xiao had always wondered why Ma Gui wore glasses—it was inconvenient during combat.

“Good food. Quickly restores energy.”

Ma Gui ate the dried meat and glanced at Su Xiao.

“I suggest you wear contact lenses.”

Su Xiao would be fighting alongside Ma Gui in the near future—just like against the primitive ghoul. If Ma Gui died, Su Xiao wouldn’t be far behind.

“I wore them before. Didn’t get used to them.”

The two fell silent; Yuna looked between them, confused.

After resting, the three set off, preparing to leave Zone 24.

“The flesh wall in this direction hasn’t changed—we can retrace our steps.”

Yuna led the way, holding a tablet displaying their incoming route.

They were now deep inside Zone 24; the corridors were labyrinthine, a true maze.

“Damn, the route has changed.”

Yuna held her tablet; a blood-red flesh wall blocked her path.

According to the tablet, there should have been a branching path here—but now it was a dead end.

“What now? Break through this flesh wall?”

Su Xiao stepped forward, sword in hand.

“Try it. See how far the terrain has shifted.”

Su Xiao gripped the hilt of Zhan Long Shan with both hands, drove the blade into the flesh wall, and yanked hard—a tear of several dozen centimeters opened.

Yuna rushed forward to inspect what lay beyond the tear.

What met Yuna’s eyes was another flesh wall.

“Ugh~… Guess we’re stuck with the dumbest method.”

Yuna put away her tablet and rummaged through her pack for a compass.

Su Xiao sheathed his blade; the moment Zhan Long Shan was pulled from the flesh wall, it began healing—within less than a minute, it was restored to its original state.

“Is the compass reliable?”

In this labyrinthine Zone 24, Su Xiao doubted the compass would help much.

“It works. I’ve tested it many times—no matter how complex the routes, as long as you have a fixed direction, you can get out of Zone 24.”

Though trapped in Zone 24, neither Yuna nor Ma Gui seemed anxious—it seemed leaving wouldn’t be hard.

“Left, right, left, right…”

Yuna’s slender fingers swayed left and right, choosing paths at random.

Ma Gui said nothing—he seemed accustomed to it, merely waiting silently for Yuna’s choice.

“Right. The air current is faster on the right—less likely to be a dead end.”

Su Xiao suddenly spoke; Yuna’s finger froze midair.

“Faster air current? I didn’t feel anything.”

Yuna looked at Su Xiao skeptically.

Su Xiao took the compass from Yuna’s hand.

“I’ll lead. Any objections?”

“Fine.”

Ma Gui’s reply was crisp.

“Alright… fine.”

The two followed Su Xiao closely as they moved swiftly forward.

Five minutes later, a blood-red flesh wall appeared before them—a dead end.

“Cough~… Occasionally makes a mistake.”

Su Xiao stared at the flesh wall before him—he truly felt the air current was faster here.

“Bai Ye, are you even reliable? I feel like we’re going deeper underground.”

Yuna scratched her head, looking at Su Xiao with doubt.

Yuna wasn’t blaming Su Xiao—even she chose paths randomly when leading.

“Probably… no problem.”

The three continued walking. Ten minutes later, another flesh wall blocked Su Xiao’s path.

Unlike before, this dead end contained several ghouls.

“We’ve been avoiding you—why are you chasing us? We don’t want to fight.”

One ghoul, tears streaking his face, looked fearfully at Ma Gui.

“Ghouls—all die.”

Yuna’s Quinque case transformed; “WWW Crimson Moon” appeared.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

After a barrage of shots, the corridor ran red with blood.

“Keep going.”

Su Xiao refused to believe he couldn’t find the correct path.

Twenty minutes later, a flesh wall appeared before them—a dead end!

Half an hour later—still a dead end.

One hour later—dead end.

Su Xiao’s lip twitched—he seemed lost.

“Um… maybe I should try?”

Yuna looked at Su Xiao helplessly; he said nothing, only silently handed her the compass.

Yuna and Su Xiao chose paths differently—whenever facing a fork, Yuna would mutter to herself before deciding.

But even with Yuna leading, nothing changed.

One hour later, the three stood in a dead end.

“Damn, this is bad luck.”

Yuna stomped her foot in frustration, gripping the compass tightly—it clicked sharply.

Two cold eyes fixed on Yuna; she shuddered and quickly checked the compass.

Fortunately, only the exterior was damaged—no major malfunction.

“I’ll take it.”

Ma Gui took the compass; now he would lead.

It has to be said that Ma Gui, the author's own son, has had quite good luck.

In the next twenty minutes, the three encountered no dead ends.

“At this rate, we’ll be out soon. Covered in sticky blood—it’s unbearable.”

Yuna tugged at her shirt collar, eyeing Su Xiao and Ma Gui with envy.

Both were men—they didn’t mind being shirtless; Yuna couldn’t.

As the three passed a corner, Ma Gui, who walked ahead, suddenly stopped.

“What…?”

Just as Yuna was about to speak, Su Xiao behind her swept his arm around and clamped his hand over her mouth.

After Yuna saw what lay before her, her large eyes widened to their limit, her pupils contracting sharply.

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