Chapter 194: The Lurker

A massive axe fell straight down.

The scent of death was so thick it almost choked Jiang Yuan.

"Stop!"

Jiang Yuan let out his final roar in his heart.

The gigantic Shadow Ghost, formed of pure darkness and locked in a frantic struggle with The Butcher, suddenly collapsed at that moment without any warning!

It turned like receding tide, becoming countless twisted black plumes that whirled back like lightning, slipping once again into the tiny, unremarkable Shadow beneath Jiang Yuan's feet.

Roar?

The Butcher's movement froze for an instant.

Its simple mind, filled with a lust for slaughter, could not comprehend why the opponent it had just been evenly matched with suddenly vanished.

Boom—!

The mountain‑splitting great axe, having lost anything to strike against, slammed heavily into empty air!

The hard cement floor was pounded into a terrifying deep crater, sending shards of stone scattering!

Now!

A violent weakness that seemed to pull his soul out gripped Jiang Yuan's heart, making his vision flicker black.

But he couldn't think about it!

He exhausted his last ounce of strength, using hands and feet, and with a clumsy tumble dodged the flying debris, thrusting his body forward!

Run!

Only one word remained in his mind!

The Butcher finally reacted, letting out a deafening, mocked roar, and with heavy steps chased after again!

The earth shook and the mountains quivered!

Jiang Yuan didn't even dare look back; he only knew the great axe's whoosh through the air was right behind him!

He surged like a cornered beast, unleashing all his potential, and rushed into a side passage he had previously noted, piled with junk.

Bang!

Jiang Yuan grabbed a discarded Iron Cabinet nearby, shoved it down with all his might, and the huge crash bought The Butcher a moment.

Using the gap, he slipped along the wall like a gecko, darting and weaving, and his figure vanished into the dark corner deep within the passage.

Behind him, The Butcher's ferocious roar faded away.

On the other side.

The passage was in chaos.

"Run! Don't look back, damn it!"

Four others fled desperately through the maze‑like Underground Passage.

The earth‑shaking roar moments ago and Jiang Yuan's death‑like silhouette completely shattered his mental defenses.

"Brother Jiang Yuan... Brother Jiang Yuan, he..." Xiao Ma said, voice trembling.

"Shut up! If you don't want him to die in vain, run quickly!" Ahu barked without turning his head.

In the chaos, several people scattered at a fork.

When Xiao Ma looked back, the space behind was empty; Ahu, Chen Shao and Li Na had vanished.

"Brother Ahu? Brother Chen?"

He shouted panic‑filled two words, and only his own trembling echo answered.

He was left behind.

That realization completely broke Xiao Ma.

He curled up in a corner piled with medical waste, clutching his head, his body shaking like a sieve.

Just then.

A familiar voice came from the nearby darkness.

"Xiao Ma? Is that you?"

Xiao Ma jerked his head up and saw the familiar, bespectacled, refined face.

It was Chen Shao!

"Brother Chen!"

Xiao Ma rolled and crawled toward him, so moved that tears welled up.

"Thank goodness! I thought... I thought I was the only one left!"

He seized Chen Shao's arm as if clutching a lifeline.

"Don't be afraid."

Chen Shao patted his back, his face bearing a gentle, reassuring smile.

"Let's first find a place to hide; Ahu and Li Na should be nearby, and then we'll go find them to regroup."

His voice carried a convincing calm.

Xiao Ma completely let his guard down and nodded heavily.

He fully trusted the man who had always been the team's strategist.

He turned his back to Chen Shao, craning his head toward the direction they had come, trying to spot Ahu and Li Na.

"Where do you think they'll go......"

Xiao Ma's words stopped halfway.

He didn't see.

Behind him, Chen Shao's gentle smile peeled away inch by inch like a Mask.

What replaced it was an absolute, icy indifference.

He slowly lifted his hand, a scalpel flashing with cold light, silently slipping from his cuff into his palm.

There was not the slightest hesitation.

There was not the slightest sign.

Pfft.

The icy blade, precisely from the area behind the heart, pierced Xiao Ma's body.

One stroke killed.

Xiao Ma's body suddenly stiffened.

His expression froze; he slowly lowered his head, gazing at the blood‑stained tip of the blade protruding from his own chest.

An indescribable searing pain and icy chill instantly swept his entire body.

He strained, turning his head inch by inch, to look at the "companion" behind him he trusted most.

There was no expression on Chen Shao's face.

He simply stared at him calmly, then slowly, with a familiar yet now terrifying gesture, lifted his hand to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Why...... why...... what......

Blood spewed from Xiao Ma's mouth, his voice shattering.

"Sorry."

Chen Shao's tone was steady, without a ripple.

Xiao Ma's pupils suddenly contracted!

He recalled something, and an extreme terror and disbelief flashed across his face.

"So... it was you..."

Bang.

He collapsed heavily, his eyes staring wide, refusing to close in death.

Chen Shao, expressionless, drew the scalpel, carefully wiping the blood from Xiao Ma's clothing, then skillfully sheathing the blade back into the hidden pocket of his cuff.

Afterward, he reached into his chest and pulled out a slightly yellowed, folded slip of paper.

On the slip, blood‑red characters wrote several lines of rules.

【Lurker Rules】

【1. Ensure that ten people under your command are forever kept at Saint John Hospital.】

【2. The B2-7 Storage Room contains a White Candle; lighting the White Candle can neutralize the effect of one red Candle.】

【3. After the mission succeeds, you will leave here and gain one chance to Rewrite Fate.】

Chen Shao's gaze lingered on the phrase "Rewrite Fate" for a long time.

He refolded the slip carefully and put it away.

Then he took out a pocket watch.

Clack.

The pocket watch opened.

Inside, there was no hour hand, only a tiny photo cut into a circle.

In the photo was his sister.

The cold on Chen Shao's face completely melted the moment he saw the photo.

He extended a finger, the fingertip still bearing a trace of Xiao Ma's warm blood, gently, tenderly caressing the girl's face in the photo.

His gaze was filled with endless pampering and sorrow that should never exist in this hell.

"Yao Yao..."

He whispered in a voice only he could hear.

"Brother will soon... soon be able to get out."

"When brother gets out, I'll take you for treatment, to see the sea, and buy you your favorite strawberry cake..."

"Brother swears, I will definitely let you... live like other children."

"Let you obtain happiness."

The man finished speaking and closed the pocket watch.

When he raised his head again, the lingering warmth in his eyes had vanished, leaving only a resolve and coldness that could freeze everything.

He glanced at Xiao Ma's still‑warm corpse on the ground, felt no lingering attachment, turned, and merged into deeper darkness.