Chapter 93: Peril

Jiang Yuan examined the lock's design closely, and his heart sank to the bottom of a valley.

"Is there a way?" Mo Shu asked anxiously.

"With this kind of mechanism... without a key, it can only be opened from the other side!" Jiang Yuan replied, frowning.

Before the words finished, the hair‑raising "shasha" sound in the Stairwell was already close at hand.

The shadow of death, like a tangible cold liquid, spread upward from their feet, soaking every inch of their skin.

Too late!

Jiang Yuan's gaze hardened, and his resolve instantly crushed all fear.

"Mo Shu, step back!"

He said nothing, tore his thick sleeve back, and tightly wrapped his right fist.

Then, he slammed with all his strength at the glass on the door used to observe the outside.

Dong!

A dull impact that made one's teeth ache.

The glass remained unmoved, yet Jiang Yuan felt his finger bones about to crack.

But he did not stop.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

He was like a beast cornered, using the most primal, most savage method for a final struggle.

The clash of bone and glass echoed in the narrow Stairwell, dull and resolute.

Suddenly!

Bang!

The fire door at the Stairway Entrance, already on the verge of collapse, was ripped open by an irresistible massive force!

A Fake Person monster made of twisted flesh and wildly flailing tentacles surged forward first, its roar nearly tearing a person's earlobes.

Jiang Yuan was wholly focused on breaking the door, unable to divert his attention.

Mo Shu's complexion turned pale, yet almost instinctively she stepped forward, blocking Jiang Yuan.

She raised the sidearm in her hand, long out of ammunition, summoned her last courage, and shouted feebly at the charging monster:

"Don't come any closer!"

At the moment the Fake Person monster's foul tentacle was about to touch Mo Shu's cheek!

Crack!

A crisp shattering sound!

Jiang Yuan's blood‑soaked fist finally smashed through the hard glass!

He ignored his wound, endured the searing pain, and thrust his bloodied, mangled arm out through the gap littered with sharp glass shards!

Groping, rotating!

"Clack."

The door opened!

Jiang Yuan yanked the door open, and in one motion grabbed the stunned Mo Shu, pulling her whole body out of the doorway!

Turning, he shut the door, and locked it!

The whole process flowed like water, taking less than three seconds!

Boom!!!

Almost at the exact moment the iron door locked, the massive body of the Fake Person monster slammed heavily against the door!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The frantic pounding, like the drums of death, began to hammer the thin iron door behind them.

The whole door bulged inward with a visible magnitude, the frame moaned under the strain, and the iron plate securing the lock began to deform severely.

It couldn't hold for long.

Jiang Yuan gulped breath after breath, and looked up at the deep night sky.

No stars, no moon, and no helicopter that would symbolize hope.

The world was quiet, leaving only the death‑rattling door‑slam behind them and the two of their pounding hearts.

Mo Shu completely lost strength, leaned against the wall, slipped slowly, and finally rested beside Jiang Yuan.

Sweat soaked her short hair, a few strands clinging to her pale cheek, and in her doe‑like eyes was a look of bewilderment.

She breathed, gazed at the distant city's glittering lights, and whispered:

"At least... the night view here isn't bad."

Jiang Yuan looked at the helicopter‑less night sky, then lowered his head to glance at the girl leaning on him.

Amid the cold despair, a scorching emotion never felt before surged from his heart.

He also sat down, extended his hand, and grasped her cold hand.

"Don't be afraid." Jiang Yuan's voice was hoarse, "Even if we die, at least we're not alone."

Perhaps it was because of the suspension bridge effect.

He uttered words he normally would never dare to say.

Clang!

A piercing metallic collapse sound!

The lock was completely shattered!

The heavy iron door was ripped outward by a tremendous force.

Behind the door, there was no longer darkness.

But it was a expanse formed by countless writhing tentacles and twisted limbs, constantly surging, a living monster tide!

A foul-smelling gale blasted at their faces!

The monster tide, like a surge, carried nauseating slime, howling as it madly surged toward the two desperate figures in the rooftop corner.

Everything was over.

Jiang Yuan and Mo Shu instinctively closed their eyes.

Just then!

A blinding searchlight beam shot up from beneath the rooftop, piercing the darkness and bathing the entire rooftop in daylight brightness!

Buzzzz!

The deafening roar of the huge rotors instantly drowned out all the monsters' howls, as if a deity had descended!

A pitch-black military helicopter, like a hawk bursting from the Abyss, surged up from the rear side of the building with astonishing speed and hovered steadily at the edge of the rooftop!

Inside the open hatch, a fully armed special police officer shouted hoarsely at them:

"Jump!"

He threw down a shaking rope ladder with all his might!

Jiang Yuan and Mo Shu flung their eyes open, and wild joy instantly overwhelmed all despair!

They didn't even look at each other; their bodies, acting on survival instinct, made the most perfectly coordinated response!

Turn!

Charge!

Just before the monster tide would engulf them, the two surged together to the rooftop's edge and leapt toward the hovering helicopter!

Wind howled past their ears!

The world spun wildly before their eyes!

In the weightless feeling of midair freefall, their hands gripped the icy, shaking rope ladder with all their strength!

At the critical moment!

They brushed past the raging tide of tentacles behind them!

The helicopter's engine let out a tremendous roar as it surged upward in a rapid climb!

Jiang Yuan and Mo Shu clung tightly to the rope ladder, looking down, still shocked.

Just one glance made their just-warmed blood turn icy again.

The entire Ling Shui Garden came to life.

The residential buildings they had seen earlier, bustling with life, had now become nests teeming with rotting flesh and nightmares.

Every building, every window, spewed forth countless Fake Persons.

They surged like a thoroughly enraged ant swarm, coalescing into black torrents from all directions, all flowing toward the same point.

That place was the exit of the entire complex.

It was also the position Captain Wang Zhangzhi was desperately holding.