Everyone was already approaching the three-level area nearly two hundred meters underground.
Although a large number of monsters kept besieging from all sides, these were the products of the DX-515 drug modification, yet they hadn't managed to leave anyone behind.
Of course, one reason was... Su Qi was holding the line.
"It's coming from above!"
Another monster attacked from the ceiling, its body covered with dense black spots of various shapes.
Du En roared lowly, swiftly stepping forward and charging. A military saber in a unbelievable posture, skewering the monster!
"This guy... is he on drugs?"
The newcomer beside him stared woodenly at Du En.
Even the team members were somewhat surprised: "This kid... I remember when we first entered the first layer, he wasn't ."
The Captain kicked out, sending a monster flying, and raised his eyebrows slightly: "His potential has been constantly stimulated, growing rapidly in strength through battle, a remarkable talent."
"But why is he only rated a C-class?"
The Captain shook his head, not clear on that himself.
There were many things now that he couldn't figure out; everything was beyond sight.
"...We're about to reach the third level."
The Captain had seen the gates to the third layer.
"Stop staring blankly, get ready to move!"
The monsters behind them collided with the walls and staircases, their thunderous descent continuing down.
Everyone hurriedly rushed toward the gates of the third layer. They had been constantly fighting and fleeing, with hardly a moment's rest. Even if there might be a terrifying threat on the third layer, it was still their place of hope.
"Brother Su! You go first, I'll cover our retreat!" Du En was still concerned about Su Qi.
Du En suddenly noticed a short monster at a shadowy angle, swooping ghostlike towards Su Qi's back!
He had just roared, intending to rush over,
when the next moment!
A light sound exploded!
Su Qi's guide cane gently tapped on the monster's head, which struggled wildly against the wall, utterly unable to move.
"Don't cover the rear anymore."
Su Qi looked at stunned Du En: "And you can't keep killing either."
Du En was taken aback.
Du En was slightly startled, suddenly noticing a large number of black spots on his neck, writhing like flowing pustules, having appeared at some unknown time.
Everyone else watched the scene with surprise.
"You all have them too."
Everyone quickly checked themselves.
They looked at the spots on their bodies with their eyes wide and horror-stricken!
"Why, do we have this too, were we infected?"
Su Qi said: "Rather, you've absorbed them, am I right, Captain?"
They had reached the gates to the third layer, with the Captain still trying to decipher the code to open them. Hearing Su Qi mention this, he said nothing, but his expression was very grave, as he slightly lifted the sleeve on his arm.
It was covered with black spots.
The Captain had discovered this earlier, but given the situation and the team's condition, they had to fight these monsters to move forward, and there had been no opportunity to bring it up.
The rumbling sound erupted!
The noise from the third layer's gate and the roar of the monsters behind intertwined!
The team roared out! After throwing a few grenades!
They directly stepped into the gate!
And the Captain immediately reversed course, closing the gate!
The heavy door fell to the ground at that moment, brutally crushing a few monsters trying to crawl in into mush! Blood gushed onto the floor!
But the team had grown accustomed to it. The newcomers only had time to gulp down air, with no time to feel sick.
"Captain... what exactly were you talking about just now?" the long-haired young man asked the Captain, his voice quivering.
The Captain didn't sit down, although behind the third level's gate was a spacious yet closed corridor with no corpses or monsters in sight. He just leaned against the wall, remaining vigilant.
His expression somber, he began in a hoarse voice:
"Every time we kill these monsters, some of their black liquid transfers into our bodies... I've tried various methods of killing them, whether by shooting or using close-combat weapons," but the Captain shook his head: "It's all useless. Just like the grenades we just threw, as long as the monsters die, it's like a host transfer. Those black spots will slowly crawl onto our bodies."
The team member who threw the grenades looked down at his palm, indeed, it was being slowly infected.
At first, they were just small spots like moles and didn't attract any attention.
But as time went on, like a tide, the spots spread outwards, increasingly blossoming.
"So are we doomed as well?"
The team still confronted the monsters' onslaught, their faces lined with threads of despair and helplessness, "We might turn into those monsters or not even make it out at all, everything being under their control."
The Captain sighed internally.
He wanted to tell the truth, he couldn't see any chance of survival.
But once spoken, the team's morale would plummet to freezing.
"Stay calm, everyone. Haven't you also become stronger?"
Su Qi said gently: "If it weren't for these black factors, as we shall temporarily call them, you wouldn't have gained stronger healing powers, stronger recovery capabilities, and you would have already collapsed halfway to take a long sleep."
The team paused, indeed... they felt they were inexplicably getting stronger, fighting more valiantly as time went on, it just hadn't been an overnight leap in power that was outrageously high.