“Boom!!” A deafening sound echoed, and when the smoke cleared, Charles was astonished to find the entire door completely unyielding. The strength of the chains exceeded his imagination.

  “Regardless of whether it blows open or not, we don’t have time to waste! Put all the explosives we have on it, light the fuse, and let’s go!” Charles's tone was urgent.

  On the cold floor, a deliberately elongated fuse was ignited. Without waiting for the explosion, Charles led everyone to rush outside.

  The crowd moved quickly through the laboratory. With the chaos created by the various monsters, their retreat speed increased significantly. However, as they approached the exit, the number of Mihe pouring in from the exit grew, making even the seemingly ordinary Mihe difficult to handle.

  At that moment, Charles and his team felt like a small boat navigating through a stormy sea, in constant danger of capsizing.

  Gunfire, roars, screams, and the chaotic sounds of the Mihe converged into one overwhelming cacophony.

  Suddenly, the sound of crashing waves joined this chaotic symphony.

  After dispatching a nearby Mihe, Charles turned to look behind him. It was leeches—dark as ink, a relentless tide of black water mixed with countless leeches surged toward them. Any living thing covered by them would cease to exist.

  Seeing the black wave rushing toward them, Charles's heart sank. It seemed he had unleashed something catastrophic from the red door.

  “Chief Engineer! Don’t get entangled with them! Charge straight ahead!!” Charles shouted at the towering James.

  The hulking giant roared, growing even larger, and charged like a tank toward the Mihe ahead.

  Charles and his team followed closely. The Mihe that were pushed aside attempted to attack them from behind, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the tide of leeches.

  The Mihe in front, oblivious to the danger, blindly charged forward. At this moment, Charles and his team felt like a boat rowing upstream against a fierce current, struggling to move forward.

  Weaker members of the group quickly fell behind, either dragged away by the Mihe or engulfed by the black sea of leeches. The crowd around Charles began to thin.

  As the black tide threatened to swallow them, the familiar stairs appeared before them—the exit.

  In that critical moment, Charles stopped calculating losses and swiftly raised his Thunder Staff.

  In this crowded environment, the effectiveness of the group attack relic was maximized. Electric arcs jumped between the Mihe, and those at the front fell one after another.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  Seizing the opportunity, the crew helped the incapacitated Charles rush up the stairs. At the top was a glass hall, packed with Mihe rushing toward them.

  With trembling hands, Charles grabbed Dipp, who was about to charge forward, pointing at the clock tower outside the left glass wall. “Don’t engage them! Take the side route!”

  Just as they left the exit, the next second, the exit transformed into a swirling black mass, spewing forth black water like a fountain.

  Once the leeches in the black water made contact with the Mihe, they opened their ghastly mouths, biting and burrowing into their bodies. The hosts collapsed, their bodies quickly turning black and liquefying.

  “Ahhh!!” The gigantic James slammed into the glass wall with all his might. With a crash, the entire wall shattered, and they burst out.

  Outside the hall was a road. Regaining some sense, Charles quickly oriented himself and sprinted toward his ship.

  There were Mihe on the road as well, but their density was much looser than before, no longer posing a threat to Charles and his team.

  At that moment, Charles spotted a white-robed Mihe leading a group of black-robed ones rushing toward them.

  Even though they all looked the same, Charles immediately recognized the one that had tormented him before. Seeing his enemy, he gritted his teeth and charged forward with his team.

  As the crowd charged toward them, the black Mihe raised their relics. However, this time, Charles was not alone; nearly a hundred armed individuals pulled their triggers simultaneously.

  Although the ground suddenly heaved, forming a mound that blocked most of the bullets, several black Mihe still fell to the ground, hit.

  The crowd surged forward, and in the face of their numerical advantage, the Mihe quickly fell back.

  Just as the white-robed Mihe raised its toothy relic and tore a burly man in half, Charles threw his black blade with precision, the blade leaving a blur as it embedded itself in its arm.

  With a fierce glare, Charles charged forward, yanking the black blade from the Mihe's arm and plunging it into its chest, snarling, “This is for Salin!”

  As he faced the Mihe up close, its long lips trembled as it tried to say something. Finally, its head tilted, and it fell lifelessly.

  Charles let out a slow breath, finally releasing the pent-up anger in his heart.

  Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass echoed behind Charles.

  When he turned to look, he was horrified to see that the massive glass hall, the size of half a football field, was crawling with writhing leeches, beginning to break through the glass and expand outward.

  The sheer number was alarming; the leeches were multiplying at a geometric rate.

  Richard's voice trembled as he exclaimed, “Oh my God… what on earth is this?!”

  “Forget about it! Run!” Charles urged his crew, and they sprinted for their lives.

  Soon, they burst into the city, which appeared eerily quiet. It seemed safe, but everyone knew the gravity of the situation, and no one dared to slow their pace.

  They passed imposing banks, barbershops adorned with red, white, and blue awnings, and brightly colored accessory shops. Once again, they found themselves in front of the supermarket they had visited before.

  “Hang in there! We’re almost there!” Charles shouted to his crew. The stamina boost he had given them earlier was showing its effects; while others gasped for breath, the crew of the *Unicorn* still had some energy left.

  “Pfft~!” A strange sound echoed from above. Richard turned back in confusion, his mouth agape in shock.

  Behind them, a black mountain was rising, writhing with countless leeches.

  With a loud bang, the entire black mountain erupted like an active volcano, and the already dark sky was shrouded in an even deadlier darkness as a rain of leeches began to fall from above.