The mercenary captain James made a gesture, and one of the mercenaries carrying a laptop immediately stepped forward. His fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard, hacking into the system to open the gate.
The fully armed mercenaries instantly aimed their weapons at the doorway. But from outside, looking in, it was pitch black—nothing could be seen. James turned to one of his men.
"J.D."
The mercenary named J.D. nodded slightly, quickly put on night‑vision goggles, and cautiously stepped into the darkness.
The group waited tensely outside for a moment. Then the lights inside flickered on, illuminating the interior. The windows even showed a city view, with the sound of fire trucks faintly audible. But Nathan only had to look closely to realize it was just a television display, not the real city.
"Working underground, yet with windows and scenery… this job's benefits are pretty good."
The man who claimed to be a policeman but was handcuffed by the mercenaries stood beside Nathan, gazing at the window with a low sigh.
"Benefits of being a high‑level intellectual?" Nathan replied casually.
"Yeah, high‑level intellectuals always get good treatment."
While the two exchanged meaningless remarks, the mercenaries had already pried open the sealed elevator. After confirming the elevator had fallen to the bottom, its cables snapped and completely destroyed, they cheerfully began climbing the stairs.
The mercenaries led the way. Nathan, with Rachel's decent stamina, followed quickly downward.
As they descended deeper, before long they reached the bottom of the staircase. Just ahead, they heard the sound of running water around the corner. Walking closer, they discovered that the narrow corridor's sides—rooms that should have been laboratories or offices—were inexplicably filled with water.
The surrounding laboratory glass was reinforced, highly durable. One section had several small holes smashed open, water spraying out through the gaps.
Walking past felt like visiting an aquarium, but there were no fish inside—only office supplies drifting about. The eerie sight was unsettling.
"…There shouldn't be anyone inside, right?"
Having lived in a peaceful world, Nathan had never seen a human corpse. He peered into the murky water nervously, worried someone might suddenly appear.
"To be precise, there's likely someone inside. The Red Queen wouldn't flood these rooms without reason. She acted to kill the people here. There's no reason she'd do it otherwise."
James spoke without turning his head, then ordered his team:
"These labs are part of the passage we must cross. Now they're flooded, so we'll have to reroute. Kaplan and J.D., check the flooding. Rain, find a new path."
Two men and one woman nodded silently, dispersing with weapons ready.
Then…
Nathan kept watching the water‑filled lab. Suddenly, something floated closer. Before he could see clearly—
"——Shit!!"
The handcuffed man beside him cursed loudly and jumped up. Startled, Nathan instinctively pulled Rachel into his arms and stepped back. The others were also alarmed. The mercenaries still present raised their guns, aiming at the flooded lab.
Looking carefully, it was a woman in a white lab coat, eyes closed, hair drifting upward… or rather, a female corpse.
"Um… being held like this is uncomfortable. Could you let go?"
Protected in his arms, Rachel tugged at his sleeve, hoping he would release her.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I overdid it without thinking."
Nathan quickly let go, embarrassed, turning his gaze back to the glass. And then… another corpse behind her startled him again, fear overwhelming his awkwardness.
"It's fine. You were protecting me."
Rachel, shielded from the sight of the corpse, smiled sweetly at him and shook her head.
Seeing her angelic smile, Nathan couldn't help but feel healed, momentarily forgetting his fear.
Perhaps even without anything special, just this smile was enough to make her a good teammate. …Too bad he couldn't even protect himself, let alone others.
Sighing inwardly, though his expression was strained, Nathan exhaled lightly to steady his breathing. He forced a smile, continuing to block Rachel's view, and led her to follow the group.
But just as they were leaving, he instinctively glanced back at the corpse… and saw it suddenly open its eyes, pressing a hand against the glass.
Shocked speechless, Nathan tried to say something. But the scouting mercenary had already returned, shouting:
"Sir, that way is completely impassable. This floor is entirely flooded."
"Sir, we found another route. But it'll take more time, and we'll have to pass through the B‑restaurant."
Rain, the mercenary who had gone to find a new path, reported the alternative.
"Uh, well… you might not believe me, but just now I saw—"
Nathan tried to explain what he had seen, but James cut him off immediately:
"Don't waste time. We're on a tight schedule. Just protect the kid. Everyone, move faster!"
Without waiting for Nathan to continue, James rushed ahead. Nathan, uncertain if he had imagined it, wanted to look back again—but Rachel tugged at his sleeve, asking worriedly:
"You look pale. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Let's just hurry."
A corpse moving? That had to be a mistake. Yes, definitely a mistake. Seeing a corpse for the first time had scared him into hallucinations.
Thinking uncertainly, Nathan quickly led Rachel to catch up with the group.
But at that moment, he recalled the horror movies he had once watched—monsters in popular culture that fit the themes of biohazard, resurrection after death, vampires, undead, skeletons… creatures transformed by viral infection.
Zombies. Also known as the living dead, walkers, or revenants.
But… could such things really appear in reality? Crossing worlds was already unscientific enough. If zombies appeared too, wouldn't that be overly fantastical? Even if this was another world, it was still reality…