The black man twisted bizarrely, slowly making his way toward the phone at the end of the corridor, laughing sharply: “Haha, hahahaha…”

The black vampire, baring his fangs, looked at the camera in front of him, slowly raised his middle finger, picked up the receiver and said, “Good evening, members of the Round Table Council…”

“And that damn little knight girl… did you hear me?” The black man casually picked up a shattered skull from the ground and toyed with it: “Our name is the ‘Valentine Brothers.’ I’m the younger brother, Scott, pleased to meet you…”

His finger suddenly pierced through the eye socket of the skull in his hand, stirring the viscous liquid as he said, “We’re enjoying dinner right now, thank you for your generous hospitality… Your subordinate tastes pretty good… Your lovely subordinate is gradually becoming our excrement…”

In the conference room, Integral angrily crushed the cigar in her hand, while the voice of the black man, Scott, continued to come through the receiver: “I’m coming over to kill you right now… is it convenient? Have you prayed to God? Are you scared to death? Want to commit suicide? I highly recommend that option…”

As Integral bit her lip, seething with rage, a strange voice suddenly came through the communication channel. Henry Clark was striding quickly down the corridor, speaking into the earpiece connected to the entire comm channel: “Idiot, have you finished your crap talk yet? How much shit do you have to eat to spew like that?”

Listening to the voice coming through the earpiece, Henry Clark felt the fear in his heart growing ever more rampant. He had to do something, anything, or the pressure inside would drive him mad.

Even if it was just hurling insults that barely scratched the other side.

“Weren’t the two bullets we fed you at the start satisfying enough? Soon we’ll personally shove the bullets into your body, one by one…”

“Tch…” The furious black man squeezed the phone in his hand, cracking it in dozens of places: “I remember you. You’re that man, and with you is a bitch. I’ll tear you both apart and feed you to my subordinates myself…”

The call was suddenly cut off, perhaps because the enraged black man finally crushed the phone.

After venting completely, Henry Clark spoke to the conference room’s comm channel: “There’s only one road left to the conference room. Please rest assured, we’ll guard the entrance strictly until outside reinforcements arrive.”

“I look forward to witnessing your valor.” After reaching the peak of her anger and regaining her composure, Integral replied calmly, then hung up the phone.

“Phew… that scared me to death…” Grace Brooks patted her not-so-large chest and said to Henry Clark, “You’re really brave, how could you go and provoke that lunatic?”

“If I didn’t provoke him, I’d go crazy myself.” Henry Clark, being led forward by her hand, gripped his pistol tightly and said, “Because I’m scared too…”

Grace Brooks felt the erratic pulse in his hand, the intense change so obvious even she could sense it.

She looked at Henry Clark in surprise: “What’s wrong? All of a sudden…”

Henry Clark gave a bitter smile, sniffing the increasingly pungent stench in the air: “Silly girl, we’re surrounded…”

Just as he finished speaking, sharp and chaotic noises came from both ends of the corridor—the strange sound of bulletproof shields strapped to zombies scraping against the walls and floor.

The stench grew stronger and stronger, spreading relentlessly in the stifling air, until Grace Brooks finally noticed it.

“Are you scared?” Henry Clark listened to the approaching sounds. “If we’re even a little careless this time, we’ll really die.”

Grace Brooks nodded lightly. “I’m scared… but I don’t want to die.”

I don’t want to die…

It was as if some voice echoed inside his body, making him exhale and say, “Yeah… it’s good to be alive…”

“Not only do I want to live, I want to experience a different kind of life…”

Henry Clark felt something dormant inside him awakening, making his skin tingle, his nose sting, and his ears ring with the pounding of a heavy metal concert, the overwhelming bass driving him to the brink.

He breathed heavily, feeling something pulsing in his forehead—the place where a relic was buried. Each pulse set his heart racing, sending his blood surging.

Chapter 10 The Mad Dance

From birth, human beings are inherently limited.

For example, muscles can only exert thirty percent of their strength; ears can’t hear sounds above or below certain limits; noses can’t distinguish every scent in the air; and skin can’t be so sensitive that even the friction of clothing causes pain.

Henry Clark seemed to hear something snap, crack, crack, like a string breaking.

The once warm air had become unbearably hot, making him gasp in pain, yet he couldn’t suppress the growing urge to laugh.

Like a patient immersed in agony, bent over, Henry Clark clutched his bloodstained shirt, breathing heavily.

He sensed a slow wind moving through the corridor, heard dozens of different footsteps dragging heavy burdens forward, the sounds of chewing, roaring, and their hungry, gasping breaths.