One hour later, Doomsday Assault and Final Assault finally arrived at the junction where Feng Bujue and Flashes of Sword had run into the giant monster.
"What's this?" Doomsday Assault asked as he stared at the bunch of rotten metal that littered the ground. "Is it some kind of trap?"
"I believe it's the body for some kind of monster," Final Assault said. "Remember that explosion?"
"Oh… So it has been blown open," Doomsday Assault concurred. "In other words… around one hour ago, someone killed this…"
He shrugged, temporarily unable to imagine how this pool of pus and metal looked when it moved. "… this monster that is quite large."
"We've already killed around four of those people in orange suits. They do not carry any explosive weapons on them," Final Assault explained. "They only possess anti-gravity guns, so we can basically confirm that it was Flashes of Sword's team that was behind this."
"Then it means that we're on the right track," Doomsday Assault added.
Final Assault nodded. "Even though this underground lab is large, it isn't a maze. There are several forks, but they do not go deep. We have finished exploring one lap, so if we continue down this path, we'll eventually run into them."
"But the area that we explorer earlier did not have an exit that led outside," Doomsday Assault said. "This could mean that the direction they took probably leads outside."
"So what if that's the case?" Final Assault countered. "The introductory cinematic has already explained that this 'old earth' is filled with storms and toxic swamps, and even the oceans are polluted. Obviously, the situation outside is worse than in here."
The two chatted as they walked down the corridor until they reached the metallic door at the end of the path. The door was open, the room inside was dark, and a strange smell drifted out from it.
When they came to the door, Doomsday Assault lowered his voice to warn his teammate. "Be careful of a trap or ambush…"
Final Assault did not answer verbally but made a simple sign to signal for his teammate to enter the room with him. They each took responsibility for one corner. For entering a dark space, they had already come up with a suitable tactic. Final Assault charged through the door, and the moment he did, he activated the flashlight he was holding. The light shone ahead, and he scanned the room in a counterclockwise manner. Doomsday Assault followed closely behind him, but his flashlight moved in a clockwise direction.
In the end, they found nothing in the room. There was only a cage whose door was broken and a treasure chest that was empty.
"Looks like they killed the monster at the door, came in to open the chest, and then left," Doomsday Assault observed.
"Hmm, that should be…" Final Assault moved into the room as he answered, but his sentence was cut off, and in its place was a dull thud.
"What's wrong?" Doomsday Assault turned around.
Final Assault had tripped and fallen headfirst. He pushed against the ground and climbed up to steady himself. He used his hand to wipe away the two lines of blood flowing from his nose…
"I was… tripped by something." The more one studied these two's conversation, the more suspicious one would get. Even during a sudden change, their expression and tone were still the same, cold and awkward. There was not even a change in their cadence.
Final Assault looked at the empty spot next to his feet and said, "There is a dead body of… hmm… an invisible creature here."
The only reason he could identify it as a dead body was not only due to the heavy stench of decay but also because he came into contact with the internal organs of the monster that Feng Bujue had cut open earlier, and his hands were covered with disgusting yet invisible goo.
Doomsday Assault walked over, wishing to confirm this with his own hands.
"Wait…" Before Final Assault could warn his teammate against doing that, Doomsday Assault had already reached into the monster's decaying corpse.
"Er… This…" Doomsday Assault's heart was filled with regret, but it was already too late.
"Since you've got it on you already, it should be easier for me to explain," Final Assault said. "Did you notice that there are way too many fatal injuries on this body?"
"Hmm… there is a knife wound to the forehead and the rest of the body." Doomsday Assault frowned. "Were they trying to conduct an autopsy?"
"Perhaps each of them was responsible for attacking a different body part during battle," Final Assault said. "That seems to be the most logical explanation."
After examining the work left behind by Feng Bujue and Flashes of Sword, the two moved forward. They understood that even though there might be more monsters ahead, they would have been taken care by the other two already, so they could hurry down the path, closing the distance between the two teams without worry.
They ran for a while before they saw something else in the dim corridor. This time, it was Doomsday Assault who jogged ahead to take a look. He used his flashlight to shine on the object and gasped, "Is this a human head?"
Doomsday Assault walked to stand beside him and looked around. "But where is his body?"
"Eaten by the monster?" Final Assault answered.
"Look at the cut under his helmet… It's too clean." When Final Assault said that, cold sweat slid down his pale face. "Obviously, it was the work of a sharp blade."
Doomsday Assault turned around and looked at his teammate. "Wait, are you telling me that Flashes of Sword's team ate his body?"
"How is that possible?" Doomsday Assault squatted down to study the head in the helmet closer. "Regardless of whether the dead body was dealt with on the spot or dragged away, there should be a large amount of blood left, but there is no blood around here at all. Plus… look at this skull. The insides are almost empty. Other than the blood on the face, there is not even much brain matter left."
"So the conclusion is?" Doomsday Assault asked.
"We didn't run across a dead body or blood trail along the way," Final Assault replied. "So, it can only mean that they killed this man somewhere ahead and then returned here for some reason to place this human head that is practically drained."
"Humph… Is it to scare us?" Doomsday Assault scoffed.
"I believe so," Final Assault agreed. "Look at the holes on this helmet. They don't look like they're created by a weapon, so… before this man was decapitated, he was probably killed by some monster, one that sucked his blood and brains up.
"They chopped off a dead body's head and then tossed it here to put psychological pressure on us? Haha… Looks like the legend about Flashes of Sword makes him out to be stronger than he seems. He's nothing much of a fighter if he needs to rely on dirty tricks like this."
"He's afraid." After hearing that, Doomsday Assault's confidence instantly doubled. "What Dao Jian Xiao? When they're a lower level, they quiver in fear like the rest. Hah!"
"Let's catch up to them." Final Assault leaped over the human head. "Since they wish to delay us, the best solution is to foil their plan."