Despite the large heat radiation devices in each residential area of Tianfu City starting to operate, as the Eternal Night continued, the outdoor average temperature of the urban area still dropped below the freezing point.

Yang Lian shivered as she pulled open the door, instinctively shrinking her neck—due to the urgency of the situation, she had only thrown on a down jacket over her thin nightgown, and the bone-chilling cold seeped in from the collar and hem, making her want to retreat indoors.

"It's a bit cold outside," Yang Lian whispered, her teeth chattering slightly, making a faint clattering sound, "Do you want to change into something warmer?"

"It's not a problem. I've undergone rigorous cold resistance training in Siberia, this temperature is nothing to me," Ye Xuan said, wearing only a thin investigator's uniform over her pajamas. Compared to Yang Lian's long down coat that extended below her knees, Ye Xuan's legs were exposed to the cold air, her pale skin turning slightly red from the cold.

Yang Lian glanced at the two tightly closed fire doors in the elevator lobby and then at the locked windows, quickly walking barefoot to the elevator and pressing the button.

To avoid alerting the white shadow that this was a trap set specifically to capture it, the mysterious creature hunter closest to Ye Xuan was positioned 200 meters away, requiring about half a minute to arrive at the fastest speed. In this situation, the on-call Field Operations Department personnel in the same building became the last line of defense to protect the two of them.

The residents of Building Thirteen had already been evacuated. Besides Yang Lian and Ye Xuan, the only ones still here were those elite Field Operations Department agents, ready for action at a moment's notice.

But now, all these agents have lost contact.

Yang Lian could be sure this wasn't a communication issue—because they could still contact the headquarters, but neither headquarters nor they could reach any of the agents in the same building.

"If that mysterious entity can indeed obtain prey's memories by consuming human brains, then our ambush plan is probably completely exposed," Ye Xuan said regretfully, "The next time we try to catch it, it will be much harder."

"Six armed teams, over forty people, all losing contact simultaneously... Was this really done by that white shadow?" Yang Lian's heart was filled with anxiety and doubt as she scanned her surroundings repeatedly until the elevator reached their floor with a crisp "ding."

The elevator doors opened, and suddenly a strong scent of blood assaulted their senses!

A severed body lying inside the elevator, with everything above the waist missing, the cut smooth and neat, even the handgun in its holster was sliced in half.

Judging by the uniform and equipment on the body, it was clearly a member of an external operations team, viscous blood spilling out and dripping continuously from the elevator door's gap.

"That thing has already started its move," Ye Xuan said gravely, "We're one step too late."

"So what do we do now? Do we go back inside, or..." Yang Lian asked.

"The elevator came up from below, meaning that thing should be downstairs now," Ye Xuan said, "Let's take the elevator to the rooftop! Get headquarters to send a helicopter for support!"

The two stepped into the elevator, standing barefoot on the sticky, slippery pool of blood... Yang Lian used one hand to cover her nose and mouth, while the other hand pressed the button for the top floor.

...

...

Nameless Island, Ruins of the Research Institute, Basement Level 2, Experimental Area.

The cursed Indian Hunter turned another corner, running towards an area with more densely packed buildings.

His running style was no longer like a human's—initially, he ran on two feet, but afterward, he was crawling on all fours like a beast.

To be precise, it wasn't really crawling; he relied on the explosive power of his "hind limbs," continually making short leaps... it's hard to imagine the immense pressure his spine endured during this chase lasting several dozen seconds.

Bloodstains dotted the ground, marks left from his palms being worn down, several times escaping Sun Hang and the Fisherman's sight, yet they managed to catch up again by following those blood traces.

"Damn, this guy can really run!" the Fisherman complained, panting heavily, "He's definitely broken the infected race's sprint record by now, right?"

"Haven't you noticed something?" Sun Hang suddenly asked.

"Noticed what?" The Fisherman wiped the sweat off his face, "There's plenty I haven't noticed, you can just tell me directly, big brother."

"After we crossed that tunnel and entered the experimental area, the red guiding lights disappeared."

"Huh?!" The Fisherman was startled, "Now that you mention it, I didn't notice at all! Damn it, all because this guy caught my attention!"

"No, it's not his fault," Sun Hang shook his head, "If I'm not mistaken, he replaced the red light as the guide."

"Huh? Him? Uh, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough—" The Fisherman couldn't help but gape at this, but the next second he choked, coughing violently.

...

Finally, the Indian Hunter stopped in front of a large factory-like building, turned his head to glance at Sun Hang and the Fisherman who had caught up, then kicked open the ajar door and slipped inside.

"Looks like this is the place," Sun Hang nodded towards the Fisherman.

He could feel several infected individuals inside the building, along with a faint but unmistakably familiar presence.

That shared bloodline presence.

"Are there any ambushes?" The Fisherman asked again.

"No."

"How do you know?"

"Instinct?"

"Instinct... Instinct?! Maybe we should just be a bit more..."

The Fisherman couldn't finish his sentence of "be a bit more careful" before Sun Hang had already moved forward, fully opened the heavy door.

Sun Hang finally understood why they didn't encounter a single corpse of the island's personnel along the way.

Skeletons, countless skeletons, piled layer upon layer on the ground... these skeletal remains formed mounds as tall as a person, and among these bone mounds, the missing hunters sat quietly, blankly staring at the ceiling.

The fear and madness on the face of the Indian Hunter who had been chased here by Sun Hang and the Fisherman vanished, as though upon entering, all his emotions were absorbed by some unknown presence—he stumbled to a bone mound, then collapsed, life gone entirely.

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