Chapter 20

**Ding Dong! The special side mission has been completed. Congratulations, each challenger has received 500 survival points.**

Just as there were only three minutes left, the cold voice in his mind finally sounded, announcing the completion of the task. Tang Cheng immediately spat, "Ding Dong? Ding Dong your sister, this isn't leveling up."

As he spoke, he glanced at his information panel again. With the addition of the points from the previous kills of the crawlers and zombies, his survival points now totaled 585. Tang Cheng didn't know if this number was high or low, and he didn't really care.

Although as a newcomer, Tang Cheng was still unfamiliar with some of the rules of the cycle world, he had expected to complete the special mission, so he remained very calm at this moment.

"Tang Cheng..." A moment later, a woman's voice came from above, slightly muffled, indicating she was quite far away.

Tang Cheng recognized it as Alice's voice and quickly shouted back, "I'm here!"

Soon after, a head appeared from above, and it was Alice. Alice also saw that Tang Cheng was standing on the body of a crawler, waving at her... Wait! A crawler?

When Alice realized this, she was also startled. She knew what this place looked like before they turned on the power switch, and she had a certain understanding of Tang Cheng's strength. She didn't deny that Tang Cheng was very strong, whether in intelligence, courage, skills, or other aspects. In terms of overall quality, even some battle-hardened mercenaries couldn't match him. If the visibility was clear and there was heavy firepower support, Alice believed that Tang Cheng could kill a crawler without any problem.

But in such a pitch-black environment... To be honest, even she didn't have much confidence.

Alice was very clear about the habits of crawlers. Although they were not afraid of light, they generally preferred to move in the dark. If they could hunt in the dark, they would never appear in the sunlight. This style was very consistent with their identity as predators.

Of course, the crawler's body under Tang Cheng's feet wasn't fake. At least, she didn't think a normal person would stand on a living crawler. She just couldn't understand how Tang Cheng managed to do it.

"Wait a moment, I'll get a rope." Although Alice had questions, she knew this wasn't the time to think about it. She immediately shouted down and then disappeared from Tang Cheng's sight.

After a while, Alice reappeared and threw down a rope. By this time, Tang Cheng was already waiting by the wall. The length of the rope was just right for him to reach and hook it, so he immediately grabbed the rope and started climbing.

The walls of the pit were uneven, with many dents and protrusions, which made his climb much easier. Whether this was by design or due to the crawlers' movements, it was hard to say.

When he was almost at the top, Tang Cheng noticed that the inner side of the wall was lined with a five-centimeter-thick iron plate. He immediately understood why the floor had cracked earlier.

Clearly, the iron plates inside the walls could be extended through a mechanism. When fully extended, they would form a heavy protective wall, blocking the crawlers in the pit while also serving as the foundation for the research lab above. However, due to the accident at the research institute, the Umbrella Corporation had abandoned the place without closing the iron plates, effectively leaving the research lab suspended in mid-air.

Although this wouldn't cause any immediate problems, and even strong vibrations wouldn't be an issue, the research institute was such an important base that the Umbrella Corporation wouldn't have built it as a shoddy structure. However, with the crawlers, the situation was different. These heavy and powerful creatures could easily loosen the area with just a few movements.

When this accumulated to a critical point, it would lead to a complete collapse. Thus, when the crawler lunged down earlier, it caused the entire area to collapse. This wasn't due to the crawler's strength but rather the long-term accumulation.

"Perhaps, this can also be considered a form of gradual accumulation leading to a sudden burst," Tang Cheng muttered to himself. As he said this, a vague idea suddenly formed in his mind, though it wasn't clear, it gave him a sense of excitement. He felt it was very important, but when he tried to think about it, it seemed as if a fog was blocking his view, and he could only see a faint shadow.

"What are you saying?" Alice, standing on the wall's top, noticed that Tang Cheng had stopped and was moving his lips, so she asked.

Her voice interrupted Tang Cheng's thoughts, and the vague shadow in his mind instantly disappeared.

Now, he felt nothing... Tang Cheng sighed inwardly. He knew that something important had just slipped away, and he wasn't sure if he would ever have such a thought again. He felt a bit regretful, but he wasn't the type to dwell on things or force anything. Gains and losses were often predetermined, and there was no need to be overly concerned. He didn't blame Alice and just smiled, shaking his head, "Just talking to myself, don't worry about it."

"Oh." Alice pulled him up, and Tang Cheng was now standing on the wall's top.

At this moment, Tang Cheng also saw that the pit he had fallen into wasn't the only one. There were dozens of pits scattered around. The place where he and Alice were standing wasn't a wall's top but a boundary line separating the pits, similar to the ridges in a field, about one meter wide.

"Rebecca and I were lucky. When the floor cracked, we didn't fall in and were saved by this... thing," Alice said as she stepped on the ridge, recounting their experience. "But because it was dark, everyone got separated. We didn't know what to do next, so we just climbed along these ridges, hoping not to encounter any crawlers. When we reached the end, I found the power switch, and Rebecca found the antibiotic to suppress my mutation..."

"The protagonist's aura is really unbeatable," Tang Cheng muttered, feeling a bit envious. He had fought hard in the pit, nearly being eaten by a crawler, and after winning, he faced the cycle world's malicious interference. These two girls, on the other hand, had easily solved the problem by just climbing for a while.

"Where's Rebecca?"

"She's guarding the retreat. Although my problem is solved, this place is still unsafe, with crawlers everywhere. Fortunately, due to the collapse, the crawlers seem hesitant to stay nearby, otherwise, the situation would be troublesome... How did you kill that crawler?" Alice finally asked her question.

Tang Cheng sneered, "That weakling with only a combat level of five? I just slapped it a couple of times, and it was dead. Not worth mentioning."

Alice smiled. Crawlers were certainly not weaklings with only a combat level of five, and they couldn't be killed with just a couple of slaps. From Tang Cheng's current appearance, it was clear he had gone through a tough battle, but since he didn't want to talk about it, she didn't press further.

Then, the two of them walked quickly to where Rebecca was.

Rebecca's face relaxed when she saw them. "Great, you're both safe."

"What's the situation now?" Tang Cheng asked.

"No crawlers have attacked yet, but I have a strong sense of unease. If we stay here, we might be surrounded. Since you're both here, let's leave immediately. Once we're out of this research institute, there's nothing to fear."

"Be careful, or you'll become the second senior," Tang Cheng casually said a joke that Rebecca didn't understand, but he didn't hesitate and ran out first.

Alice and Rebecca, of course, didn't fall behind.

On the way, Tang Cheng asked Rebecca, "When you went to the research institute's pharmacy, did you take any other medicine besides Alice's antibiotic?"

"I searched the entire pharmacy and only found that antibiotic... Is there a problem?"

"No." Tang Cheng shook his head indifferently but inwardly criticized the cycle world: "So stingy!"

They didn't chat further and returned as quickly as possible. Before the crawlers could form a包围圈, they safely reached the stairs. The stairs started to rise, and they finally left the second research institute.

However, when they exited the villa, Alice and Rebecca were surprised to find that Li Guodong and the armored car, who were supposed to be waiting for them, were nowhere to be seen.

Only Tang Cheng seemed to have expected this. "It was expected."

...

At the same time, in an abandoned church about a hundred kilometers away from Tang Cheng and the others, a white man's body lay in a pool of blood. His eyes were wide open, his face frozen in a look of terror, and a deep gash across his chest, which had nearly split him open, was the cause of his death.

Beside him, a middle-aged man with a large knife crouched down, took the gun from the white man's hand, and tucked it into his waistband. He then turned around with a cold expression and said, "We have no way out. He wants to drive us out, which is the same as sending us to our deaths. Since he won't let us live, I'll make him die first!"

In front of the middle-aged man were three young people, one man and two women.

Hearing his words, the three of them were all shaken.

These four people were none other than Li Guodong, Tang Ya, and their group.

However, the original five were now missing Zhang Yi.

...

New author, new book, growth is not easy, need your support, please recommend and collect!

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