That turbid, yellow eye was pressed against the viewing window.
It had no sclera, and its narrow, slit-like pupil resembled a slit that had been sliced open and haphazardly sewn back together.
A small patch of the dried blood on the viewing window was rubbed away by it, revealing a section of pitch-black skin outside.
No, perhaps it shouldn't even be called skin.
The surface of that layer was covered in dense, fine wrinkles, resembling waterlogged, rotting rubber or some kind of decaying mycelium.
It squirmed slightly as the eye rolled, and a sticky liquid dripped down the door panel, leaving behind a long, thin, blackened trail.
Cen Yao stood frozen in place, her palms drenched in sweat.
She wanted to back away.
She wanted to get away from that door immediately, ideally retreating straight into the wall behind her.
But she couldn't.
This laboratory had no other exit.
The only door was the iron door right in front of her.
If she kept cowering here and waited for the thing outside to make its move and enter, the cramped space would leave her with absolutely nowhere to run.
Cen Yao stared at the eye behind the viewing window, her breathing growing quieter and shallower.
Don't panic. Just because she didn't have her wand didn't mean she didn't have legs.
Get out first.
The eye was still watching her.
Cen Yao even felt as if the creature knew she was afraid, intentionally lingering there to slowly enjoy the sight of its trapped prey.
“What are you looking at?”
Cen Yao bolstered her courage in her mind.
“Have you never seen a pretty face before?”
She took a deep breath, suddenly reaching out to grab the doorknob.
The thing outside the door didn't seem to expect her to make a move.
The eye behind the viewing window paused slightly.
The next second, Cen Yao violently twisted the handle and pushed the heavy iron door outward with all her might.
Bang!
The iron door slammed against the wall with a deafening crash.
Caught off guard, the thing outside was struck by the edge of the door, forcing its head back half an inch.
It let out a hoarse, bizarre growl, sounding as if something was clogging its throat—muffled and sticky.
Cen Yao didn't stick around to see the result.
The moment the door opened, she spun around and sprinted toward the deepest part of the laboratory.
Her soles slipped slightly as they stepped on the slime on the floor, nearly causing her to lose her footing.
She braced herself against a console, using the momentum to fling herself into the innermost corner. Pressing her back tightly against the cold wall, she finally looked back.
Under the flickering overhead lights, she finally got a clear view of the thing outside.
The monster was crawling on the ground, possessing four limbs.
However, their proportions were extremely bizarre. Its forelimbs were excessively long, while its hind legs were twisted as if they had been forcefully broken and crudely reattached.
It was pitch-black all over, its body devoid of hair or scales, covered only in a layer of greasy, shiny flesh.
It had probably been a human once.
At the very least, the outline of its torso still vaguely resembled a human form.
But from its arms, legs, and spine, three or four tentacles of varying thickness had sprouted.
These tentacles didn't look like those of an octopus; they resembled deformed limbs forced out from its raw flesh.
The thickest one extended from its shoulder blade, its tip split into several lobes that revealed rows of densely packed, tiny teeth. Two thinner ones wrapped around its legs, scraping against the floor as it dragged itself forward.
The rustling sound from the corridor earlier was likely caused by these appendages.
Although the monster had been hit by the iron door, it didn't seem injured.
It slowly raised its head, its blood-red eyes locking onto Cen Yao.
There was no trace of human emotion in that gaze.
Only hunger—intense, naked, almost ravenous hunger.
Cen Yao's heart skipped a beat.
The line she had just read in the logbook suddenly became incredibly clear in her mind.
“They are hungry.”
This dungeon really loved to lay clues right in front of her eyes.
Provided she stayed alive long enough to understand them.
The monster crouched at the doorway, not rushing in immediately.
It seemed to be assessing Cen Yao's escape route.
Cen Yao watched it in return.
Its body was a size larger than an average adult's, and dragging those tentacles made its movements appear clumsy and slow.
Judging by its body alone, its speed didn't seem particularly fast.
This allowed Cen Yao's heart, which had been throat-high, to settle slightly.
She could run. At the very least, she should be able to outrun it.
But the next second, the thickest tentacle on the monster's back suddenly whipped upward.
Crack!
The tentacle was like a slime-coated black whip, lashing directly at Cen Yao!
Cen Yao's pupils contracted. Relying purely on instinct, she threw herself to the side and rolled.
Boom!
The wall where she had been standing a moment ago was smashed into a deep crater by the tentacle.
Rubble flew in all directions.
The slime on the tentacle's surface dripped down the cracks, and the plaster let out a faint sizzling sound as it was corroded into a blackened patch.
Cen Yao pushed herself off the ground, swallowing hard in lingering fear.
Okay.
She took back her brief moment of relief.
This thing moved slowly.
But it had reach, it was highly toxic, and its strength was ridiculously immense.
If she actually got hit by that, she would probably be flattened into a permanent wall decoration on the spot.
“Orb.”
Cen Yao kept her breathing tight, her eyes locked on the monster.
“What is this monster's weakness?”
The orb replied quickly, “No clear weakness has been detected yet. There is a large amount of mixed energy inside its body, likely from multiple rounds of experimental modification. Normal scans are being interfered with.”
“So?”
“So, Host, it is highly recommended that you prioritize running away.”
Cen Yao: “...”
Thanks for the brilliant advice.
She was already running!!
The monster squeezed its entire body into the laboratory.
Propping its forelimbs on the ground, the tentacles on its back slowly rose like a pack of snakes preparing to strike, their tips swaying gently in midair.
Its crimson eyes never strayed from Cen Yao.
She had run too far inside earlier; now, the monster was blocking the path between her and the exit.
If she made a straight dash, she would likely be ensnating by its tentacles before she could even get close to the door.
She had to get it to move out of the way.
Cen Yao's gaze swept across the room.
Consoles, ruined incubation pods, iron cabinets, shattered glass littering the floor, and several wires dangling from the ceiling.
The space was cluttered. It was cramped for the monster, but for her, it served as excellent cover.
Cen Yao quietly adjusted her stance.
As if sensing her intentions, the monster let out a low growl from the depths of its throat and lunged forward.
Cen Yao spun around and ran, circling the console and heading left from the innermost side of the room.
The monster gave chase behind her.
Its massive body collided with a metal cart blocking its path, sending it crashing sideways and shattering the test tubes on it all over the floor.
The sound of breaking glass echoed repeatedly throughout the lab, mixed with the sticky friction of the dragging monster, making one's skin crawl.
Crack!
A tentacle whipped out once more.
Cen Yao ducked. The tentacle brushed past the crown of her head, slamming into and overturning the ruined incubation pod ahead.
Cen Yao's physical stats weren't exceptionally high, but she had always had quick reflexes since childhood, and she had survived several dangerous situations since entering the Horror Game.
Having run for her life time and again, she had long since realized that in moments like this, quick thinking was far more important than fast legs.
The monster's tentacles had a wide attack range, but the angle of each strike was roughly the same.
It wasn't agile enough.
After a missed attack, the tentacles would stiffen for a brief moment, like a whip that had to be reeled back after being thrown.
Cen Yao kept a mental count as she ran.
One.
Two.
Three!
Crack!
When the third tentacle lashed out, Cen Yao deliberately delayed her reaction by half a beat.
Her shoulder was almost clipped by the tentacle, the fierce wind tearing a slit in the sleeve of her hospital gown.
Yet, because of this brief pause, the monster mistakenly believed it was about to catch her, throwing its entire body forward in a lunge.
Cen Yao sidestepped at the very last moment, and the monster missed.
Its bulky body crashed heavily into the console.
Crash!
The stainless steel surface was dented deeply by the impact.
The tentacles on the monster's back became tangled with each other, briefly wedging it between the console and the wall.
Now!
Cen Yao's eyes sharpened.
Instead of continuing to run around the room, she abruptly pivoted and bolted toward the laboratory door.
She wasn't far from the exit.
Ten meters!
Eight meters!
Five meters!
The screech of twisting metal echoed from behind.
The monster had broken free.
Cen Yao could feel the nauseating, metallic wind drawing closer and closer behind her.
As she leaped over a patch of shattered glass, she pushed off with her foot, throwing herself out of the laboratory doorway using her momentum.
Thud!
She hit the ground and rolled, her shoulder slamming into the cold corridor wall, the pain momentarily turning her vision black.
But she had no time to nurse the pain, immediately scrambling to her feet and running forward.
Behind her, the monster finally realized it had been played.
“Roar—!”
It let out a piercing, furious shriek.
Rate on N.U.
