Chapter 217: The Monster in the Darkness

Chapter 217: Chapter 217: The Monster in the Darkness

At the end of the corridor, Alyssa stood outside a room with its door hanging open. Unlike the others, she carried no flashlight, yet she stood in the darkness as if she could see perfectly well.

Jaxon’s enhanced senses caught the movement before anyone else noticed it.

A fleshy tentacle, thick as a human arm, suddenly shot out from the darkness. It moved almost silently, whipping toward Alyssa’s back as though it intended to drag her into the room.

But just before it could reach her sleeve, Alyssa leaped backward and twisted in midair, narrowly avoiding the attack.

’As I thought. She can see in the darkness.’

Jaxon already had his DMR aimed at the room, but he held his fire. Instead, he watched Alyssa closely, curious to see how she would respond.

The moment her feet touched the floor, Alyssa raised both shotguns.

BANG! BANG!

One blast struck the tentacle, tearing it apart and spraying chunks of flesh across the corridor. The second blast vanished into the room, followed by a sharp screech from the darkness.

This time, the sound was nothing like the weak voice of the girl they had heard earlier. It was hoarse, distorted, and filled with rage.

"Get away from there!"

A flash of light suddenly illuminated the corridor as Thomas arrived, gripping his M249. The moment several more tentacles burst from the room, he opened fire.

RATATATATAT!

Alyssa quickly moved farther down the corridor and slipped into another room, clearing Thomas’s line of fire. His M249 roared as bullets tore through the tentacles, shredding them in midair. Several rounds struck the doorframe and the concrete wall behind it, blasting chunks of concrete away and leaving a large hole.

"GRUAAAAHHHH!"

A deep, furious growl erupted from inside the room. The next moment, the entire room seemed to burst apart as debris flew into the corridor and multiple tentacles lashed out in every direction, striking toward Alyssa and Jaxon’s group.

Natasha and Cindy immediately opened fire. Their bullets struck the exposed flesh, blowing several tentacles apart before they could reach them. Bong-gu also raised his combat shotgun and fired, the blast knocking another limb aside.

A second roar shook the building. The damaged room exploded outward, sending larger chunks of concrete and broken furniture across the corridor.

"Take cover!" Jaxon shouted.

Thomas stopped firing and dropped behind the nearest wall. Natasha pulled Cindy down beside her, while Bong-gu crouched and covered his head with one arm.

Alyssa remained inside the room where she had taken cover, letting the debris crash across the hallway outside.

The rumbling gradually stopped.

Bong-gu slowly lifted his head. "Did we get it?"

"No," Jaxon replied, his eyes fixed on the ruined doorway.

A massive, bloated body began dragging itself out of the darkness.

Its skin was split open in several places, revealing dark, pulsing flesh beneath. Thick tentacles writhed from its back and sides, dragging its heavy body across the floor.

Two smaller, half-formed heads protruded from its shoulders, their necks fused directly into its grotesque body.

Both heads opened their mouths.

"Help... me..." The voice was unmistakably the same girl they had heard earlier.

Bong-gu’s expression stiffened. "What the fuck...?"

He raised his shotgun, but Jaxon immediately reached out and pushed the barrel down.

"Wait. Everyone, hold your fire."

Before anyone could ask why, Alyssa suddenly burst out from the room. Both of her shotguns fired at once, the blasts striking the creature’s upper body.

BANG! BANG!

The creature roared in pain, and one of its tentacles immediately stretched toward Alyssa, tearing through the remains of the doorway and splintering the wall as it lunged at her.

Alyssa leaned backward, allowing the tentacle to pass inches from her face. She planted one hand against the floor and swung both legs upward, kicking the limb aside before using the momentum to flip back onto her feet.

Another tentacle whipped toward her waist.

She jumped, twisted in midair, and landed on the creature’s extended limb. Using it as a foothold, she sprinted along its thick, writhing flesh before leaping toward its upper body. Both shotguns were already aimed.

BANG! BANG!

The blasts tore into one of the smaller heads, spraying black blood across the wall. The creature shrieked and thrashed violently, its remaining tentacles striking wildly around the room.

Alyssa ducked beneath one attack and slid across the floor, firing at a tentacle reaching for her ankle. Before the severed limb could hit the ground, she grabbed a broken piece of furniture and used it to vault over another tentacle swinging toward her.

She landed beside the creature and drove her boot into one of its twisted legs, forcing its massive body to stagger.

Alyssa immediately raised both shotguns toward its upper body, but before she could pull the triggers...

THUP!

The DMR round struck the infected’s skull. Its head exploded, leaving a massive hole through its upper body. The creature’s entire body jerked violently before collapsing onto the floor with a heavy crash.

Alyssa remained crouched on the creature’s back, her shotguns still raised. Slowly, she turned her head toward Jaxon.

He lowered his DMR slightly. "You’re welcome."

For a moment, nobody said anything. They were still staring at the dead infected, then at Alyssa, who had just moved through the creature’s attacks with an agility none of them had ever seen before.

"Whoa! Alyssa, that was incredible!" Bong-gu exclaimed, breaking into a sudden applause. "You were so freaking fast!"

Alyssa glanced at him, then looked down at the shotguns in her hands.

"It wasn’t that impressive."

"You were practically running on the infected!"

Thomas remained quiet, his eyes fixed on her.

’She’s like someone from a special units... No, even compared to them, she’s on another level.’

Natasha and Jaxon were also observing Alyssa carefully. Neither of them said anything, but both had clearly taken note of what she was capable of.

Before anyone could speak again, Cindy’s anxious voice suddenly rang through the corridor.

"Brother!"

Jaxon immediately turned toward her. Cindy was staring at the small device in her hand, her expression growing tense.

"The drone... I lost its signal."