Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Meeting
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The inside of the building was cleaner than expected.
Mucosal mold sprouted here and there, but compared to the outside, it was nothing.
"This way!"
Edward eagerly took the lead, guiding us excitedly.
I could see chunks of maggot-like flesh swarming into the entrance we'd come through.
We couldn't just leave them be.
I tossed a soy grenade at them.
-Fwoosh!!
The soy grenade exploded, flames erupting upward.
-Squeee!!
The maggots let out eerie shrieks as they burned.
But it was far from enough.
Even larger maggots were pushing in relentlessly from behind.
I threw a few more soy grenades at them.
Some burned to death mid-charge, but with so many pouring in, the grenades alone couldn't hold them back forever.
I considered pulling out my magic staff for an Explosion spell, but decided against it— it'd make an unholy mess.
Instead, I opted for a slightly tamer approach.
I clenched my fist and thrust it forward.
-Boom!
A blast of wind pressure exploded from my fist.
The maggots burst apart under the force, blown back outside.
It was only a temporary fix.
More maggots quickly filled the gap.
"Un-ho! Hurry up!"
Grace called out to me from the rear, her face etched with worry as I held off the maggots.
I lobbed a few more soy grenades at the advancing horde and dashed toward the group.
They stood before a massive metal door at the end of the corridor.
A surveillance camera with a blinking red light swiveled above the door, scanning the group.
Edward waved frantically at the camera.
"Sis! Jessica! I'm out!"
Jessica? So that's his sister's name.
-Clunk.
The heavy metal door slid open to either side.
Bright light poured out from within.
The interior was a pristine silver metal room.
Edward rushed inside and beckoned the group.
"Come on in!"
The room was spacious enough for all of us with room to spare.
The group entered cautiously, weapons at the ready.
-Squish... squish...
Glancing back down the corridor, I saw the maggots surging in like a tidal wave.
"Qu-quick, close the door!"
Carrie spotted the sight and yelled in panic.
I hurled a soy grenade at the monster maggots.
-Fwoosh!!
The flames flared up momentarily, making them hesitate...
But then the maggots filled the corridor completely, 'squishing' forward and even smothering the grenade fire as they surged like a burst dam.
The sight made even me tense up a bit.
It wasn't fear so much as... who the hell would want to get covered in those filthy things?
Fortunately, the door slammed shut before the maggot monsters arrived.
-Thud thud thud thud thud.
The sound of the maggot monsters pounding against it echoed like popcorn popping.
-Whirr.
A mechanical hum filled the air, and I felt my body lift slightly.
'An elevator?'
We were descending... underground.
It was far too large for a standard elevator.
'Freight elevator, maybe?'
A quick scan revealed a surveillance camera in the upper corner. But there were no control buttons anywhere— not like a normal elevator.
Controlled remotely from outside?
Edward's face lit up with a mix of relief and joy.
The elevator descended for a while before finally stopping.
We'd reached the destination.
-Clunk.
The doors slid open...
And there stood a bespectacled, intellectual platinum blonde beauty in a white coat, hands in her pockets, her expression languid and indifferent.
Her face bore clear signs of exhaustion. Yet her beauty hadn't faded—in fact, even that weariness only added to her allure.
'Jessica?'
Edward hadn't let me down.
I reflected a little on how I'd doubted him before. Coming all this way had been worth it.
"Sis!!"
Edward charged at her with arms wide for a joyful hug. But she didn't seem particularly thrilled to see him.
-Thwack!
She kicked him square in the shin as he went for the embrace.
"Ow!"
Edward hopped around clutching his leg.
"S-Sis, why..."
He shot her a hurt look.
"Haa... I told this idiot to run away, and he crawls right back in..."
Jessica sighed indifferently, cursing him out.
"I told you to call for rescue."
"Rescue? ...Even for my little brother, I didn't think you'd be this clueless. That was just something I said to get you out. You saw for yourself once you were gone— there's no rescue coming."
"B-But..."
Edward's eyes welled up with emotion at his sister's sacrifice to save him.
This guy reeked of severe siscon vibes now that I noticed.
"By the way, Sis, what about the others?"
Edward glanced around and asked.
"All dead."
"D-Dead?"
"Yeah. I killed them."
Her expression barely changed as she calmly admitted to the murders.
"Why?!?!"
Edward stammered in shock.
"Once hope was gone, they all said they wanted to have their way with me one last time. So I killed them."
Good call.
I wanted to applaud but held back.
Daring to lay a hand on my woman...
They had it coming.
I liked her fiery personality.
"Anyway, you don't look like rescue... but that sheriff getup makes me think maybe..."
Jessica glanced over us casually.
She'd spotted Philip in his sheriff's uniform.
"Sorry, but we're not rescue. We came because Edward mentioned you have the shelter's master key."
Philip said politely to Jessica.
"Shelter? Edward had a master key too... I gave him one when I sent him out to escape."
Everyone's eyes turned sharply to Edward at her bombshell revelation.
Philip's glare was especially murderous. His clenched fist trembled with rage.
"You... fucking bastard..."
I might witness Philip's live-streamed girlfriend-beater beatdown right here.
'Heh, Edward, you sly dog...'
Me? I was suddenly far more forgiving toward Edward, Jessica's little brother.
"E-Everyone, calm down! It's a misunderstanding! I lost the shelter's master key when I fell into the lake..."
Edward sweated bullets, making excuses.
Naturally, no one bought it. Given his track record, it would be weirder if they did.
The mood was ripe for a beating any second.
Only his sister Jessica was keeping things in check.
"I-It's true! Just believe me once!"
The distrustful stares didn't fade.
The place Jessica had been holed up in looked like a pristine white-toned research lab.
"It's a research lab, yeah. Mostly for studying materials... and other miscellaneous stuff."
We followed her guidance to what appeared to be a cafeteria with a long table.
"Sorry, but all I can offer right now is water. See the purifier over there? Help yourselves."
"Sis, what about food?"
"Been out for a while. Just water these days."
She was starving.
Edward yelped in surprise and frantically dug an energy bar from his backpack, handing it to her.
She stared at it for a moment before speaking.
"I was seriously debating suicide... Guess I'm lucky after all."
"D-Don't say that, Sis."
"Edward, are you saying I should've starved to death in agony for you to be happy?"
"N-No, that's not..."
Watching Edward flounder under Jessica's pressure painted a clear picture of their dynamic.
A classic case of a little brother completely under his big sister's thumb.
"Jessica, why didn't you escape with your brother?"
She chewed on the energy bar I'd gotten from Edward before answering my question.
"Edward awakened his powers, but I figured I'd just be dead weight with my weak constitution. So I had the lab guards help him escape."
"And those guards?"
"All... dead."
Edward answered glumly.
He'd barely survived alone and been rescued by Philip.
"See? My judgment was spot on. If I'd gone with him, we'd probably all be dead."
Edward never would've left her behind— high chance of that.
"You guys are pretty reckless, though."
"Reckless?"
"Coming all the way here for the shelter's master key. Giving it up isn't hard... but how do you plan to get back out?"
"Well..."
After seeing those maggots earlier, no one had a ready answer.
"Follow me."
Jessica seemed a bit lighter on her feet after the energy bar.
She led us to a room filled with countless screens displaying views from around the lab.
This had to be the underground research facility's security room.
"Look here."
The screen she pointed to showed a distant ground-level panorama.
It looked like it was filmed from high altitude.
"Drone?"
"Satellite."
She zoomed in on the satellite feed.
"See it?"
Seattle's landscape came into full view.
And that's when we saw it.
A grotesque colossal mass of flesh dominating one side of the city.
Tentacles extended from it, sprawling across the entire urban sprawl.
I instantly knew this was the "incredible one" Blackie had warned me about.