"Fuck!" Erick cursed under his breath as he kept firing his gun relentlessly at the incoming monsters. His finger never left the trigger as bullets continued raining toward the creatures. "We’re really screwed!"

"She warned us!" another team member shouted, terror clearly visible in his eyes as he desperately emptied round after round into the monsters. Sweat streamed down his face despite the cold atmosphere inside the room.

"Just keep blasting their heads off!" Erick barked, forcing confidence into his voice despite the situation. "Yeah, it’s a dangerous mission, but I believe we can do it! Don’t stop firing!"

The other team members didn’t bother responding. The deafening sound of their gunfire served as the perfect answer.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The room echoed with explosions of gunfire as the monsters continued charging at them with terrifying speed. Some of the creatures slammed against the walls while others leaped across the room like wild beasts.

"Erick! Bend down!" Ivy suddenly screamed from outside the core room.

The moment she shouted, one of the monsters swung its razor-sharp tail toward Erick’s neck with frightening speed. The attack was so sudden that Erick barely had enough time to react.

Without hesitation, he ducked.

Whoosh!

The tail sliced through the air above his head.

"Fuck! That was close as hell!" Erick muttered, panic flashing across his face as he quickly regained his balance and resumed firing at the monster. "A second later and my head would’ve been rolling on the floor."

Bullets immediately tore into the creature’s skull, causing it to collapse with an enraged growl.

The loud growls of the monsters and the continuous gunfire only intensified.

Meanwhile, Ivy remained outside the core room, carefully observing everything.

"The monsters aren’t even bothering to come after me," she murmured under her breath as she swallowed hard. "I mean, I look completely vulnerable right now. I’m the one helping the team avoid their attacks and warning them whenever a monster is about to strike. If anything, I should be their biggest target."

Ding!

{The monsters cannot come out to attack you.}

Ivy blinked.

{They are currently inside the core room, which can also be considered their domain of power.}

{If they leave the core room, they will become significantly weaker. At that point, defeating them would become extremely easy for both you and the other team members.}

{The core room contains numerous premium cores, which is why these dangerous monsters have gathered here. Their strength is directly tied to this room. Leaving it would be the equivalent of surrendering their greatest advantage.}

{Even though you currently represent their biggest threat due to your ability to predict their movements, they cannot attack you unless you enter the core room yourself.}

"I see..." Ivy replied with a heavy sigh.

A feeling of relief immediately washed over her.

"Thank goodness I stayed back. Otherwise, who would’ve guided Erick’s group?" she thought. "Right now, I’m practically their eyes. I can tell them where to move, when to dodge, and when a monster is preparing an attack."

Ding!

{Exactly, Host.}

{You can be considered the God’s Eye of the group.}

A small smile appeared on Ivy’s face.

The battle continued relentlessly.

The monsters roared without pause while the team’s gunfire never ceased. The entire room shook from the chaos.

However, exhaustion was beginning to take its toll.

Several team members were breathing heavily now.

Their arms felt heavier with every passing second.

Their ammunition was rapidly decreasing.

The horrible stench inside the room wasn’t helping either.

The smell of decay, blood, and rotting flesh had become so concentrated that breathing itself felt difficult.

"Damn it..." one of the team members muttered between breaths. "I can barely keep my eyes open."

The monsters, however, showed no signs of fatigue.

If anything, they seemed even more aggressive than before.

"Everyone!" Erick suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs while firing one final burst into a charging monster. "We’re pulling back!"

The others immediately turned toward him.

"Let’s get out of here and close the door behind us!" Erick continued. "That’s enough fighting for today. If we keep this up, we’ll collapse before the monsters do."

A few team members instantly nodded.

They had reached their limits.

"The smell is getting stronger," Erick added while coughing. "I swear I might pass out if I stay here any longer."

"Exactly!" another team member shouted in agreement. His face had turned pale. "It feels like I’m on my last breath already. That rotten scent is even worse now!"

"Fall back! Everyone, move!"

Under Erick’s command, the group immediately began retreating toward the exit while maintaining continuous fire to keep the monsters at bay.

The creatures roared furiously as their prey started escaping.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The final barrage of bullets forced several monsters backward.

Using that brief opening, Erick sprinted toward the exit.

Soon, he successfully made his way out of the core room.

His outfit was completely soaked in blood and the smell accompanying him was even worse.

Even Ivy couldn’t stop herself from gagging.

Meanwhile, Erick leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths, trying desperately to recover.

He had barely escaped one of the monster’s razor-sharp tails from piercing straight through his stomach. If he had reacted even a second later, his guts would have been spilling across the floor. Fortunately, he had moved in time.

He survived.

"Thank you, Mrs. Ivy," Erick said from the floor where he was laying. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he struggled to catch his breath.

Nathan came out next, panting heavily as well. Several team members stumbled out behind him, looking exhausted and terrified.

Without wasting a second, Nathan rushed toward the control panel and swiped the access card.

The massive core room door immediately began sliding shut.

"What are you trying to do?!" Ivy demanded, anger flashing across her face.

Before Nathan could react, she shoved him away from the control panel.

"Are you crazy?!"

"The monsters are going to come out!" Nathan snapped back as he regained his footing. "Just lock the damn door already! Those men aren’t our brothers yet. They only joined the team recently. If they died in there, then their lack of skill got them killed!"

Bang!

Nathan crashed onto the floor with a grunt of pain as Ivy kicked him hard in the stomach.

But then unfortunately, he had already activated the door sequence.

The giant door continued closing.

"Damn it!"