Darren lowered his head but remained silent.

"Nathan changed," Erick continued with a heavy sigh. "One day he was our teammate, and the next he decided to become a complete motherfucker. The choices he made led him here. He’s dead now, but that’s not on you."

Darren clenched his fists, trying to regain control of his emotions.

"Yeah..." he muttered quietly.

"7..."

"6..."

The countdown echoed through the facility once more, reminding everyone that they were still in danger.

"Let’s come back to this later," Ivy said firmly. "For now, let’s get the hell out of here before this place blows itself apart."

Nobody argued.

The remaining team members immediately entered the elevator.

However, as the doors prepared to close, Darren noticed something.

Ivy wasn’t moving.

She was still standing outside.

"And you?" Darren asked, frowning. "Get in."

"I’ll be right behind you," Ivy replied calmly.

"What?"

"Just go. I need to take care of something first."

Darren’s expression darkened.

"Take care of what? We don’t have time...."

Before he could finish speaking, Erick pressed the elevator button.

The doors immediately began sliding shut.

Darren looked at him in disbelief.

"Erick!"

Erick merely shook his head.

"We agreed on this already."

The elevator doors closed completely.

A second later, the elevator began descending.

Once everyone was gone, silence returned to the hallway.

Ivy stood alone in the middle of the corridor.

The emergency lights flashed red around her while the destruction countdown continued to echo throughout the facility.

A smirk slowly appeared on her face.

Extract all resources, System.

Her eyes gleamed.

We can’t allow anything valuable to go to waste because of the destruction program.

Ding!

{Right away, Host.}

{Extracting all valuable goods in progress...}

For several seconds, invisible energy swept throughout the facility.

Anything the System considered useful vanished without a trace.

Ding!

{Extraction of valuable goods completed successfully.}

A satisfied smile appeared on Ivy’s face.

"Good."

Just as she finished speaking, the floor nearby suddenly cracked.

A monstrous claw began emerging from beneath the concrete.

The creature was attempting to surface.

Without hesitation, Ivy stepped into the elevator.

The doors shut immediately.

A second later, the elevator began ascending toward the ground floor.

The monster’s furious roar echoed through the shaft as she left it behind.

Several moments later, the elevator reached the ground level near the factory’s main exit.

The doors opened.

The first thing Ivy saw was Erick running toward her.

The moment his eyes landed on her, relief flooded his expression.

"Thank goodness!" Erick exclaimed as he hurried over. "I was seriously about to come looking for you."

"Let’s get out of here." Ivy voiced out while Erick nodded his head in response.

The two immediately headed toward the factory exit.

Unfortunately, they hadn’t gone far before movement appeared on both sides of the building.

Two monsters burst from the two sides.

Their horrifying roars echoed through the area as they charged directly toward Ivy and Erick.

The monsters moved with incredible speed.

However, Erick was even faster.

His eyes narrowed.

A second later, energy exploded around him.

Crack!

Lightning surged into existence.

Water spiraled around his body.

Sharp ice crystals formed instantly.

The three abilities merged into a devastating attack.

Boom!

Several ice spears coated with lightning shot forward while streams of pressurized water accelerated them further.

The attacks pierced straight through both monsters’ heads.

The creatures collapsed before they could even reach them.

Dead.

Ivy stared at the fallen monsters.

He’s really a triple-ability user?

She swallowed hard.

Even after everything she’d seen today, Erick’s powers continued to surprise her.

"Come on," Erick called out.

Without thinking much about it, he grabbed Ivy’s hand.

"Let’s go."

Ivy blinked in surprise but allowed him to pull her along.

Together, they successfully exited the factory and finally reunited with the rest of the team.

The others were gathered beside the truck.

Several members were tending to their injuries while others stood guard in case more monsters appeared.

The moment Darren spotted them, he immediately relaxed.

"You’re finally back," he said.

His voice carried obvious concern.

"Come sit down and let someone treat those injuries before you collapse."

"I’ll be fine, Darren," Ivy replied.

"You don’t look fine."

Ivy’s gaze shifted while everyone followed her line of sight.

Nathan’s corpse rested nearby, covered with a cloth.

The atmosphere immediately grew heavy.

The smiles vanished as exhaustion returned and so did the grief.

"I think we all know what needs to happen now," Ivy said quietly.

The group remained silent.

"We bury him."

Nobody objected.

"After that," she continued, "we leave this place and go our separate ways."

The team members slowly lowered their heads.

One by one, everyone nodded.