There, there were interior windows facing the first-floor lobby, all made of that same one-way gss.

  From her perspective, those windows were just bright mirrors, reflecting her own figure.

  But… Pandora had no doubt that behind these mirrors, one or more pairs of eyes were watching her every move.

  Maybe even more than one person.

  Originally, she had been cautious, unsure whether the people in the research facility were friend or foe.

  Now, she had her answer.

  They were enemies!

  However, before heading to the second floor to drag the hidden hand out of the darkness, she had to deal with these annoying “little guys” first.

  Pandora tightened her grip on the sword of Elsa.

  The scarlet bde, seeming to sense its master’s will to fight, began to hum softly.

  【I am ready, My Lady.】

  Elsa’s voice sounded in her mind.

  Pandora gave a slight nod.

  She looked at the nearest zombie, the one that had just crawled out of the cultivation tank, the one who had once been the manor’s groom, and thought silently:

  Betty, I’m sorry. Your father… I’ll take care of him for you.

  The next moment, she stepped forward without hesitation, the greatsword in her hands bringing down a mournful red light in a vicious strike!

  SPLAT!

  The head fell.

  The zombie monster, not even having time to fully assume an attack posture, became a true, motionless corpse.

  A cruel smile touched Pandora’s lips.

  Although she didn’t know what was going on, but… it seemed she had been underestimated, ha!

  Immediately after, the sword light fshed, like a bloody storm.

  Almost no zombie could st a single exchange against her bde.

  Her figure weaved through the horde of zombies, like an elegant, lethal grim reaper.

  Every swing of her sword brought a spray of blood; every dodge was perfectly timed to avoid all attacks.

  She quickly cleared a path, approaching the only staircase leading to the second floor.

  ………………

  In the dark room, Dulles’s eyes were squeezed shut, all perception of the outside world severed.

  His spirit had completely transformed into countless fine, sensitive tendrils, struggling to explore a boundless, chaotic, and cmorous sea of consciousness.

  As time passed, the gibberish from the depths of that sea of consciousness grew louder and louder. The feeling was maddening and profane, like the shrieks of a billion vengeful souls, echoing and reverberating in his mind.

  His spiritual tendrils, in this violent ocean, were like spider silk in a hurricane, already on the verge of colpse.

  Just then, a cool, strange feeling, like bathing under a bright red moon, slowly rose up his spine.

  This feeling was the power of the potion. It was like a solid anchor, instantly stabilizing his spirit, which was on the brink of colpse, giving him a small reef to stand on in the midst of the chaotic storm.

  The next moment, he forcefully “opened” those eyes made of spirit.

  He “saw” it!

  Deep beneath that endless sea made of gibberish, hidden in an extremely, extremely deep pce, there floated, silent and still… a mysterious, majestic spiritual rune, filled with unknown power!

  He could not comprehend the true meaning of that spiritual rune. Every twist, every structure, seemed to contain incomprehensible truths, yet it radiated an authority that no mortal could gaze upon directly.

  Just by “looking” at it, Dulles felt a pressure as heavy as a mountain, a great fear from the depths of his soul, from the very instinct of life.

  But that didn't stop him from sending his most humble, most fervent request to that rune.

  He roared with all his might in his heart, his “voice” trembling and filled with longing.

  “I, your humble seeker of knowledge, beg for your blessing…”

  “Just a wisp… a single wisp of your aura is enough!”

  He repeated this request, humble to the point of dust, over and over again.

  Perhaps… perhaps today was truly his lucky day!

  That mysterious spiritual rune seemed to have… truly responded to him!

  However—

  “Aaaah—!!!”

  An indescribable, excruciating tearing sensation, came from the very depths of his soul!

  It felt as if an invisible, demonic hand was brutally grabbing his soul, trying to tear it from his body!

  “Ugh…”

  Dulles’s eyes flew open.

  His body convulsed uncontrolbly, and he rolled from the chair onto the floor.

  He was drenched in cold sweat, as if he had just been pulled from the water.

  He had failed.

  As expected… the difficulty of advancing to the second rank was far beyond his imagination. With just one imperfect potion and his own meager talent, it was almost impossible to succeed.

  The ritual… he had to rely on the ritual!

  Only with the complete ritual could he gain the true “approval” of that spiritual rune!

  He struggled, pushing himself up from the floor, his gaze refocusing, falling on the monitor console before him.

  Then, his pupils contracted to an extreme in an instant, the pain of his failed advancement instantly repced by a far more intense emotion, a mixture of shock and disbelief!

  He saw… what did he see?!

  Those dozen or so Live Iron Golems he had “recimed” early, were now a pile of real corpses!

  Their heads were neatly severed, red-bck blood flowed everywhere, and the sword-wielding girl who was supposed to be his sacrifice, was now, stepping over the corpses and through the blood, completely unharmed, heading for the only entrance to the second floor!

  “No… this is impossible!!”

  He was frantic. He panicked. His eyes were bloodshot!

  He didn't even have time to deal with the pain of the spiritual backsh, scrambling on all fours back to the console, operating the buttons and levers with a near-maniacal frenzy.

  BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!—

  An ear-piercingly urgent arm suddenly bred through the entire research facility!

  The entire building trembled slightly.

  CRASH—!

  At the entrance to the second-floor corridor, a heavy alloy gate, hidden in the space between the ceiling and the wall, smmed down!

  The immense sound left almost no time to react.

  At the same time, Dulles pressed another bright red button, one he would never touch under normal circumstances.

  More Live Iron Golems, not from the “recimed” batch, were “activated”!

  One after another, brand-new Live Iron Golems, prepared for the next batch of the “Fruit” cultivation pn, were awakened from their slumber ahead of schedule and released!

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