As a symbiotic being, I raise children amidst the chaos.

In the center of the room was an enormous, transparent jar filled with a mysterious pale blue liquid. Floating on the liquid were some strangely shaped devices, some resembling twisted tree branches, others like intricate spider webs.

"What kind of place is this?" Tom gasped for breath, looking around in astonishment. He noticed that the temperature inside the room was significantly lower than outside.

The cold air, like a slithering snake's tongue, licked at his exposed skin, making him shiver involuntarily. A pungent chemical smell permeated the air, irritating his nasal passages and throat.

"I'm not sure either, but at least for now, it seems safe here." Lily leaned against the closed door, her hands on her knees, trying to calm her rapid breathing.

He tilted his head slightly, glancing at the pistol in his right hand, a hint of unease in his eyes. "I just hope this damn thing will come in handy at a crucial moment!"

Just as the two breathed a slight sigh of relief, that ethereal voice rang out again without warning, "I'm so sorry~ I might have to disappoint you...?"

Before she could finish speaking, three dazzling golden streaks shot out from behind the door and pierced straight through Lily's body with lightning speed.

In an instant, Lily's body was brutally cleaved in two! Blood splattered everywhere, staining the surrounding ground red, and a strong stench of blood instantly filled the entire room.

Tom's pupils dilated instantly, his body stiffening as he stood frozen in place, his eyes filled with disbelief and terror. Lily's body traced a strange arc through the air before crashing heavily to the ground, her clothes quickly soaked in blood.

"Lily!" Tom shouted, trying to rush over, but found himself unable to move, as if an invisible force was binding him firmly in place.

His heart pounded violently, each beat feeling like it would pierce his chest. He could feel the sweat trickling down his forehead and dripping onto the cold floor.

"Hehe, don't worry, you still have a chance to reunite with your friends?" The voice rang out again, and then he saw a white figure emerge from behind the door. The next second, everything went black, and he lost consciousness...

------

On the other hand, after many hardships, the leader and John finally arrived at a room. After entering the room, the two sat down on a worn-out chair and rested for a while to catch their breath.

Once he had regained some strength, the man in the lead stood up and slowly walked towards a strangely shaped piece of equipment placed in the corner. Standing in front of the equipment, he bent down and began to intently fiddle with the buttons.

Meanwhile, John was still shaken. His throat bobbed slightly as he swallowed hard. A hint of unease flickered in his eyes; everything that had just happened was still vivid in his mind.

"I wonder how Lily and Tom are doing? I hope they can complete their mission successfully and come to join us as soon as possible..." John muttered to himself.

"Hmm, I hope so." The leading man kept his head down, his eyes fixed on the instrument he was operating, his fingers flying across the control panel.

At this moment, the room was unusually dimly lit, with only a few machines emitting a faint blue light, which illuminated the two people's slightly pale faces due to tension.

“The doctor mentioned before that the true core area of ​​this laboratory is actually hidden deep underground. To get there, we have to go through a series of heavily guarded security doors,” John said to the man in charge, recalling the doctor’s words.

Time passed slowly, minute by minute. After a long while, the leader finally stopped what he was doing. He straightened up, slowly turned around, and faced John, speaking to him.

"I've noticed some rather unusual devices here. They seem to be specifically designed to prevent unauthorized entry. We'll have to be careful from now on!"

"Then...then will we still be able to reach the core area smoothly?" John's voice trembled slightly, and his eyes looked around in fear.

The walls of the room were covered with all sorts of strange symbols and intricate circuits, the complexity of which was astonishing.

“There shouldn’t be any problem.” The man who was leading the group nodded slightly and continued with a serious expression, “Just now, I carefully checked the security system here, and it seems that the relevant programs have been rewritten.”

"If we fail to follow the correct procedures, it could lead to some unforeseen and disastrous situations."

After a brief pause, the leader said thoughtfully, "Right now, the most urgent task is to get to the central control room. Only there can we possibly find the crucial items we urgently need, such as the access cards or unlock codes."

However, before he could finish speaking, he fell into a brief moment of contemplation again. After a short while, he slowly added, "However, before we officially set off, we must find a way to ensure that our whereabouts are not exposed to that monster."

"Okay, all right! I'll do whatever you say." John nodded hastily in agreement. Although he was still filled with fear and unease, he had no better choice than to stick close to the man in charge.

Then, the two stepped out of the door and walked slowly down the corridor, tiptoeing. They were extremely cautious with each step, as if they were walking on thin ice and that a slight misstep would send them tumbling into an abyss.

Both of them tried their best to suppress their breathing, afraid of making even the slightest sound, lest they disturb the white ghost.

Along both sides of the corridor, at regular intervals, there is a surveillance camera embedded in the wall, coldly watching everything that passes by. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be activated at the moment; they are just hanging there silently.

Just then, the man leading the way suddenly stopped without warning. He leaned down slightly and put a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

Then, lowering his voice, he said to John behind him, "Something seems off here." As he spoke, he pointed to a door not far ahead.

Following his gaze, John felt a chill run down his spine. The door, which had been tightly shut, had somehow opened a narrow crack, allowing a faint light to filter through, making the whole scene appear even more eerie.

"Could it be... Lily and Tom?" John felt as if his heart had been suddenly gripped by an invisible hand, and it pounded violently.

A flurry of negative thoughts flashed through his mind, causing him a wave of panic. However, he quickly shook his head, reassuring himself, "It's probably unlikely..."

“Possibly.” The leading man nodded gravely. Then, he gestured to John to follow him. So, the two tiptoed quietly toward the half-open door.

As they approached the door, they both stopped simultaneously, held their breath, and then carefully reached out their hands to gently push it. With a soft creak of the hinges, the door slowly opened…

The door was slowly pushed open, and a strong smell of blood rushed out, causing them to involuntarily gasp.

The scene inside the room was horrifying. Lily's two mutilated bodies lay sprawled on the floor, blood gushing out like a fountain, soaking through her once-white clothes and turning them a shocking dark red. Tom lay beside her, his fate unknown.

“My God… what is going on?” John was terrified, his voice trembling so much he was almost crying. He staggered forward, trying to check on Lily’s condition.

At the same time, the leader walked forward expressionlessly, raised a foot and kicked Tom, roughly turning his body over.

However, in the next second, the leading man turned pale as if he had seen something extremely terrifying, and took several steps back.

“Both of them... are dead... Judging from the looks of it, it must have been the work of that monster.” The leader frowned, his gaze fixed on the huge bloody hole in Tom’s head. His stomach churned, and he quickly turned his head away, not daring to look any longer.

But just as he was still in shock, something unexpected happened! John, who had been bending over to examine Lily's body, suddenly knelt down on the ground.

His hands gripped his throat tightly like iron clamps, his face contorted in extreme pain. Then, a long, thin, jet-black spike suddenly pierced through his neck, drawing a trail of crimson blood.

"John! What's wrong with you?" The leader stared wide-eyed at the scene before him, his words caught in his throat. Just then, a chilling thing happened.

On John's broad shoulders, a thick, ink-like black liquid slowly climbed up, like a writhing monster.

The black liquid flowed unusually slowly, yet possessed an irresistible magic that drew his gaze. It gathered and merged on John's shoulder, eventually coalescing into the shape of a small person.

"Oh dear, nice to meet you, though perhaps not in a very friendly way~" Chen Yuan stretched lazily, as if she had just woken up from a deep sleep. She glanced casually at John beside her, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Because I really don't want to live off scum, this is the only way I can do it," Chen Yuan explained casually, sending chills through the air.

Witnessing such a bizarre sight, the leader felt his legs go weak and he could no longer support his body weight, collapsing onto the cold ground.

With eyes wide with terror, he frantically clawed at the ground, trying to move backward and get away from this horrifying presence.

"You... what are you?!" The leader's voice trembled, filled with fear and confusion. At this moment, he had completely lost his composure, and his inner defenses had completely collapsed.

"You don't need to worry about that, you're pretty much going to die anyway." With that, Chen Yuan clapped his hands, and several symbiotes instantly sprouted from his body, binding the leader of the group. "A nice little gift for Her Majesty the Queen~"

(Please give this poor author some free gifts!! A few clicks to urge me to update!! Thank you, readers!! Please~ Please~).