Is the person in charge of building this base embezzling funds or what?"
Jay gave Roy a sidelong glance.
"Stop talking nonsense. This experimental base was overseen by General Hammer himself when he was still a Navy Commodore."
Roy shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Just then, the metal pipe let out a series of cracking sounds, and the fissures on its surface grew more pronounced, as if something was about to burst out.
"Something's wrong! Fall back!"
Roy immediately grabbed Jay, who was in rough shape, and pulled her back.
Moments later, the metal pipe exploded, releasing a flood of red and yellow substances.
To avoid getting splashed by the stuff, Roy, in his Ghost Wolf form, used his explosive strength to scoop up Jay and leap back a good distance in one swift move.
In the end, the red and yellow substances splattered onto the ground and walls.
"Miss Jay, you okay?"
"I—ugh, I'm fine! Just a bit dizzy!"
Jay was the first to experience being whisked away by Roy's Ghost Wolf super strength, and judging by her reaction, it wasn't exactly pleasant.
That's no surprise—Ghost Wolf's explosive power could propel Roy dozens of meters in an instant. It was way more thrilling than any bungee jump or amusement park ride.
Jay's body was only slightly tougher than an average person's, so her first time experiencing this was naturally uncomfortable.
Luckily, she managed to keep her stomach in check and didn't puke. Vomiting inside a gas mask would've been a nightmare.
Roy set Jay down to let her catch her breath, then approached the red and yellow substances to figure out what they were.
Up close, he could see they were a kind of red, organic creature, interconnected by something resembling tendrils or roots.
The yellow parts were like pustules growing on the creatures, constantly contracting and expanding.
Roy noticed more of the stuff was still oozing out of the metal pipe, as if the entire thing was filled with it.
Jay, having recovered, came over for a look. Her expression turned grim.
"This stuff really did leak out!"
Roy glanced at Jay, but her gas mask hid her face.
"You know what this is?"
Jay nodded.
"Yeah. It's what they're researching in the main lab. They call it Carrion."
Carrion?
The word translates to rotting flesh, decaying corpses, or something impure.
Just the name alone screamed trouble.
"What's something this gross even used for?"
"You think an intel officer like me would be privy to that kind of info?"
Jay shot Roy a look. She was just a mid-level agent in Naval Intelligence. Even her high-level clearance for this base was temporarily granted by Hammer. No way she'd know something that classified.
Roy threw up his hands.
"Since it's military research, I'm guessing it's for warfare. Isn't that how it always goes in the movies?"
That fit the global stereotype of the American military perfectly.
Jay didn't take the bait—she was military herself, after all.
"It looks like this Carrion is what's causing the rapid temperature spikes and creating that red mist. Cliff Leighton wasn't completely lying."
"Don't let your guard down. That guy's probably mixing truth with lies."
"I know. Let's keep moving. The heat here is unbearable!"
Soon, the two passed through the red-mist-filled area, and the temperature returned to normal. Jay let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"Phew, finally out! How much farther?"
Jay was panting. Staying on edge in that heat had drained her.
"Not far. Miss Jay, which maintenance tunnel are we in right now?"
The maintenance tunnels were a maze, and after following the Hellhound's phantom, Roy had lost track of their location.
Jay pulled out her PAD
"We're probably in a corner of the living quarters. Outside is the staff dorms."
"Then let's head out."
The Hellhound's phantom tracks had vanished in the maintenance tunnel, meaning Cliff Leighton was likely in the living quarters, not Lab 3 as he'd claimed.
That guy was definitely lying!
When Roy and Jay exited the tunnel into the living quarters, what they saw only confirmed Cliff Leighton was shady.
The living quarters were completely normal—except for the lack of people. Nothing was out of place.
"That bastard was totally lying to us! What's he hiding?"
Jay was furious.
"We'll know once we find him."
Unfortunately, the living quarters were also packed with surveillance cameras. Probably the only places in the base without them were bedrooms and bathrooms.
When the cameras caught Roy and Jay heading to the living quarters instead of the energy sector, the radio crackled to life.
"Why won't you two listen to me like your predecessors did?"
From the sound of it, the previous Marine team had come here and been tricked by Cliff into going to Lab 3.
Their fate probably wasn't pretty.
Furious, Jay grabbed the radio and tore into Cliff Leighton.
"Did you get them killed?"
Cliff responded quickly.
"No, no, no! Their job was to eliminate dangers and hazards in the base. I just sent them to do their work."
"Then stop hiding and get out here now!"
"No rush. I've already sent someone to pick you up. You'll meet her soon."
With that, the radio went silent.
"Her? Could it be Elsa Leighton, Cliff's wife?"
Roy considered the possibility.
"Maybe."
The next second, the entire living quarters plunged into darkness.
"That jerk turned off the lights!"
Roy found it odd that Cliff would do this. Military ops always came with night vision, so turning off the lights was pointless and would only piss them off more.
Unless the darkness gave him some kind of advantage.
As Roy pondered, he caught faint noises from above. Without hesitation, he entered Bullet Time.
In his dark vision, Roy vaguely saw a blurry figure lunging at Jay.
He shoved Jay out of the way and kicked the figure with all his might.
"Ahh!"
With a scream, the thing was sent flying dozens of meters, crashing into the wall at the end of the corridor.
No joke—Roy's 80-point strength attribute meant a full-force punch could obliterate someone. Even that hurried kick, using maybe a third of his power, sent the attacker soaring.
Caught off guard, Jay also slammed into the wall, startled and confused.
"Black, what happened?"
Roy had already activated True Sight and spotted the creature in the distance—a bald, humanoid thing with both male and female traits and a tail.
"Some invisible thing just tried to ambush you! Stay here, don't move. I'm going after it!"
The tactical helmet offered protection but dulled his senses. Otherwise, Roy would've noticed the invisible attacker sooner.
He saw the creature scramble to its feet and try to flee on all fours. Roy fired his revolver, but the bullets were blocked by some invisible force field, doing nothing.
So, he gave chase.
"Roy, wait!"
Jay tried to stop him, but Roy vanished in a blink, not hearing her.
Now, Jay was alone in the pitch-black corridor.
After everything that had happened, even a tough intelligence officer like her felt uneasy, fearing something else might pop out.
If another invisible enemy showed up, no one would be there to save her.
Jay got to her feet, trying to track Roy and the creature, but they were too fast. She couldn't keep up.
She ended up in an unfamiliar corridor, with no sign of Roy or the creature.
Then, the radio crackled with Cliff Leighton's voice again.
"Looks like your partner ditched you. How pitiful!"
Jay knew he was trying to rile her up, but she couldn't help feeling angry.
"Shut up, you liar!"
"Guess where I am right now?"
That made Jay wary. If Cliff was saying that, he was probably nearby.
She scanned her surroundings. It was dead quiet, no signs of anything unusual.
But Cliff kept talking through the radio.
"Lady, why do you do such a dangerous job? For the thrill?"
The words hit a nerve. Jay gripped the radio and snapped back.
"None of your damn business!"
"Heh, I'm just looking out for you. After all, you're about to—"
Mid-sentence, Jay heard a strange noise from around a corner. She tightened her grip on her rifle and crept toward it.
When she got there, she saw a figure dart past.
"Freeze!"
Jay aimed her gun but hesitated to shoot.
Cliff Leighton was the base's chief scientist. Unless he was convicted, she couldn't just kill him.
All she could do was shout a warning, but the figure didn't stop and vanished around the corner.
In the dark, even with night vision, it was hard to make out her surroundings. Jay didn't dare pull out her PAD to check her position and kept moving cautiously.
"Lady, are you looking for me? I'd advise you to stop."
Jay ignored the radio. Responding would only distract her. If she could just find Cliff, everything would be solved.
But Cliff wouldn't let up.
"Why can't you just behave? Like that woman did!"
Woman? What woman?
Then, Jay faintly heard voices coming from a nearby room.
Got you!
The closer she got, the more cautious she became.
Jay moved silently, almost tiptoeing, making no sound.
She even muted the radio to avoid giving herself away.
"If I were you, I'd head to Lab 3 instead of wandering around here."
He's definitely there!
Suppressing her excitement, Jay calmly approached the room and burst in.
But in what was clearly a storage room, there was no Cliff Leighton—just two radios playing off each other.
Damn it!
Roy had encountered a similar trick before but reacted in time to avoid the trap.
Jay wasn't so lucky. As she turned, a pale middle-aged man appeared behind her, jabbing something into her abdomen.
Jay convulsed and collapsed.
"I told you, you shouldn't have come looking for me. But you didn't listen!"
Cliff Leighton retrieved the radios and dragged the stunned Jay away.
When Jay came to, all her gear was gone, and she was locked in a transparent glass room—some kind of observation chamber.
Inside were a bed, furniture, and even some children's toys.
Outside was a laboratory-like area.
Jay was certain she hadn't seen this lab during her last visit to the base.
Cliff Leighton was just outside the glass, sitting at a chair and staring at a computer, seemingly watching surveillance footage.
Is he looking for Black?
Now captured, Jay's only hope was Roy finding her. She had to find a way to disrupt Cliff.
With a plan in mind, Jay started pounding on the glass.
Cliff glanced at her, then turned back to the screen.
"You're awake! No need to rush. I'll have your partner tracked down soon. Huh, what's this? Another rat?"
He's definitely after Roy!
"Asshole, why are you doing this? Let me out!"
"No point yelling. It won't help. Why don't you sit down and enjoy the last moments of your life?"
Cliff didn't even turn around, his eyes glued to the screen.
Jay bit her lip, realizing she needed another approach.
"Oops, looks like my clothes got torn. Did you do something to me?"
Jay suddenly adopted a coy, flirty tone.
Honestly, she rarely spoke like that, so it sounded a bit awkward—enough to make Cliff shudder.
But Jay's figure was stunning, a classic American bombshell, and she was now posing to show off her assets.
Still, Cliff didn't turn around.
Jay was pissed. I'm doing all this, and he won't even look? So she started cursing.
"Are you freaking incapable or what?"
That finally got Cliff to turn around.
Miss Jay (Adrianne Palicki)
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