"Centering here, spread out to find lost Wanderers. Eliminate all other Entities. Have the Hounds stay to notify me."
Upon reaching Area B-F14, Yang Tao immediately opened the wooden door, allowing the Overworld's battle-ready Villagers, Iron Golems, and even the returned Free Frowners to enter Level 2.
"Understood, Brave One."
Mutated Iron Golems surrounded the Villagers, beginning a meticulous search. Some Villagers even drove the sightseeing vehicles Yang Tao had previously stocked, all to improve search efficiency.
Catherine stood beside Yang Tao, watching the massive steel giants. She suddenly realized that beneath Yang Tao's approachable smile lay a power capable of easily destroying M.E.G. bases.
"Yang, it looks like you really love this woman…"
Hearing this, Yang Tao looked at her, exasperated, and said, "I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense. This is my brother's beloved, who suddenly fell into the Backrooms…"
Catherine was stunned. She hadn't expected the person Yang Tao was making such a fuss to find was his brother's woman. She truly hadn't imagined that the bond between men could reach such a level.
"Alright, I thought you'd like humans…"
"I like bigger ones!"
Catherine puffed out her chest and smiled, saying, "I should be pretty good…"
"Hehe… I'll let you broaden your horizons sometime."
At this moment, Frowny emerged from the Overworld. Yang Tao, seeing it, asked in confusion, "Why are you here? Weren't you supposed to stay home and hold down the fort?"
"I had their mother stay home to relay messages to them. My sense for humans is stronger; I can help…"
As it spoke, it sniffed the air.
"I… I seem to smell lingering human scent."
Hearing Frowny's words, Yang Tao was somewhat surprised, never having expected Frowny to possess the abilities of a tracking dog.
Looking at Catherine, he said, "You go back to the Overworld first. The Backrooms are too dangerous for you. Who knows if Entities will suddenly spawn."
Entities, like supplies, could appear suddenly. According to Frowny, they were randomly thrown out by the consciousnesses of other levels.
Furthermore, there were many levels similar to 'hatching bases,' where Entities would be randomly cast into various levels.
"Frowny, today I'll let you have your fill. This time, I'll carry you!" As he spoke, Yang Tao hoisted Frowny onto his back.
"Boss, turn left at the next intersection!"
Catherine looked at the glowing face hovering above Yang Tao's head. The scene was indeed a bit frightening. She smiled and turned, walking through the wooden door.
'Only when with Yang Tao would one see such a scene…'
Yang Tao didn't dare to run too fast, otherwise Frowny wouldn't be able to smell anything.
"Turn right… there's the smell of blood."
The smell of blood?
Yang Tao slightly quickened his pace. Soon, without Frowny's guidance, he also smelled a metallic odor. After turning another corner, a badly mutilated corpse lay on the ground, its limbs and even its head missing. The ground and walls were splattered with fresh blood.
Ignoring the gruesome scene, he stepped forward and, upon seeing the remaining limbs, breathed a sigh of relief.
This was clearly a male corpse.
"Boss, put me down."
Frowny's huge glowing face sniffed the lingering scent in the air. The strong smell of blood masked many other odors.
After about ten seconds, Frowny spoke again, "There are still a few people's scents… there should be three more."
Three people?
This time, it was clear that the number of Wanderers in the Backrooms had increased.
This time, Frowny wasn't carried by Yang Tao. It directly moved its invisible limbs and sprinted forward. Seeing this, Yang Tao followed closely behind.
A red dot appeared on the mini-map.
Yang Tao focused his gaze. In a corner not far away, a Hound was gnawing on a leg, which, if there was no mistake, belonged to the recent remains.
The creature sensed movement behind it and immediately turned to look, letting out a series of warning growls from its hair-covered mouth.
Before Yang Tao could react, the provoked Frowny had already charged forward. Having been well-fed and rested in the Overworld every day, its size had at least doubled, and its strength had similarly surged.
Bang!
An invisible palm directly slapped the Hound flying against the wall. Several bloody gashes appeared on the Hound's abdomen.
"Wait! Frowny, can you communicate with it?"
"Yes… but Hounds have very low intelligence."
As it spoke, Frowny glared at the Hound, letting out whimpering cries from its mouth, which was somewhat eerie in the dim light.
Frowny and the Hound's communication quickly ended.
"Boss, it said two other people ran off…"
"Ask it if it knows where they went?"
Frowny directly said, "It ate, so it didn't continue to chase…"
Yang Tao looked at the Hound, which was being pressed into a puddle by Frowny and constantly whimpering, and casually said, "Get rid of it."
Pfft…
Frowny didn't hesitate in the slightest. With a forceful downward press of its paw, the Hound's head exploded with a wet thud.
"Ugh, I might as well have done it myself…"
Looking at Frowny rubbing its claws on the wall, Yang Tao said helplessly.
Continuing forward with Frowny, a long, narrow corridor soon appeared before them. Seeing this, Yang Tao's expression immediately turned grim.
This kind of narrow corridor appearing in Level 1 was an exit to Level 2.
"Could Eric's wife be a chosen speedrunner???"
But no matter what, he still had to follow this path and try.
As they delved deeper into the hallway, the surroundings became increasingly dim. Having experienced it once before, Yang Tao knew this was a normal situation when switching levels.
Soon, a mechanical roar gradually came from the distance. Some pipes extended from the walls, and the faint sound of liquid flowing could be heard within them.
"Boss, turn around!"
Hearing this, Yang Tao looked behind him. What should have been the environment of Level 1 had now also transformed into the pipe-filled corridor of Level 2.
Frowny said somewhat excitedly, "The scent is much clearer; we should find them soon…"
Hearing Frowny's words, Yang Tao also showed a relieved smile. When he first learned that Eric's wife had entered the Backrooms, he had no confidence at all in finding her.
Just a Level 0 with infinite area made him feel at a loss, only able to choose to fully mass-produce troops and throw them into this bottomless pit of Level 0.
Following behind Frowny in the cramped space, after two turns, Yang Tao heard the sound of an argument coming from ahead.
"Anyway, we're all going to die in this damn place, so what's wrong with me having some fun? Don't resist! Otherwise, I won't be polite to you."
Yang Tao: "…"
He instantly bypassed Frowny and arrived at the source of the sound.
A strong man, eyes bloodshot, was controlling a figure beneath him. Although the figure on the ground struggled and resisted, it still couldn't break free from the man's control.
The strong man's pants had already been completely pulled down.
But the problem was…
These were two men!
Bang!
One shot killed the clearly deranged strong man. The man being abused beneath him finally struggled to get up from the ground.
His handsome face was filled with terror. Yang Tao took out a bottle of Almond water and threw it to the other party, saying, "Drink this first to calm down. I have some questions I want to ask you later."
"I…"
Buzz buzz.
The terminal vibrated twice.
Yang Tao raised his arm and looked at the message on it.
Eric: "Yang, found her! She's at the supermarket on Level 4 now…"
???
What the hell kind of niche text is this???
Your wife only spent 12… no, 11 hours, running from Level 0 to Level 4 and even found you?
Yang Tao suddenly felt that his cheat wasn't so great anymore.