The office had been silent for a long while. Yowaya felt drowsy, almost paralyzed with fear. He leaned forward slightly to stretch his cramped arms. Staying in the same position for so long, especially crammed under the office desk, was exhausting. At least no monster had dared to enter the office. For that, he was immensely grateful.

I don't hear anything outside. Could the beasts be sleeping? No, impossible, the alarm is still blaring. They probably moved on to another part of the building. It's only a matter of time before they take over the entire center. If that happens, the whole district will be declared a red zone—I'll never make it out alive...

Yowaya clutched his chest, his heart pounding. He couldn't summon the courage to even peek out from under the desk. What could he possibly do on his own anyway? He was practically useless.

Alright...maybe just a quick look wouldn't hurt...

Yowaya gulped. He slowly slid out from under the desk and cautiously poked his head out from the side. He could see the office door and the adjacent windows. Aside from the bloodstains and lifeless bodies, he didn't see anything moving. Strange.

So...the coast is clear.

Yowaya strained his ears, listening for anything other than the incessant alarm. He decided to take the risk. He gradually emerged from under the desk and crept towards the door. He slowly opened it, peeking out into the hallway. His eyes widened in horror at the gruesome scene before him.

While I was cowering in here, they were being slaughtered...

Yowaya felt a pang of guilt. Was he a coward? No, he wasn't. He was just doing what he had to do to survive—so why did he feel so ashamed?

Yowaya frowned as he started walking down the blood-soaked hallway, littered with viscera and spent bullet casings.

Oh god...that's a severed limb...

Yowaya nearly gagged in disgust as he lifted his foot from the dismembered limb he had been stepping on. A few seconds later, he heard more footsteps echoing down the hallway. He froze, hesitant to continue.

No...was my assumption wrong? Shit...I'm going to die because of this stupid mistake...

Yowaya turned, ready to run, but stopped short. The figure approaching him was—Harlow?

Harlow? Oh, crap...

Yowaya straightened up. Harlow was casually strolling down the hallway, a manga book in hand. Harlow stopped walking.

"Oh, hey. Do you have anywhere I could put this book so it won't get damaged? Like a backpack maybe?" Harlow asked, showing Yowaya the book. Yowaya scratched his head, bewildered.

So he isn't going to kill me? He's free to do whatever he wants...

"Sure. There's a storage area nearby. I can check to see if there's a backpack in there. Is that alright with you?" Yowaya asked, trying to keep his voice steady. Harlow nodded. Yowaya led the way. As they ventured further down the hall, the stench of blood and gore gradually faded. It was replaced by a growing sense of dread, a tension emanating from Harlow.

Yowaya couldn't stop thinking of the countless ways Harlow could brutally kill him: tearing him limb from limb, punching a hole through his chest, or even decapitating him. The fact that Harlow possessed such immense power, yet didn't seem to pose an immediate threat, was deeply unsettling.

At any moment, he could decide that he's done with me...

Yowaya finally arrived at the front of the storage room. The adjacent walls were riddled with enormous holes, as if someone had desperately tried to claw their way inside.

"You gotta be kidding me..." Yowaya muttered in disbelief. He glanced at Harlow, who seemed utterly indifferent to the destruction.

Yowaya cautiously stepped through one of the gaping holes and entered the storage room. The interior was a scene of chaos: shelves were overturned, supplies scattered across the floor, and the air hung heavy with the stench of a recent, violent struggle. Yowaya knelt, examining the floor more closely.

Those beasts—their footprints are engraved on the floor...

Yowaya glanced back at Harlow, who had finally stepped inside the storage room.

"Where are the backpacks?" Harlow asked.

Yowaya immediately stood up.

"Um...let's check the back..." Yowaya suggested, his voice barely a whisper.

Yowaya and Harlow cautiously made their way to the back of the storage room, their footsteps muffled by the debris. To their relief, they found a couple of torn backpacks discarded on the floor.

Yowaya nervously glanced at Harlow. "Is that alright?" he asked, gesturing towards the damaged bags.

Harlow nodded, seemingly unconcerned. He casually picked up one of the backpacks, opened it, and placed his book inside.

"I don't care if it's torn. Oh, hey, I forgot—" Harlow began, but before he could finish, a deafening BANG shattered the silence.

Yowaya instinctively raised his guard, his heart pounding in his chest. A monstrous cyclops, its muscular form covered in rubble, stood before them, its single eye blazing with fury. It had broken through the wall and into the storage room. The creature turned its wrathful gaze upon Harlow, who remained unnaturally calm.

"YOU IMBECILE! YOU BROKE MY JAW! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" The monster roared, its voice booming through the room.

Harlow nonchalantly covered his ears, as if annoyed by the noise. "Huh? What? Your jaw? Looks fine to me..." he replied, his tone casual.

"THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S HEALED!" The monster screamed, lunging forward and punching Harlow in the face with a bone-jarring impact.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Harlow stood unmoved, absorbing the monster's punch as if it were a mere tap. Yowaya gasped. He knew Harlow was powerful, but this was on another level. What kind of strength did he possess?

This doesn't make sense... Yowaya thought, collapsing onto his backside. His fate was now entirely in Harlow's hands.

"You're ready to role-play again? Hold up, let me take off my backpack..." Harlow said, reaching for the straps.

The monster hesitated, its pride wounded. It charged forward for another punch, but Harlow effortlessly pushed it back with the palm of his hand. The monster went flying through multiple walls, crashing through the cell blocks beyond. Harlow frowned.

"I told you to let me take my backpack off. I don't want to role-play with you anymore now, meanie." Harlow said, his voice hardening.

Yowaya trembled uncontrollably. He slowly stood up as the dust settled. When Harlow turned to speak to him, Yowaya flinched.

"You good, bro?" Harlow asked, his voice gentle.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. What do you want to do now?" Yowaya asked hesitantly.

Harlow scratched his chin, thinking. "I want to go home," he said plainly, starting to walk past Yowaya.

Yowaya quickly stopped him. "Wait, let me come with you. Please, I won't make it if I try leaving out of here on my own." He knelt in front of Harlow, desperation evident in his eyes.

Harlow seemed confused. "Huh? What do you mean? Just walk out."

"No, I'll be killed."

"Oh, you will?" Harlow responded.

Yowaya nodded and added, "Is there any way you could escort someone else out of here—the doctor you met last week, for instance?"

Harlow frowned. "Hey, aren't you older than me? Why are you so scared? I don't understand. Ok, fine, but you have to promise that you'll get me the Second Volume of God's Don't Bleed."

Yowaya nodded eagerly. IS HE INSANE?! HE CARES ABOUT A MANGA VOLUME RIGHT NOW?!

"Yes...I promise." Yowaya said.

Harlow smirked.

"Then it's a deal."

...

Dr. Sunji had taken every precaution to fortify himself within the lab. In addition to locking all the doors, he had rigged a series of deadly traps, transforming the space into a perilous gauntlet for any monster foolish enough to breach its walls. The doctor himself wasn't even in the main lab area; he had retreated to the back room where he had initially conducted Harlow's monsterification test. Despite his exhaustion, he forced himself to stand tall.

Those aberrations of nature—they won't know what hit them, he thought grimly. I've activated several high-voltage shock traps out there. Thank goodness I didn't have to waste time scrounging for parts; I could simply use the ones I had in storage. That should be enough... Yes... It should be...

The incessant wail of the alarm in the main lab grated on his nerves. He had not only barricaded the doors and set traps but also sealed off the vents. He had no idea what kind of monsters he might face, but for now, he assumed it would be some kind of brute, one with the strength to bend or break steel. The combination of the high-voltage shocks and the flamethrower should be sufficient to deal with such a threat.

Wait... I hear something... Or is that something else?

No, it was not his imagination. Dr. Sunji's grip on the flamethrower tightened as he heard the main lab's front door splinter and buckle under immense force. That door was made of steel... He waited, his heart pounding in his chest, for the foolish monster to trigger the shock trap. And just as he predicted, it did.

BzzzzzzZZZZZT-CRACK-crackle... BZZZZT-ZAP!

Dr. Sunji's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't the sickening sound of the electricity coursing through the monster's body that alarmed him. It was the silence that followed. The monster hadn't screamed, hadn't even groaned.

What... That wasn't enough to kill it?!

BzzzzzzZZZZZT-CRACK-crackle... BZZZZT-ZAP!

BzzzzzzZZZZZT-CRACK-crackle... BZZZZT-ZAP!

More shocks?! Just how resilient is that thing?! Those shocks exceed 20,000 milliamps! No monster I know could have survived even one!

Dr. Sunji's brow furrowed in concern. He could hear the sounds of destruction from the main lab—glass shattering, shelves toppling. If the monster had so easily bypassed his fortifications, he had no choice but to face it head-on. With a surge of adrenaline, he tore down the barricades blocking the door, burst into the main lab, and aimed his flamethrower at the smoke-wreathed figure.

"DIE, ABOMINATION!" he roared, unleashing a torrent of fire.

FWWWOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHHH

The flames engulfed the monster, but Dr. Sunji didn't relent. This was no ordinary creature he was dealing with. As he continued to scorch the monster with his flamethrower, he silently resigned himself to the possibility that his efforts might be in vain.

Finally, the flamethrower sputtered and died, its fuel exhausted. Dr. Sunji stumbled back, his eyes wide with disbelief. The figure that emerged from the smoke was indeed a monster, but not the one he had expected.

"Dude, I just came down here to escort you out of this place," Harlow said, patting down his singed hair. "You thought I was a monster or something?"

Dr. Sunji's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Did he just try to protect his hair from burning by covering it with his hands? How does that even make sense?

He slowly lowered the flamethrower, his hands trembling. "My apologies, Harlow... I should have known better... Is Yowaya with you? Or is he..."

"The other guy? Yeah, he's on the stairs, waiting. Although, there seems to be something wrong with him. He's shaking like he's freezing or something. He's acting kinda weird..." Harlow explained, scratching his head.

Just how clueless is this kid? Dr. Sunji thought, shaking his head. His gaze drifted to the monster radar on the table. The device, originally used by the ODW for tracking monsters, now served as his lifeline.

And my stupid self was in such a rush, I forgot about it on the table.

Fortunately, he had stumbled upon a leaked file containing the device's coding a while back and had managed to create his own replica of the device. Of course, it wasn't as efficient as the real one, but it still worked regardless.

Dr. Sunji walked towards the table and grabbed the device. He looked at it: so far the readings didn't indicate that there were monsters in the area except for Harlow.

Interesting. I guess they left the center to find better prey.

Dr. Sunji glanced back at Harlow and sighed.

"What do you intend to do with us?" The doctor asked.

Harlow winced.

"Huh? What do you mean? I just want to go home. Although, I don't think I can even remember where home is...hm...you guys can help me, right?" Harlow asked. He still had the persona of a child, and it somewhat annoyed Dr. Sunji.

"Sure, we can." Dr. Sunji said plainly. He followed Harlow out of the main lab and met Yowaya on the stairs. From there, they made their way to the control room.

...

What's happening? More people are dying? I don't understand. Where did all the monsters go? Did they just leave?

Harlow stood in front of the entrance to the central control room. The door that used to be there was gone, and the adjacent walls were covered in blood and viscera—the same gruesome scene that was scattered throughout the hallways. Harlow casually stepped inside the dimly lit control room, the monitors providing the only source of light.

Yowaya and Dr. Sunji followed Harlow inside. Dr. Sunji immediately made his way to the area where numerous radios and intercom systems were laid out. His attention was drawn to a corpse slumped over in a chair in front of the monitor system.

The doctor carefully retrieved the radio from the corpse's grasp. He pressed the button and spoke: "This is Doctor Sunji from District 3 Detention Center! The center has been overrun with monsters! I repeat! The center has been overrun with monsters! Is anyone there? Over."

Dr. Sunji released the button and waited, but there was no response. He repeated his message. While the doctor spoke, Yowaya stared at the broken monitors. Harlow walked to his side.

"This is kind of boring. Can we just leave?" Harlow asked. Yowaya glanced at him, unsure of what to say. After Dr. Sunji finished his transmission, he put the radio in his pocket and glanced at the monster radar device: there was still no sign of monsters in the area. Harlow crossed his arms.

"Can we leave?" Harlow asked, frowning. Dr. Sunji nodded.

"You may escort us out, but if we do encounter a monster, are you confident you can handle it?" Dr. Sunji inquired. Yowaya leaned in and whispered to the doctor, "Oh, he's more than capable. I'm just afraid he'll get too distracted and leave us to die..."

Dr. Sunji finally understood. It made sense. After witnessing Harlow's capabilities in the lab, his concerns were understandable. Harlow started walking towards the control room entrance, ready to leave. Dr. Sunji and Yowaya followed.