Cyrus took the elevator to Shu Xuyao's office.

Once inside, Adam sent her a new work schedule.

The morning had only one item—orientation training. The afternoon had two: training from 2:30 to 5:30 pm, and then a team meeting in the Field Operations' conference room at six, with the meeting's agenda not specified on the schedule.

On paper, her day seemed to have plenty of downtime, but in reality, there wasn't a spare moment. Training was monotonous and exhausting, yet essential—Cyrus knew she depended on these skills to keep her alive.

With a ding, the elevator stopped on the third floor.

The doors slid open, and Shu Xuyao was conveniently waiting.

"Captain!" Cyrus put away her communicator and looked up.

"Right on time," Shu Xuyao stepped into the elevator and pressed the close button, then commanded, "Adam, sub-level six."

"Access to the floor is granted," Adam's voice responded.

Noticing Cyrus's look of surprise, Shu Xuyao patiently explained, "The Enforcement Department has many hidden floors. These floors aren't marked in the elevator, and only those with clearance can command Adam to unlock the floors for access."

"That explains it," Cyrus glanced at the elevator buttons; the highest floor displayed was sixty-six, the lowest was sub-level three, and Shu Xuyao had just commanded the elevator to sub-level six.

Between sub-level three and six, and possibly even below sub-level six, were there more hidden floors? What were the purposes of these hidden levels?

Mechanism Dawn's infiltration into the Enforcement Department wasn't deep. The data chip handed over by Dr. Huang contained vague guesses and omitted many details. Cyrus was the first to successfully penetrate the department's inner workings. Like Dr. Huang from the medical center, who was also undercover, his work was limited to healing and saving lives, which limited the intelligence he could gather.

Cyrus's situation was different. On her first official day, the training she received was related to the core secrets of the Enforcement Department.

The elevator descended rapidly, stopping soon after. The moment the doors opened, Cyrus was greeted by a cold, damp scent of water, and a chill air rushed into the small elevator cabin, causing goosebumps to rise on her arms.

The elevator was lit, but beyond its doors lay darkness, a profound blackness mixed with cold vapor that was enough to make one hesitate.

Suddenly, lights flickered on, illuminating the subterranean level.

The first thing that caught her eye was the tightly sealed silver-white metallic walls. The walls were treated to prevent reflections, ensuring the light wouldn't be blinding, yet droplets of water condensed on them, glistening at first glance.

Why was the humidity so high here?

"Come on, Cyrus, let's change into protective gear first," Shu Xuyao led the way.

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"It feels like the start of a horror movie," Cyrus remarked. "What is this place, Captain?"

"The Specimen Hall—one of them," Shu Xuyao revealed. "This place houses a portion of the exotic species' specimens. Once the creatures die, it's hard to preserve their bodies, so we have to soak them in a special solution, constantly controlling the humidity and temperature."

They turned right, facing a long corridor. Shu Xuyao entered first, and red lights illuminated the sides. A mist of disinfectant sprayed from above. Once the red light turned green, indicating the disinfection was complete, Shu Xuyao emerged from the corridor.

Cyrus followed Shu Xuyao's lead through the corridor for disinfection.

"Some exotic species are preserved in cryogenic freezing, which is why the protective suits are made thick," Shu Xuyao explained as he took out a suit and showed Cyrus how to wear it.

The suit was so bulky it resembled a spacesuit, and once on, Cyrus looked like a snowman.

Struggling into the outfit, Cyrus finally managed to zip up the back with Shu Xuyao's help, and they both donned glass helmets.

The suits had built-in communicators, and Cyrus could still hear Shu Xuyao's voice through the helmet.

The final metallic door opened, and shoulder to shoulder, Cyrus and Shu Xuyao stepped into the "Specimen Hall."

What greeted her was a shocking sight.

Pale human bodies were submerged in transparent jars filled with pale green solution, their necks devoid of heads, replaced by coiling dark red tentacles that emerged from where the neck should be, floating silently in the green fluid.

That specimen was just the beginning; far worse sights lay ahead.

Cyrus turned her head and saw, to her left, a jar containing the half-body of a human parasitized by an exotic species. It was only half because it had been sawn in two, displaying the grotesque cross-section of the mutated human anatomy, organs like the heart and intestines laid bare to see.

"Don't throw up in your suit," Shu Xuyao cautioned.

Cyrus averted her gaze, managing to say, "I... I didn't eat much this morning; I won't vomit."

"You're calmer than most newcomers," Shu Xuyao commented. "Lan Lan threw up his first time; right in the suit."

"Did he go through the whole tour wearing a suit full of vomit?" Cyrus inquired.

"How could that be? Our Enforcement Department isn't that cruel or perverse," Shu Xuyao chuckled. "He went back to clean up and change clothes, then returned to the underground tour in the afternoon."

"Poor Lan Lan," Cyrus said, feeling a bit better after the distraction. "I've seen the parasitic hydras before; their tentacles are transparent, so the visual impact isn't as bad, but these dark red tentacles are just..."

The dark red tentacles were sinister, malevolent, and eerie, far more disgusting than those of the parasitic hydras.

"This species is called the Red Thorn Hunter, more aggressive than the parasitic hydras. Humans parasitized by it seldom live past three days, which means it needs to change hosts every three days," Shu Xuyao pointed to the jar. "Look."

Cyrus leaned in to read the label detailing the specimen's information.

"Species: Red Thorn Hunter. Status: Growth phase. Date of preservation: 2083.02.19. Executor: Azure."

"This Red Thorn Hunter was killed by Captain Azure during a mission three years ago. She brought it back intact for the research team to dissect and study," Shu Xuyao explained. "Red Thorn Hunters are extremely rare; they have long growth cycles and need to switch hosts every three days. This one had grown for at least two months. You can imagine how many people it killed to reach this stage."

Cyrus was shocked. "So many deaths, didn't the Enforcement Department notice?"

"This Red Thorn Hunter hitched a ride on a smuggling boat. That small vessel had over twenty people onboard, all potential food for it. By the time the boat drifted near Blackwater City's territorial waters, only one person was left alive, barely hanging on. The coastal security team discovered the vessel," Shu Xuyao said, gazing at the pale human body in the jar. "Of course, that sole survivor is also dead now, his body right here in front of us."

He recounted the bloody tale with a calm that suggested he was accustomed to such stories.

"You just mentioned it's in its growth phase?" Cyrus asked.

"Yes, the stages are larval, growth, and mature," Shu Xuyao explained. "Come with me."

He led her past jars containing bizarrely shaped creatures and human organs overgrown with strange growths to a separate room.

Shu Xuyao authenticated his iris, and Adam announced, "You have three minutes to tour and teach according to your clearance."