Chapter 68: A Daring Escape from Death

After a long silence, Fourth Master just stared at me, dazed. There was no response, not even a sign of acknowledgment. My worry deepened. I pulled him close and whispered, “We won’t blow up the chemical plant today. Let’s go.”

“Woof woof…”

Fourth Master squirmed in my arms and licked me, his eyes reflecting an emotion I couldn’t decipher. It felt as if we’d known each other for a very long time, yet I couldn’t remember him at all.

Why was that? Why did I have this illusion?

Fourth Master broke free from my embrace and started pushing at the shipping container, trying to force the massive iron box inside. I grabbed the dog again, looked him in the eyes, and smiled, “Fourth Master, if transforming won’t endanger your life, raise your left paw. If it will, raise your right.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Fourth Master shot up his left paw. He was so quick, I almost thought he was cheating or had made up his mind beforehand.

“Huo Bing, get ready to rush in. I’ll hammer the container in, then plug it back up when we’re inside the factory. As soon as Fourth Master transforms, we go,” I arranged calmly.

Huo Bing nodded gravely, a shadow of worry for Fourth Master in her eyes.

Bang! Bang, bang, bang!

I threw punch after punch—over a dozen—until I finally forced the container inside, pressing the corpses jammed within back. There was no time to worry about my bleeding fist. Once inside, I pushed the container back to the gap.

“Fourth Master!”

“Woof woof!!”

“Roar!!”

Fourth Master swelled to an enormous size again, like a majestic tidal wave two or three meters tall. Huo Bing and I didn’t have time to think—we leapt onto his back.

Barking and roaring, Fourth Master swept through the work area, kicking corpses away in waves. At last, as his strength failed, he charged into the deepest corridor.

“Hurry, drag Fourth Master in, he looks like he’s at his limit.”

Once we were inside, I blocked the entrance, while Huo Bing rushed to the dog who lay on the ground, convulsing.

Fourth Master’s heart and lungs heaved violently, and he lay there, staring at me relentlessly. Seeing him in such a wretched state, my eyes suddenly grew moist. I couldn’t explain it, but I felt as though he had known me for a very long time.

But I just couldn’t remember who he was.

By my calculation, Fourth Master could only maintain his size for about thirty seconds before reverting by force.

Recalling how I’d checked Huo Bing’s vitals with the gene-ecological chain, I placed my hand on Fourth Master’s paw and called out anxiously in my mind, “Quick, check Fourth Master’s life signs!”

“Reminder to host… Unable to scan…”

“What!? Are you kidding me? You can’t even scan a dog?!”

“Reminder to host… This creature’s ecological source is too powerful… Unable to scan…”

“But host, don’t worry. If I can’t scan it, it won’t die…”

My mind buzzed—an ecological source too powerful? My thoughts drifted back to that night in ZM City, searching for a car with Tong Jia.

“Host detected in extreme danger… First encounter with mortal peril. Triggering emergency warning program; host, be cautious of your surroundings… Detected an immensely powerful ecological source beside the host… Threat level: lethal…”

That was the first time the gene-ecological chain triggered its warning protocol—it never happened again, probably because my level wasn’t high enough.

I had thought the lethal threat referred to the nightmare fiend, but hearing this now, I realized I’d made a monumental mistake.

The lethal-level ecological source… was Fourth Master!?

“Fourth Master… Fourth Master…”

I stared at the dog, tongue lolling, and panicked. His chest and belly had stopped moving—he lay completely still.

“Didn’t you say he wouldn’t die?!”

“In theory, yes…”

“Damn you! I’ve had enough of this!”

My emotions surged, anger flaring even though I knew it was unreasonable to blame the gene-ecological chain. But hope had just dawned, only to be dashed into despair—it was hard to accept.

“Whimper…”

Fourth Master!

I looked in delight at the dog, tongue out, who glanced at me sideways—was that a smile?

“Ha! That’s wonderful, wonderful…” I hugged him tightly. As long as he was alive.

Ten minutes later.

I carried Fourth Master with Huo Bing to the central control room, leaving the two of them to look after each other while I went alone to the laboratory and the tool room.

Using the limited resources, I cobbled together a crude timer—not difficult for me, especially with the abundance of supplies in the chemical plant. In a clothing store or restaurant, it might be impossible, but here, everything I needed was at hand.

I lost track of how long I spent in the lab, gathering materials and assembling the device, fatigue creeping up on me in waves. It had been more than a day since I’d slept well.

Earlier, adrenaline kept me going, but now, deep inside the plant, knowing the corpses outside couldn’t get in for a while, I finally relaxed and exhaustion set in.

Returning to the control room, I now held a timer rigged with a pull handle and detonator wire. Unfortunately, the materials were too basic—the device was crude, and I had hoped for a longer delay so Huo Bing and I could escape before it exploded. That plan was now out the window.

Next, I’d need to set the device by the rocket warheads and storage tanks. After that, whatever happened would be up to fate.

“Brother Cao, you look tired,” Huo Bing greeted me as soon as she saw me, worry brimming in her eyes.

Fourth Master was curled up fast asleep in the corner, clearly drained from transforming twice in a row. As the ecological chain had said, he might not die easily, but weakness was inevitable.

I had once thought maybe I could ride Fourth Master straight through the corpse horde in ZZ City and reach Tianzhu, but abandoned the idea. First, he could only stay transformed for thirty seconds—nowhere near enough to break through a horde of unknown size. Second, high-level corpses would surely be among them. Against low-level corpses, Fourth Master was unstoppable, but against stronger ones, especially commander-types capable of leading the horde, we’d be doomed.

“It’s nothing, probably just because I haven’t slept in over a day. Sigh, I’ve passed out twice—shouldn’t that count as sleep? Yet I still feel completely drained,” I said helplessly.

Seeing the strange look on Huo Bing’s face, I didn’t immediately realize what I’d said wrong.

“Brother Cao… Your energy’s depleted? Hmph, it must be that Han Shuqing woman drained you dry!” Huo Bing snorted, shooting a bold glance at my lower half, her cheeks suddenly flushed with a rosy hue.