Magnetic-controlled armor was ready and waiting, Han Xiao prepared to fight or flee at any moment.

However, the owner of these giant eyes was simply looking in the direction of the door, as if he didn't even see Han Xiao. He stood motionless.

"Phototaxis, weak eyesight?"

Han Xiao felt a surge of joy. Luckily, he hadn't turned on the flashlight, otherwise he would have followed in the footsteps of the pilgrims.

This monster was more than three meters tall, and its body could barely be considered humanoid. Huge muscles piled up all over its body, layer upon layer like small hills, yet it lacked any sense of powerful beauty. It was like a lump of bloated meat, only inspiring disgust. The muscles were rotting, and in some places, hollow spaces were exposed, with plump white maggots leisurely crawling through the decaying flesh. Compared to its massive size, its head and neck seemed very small. The skin was stretched by the bloated muscles, and its facial features appeared extremely distorted, creating a very jarring effect that evoked words like "deformed," "grotesque art style," and "sun knight."

Han Xiao glanced at the layout of the room. Inside, there was a pile of medical equipment and four experimental pods of unknown purpose. Two were crushed, one had its door open, and the last one was closed.

A tube for transferring liquids was connected to the experimental pod, which in turn was connected to a transparent container. Only dried fluorescent traces remained inside the container.

He carefully retreated, and when he saw that the monster didn't move, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued forward along the corridor. He soon encountered a second and third metal door, but they were all sealed shut by rusty, retractable alloy doors. The card readers next to the doors were almost completely corroded into iron slag, completely useless.

Han Xiao didn't give up because of this. He painstakingly disassembled a card reader to observe its model.

Hmm... couldn't tell.

That's not important!

"This should be a secret military base from decades ago, but it was abandoned for some reason. It seems like they were conducting biochemical experiments, and it looks like they failed... or maybe they succeeded? That muscle-bound guy doesn't look like a normal creature... Wait a minute, this corridor is a bit too long. Just how big is this base?"

The dark corridor was silent. The further he went, the darkness almost solidified. The range of the night vision goggles only reached five meters, and beyond that was pitch black. Han Xiao was glad he didn't have claustrophobia or thalassophobia.

The sense of crisis felt like a knife's edge hanging before him. Even with Han Xiao's strong heart, he felt cold sweat break out all over his body. This was a purely instinctive reaction to unknown dangers. Being too tense would affect his ability to respond in an emergency, so he hurriedly recited in his mind, "Let the heart be as clear as ice, let the heavens fall without alarm, let the gentle breeze come, let the waters be undisturbed, mountains are not measured by height, but by the presence of immortals, the old steed in the stable still aspires to travel a thousand miles..."

He didn't know what he was saying, but he definitely felt less nervous.

Along the way, he passed more than a dozen doorways. Only the first room with the monster had its door open; the others were sealed shut. Suddenly, the end of the corridor finally arrived. There was a larger door, which should be the main chamber. The alloy door was only lowered by a third, enough to walk through.

This was the second room that could be entered. According to the principles of a dungeon, he should be able to find some useful information here.

Inside, it seemed to be a large laboratory filled with rusted equipment. In the center was a row of experimental pods identical to the ones in the first room.

"Looks like there's no danger."

The dust choked him, and the stench of decay was pungent. A corpse lay next to an experimental table, already mummified, with tattered pieces of cloth hanging on its body, vaguely recognizable as a former lab coat.

Han Xiao found a file next to the corpse on the experimental table. He reached out and swept away the dust, trying to find some useful information. After looking at it for a moment, he realized it was a diary.

[July 13, the doctor made the sixty-seventh improvement to the Philonia serum. Injected into white mice for testing, the results were very encouraging. Finally, we have achieved our expectations for the serum's effects. If there are no abnormal reactions, we can begin human trials.]

[July 17, the white mouse test subject died. Another failure. The cause of death was organ failure (test appendix [torn off]). The doctor seemed very frustrated and locked himself in his room. As I passed by, I heard him smashing things.]

[July 20, the doctor insists on conducting human trials. The higher-ups approved the doctor's application. This is truly insane! Has he forgotten the consequences of the failure of human test subject 000? (Test appendix [torn off])]

[July 26, the base issued new regulations. All researchers must turn in any electronic devices and are not allowed to connect to the external network. Has the battle situation outside deteriorated to this point?]

[August 5, this is the seventh day since human test subject 008 was injected with the Philonia serum. The test subject is in good condition and doesn't seem to have any special changes, but the doctor is very disappointed.]

[August 11, the higher-ups notified us to evacuate. I heard that there was a major setback in the battle situation, and we need to preserve the remaining living forces. Everyone is very scared, even the usually calm doctor. No one wants to believe the fact of defeat. But I was already mentally prepared. The number of guards at the base has been decreasing recently. I know that the front lines have suffered heavy losses and urgently need reinforcements. Damn it! If I hadn't switched from a field medic, I wouldn't be trapped in this oppressive base, with everyone's face lifeless and devoid of any vitality! I hate this place!]

[August 14, evacuation starts tomorrow, heading to Base 03 for refuge. Time is tight. All Philonia serum test data has been backed up, and the original data has been destroyed. Those guards are really rude. They seem to be preparing to activate the base's self-destruct device. The doctor took away several finished Philonia serum products, and all other serum was destroyed.]

The record ended here. Han Xiao flipped through the front, but there was no other valuable information. Many pages had been torn out.

The corpse next to him clearly indicated that this group of people didn't evacuate. Some accident occurred between August 14 and August 15, resulting in the deaths of a large number of people, and most of them died in the lower levels of the base. Those dense red compound eyes were the eyes of the desert carrion worms.

"What is Philonia serum?" A hint of curiosity rose in Han Xiao's mind. He suddenly thought of the dried fluorescent liquid traces in the experimental pod container in the first room, which should be the serum residue. The experimental diary said "the doctor took the serum," and the corpse probably died in the lower levels as well. Han Xiao didn't want to enter the forbidden zone, so it seemed there was no chance to get his hands on it.

"Looks like I didn't gain anything this time." Han Xiao shook his head, looked up, and his breath hitched.

A black box was sitting on the central experimental table. He walked over in a few quick steps, opened the box, and revealed three tubes of brilliantly fluorescent solution inside.

At this moment, a string of ancient sayings rushed to his mind—"When the mountains and rivers are exhausted and you suspect there is no road, willows are dark, flowers are bright, and another village appears. You break your iron shoes seeking nowhere, and it comes without any effort. Suddenly looking back, that person is in the dimming light."

Han Xiao looked at the corpse under his feet, and the corners of his mouth twitched. Could this be the "doctor"?

He reached out and grabbed the three vials in his hand, taking a look.

"Why is this color called serum?"

[You have obtained [Philonia Serum (Unfinished)] x3]

[Philonia Serum (Unfinished): A biochemical agent that strengthens the body, but does not appear to be in perfect state. There is a chance of deformity and mutation after use. ps: This may be the last three Philonia serums.]

"A biochemical agent... the aftereffects of an imperfect agent are very serious. This is an unfinished product. If I use it, I'll probably turn into that muscle-bound guy. Too scary..." Han Xiao shuddered.

"There shouldn't be anything else here. I should leave quickly. This ghostly place is creepy."

Han Xiao turned around and suddenly discovered that the muscle-bound guy had appeared behind him at some unknown time, staring down at him silently.