Chapter 2

“Since Ryan has spoken, you should all obey him without question!”

With that, she fired several more shots.

A dark look flashed across my eyes.

I gave Serena the pistol for protection.

Its bullets were incredibly valuable. They could injure both the horrors and the Awakened Ones.

Yet Serena was using them to intimidate her teammates.

A smug expression spread across her face.

“Ryan, I knew you were reasonable. You’re always so kind. Don’t worry. I’ll make time for you once we get back.”

I smiled until my eyes curved. “Finn is one of our closest friends. How could I leave him behind?”

However, the moment Serena turned around, the smile vanished from my face.

Serena had no idea that I didn’t actually need to leave through this exit portal.

My spatial satchel contained a survival item capable of tearing space apart.

Unfortunately, it only worked on the Awakened Ones.

Everyone on the team except Serena and Finn was the Awakened Ones.

In my previous life, I could have used the survival item directly if I hadn’t needed to take those two with me.

The agony of having my soul torn apart still felt as if it had happened only moments ago.

As I watched Serena’s back, I swore that this time, I would make this shameless pair pay.

When Serena saw that everyone had agreed with her decision, satisfaction flickered in her eyes.

It only fueled her vanity.

With twenty seconds left, Finn finally came running over, gasping for breath.

“Serena, stop wasting time. Open the portal!”

Only then did Serena hurriedly take out the survival item and activate the runic seal, opening the portal.

“Serena, help me!” It was only then that everyone noticed a low-level horror following Finn.

Two shots rang out, and the bullets pierced the horror.

However, the light on the survival item faded the next second.

Time was up…

The half-formed exit portal vanished instantly.

The team members glared at Finn, looking as if they wanted to tear him apart.

A low-level horror could inflict no more pain than a dog bite.

“Serena, are you happy now? We’re all going to die with you.”

“And Finn, what the fuck is wrong with you? This is the horror world! You still had time to look for a tie? You made the entire team wait here to die with you. Do you have no shame?”

Finn had never encountered such a situation before. His eyes reddened, and his entire body trembled.

“I’m sorry. It was a family heirloom my father left me… It’s very important to me.”

“What, are you planning to wear that tie when you go down and see your old man?”

Everyone glared at him furiously.

“Enough… The exit portal has already closed. Let’s leave this place first.”

However, resentment had also crept into the team members’ eyes as they looked at me.

“Captain, you’ve always led us to find a chance of survival in the instances and escape by the skin of our teeth. We trusted you, but… how could you lose your judgment like this?”

A hint of guilt flashed across my eyes. I apologized to my teammates. “I’m sorry, everyone. I let my emotions cloud my judgment this time. But don’t worry. I’ll get all of you out safely.

“Don’t be afraid. The safe house won’t disappear for another twenty-four hours. We can stay here and wait for now.”

Serena carefully took Finn’s hand and sneered. “What a bunch of cowards. Ryan is right here, isn’t he? Besides, every instance has a chance of survival. Ryan has already led us through three S-rank instances. We can leave once the next exit portal appears.”

The team members glared at her angrily.

Did she truly not know, or was she pretending?

Every time the exit portal reappeared, the horrors grew stronger.

The horrors we faced next would be far beyond anything they could handle.

They could tear us apart without even breaking a sweat.