"Hurry, hurry…"
The three of them ran desperately with every ounce of strength they had. Owen's bullets were gone, so he tossed the gun aside without looking back and ran toward the lab.
Behind them, the sound of the great white shark slamming into the ventilation duct as it swam could be heard clearly. As the noise grew closer, everyone's heart tightened. Owen swore he'd rather face twenty armed enemies barehanded on the battlefield than be chased by this thing. The constant fear of being bitten at any moment by its massive jaws was tormenting.
The lab was faintly in sight, and the three figures struggled forward through the seawater.
"Jump across…"
In the middle of the crisis, Jason Bourne came up with a last-ditch idea. The other two immediately understood what he meant and struggled to roll over the ventilation duct.
Boom\~\~
Almost at the same time, a massive force struck Owen from behind as the shark slammed into the duct. Owen had just made it across when he was sent flying by the impact.
Behind them, the shark kept tangling with the ventilation duct. The three scrambled to flee once more, but the duct wouldn't buy them much time.
Sure enough, after only a few steps, the shark broke through the obstacle and resumed the chase. The trio used the same trick again, jumping to the other side of the duct. The shark was blocked once more, but this time it learned quickly and broke through the barrier with ease. The three of them felt a chill—this beast was way too smart. After only a few tries, it had figured it out.
"Not far now, hurry…"
The lab was within reach, and the group pushed themselves to their absolute limits.
They finally stumbled into the lab. Just as they tried to shut the door, the massive head of the great white shark crashed into the sealed door, sending all three of them flying into the water.
As they climbed out, they instinctively hid behind the door. The sealed door opened slightly, and the dark blue shape of the great white shark passed through underwater. Hidden in the "shadow beneath the light," they managed to evade it for a moment. But now, whether they tried to go deeper into the lab or back into the corridor, they wouldn't be able to escape this monster's pursuit.
Sure enough, this first-generation shark was smart. After entering the room, it circled once and came right back, quickly spotting the three of them. Its black dorsal fin broke the surface, and the next second, it would charge.
"Grab the net rope…"
In a panic, someone shouted. Owen didn't even know who it was, but he saw something tangled like a fishing net beside him and instinctively reached for it. The other two did the same. Suddenly, a powerful force pulled them—the net was dragging all three through the water.
Owen instinctively kept his head above water to breathe, only to see the first-generation great white shark just a few meters behind them, relentlessly pursuing. The distance was so close that Owen could clearly see its emotionless fish eyes.
Too bad the gun was out of bullets earlier—otherwise, this would've been the perfect shot.
The net dragged the three of them through the seawater. Owen looked back and saw that the front of the net was connected to a steel cable or something similar, which was retracting, pulling them along.
Whoosh\~\~\~\~
There was a strange noise, and Owen realized that the net had dragged them out of the water and onto a platform.
Behind them, the great white shark, after seeing them leave the water, circled once and disappeared back below the surface. Only then did Owen take a moment to look around.
"Are you guys okay?"
Owen looked toward the voice—it was the male researcher from earlier in the lab.
"Clay, it was you who saved us. Thank you…"
Seeing the male researcher and the winch beside him, the three of them instantly realized what had happened. Dr. Susie, upon seeing someone she knew had saved her, couldn't help but hug him tightly. Owen and Jason also expressed their gratitude—if not for him, they would've all been finished just now.
The researcher named Clay had an oxygen tank on his back, suggesting that's how he'd survived. Apparently, when the lab was flooded earlier, everyone else had fled in panic, but he remembered to use an oxygen tank to escape. Truly, everyone has their own fate.
"It's nothing. I only just made it here. It's so good to see you. I thought I was the only one left alive in the entire base…"
Clay was even more emotional than the three of them. He had already been close to despair. Back in the lab, he had witnessed with his own eyes as his colleagues were killed by the shark. The journey since then had been full of danger and adrenaline. But his luck held, and he had finally made it here unscathed. However, he hadn't seen another living soul for a long time—not even a sound.
The whole base was eerily silent. Aside from the creaking of pipes and walls under the water pressure, there was no other noise. The oppressive atmosphere was suffocating. Clay had nearly given up, when he suddenly heard gunshots from the corridor, then saw the three of them being chased by the shark.
"Thanks\~\~"
The group thanked him again.
"It's nothing, really, just a small—bam…"
Before Clay could finish his sentence, there was a sudden jolt beneath his feet, and he was launched into the air and fell into the water.
It was the great white shark. The damn thing had quietly swum beneath them and, through the iron grate, had lashed out with its tail. The others were knocked down, and Clay was sent flying into the water.
"Fuck!"
The three of them rushed to the grate, but Clay had fallen too far—completely out of reach.
"Watch out, it's coming\~\~"
Susie shouted anxiously. Beneath the grate, the great white shark was already swimming toward Clay, tail swaying.
But Clay made a surprising move. Instead of panicking and swimming back, he dove down sharply, heading toward the bottom of the lab.
Seeing this, the others couldn't help but silently applaud him. The lab they were in was similar to the previous one, with stairs on all sides leading to a second level, and an open central area.
Owen and the others were currently on the second level, the first was completely submerged. The area where Clay had fallen was the central region—at least two stories deep. If he had tried to swim back, he wouldn't have made it in time and would've been attacked. But with an oxygen tank, heading toward the cluttered area at the bottom gave him a much better chance of surviving. There were many obstacles down there, and the shark wouldn't be able to get him easily.
Sure enough, Clay's quick thinking saved him. Before the shark could reach him, Clay found a shark cage and got inside. The first-generation shark slammed into the cage over and over, biting and crashing into it, but couldn't harm him.
The shark cage had been stored in a corner of the lab, used during earlier experiments to observe sharks. It had long been unused after the equipment was upgraded—but it turned out to be incredibly useful now.
The great white shark continued angrily battering the shark cage. The force of its impact pushed the cage backward until it collided with a pile of boxes and miscellaneous items in the corner.
Among the debris were many nets and ropes, which started to float free due to the collisions. Some even got tangled around the shark as it thrashed.
Seeing this, Susie suddenly remembered something.
"Clay, look around and see if there are any nets or ropes—pull them all out and place them around you…"
Susie shouted. Water carries sound well, so even underwater, Clay could hear her clearly—and he instantly understood what she meant.
He opened the cabinets around the shark cage through the gaps and pulled out all sorts of nets and ropes, scattering them around the cage.
However, he got injured during the process. Just as he was moving things, the shark struck again, pinching his fingers. A large cloud of red blood flowed from the wound, driving the shark into an even greater frenzy.
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