Somewhere in the ocean base.
In a dim corridor, Eddie and a bespectacled staff member were making their way forward. Soon, they reached the end of the passage. As they turned the corner, both their expressions darkened.
In front of them was a staircase leading downward, but half of it had already disappeared beneath the seawater. About ten meters away was another staircase—that was Eddie's destination. But unfortunately, the section in between was submerged. One look at the dark water, and no one could tell if there were sharks lurking beneath the surface.
"You. Swim across."
Eddie gave the order flatly to the man with glasses. The bespectacled man backed away in fear, but when met with Eddie's fierce glare, he cowered forward again.
Earlier, in the chaos of fleeing, they had ended up in the same corridor as Eddie. They had seen with their own eyes how Eddie, to save himself, locked the others out.
At that moment, someone wanted to speak up, but in the end, selfishness prevailed. They silently accepted Eddie's actions.
After all, survival came first. Morality? Let it go to hell.
But now, the same thing was happening to them. How ironic.
Every time they reached a risky section, Eddie would force one of the remaining survivors to go into the water first to see if there were sharks. What started as a group of five was now just Eddie and the man with glasses. The rest had all been snatched away by sharks.
It wasn't that no one had fought back. But it was useless. Eddie was a ruthless mercenary, used to killing for a living. Dealing with a few lab workers who rarely left their stations was child's play. After he broke one person's limbs and fed them to the sharks with his own hands, no one dared resist again.
The man with glasses looked at Eddie, then at the pitch-black water, and finally decided to take a gamble. If he didn't go, Eddie would 100% beat him to death. If he did go, and there happened to be no sharks, at least he'd have a chance to live.
He hesitated as he inched toward the water, step by step down the stairs, gradually submerging. His eyes were wide, trying to make out anything in the murky water.
"It's fine, I'm okay!"
After a few seconds passed without a shark attacking, the bespectacled man cheered and flailed his arms, swimming excitedly toward the stairs on the other side. He had already made up his mind—once he got to dry land, he was leaving immediately. He'd never stick with this murderous demon again.
But he had clearly overestimated his luck. Beneath the dark water, a massive beast had been circling all along. Why it hadn't attacked earlier—maybe it was just playing with him.
The man had no idea of the danger. Just as he made it halfway across, his direction suddenly shifted. He began to move sideways through the water—it was obvious a shark had clamped onto him and was dragging him along.
Eddie seemed to catch a glimpse of the man's resentful eyes. His screams echoed through the corridor—then abruptly stopped. The shark took the man under, and he vanished without a trace.
If Dr. Susie had been here, she would've recognized that the one who attacked the bespectacled man was another first-generation great white shark.
Seeing what just happened, Eddie spat with displeasure. This route was no good anymore. He'd have to find another way. Too bad—he'd just used up the last of his "pathfinding stones."
But just as he turned around, he froze.
Standing quietly behind him, dressed in a black leather jacket, was Avril. In her hand was a Glock, aimed squarely at him.
"A-Avril…"
Bang bang\~\~
Two gunshots answered him. Avril fired twice, both shots hitting Eddie in the arms, rendering them useless.
"Aaahhh\~\~\~ ahhhh\~\~\~"
Eddie's screams filled the corridor, but Avril acted as if she hadn't heard a thing.
"You… you bitch… if you've got the guts, kill me…"
Seeing Avril walk closer, Eddie cursed angrily. He knew begging wouldn't work. After following Avril for so long, he knew her personality better than anyone. Now, he could only hope she'd give him a quick death in a fit of rage.
Click click—two crisp sounds. Avril deftly dislocated Eddie's shoulder joints. Now, even if his arms hadn't been shot, he couldn't use them anymore.
"Don't you want revenge for your idiot brother Alfred? Haha…"
Seeing Avril still unresponsive, Eddie continued provoking her. Alfred was Avril's soft spot, and bringing him up was the surest way to push her buttons.
Sure enough, a cold glint flashed in Avril's eyes. Just as Eddie thought his taunt had worked, she suddenly shoved a grenade into his mouth.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Eddie had a horrible premonition and struggled desperately. But with both arms disabled, all he got for his trouble was the searing pain of dislocated joints.
Still whimpering and drenched in cold sweat, Eddie could only watch in terror as Avril pulled out a pack of C4 and taped it around his body. His eyes widened in horror. He wasn't afraid of death—but not like this. Not this miserably. Sadly, all resistance was useless.
After finishing her preparations, Avril looked into Eddie's terrified eyes, then kicked him down the stairs.
With no arms to swim, Eddie flailed helplessly in the water. Special forces are trained in underwater maneuvering even when bound—and Eddie could do it too. But drowning wasn't what he feared most—it was the sharks.
Unfortunately, God clearly hadn't heard his prayers. Suddenly, a bone-chilling scream burst from the water. A seven-meter-long monster surged up from below, pushing Eddie through the water.
Reality could be so ironic. What Eddie was now experiencing was exactly what he had just done to the bespectacled man. One had to admit—fate was truly strange. Maybe it really was the man's curse coming back to haunt him.
His muffled cries continued as serrated teeth pierced his flesh. Eddie screamed in agony, but with a grenade shoved in his mouth, all of it came out as garbled moans.
Up above, Avril held a cord in her hand—the other end was tied to the grenade inside Eddie's mouth.
"Alfred, I will always protect you. As long as I'm here, no one can ever hurt you…"
Avril remembered the days in the orphanage, the years on the streets, all the times they were bullied. Back then, she had promised Alfred she would protect him forever.
She had sworn she'd protect that big fool with the dopey smile who, once he grew up, only wanted to protect her—never realizing that in this world, no one could ever hurt her.
A single tear fell from Avril's eye. Then she gave the cord a firm tug. Inside the shark's mouth, Eddie heard the crisp sound of a pin being pulled.
A second later, an explosion rocked the water, sending waves sky-high. If the grenade had exploded outside the body, it might not have killed the shark—but it triggered the C4, and the C4's power was enough to reduce anything to dust.
Blood and flesh rained down from the sky. Avril's expression returned to its usual cold calm. She dropped the cord, ignored the swirling chunks of meat in the water, and dove in. Moments later, she emerged at the staircase on the far side.
______
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