Climbing out sounded simple enough—but only when one actually experienced it did its true difficulty become clear.
The group, already nearly drained of stamina, wore expressions of pure misery. Even the beast claws embedded in the soil trembled uncontrollably.
The man at the very front asked through gritted teeth, his face twisted in pain, "Commander Hayes… how much longer do we have to climb? How—how is it that after all this time, we still haven't reached the top?!"
The massive snow leopard was panting heavily, his breathing noticeably ragged and uneven. Without lifting his head, Hayes answered in a low, steady voice:
"Military government shelters are usually built at depths close to a hundred meters underground. When we entered earlier, we could clearly feel the entrance tunnel sloping downward more steeply—and signs that the tunnel, along with the entire shelter, had sunk."
