Whether or not you’ve served in the military, it’s not surprising to recognize a famous weapon.

Claire Harris: “Yes, it suits me.”

Before setting out, Claire Harris suddenly turned around: “Weapons are to be used when necessary. Do you know what to do if the natives discover you’re carrying a gun?”

Under the gaze of those dark eyes, it was easy to see the teasing, half-smiling look within.

As if to say: You don’t look like a cop.

Ryan Bennett continued where he left off: “Just say I’m a police officer.”

After leaving the woods, Ryan Bennett found that they were in a park.

On the way, they saw half a corpse that had been gnawed on the main road. The chunks of flesh and bloodstains on the homeless man now seemed to have an explanation.

Located in the busiest part of the city center, the park was completely deserted at five in the morning. Apart from trash drifting in the wind and the occasional dark red bloodstain on the ground, there wasn’t a single living soul in sight. The high-rises surrounding the park showed no signs of life either; the city was utterly dead.

In this eerie atmosphere, the park felt especially grim as the group walked in formation.

“Captain Harris, eleven o’clock, the park management office.”

As if worried about disturbing something, Ryan Bennett lowered his voice and suddenly gave this reminder.

Ryan Bennett had been silent the whole way. Claire Harris looked in the direction he indicated.

Just as Ryan Bennett was about to add, “There seems to be a light inside,” Claire Harris tilted his head: “Let’s split up and check it out.”

The teammates received the order and scattered.

Only Ryan Bennett and Claire Harris remained on the main road.

A morning breeze blew by, and a few strands of hair fell across Claire Harris’s forehead. His usually sharp, rebellious dark eyes narrowed slightly.

Ryan Bennett felt a bit nervous. That sense of déjà vu grew stronger—could it be that Claire Harris also...

He hoped so.

But Claire Harris simply asked directly, “Consultant Bennett, how is your psychological endurance?”

Ryan Bennett: “……”

His face suddenly turned pale, and his heart pounded violently, as if a nightmare had descended, trapping him in a net of madness, unbearably heavy.

But it wasn’t because Claire Harris had asked that question.

Ryan Bennett’s expression remained calm; no one knew that his palm was already slick with cold sweat. He heard himself answer, “Probably not great.”

Why was the appearance-judging Captain Harris suddenly concerned about him?

Was this some kind of rookie treatment?

Claire Harris looked up at the deathly still high-rises around them, then said, “We don’t know how long we’ll be stuck here before we can go back. The one waiting for you at home is probably getting anxious. But I hope you can adjust yourself.”

Ryan Bennett asked, “Captain Harris, do you have a special talk with every rookie during missions?”

Claire Harris had no intention of being polite: “No.”

So it was a special warning just for the “pretty face.”

Ryan Bennett: “...Got it.”

After Claire Harris left.

Ryan Bennett stayed where he was for a few seconds, hoping the chill on his body would fade.

But countless noises still rang in his ears, his heart beating so fast it felt like it would leap out of his throat, impossible to calm down.

“Baby, you have to wake up... You have to hang in there, don’t let it drag you away.”

“We’re not thinking about it! We’re not thinking about it! Baby, look here, everything here is new, it’s never appeared before, look!”

“Ryan Bennett, you failed both the image test and the psychological assessment this time. Especially your psychological test—your score was terrifyingly low, worse every time!”

“Ryan Bennett! Pull yourself together! You must learn to break down your brain’s overload! Otherwise, you’re not far from madness!”

“Baby, you have to distinguish between reality and memory. Overlapping memories do you no good at all.”

...

Park management office.

Ryan Bennett was the last to arrive.

Helen Ford was reporting: “Captain Harris! There’s a corpse in the restroom!”

Claire Harris had found a powered-off communicator and was fiddling with it. Hearing this, he put it down and went to check the restroom.

They turned the corpse over. Amid the stench of rot, Claire Harris used a military knife to pry open the corpse’s tightly shut eyelids—the physical changes matched exactly those of the homeless man they’d encountered in the woods. The group began discussing noisily, and no one noticed Ryan Bennett just glanced at the door and quietly walked away.

The furnishings in the administrator’s office blurred before his eyes. Ryan Bennett ignored the messy desk, skipped over the keys, newspapers, and registration book, and fixed his gaze on the black-screened communicator.

As if guided by something, Ryan Bennett opened a drawer and found the communicator’s charging port inside.

The powered-off communicator was turned on.

Ryan Bennett only skimmed through it for a minute or two before suddenly putting it down!

His eyes quickly swept the office, and he found a box of bottled water in the corner.

“What’s wrong?”

Claire Harris and the teammates returned to the office, just in time to see this scene.

Ryan Bennett was holding a bottle of water, his face pale, dark lashes casting a shadow on his eyelids, his whole body trembling almost imperceptibly, as if he was struggling to suppress his discomfort.