We ran as fast as we could, hoping to gain some distance between us and the monsters before they caught up with us.
The sound of footsteps exploded in the corridor, like an alarm bell ringing in the darkness, causing my eardrums to hurt.
"Turn left!" Qin Yan shouted in a low voice, pulling me into a sharp turn into another hallway.
We sprinted, gasping for air. From behind came the heavy thuds of feet on the stairs, and that wet, raspy breathing became closer and thicker.
Those things were running faster than before, as if something had triggered them—twisted, insane, obsessively hunting sound, scent… or humans.
"They...are speeding up." I whispered, my legs almost exhausted, but my heartbeat was like a war drum urging me to keep going.
The next second, a dark shadow suddenly jumped out from the crack of the door.
I only had time to catch a glimpse of the pale eyes and the open mouth. The fangs were exposed, bloodshot, and almost biting my shoulder.
"Zeyang!" Qin Yan roared, spinning around and kicking the monster away with full force.
Crack! The monster slammed into the wall, limbs twisted, bounced to the floor and twitched a few times—
but it immediately started crawling back up.
"Don't stop, run!" Qin Yan grabbed me and pulled me forward again.
My breath started to burn, my throat became dry and sore, and my limbs felt like they were not my own, but I didn't dare to stop.
There were sounds of crawling, nails scratching the ground, things hitting furniture, and vases knocking over from behind. The whole corridor seemed to be collapsing.
As soon as I turned the next corner, I heard a familiar whisper.
"Eh? You guys are here too... run!"
It was Wang Yifan!
"This way!" Liu Zehao's voice followed quickly.
They both ran over from the other side, their clothes disheveled, their faces filled with fear, and cold sweat oozing from their foreheads.
"Follow us!" Wang Yifan shouted, swinging an iron rod at a monster, forcing it back a step.
The four of us quickly gathered together, formed a temporary team, and continued to run deeper into the corridor without hesitation.
"What's going on?" I asked breathlessly.
"We were downstairs and looking for a way out. Then we saw them. Tried to sneak past slowly… but their hearing's stronger now… they heard us."
"They found us. Let's quickly run up to the second floor." Wang Yifan's voice trembled, as if he had not yet fully recovered from the shock.
"Their senses are enhanced. They can detect not just sound, but also temperature and smell." Qin Yan analyzed calmly.
"We can't slow down. One of us falls behind, we're all dead."
These words hit my heart like a heavy hammer.
The floor beneath my feet began to shake, more monsters were approaching.
"What do we do? The second floor's full of them…" Liu Zehao's voice cracked.
We had backed into a wide open hall.
No places to hide. The only exit was already blocked. Shadows moved behind every door crack.
They'll be approaching in five minutes.
I glanced around, and my eyes suddenly stopped at a huge French window on one side. It was more than two meters high.
The curtains hung from the top to the ground, thick, soft, and long enough.
"We jump!" I shouted suddenly.
Everyone froze.
"Where?" Wang Yifan looked instinctively outside.
"Not outside," I shook my head and pointed downwards, "It's the hall below, only one floor away. The curtains are long enough, we can slide down, land downstairs, and escape from there!"
Qin Yan had already reacted and quickly rushed to the window to check the structure. He reached out and grabbed the curtain fabric and pulled it hard.
"Sturdy," he said.
The four of us worked together to pull down the curtains on both sides. The cloth made a dull sound when it fell to the ground, like heavy water pouring on the floor.
"Tie it to the railing!" I pointed.
"I'll do it." Qin Yan wrapped it around the handrail with three loops and two buckles, then pulled it tight, leaning back to test its strength. The railing shook only slightly, but didn't loosen.
"Ready."
My heart was pounding, but I tried hard to control my shaking hands.
"I'll go first."
I climbed onto the handrail.
I wrapped the fabric around my hands, took a deep breath and slid down.
The fabric scraped across my palms, creating a burning sensation, but I gritted my teeth and persisted until my feet touched the ground.
With a slight bend of the knees, he landed steadily. I whispered, "You can get off now!"
Then, Liu Zehao hesitated, but still slid down with gritted teeth.
"Don't sit there!" I pulled him up, "Go to the side and make room for others!"
Wang Yifan came next, swearing.
"Landed." He dusted off his hands. "Next."
Last was Qin Yan. He moved like a shadow—no noise, no hesitation.
"Hurry, go." he said.
We retreated from the small door in the downstairs hall and just turned into the side corridor.
Then came the crashing from above.
"They are coming down!" Liu Zehao screamed.
"They've found us!" Liu Zehao cried.
"Keep running!" I yelled.