The worms disappeared, but left behind a skin suit. Ann looked at it and, despite her strong mentality, she hunched over, puking her guts out.

Zaen couldn't blame her. He didn't have vision like hers, and even he was grossed out by the silhouette of the flabby skin and skeleton left behind. All the organs and muscles had been consumed by the worms as they took over the host's body.

Still, isn't she supposed to have high sanity? How has she been researching the anomalies until now if she pukes all the time?

The truth was, Ann was a scaredy cat. If not for her family's contract with the founders, she wouldn't get close to even the most basic anomalies.

It was also why she kept injecting herself with strange, anomalous diseases to help build 'immunity', and if not, at least she'd gain enough strength to not puke at just the sight of anomalies.

That's how she unintentionally turned into a vampire from wish.com.

Zaen looked at her and sighed.

As delicate as her situation was, they didn't have time to dawdle around. He stored the skin-suit in his inventory to avoid further incidents and spanked Ann. With a squeal, she jumped up, rubbing her cheeks.

"Y-You're getting too friendly with me!" she complained, but Zaen didn't care. "I know you did it to restore my sanity, but can't you be gentle…"

"No time," Zaen mumbled. "Where to next?"

Ann pouted, grabbed his arm, and led him away. As she did, the question that had been troubling Zaen for a while made its way to his lips.

"How can you be sure they haven't taken over the containment room?" he asked.

"Brood mother can only possess humans and other beings from our world," Ann explained. "It cannot infect another anomaly."

Zaen kept quiet, wondering what her words had to do with his question, until it hit him.

"The containment room… is an anomaly?"

"Yes. However, it's a man-made anomaly, the first one actually," she replied. "AM-001, Gate to Nowhere. It's a door that can lead to anywhere and nowhere."

She continued, "Even if an anomaly-possessed human tried opening it, it would lead them into the heart of a volcano or anything that would kill them. Moreover, the door can't be opened if someone is already inside and has initiated the restriction protocol."

"Wait… AM?" Zaen paused, remembering he had heard the same before. "Is Beep-Boop the organization's creation as well?"

"Oh, you know Beep-Boop?"

It was Ann's turn to be surprised now. She remembered that the organization had created the construct using a technology they captured from the cult.

Beep-Boop was created to guide new players through the trial. However, over time, it got corrupted and only selectively fulfilled its role.

Instead of protecting everyone, he merely informed them about the objective and method of survival before disappearing.

Occasionally, it would save a few individuals, all of whom went on to become high-value assets for the organization.

Its prediction levels were off the charts, so much so that everyone who was rescued was indirectly asked if they had been contacted by the spark through the trial.

However, in Zaen's case, the organization was already corrupted from the inside thanks to Brood Mother, and besides, he wasn't in any condition to tell them about his adventures in the game either.

Suddenly, Zaen's weird abilities and his strength made a lot more sense to her.

"It helped me a bit back in the game," Zaen replied, scanning the surroundings.

He expected more infected humans to attack them, but surprisingly, they didn't. Still, they didn't drop their guard. There was no way the anomaly would give up so easily.

"It's waiting for us to open the door," Ann said, scratching her chin. "Can you…"

"I'll handle them," Zaen reassured her, standing right behind her, facing the dark.

Ann felt the firm back pressed against hers and smiled involuntarily. No matter what had happened between them, she couldn't deny that the young man was reliable.

Snap out of it, Ann. There can be nothing between us after this mess.

She gently smacked her cheeks and pulled the door open. Actually, she pulled a wall, but in Zaen's vision, it was already a door.

As soon as she did, icy winds shot out along with thin blades of ice. Before she could react, the blades tore through her shirt, leaving it in tatters. But they melted upon hitting her skin.

"What's going—"

"Don't look!"

Zaen was about to turn around, but Ann firmly grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to 'look' ahead. In her embarrassment, she forgot that, for Zaen, it didn't matter if she was naked or not, his perception would always portray her the same.

Understanding the situation, he took off his suit jacket and handed it to her.

"It seems it'll be cold inside," he said. "Wear it."

She looked down at herself, then blushed bright red as she draped the jacket over her shoulders.

"...Thank you."

"Thank me when we get out of here," Zaen remarked. "Now go."

Ann hesitated as if she wanted to say something, but before she could, someone's clapping sound echoed in the dark hallways.

Zaen clenched his jaw as he recognized the person by his small frame and childish voice.

"Brilliant," Johann scoffed, tossing aside the lollipop. "I knew it would happen someday, but to think you're in such a hurry to get yourself killed."

Ann froze in her spot as more familiar faces appeared next to Johann. Karloff and Zoey were there, but not Jenna, probably because her infection wasn't as severe as the rest.

"Ann, go," Zaen mumbled, his grasp tightening around his weapons.

"But what about—"

"Just go."

Saying so, Zaen didn't wait and pushed her inside. Ann hesitated for a moment before slamming the door shut.

"I'll save you!"

Those were her parting words, but they only made Zaen smile.

"Save me? Don't make me laugh."

Ann had little to no fighting experience. If she interfered, she'd die alongside him. The best outcome would be that he stalls them long enough for the HQ representative to clean house.

However, there was one trick in Zaen's arsenal that no one could have expected.

Karloff aimed his gun at Zaen, but the moment he pulled the trigger, Zaen disappeared into a portal.

"…since when could someone access a portal in the basement levels?" Zoey innocently asked.

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