The bottle of whiskey I brought with me was emptied by the time I detected an unexpected change. While Lin and I were exchanging our final glass, I began to vaguely see Lin’s face. At first, I thought I had gotten accustomed to being in the dark, but that wasn’t it. Lin muttered as he stared at my face, “Up close, you look like the incarnation of misfortune.”

I retorted, “Lin also looks like a sissy.”

The underground base got brighter ever so slightly. The darkness from the magic that dulled one’s senses was slowly transforming into natural darkness. There was only one reason this would be happening.

“It’s a good thing we finished the bottle,” I commented.

Lin nodded. “Yep, one has to finish a bottle once he opens it.”

We exchanged such words as if we had already discussed it, and stood up after throwing the bottle and glasses on the ground. Lin was gritting his teeth.

“That crazy bastard…”

I sighed. “It might not be too late. Let’s hurry.”

Lin and I rushed at the same time. Meanwhile, Daisy messaged us, [Found Book Walkers. Ceiling, being broken through.]

The moment we received her message, the ceiling fell with a thud along with several Book Walkers. Before I could say anything, Lin’s two handguns shot flaming bullets. By the time the magazine ran out, the Book Walkers had all become corpses, but Lin clicked his tongue as he reloaded.

“These guys got faster. It must be that damned resistance or whatever. How annoying.”

“I should also—”

He interrupted, “You stay still. Don’t reveal your abilities in...