Since Ivy was done taking care of her children and had also completed the necessary tasks alongside Darren, both of them made their way toward the factory without encountering any difficulties along the way.

On reaching the factory, they immediately noticed something unsettling. The factory gate and main doors had been completely sealed, while the compound beyond was filled with monsters. Above them, drones hovered in the sky, their loud mechanical buzzing echoing across the area and agitating the creatures below. The monsters roared in response, restless and aggressive, as if provoked by every passing second of the noise.

“Fuck... there are too many of them,” Darren voiced out, his eyes fixed on the mass of monsters ahead. His grip tightened slightly on his weapon as he took in the overwhelming sight.

“There’s absolutely no way we can just walk through that,” he added, swallowing hard. “The entire compound is packed. How are we supposed to make it past all of them into the factory? And if there are more inside... especially high-level ones....maybe even level twenty this time then we’re done for.”

He glanced at Ivy with a raised eyebrow, hesitation clear in his expression.

“Don’t you think we should turn back?” Darren asked. “This isn’t worth it.”

Before he could say anything else....

“Bark! Bark!”

The illusion dogs responded loudly, as if protesting his words.

Ivy tilted her head slightly, her lips curling into a faint smirk. “Can you see that?” she said coldly. “Even the illusion dogs aren’t cowards like you.”

Darren shot her a look, but she was already moving.

Without wasting another second, Ivy jumped down from the armored vehicle. She released the nine illusion dogs, and they immediately scattered around her. Then she strode straight toward the factory gate without hesitation. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Darren hesitated for only a moment longer before exhaling sharply and following her.

“Seriously...” he muttered under his breath as he caught up.

Ivy didn’t respond.

Instead, she moved with precision. Reaching the gate area, she kicked the partially weakened entrance open with force and slipped into the compound silently, like she had already studied every angle of the battlefield beforehand.

Darren followed closely behind, still trying to process her reckless confidence.

The moment they stepped inside, the monsters’ attention snapped toward them.

And everything exploded into chaos.

Roars filled the air instantly. Dozens.. no, hundreds of monsters turned in their direction at once, their glowing eyes locking onto the intruders. The entire compound erupted into motion as they charged forward.

“It’s a disaster...” Darren muttered under his breath.

Ivy didn’t even look back.

“Just fight your way through them toward the factory door,” she ordered sharply. “There’s no need to kill all of them. Just clear a path and move.”

She raised her weapon without waiting for a reply.

“Understood,” Darren answered quickly, though uncertainty still lingered in his voice.

Without hesitation, Ivy opened fire.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each shot landed cleanly, taking out monsters with precise headshots. Her movements were calm, controlled, almost mechanical. Blood splattered across the ground as bodies dropped one after another.

Darren immediately followed suit, raising his gun and firing into the advancing horde.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The loud gunfire echoed across the compound, mixing with the monstrous roars and the stench of decay that quickly filled the air.

Rotten flesh and blood created a thick, suffocating atmosphere as the battle intensified.

The illusion dogs didn’t stay behind either.

With synchronized movements, they darted across the battlefield like ghostly predators. Some leapt onto monsters’ backs, tearing them down, while others struck from the sides, creating openings for Ivy and Darren to push forward.

Within moments, they carved a narrow path through the chaos.

Soon, Ivy and Darren reached the factory door. Without hesitation, they pushed it open and entered the building.

It wasn’t locked.

But the moment they stepped inside....

BOOM!

A deafening explosion erupted somewhere deeper within the structure, shaking the walls violently. Dust rained from the ceiling, and both Ivy and Darren instinctively raised their arms to shield their ears.

“What the hell was that?!” Darren shouted over the noise, his voice barely audible.

Ivy’s eyes narrowed. “Drones,” she replied quickly. “They are using explosive payloads. That blast outside probably cleared most of the perimeter monsters.”

As the explosion faded, a system notification suddenly appeared.

Ding!

{+3000 points.}

{+5 crystal cores.}

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire resumed almost immediately as monsters that had already breached inside the factory rushed toward them from multiple corridors.

“Behind us!” Darren yelled.