The hostility in his voice was impossible to miss.

Despite that, Erick remained calm.

"It’s enough, Nathan," Erick said firmly.

Nathan froze.

Erick’s expression hardened.

"If you still consider me your captain, then you’ll obey me."

The room became deathly silent.

Nathan clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

"Fuck..." he cursed under his breath before finally taking a step back.

Although he obeyed, the anger in his eyes remained.

"Whatever."

He placed both hands on his waist and released a frustrated sigh.

"Anyways, I’m heading to Basement Level Two."

The declaration immediately caught everyone’s attention.

Nathan looked around the room.

"Countless secrets are hidden down there," he continued seriously. "Secrets that we absolutely need to uncover."

Several members of Erick’s team exchanged glances before nodding in agreement.

Clearly, this wasn’t the first time they had heard about it.

Ivy narrowed her eyes.

"How are you so sure?" she asked immediately. "Shouldn’t we be focusing on surviving first? We still have an entire building filled with monsters."

She folded her arms across her chest.

"We don’t even know what’s waiting behind most of these doors. Rushing around carelessly sounds like a terrible idea."

Nathan let out a scoff. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Basement Level Two contains a massive golden door," Nathan explained. "The place is heavily guarded, and there are monsters stationed all around it."

His expression grew serious.

"The number of monsters protecting that door alone makes it suspicious."

He paused before continuing.

"If your goal is to kill monsters, then you’ll get your chance. We head down there, wipe out the monsters guarding the entrance, and then investigate whatever is hidden behind that door."

A smug smile appeared on his face.

"In other words, we kill two birds with one stone."

Nathan’s gaze drifted toward Ivy.

The look he gave her was openly hostile.

Darren immediately stepped forward.

"And what makes you think those monsters are weak?" he asked while placing his hands on his waist. "If something important is hidden behind that door, then chances are the monsters guarding it won’t be ordinary monsters."

Nathan rolled his eyes.

"I know that."

His reply came instantly.

"I never said they were low-level monsters."

His expression became determined.

"We’ll have to fight stronger monsters eventually anyway, won’t we?"

He pointed toward Erick and the rest of the team.

"That’s exactly why the captain, myself, and everyone else are here."

Nathan reached into his pocket and pulled out a metallic access card.

"I already have the access card."

Erick nodded.

"He’s telling the truth."

The card immediately drew Ivy’s attention.

If the door truly required special access, then whatever was hidden behind it had to be important.

Very important.

Without another word, Nathan turned around and headed for the exit while Erick followed him.

The rest of their team quickly moved after them.

Seeing no better alternative, Ivy and Darren exchanged glances before following as well.

The group walked down the hallway they’ve cleared of monsters before eventually arriving at another elevator.

Unlike the previous elevator, this one was different.

Its surface gleamed brilliantly beneath the overhead lights.

The entire structure was coated in gold.

Even the doors themselves appeared luxurious.

Ivy raised an eyebrow.

"Is that the golden door you’re talking about?"

Nathan heaved a heavy sigh.

He held up the access card.

"This elevator leads directly to Basement Level Two."

His expression became grim.

"And once those doors open..."

He glanced toward everyone.

"...there will be war."

The seriousness in his tone immediately made several survivors nervous.

Nathan stepped forward and swiped the card through the access panel.

BEEP.

The elevator doors slid open.

He walked inside first.

"Come on."

The others hesitated briefly before following.

"We’ve got weapons now, thanks to Mrs. Ivy."

Nathan deliberately emphasized the last part before shooting Ivy another disgusted look.

Ivy pretended not to notice.

Instead, she focused on the uneasy feeling building inside her chest.

I can already sense trouble.

A very dangerous kind of trouble.

She released a quiet sigh.

This isn’t my territory yet.

If it were, I could activate my Territory Scanner Skill and gather information before walking into danger.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.

A hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.

Ivy looked up.

It was Erick.

"Don’t worry," Erick said with a reassuring smile. "Everyone will be safe."

Before Ivy could respond, Erick stretched out a card toward her.

"Take this."

Ivy accepted it.

Then Erick handed another identical card to Darren.

"You might need them once we arrive at Basement Level Two."

Darren examined the card curiously before slipping it into his pocket.

"Hopefully you’re right about that," he muttered afterwhich he turned towards Ivy. "Let’s go boss." He added while Ivy nodded her head in response.

Moments later, everyone entered the elevator.

The invisible illusion dogs followed closely behind Ivy.

The doors slid shut.

CLANG.

An uneasy silence filled the elevator.

Then, without wasting another second....

The elevator began descending toward Basement Level Two.