The group drew closer to the Administration Building after passing several residential areas.
The Administration Building had three layers, each structured differently. The first layer was the Administration Hall, made up of several floors, rectangle-shaped and covering a huge area.
The second layer was a square-shaped section above the base. It was quite a contrast to the rectangular base below it.
The third layer was a few tall blocks above the square-shaped layer. It probably belonged to the business units that were not open to the public. The whole building somehow did not feel like it belonged there, as it stood out too much among the buildings nearby.
“This place is on our investigation list, too. However, I feel this Administration Building is kinda weird. Take a look at those plants; they are not growing toward the sunlight, but into the building instead…”
Mu Nujiao had the Plant Element. She took a closer look at the vines and scorched branches. The vines were as thick as a man’s waist. They seemed to be growing into the base of the Administration Building and intertwining with the other vines in the hall.
The Administration Building was supposed to have plenty of sunlight. However, because of the vines, the light could no longer shine into the building, giving it an eerie atmosphere. It felt more like a forest of vines then a building.
Rows of chairs set up for the public were scattered everywhere. The whole place was full of dust. Moss could be seen spreading across the cracking windows. Boxes of documents had been dropped to the floor as the people freaked out during the invasion, now stained with weird liquid emitting a foul scent.
“One or two should keep an eye outside. The rest will head into the building,” Lu Zhenghe advised the group.
“I’ll stay!” Mo Fan volunteered.
“Me too,” Bai Tingting said.
Lu Zhenghe and Song Xia glanced at the two before leading the others into the Administration Hall.
—
The fourteen students soon disappeared into the gloomy Administration Building. Only Mo Fan and Bai Tingting stayed at what used to be a garden in front of the building.
Mo Fan glanced at Bai Tingting and recalled the astonishing sight of the twin bobbing hills he had seen at the river. He could not help but have a thought, How is it possible for a girl currently in her twenties who doesn’t have a boyfriend to have such huge boobs? Can her petite body really support the weight?
If Bai Tingting were aware of Mo Fan’s thoughts, she would definitely agree that it was more dangerous for her to stay outside with this guy than going into the building with the group.
Bai Tingting was the Healer of the group, thus they could not afford to place her in danger. As such, it was reasonable for her to wait outside. With Mo Fan’s strength, he could easily be her guardian.
“That’s strange…” Bai Tingting seemed to have discovered something, and she slowly walked toward a bed of flowers.
“What is it?”
“There’s a pack of food here that’s only half-finished. Only part of it has started to rot, instead of the whole thing. Take a look for yourself.” Bai Tingting put on a pair of gloves and picked up the pack from the ground.
Mo Fan went up to her and took a closer look. It did indeed look like a pack of jerky. The seal was already open, but the jerky itself looked quite normal. It did not look like it had been here for fifteen years…
—
Inside the overgrown Administration Hall, Lu Zhenghe and his Violent Mark Wolf led the way. The latter leapt onto a platform and scanned its surroundings with a sharp gaze.
The elevator was totally out of order, so they would have to find the stairs to reach the higher levels.
“There are a few traveling bags here. It seems like someone left them here.” Liao Mingxuan said.
“They might belong to some hunters who visited here recently.” Lu Zhenghe did not place too much attention on them. He led the group to the hall on the second floor.
The second floor was full of meeting rooms. The plants were even denser here. The entire hallway was nearly blocked by them…
As they proceeded forward, they did see an elevator with its door open. The vines could be seen extending into the shaft. Its parts were rusted, and were stained with some unknown colored liquid.
“The stairs should be just ahead.” Lu Zhenghe was quite bold indeed, leading the group with his Violent Mark Wolf.
Lu Zhenghe had just started moving when Mu Nujiao, who was relatively observant, halted in her tracks. Her eyes were fixed onto the vines closest to the elevator’s shaft.
“What is it?” Liao Mingxuan was always staying close to Mu Nujiao.
“It looks like something is stuck between them.” Mu Nujiao pointed at the gap between two vines.
Liao Mingxuan finally had his chance to display his manliness. He reassured the lady while walking toward the vines and dragging the thing out.
As he got a closer look, his mind went blank as his face turned pale white.
A scalp!
Liao Mingxuan was holding a human’s scalp in his hand, with the face still attached. Its long hair was hiding its face before, so Liao Mingxuan did not realize what it actually was.
The scalp had dirty black hair and its face was detached from the head. Its eyeballs were still hanging from the skin. Liao Mingxuan had not expected it would be something so bizarre.
“A dead person, it’s a dead person’s head!”
Zhao Mingyue, who was nearby, let out a scream. As the scalp was pulled out, they were able to get a closer look at the thing stuck between the vines. It was a skull, and definitely human!
The skin was filthy, but it had not rotted. The eyes looked rather alive, but the flesh was gone, and so was the blood. It was a corpse that had been sucked dry, and not longer than ten days ago.
“There’s one here!”
“Here too!”
“What’s going on? How did these people die here? Were they ambushed by some beasts…”
The group was flustered. Judging from the corpses and the objects scattered around. They were supposed to be a team of hunters, but they had somehow died a horrible death here!
“We’ve checked the place around. There wasn’t any presence of beasts nearby,” Shen Mingxiao said.
Mu Nujiao and Qingqing exchanged glances with one another as a bad feeling arose within them.
“These plants feel strange.” Mu Nujiao reminded the others.
“What plants…That’s weird, where did the path…Oh my god, the path we took to get in here is gone!” Xu Dalong, who was in charge of covering their rear, cried out in alarm.
Everyone turned their heads and realized the path they took had somehow been blocked by the vines. The gap was now too tiny for them to squeeze through.
Everyone was used to staying on guard for things that moved, and any hint of murderous aura from demon beasts. None of them had expected the plants to seal off their escape route out of nowhere!
The path behind them was blocked, but the problem was, they had only used it a moment ago!
“It’s the plants, they can move!” Someone finally realized the terrifying truth.
“Run, quick!” Lu Zhenghe screamed out.
The building was overgrown with plants consisting of thick vines and branches, a team of hunters had died here quite recently, and now their path behind was blocked…
This Administration Building is definitely not a welcoming place!