---
The group pressed on to the twentieth floor. The corridor grew dimmer with each step, shadows pooling in corners. When they pushed through the security door, a sickly yellow light washed over them, revealing a scene that stopped everyone cold.
Blood covered everything. Dried, blackened stains streaked the walls and pooled in crusted layers on the floor. In the center of the hallway, a mound of bodies rose like a grotesque altar—Zombies, humans, even a few of the Tentacle‑faced creatures from the eighteenth floor, all piled together in a tangled heap of rotting flesh. Decay had fused them into a single, shapeless mass that reeked of death.
And atop this horror grew a plant.
It was black as charcoal, no taller than fifty centimeters, with branches that twisted upward like broken bones. Its roots plunged deep into the corpse pile, drawing nutrients from the fused flesh. Dark red veins pulsed faintly beneath its surface. At its crown, a crystalline fruit glowed with that same sickly yellow light, casting long shadows across the hallway.
"What the hell is that?" Greg whispered.
No one answered. They could only stare.
Nathan raised a hand, signaling caution. "Everyone stay back. We don't know what that thing can do."
Before anyone could move, a sharp clicking echoed from the far end of the corridor. The sound of hard legs striking concrete.
Everyone spun toward the noise.
Two red eyes burned in the darkness.
The creature that emerged was unlike anything they had faced. Its upper body was roughly human—muscles twisted and exposed, raw flesh glistening. But below the waist, it was spider: six segmented legs, each tipped with a spear‑like point, supporting a bloated abdomen that scraped against the walls. Its mouth gaped open, revealing writhing tentacles slick with mucus.
"Spider Monster!" someone screamed.
The creature let out a piercing shriek and charged.
Nathan's voice cut through the panic. "Stop it! If it reaches the stairwell, we're dead!"
Nathan and Josh sent their Summons forward. Frank's Summon lunged first—the Spider Monster swatted it aside like a toy, slamming it into the wall with a sickening crack. Chen Jun's Summon followed, only to be impaled by a spider leg that punched straight through its chest.
Two Summons down in seconds.
Nathan's and Josh's Summons managed to latch onto the creature's body, their claws raking its flesh, teeth tearing into its sides. The remaining Summons joined in, pummeling the monster from all sides. But the confined corridor worked against them. The Spider Monster thrashed, hurling them off one by one.
It was breaking through.
Then Lisa moved.
Her Mutant Rat darted between the monster's legs, scaling its abdomen in a blur. At the crest, it leaped, claws extended, and slashed across both of the creature's eyes.
The Spider Monster shrieked, its tentacles whipping wildly. The Rat dropped and vanished into the shadows.
Blinded, the creature staggered, crashing into the walls. Its spider legs scraped for balance.
Fidex moved.
The Four‑Armed Corpse slammed into the Spider Monster like a freight train, lifting its upper body while its lower half scrambled for purchase. Fidex's fists hammered into the creature's skull—once, twice, three times. Each blow drove the monster back.
The Spider Monster retaliated, driving a spear‑like leg into Fidex's chest. Metal screeched. A white gash appeared on Fidex's torso, but the Iron Skin held.
Fidex seized the leg with its lower arms, locking it in place. Its upper arms wrapped around the creature's exposed upper body.
With a roar, Fidex twisted.
The Spider Monster's spine cracked. Its shriek pierced the corridor, desperate and dying. Fidex lifted the creature overhead and slammed it down onto the security door. Metal buckled. The monster lay trapped in the dented frame, struggling weakly.
Fidex raised a claw and brought it down across the creature's throat.
Blood sprayed. The Spider Monster went still.
Silence returned to the corridor, broken only by heavy breathing.
Nathan stared at the corpse, then at Fidex. "That thing almost tore through all of us."
Josh wiped blood from his face, his eyes lingering on Fidex's metallic sheen. His expression was carefully neutral, but his jaw was tight. One Summon took down what seven couldn't, he thought. He's hiding something. And I'm going to find out what.
Jin ignored the stares. He was already moving toward the strange plant, examining the glowing crystal at its crown.
"What are you doing?" Nathan asked sharply. "That thing could be dangerous."
"Maybe," Jin said. "But it's also something new. We need to understand what we're dealing with."
He reached out and touched the plant. A cold prompt flickered before his eyes.
[Found fusion material: Brilliance Crystal. Do you wish to fuse?]
Jin's expression didn't change. He withdrew his hand and said only, "Not yet."
He found a bedsheet and carefully wrapped the plant, handing it to Fidex. "We're taking this with us."
Nathan looked uncertain but didn't argue. The day's losses weighed on him. Wade was dead. Two Summons were badly damaged. The group needed rest.
"Let's finish searching the floor," Nathan said. "Then we're done for the day."
---
As the teams spread out to search the six rooms, Josh pulled Greg aside near the stairwell.
"You saw that," Josh said quietly. "His Summon took down something we couldn't even slow down. There's no way that's just from fighting."
Greg nodded, his eyes still on the corpse pile. "You think he's doing something with all those corpses he collects?"
"I know he is." Josh's voice was cold. "And now he's taking that plant. Whatever it is, he wants it for himself."
"So what's the play?"
Josh glanced toward the wrapped plant in Fidex's grip. "We wait. The Marcus card is still on the table. When the time is right, we use it. Either Simon cracks and gives us something, or Jin steps in to protect him and we force the truth out."
He looked back at the darkened stairwell leading down. "For now, we watch. And we remember who's really in charge here."
---
The search of the twentieth floor turned up little beyond a few scattered cans and a half‑empty bottle of painkillers. The real find was the glowing plant, and Jin made no move to share it.
When they descended to the first floor, the lobby was quiet. Mark and Simon came out to meet them.
"What's that?" Mark asked, eyeing the wrapped bundle.
"Something we found on the top floor," Jin said. "I'll explain inside."
Simon's gaze lingered on the bundle, then moved to Jin. His expression was unreadable, but there was a weight behind it. "Anyone hurt?"
"Wade's dead," Lisa said quietly.
Simon's jaw tightened. He said nothing.
They retreated to their room. Once the door was closed, Jin set the plant on a small desk near the window. As he did, he felt a faint tug—a slow drain, barely perceptible, from Fidex.
"It's drawing power," he said. "Not much. But it's alive."
Mark stepped closer, studying the dark branches and the glowing crystal. "What is it?"
"I don't know yet. But when we first saw it, the yellow light it gave off seemed to slow the Spider Monster. Just for a second, but enough to matter."
Lisa frowned. "You think it can repel monsters?"
"I think it's worth finding out." Jin looked at the plant, its crystal pulsing faintly in the darkness. "We'll keep it here for now. Watch it. See what it does."
Simon finally spoke. "And if it does nothing?"
"Then we'll decide what to do with it. Either way, we learn something."
The group fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts. Outside, the fog pressed against the windows, and somewhere in the building, a door creaked open.
---
End of Chapter 20
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