Inside the game. Boom! A deafening explosion rocked the air. The tower crashed to the ground, sending a massive cloud of dust and debris billowing into the sky. The monsters beneath it were crushed into pulp on impact, their mangled limbs scattering through the haze. Thora's body jolted violently from the impact, but thankfully she wasn't injured. She silently thanked her lucky stars that she was nothing but a string of data right now—if this had been her real body, the shockwave alone would've caused serious internal damage. She immediately got to her feet, standing on the now-horizontal surface of the fallen tower. But the moment she steadied herself, she noticed her score had been wiped to zero. She froze in surprise. What the hell happened? But there was no time to think it through—monsters were already scrambling up the length of the tower toward her. Thora broke into a full sprint—the fallen tower was the only safe path available right now. The collapsed structure stretched just over 1,300 feet. She covered the entire distance in under a minute. But the monsters behind her were still in hot pursuit, and ahead of her, another dense wave of creatures was waiting. She gritted her teeth, launched herself into the air, and landed on top of a monster's head, using their skulls as stepping stones to retrace her path. The monsters' shrieks rose and fell in a nightmarish chorus. Countless blood-soaked hands reached up toward her, enough to make anyone's heart seize.Just as she leaped toward another monster's head, one of them suddenly grabbed her leg and yanked hard. Thora's body snapped backward, and she plummeted straight toward the horde below. Every monster instantly swarmed in, surrounding her completely. Thora's eyes went wide. Only one thought remained in her mind—this is it. But the instant she was pulled into the mass of monsters, every single one of them froze like someone had hit the pause button, standing perfectly still. Staring at the gaping maw just an inch from her face, even someone as unflappable as Thora felt her heart clench. She scanned her surroundings. Every monster stood frozen in place as if hit by a paralysis spell, completely motionless. That little punk Luke really knew how to cut it close. "Boss, you've got five minutes. After five minutes, they'll start moving again." Luke's voice came through the squad channel. "Got it." Thora acknowledged, flipping herself onto a monster's head and sprinting forward at full speed. The frozen monsters made her journey much smoother. Running across their heads was completely unobstructed, saving her a lot of time compared to navigating the ground. Five minutes to cover half a mile—more than enough. Hearing the exchange between Luke and Thora, everyone finally let out the breath they'd been holding, waiting anxiously for her return. Shirley pressed herself against the perimeter fence, eyes locked on the distant horizon. "Boss!" Tristan was the first to spot the figure in the distance. Thora was running across the top of the monster horde. The moment she entered their line of sight, everyone spotted her immediately. "Thora!" Shirley jumped up and down with excitement, waving and shouting. Even Ashley and Draven showed a flicker of emotion on their faces. Mona couldn't help but run to the fence, standing shoulder to shoulder with Shirley as she gazed into the distance, barely concealed joy shimmering in her eyes. The other candidates erupted in cheers, as excited as if they were welcoming a conquering hero home. Seeing Thora return safely made them more thrilled than getting a card themselves. "She's back!" "Yeah! She made it!" Everyone shouted out, calling her by her in-game ID "Ash"—at this moment, that name had become her exclusive call sign. A smile of relief began to spread across Luke's face, but before it could fully form, it froze. He saw the program on his computer changing rapidly—after the virus had been cleaned out, the game had returned to normal operation. He'd intended to revive the NPCs killed by the virus and restore the system, assuming the process would take at least ten minutes. He never expected it to happen this fast. His control over the monsters hadn't even expired yet, but the system had already been restored. Which meant he could no longer keep the monsters frozen... With only 300 feet left to the finish line, Thora pushed herself even harder. But right at that moment, the monster's head beneath her feet suddenly twitched. Her foot slipped, and she plunged downward.