Chapter 81: I’M STRAIGHT!

At the landing of the twelfth-floor fire exit, the four men were all scrambling up, each caked in dirt and grime.

Supported by Theo, May caught her balance and stealthily sized up Mitch at the back.

Ever since earlier, this wild dog had been acting bizarrely. His walking posture resembled a wound-up tin toy soldier—legs locked stiffly straight, pausing with every single step, looking for all the world like he had a piece of red-hot coal clamped between his inner thighs.

What on earth is wrong with this guy? Did his hemorrhoids flare up?

Wait, no... even if he took a hard bump in the vehicle earlier, it shouldn’t leave a lasting physical flaw like this, right?

And why is his face as black as if he just crawled out of a chimney?

Wait, isn’t Alex supposed to be guarding the truck? Why did he follow us up here too? Forget it, who cares.

While May was scoffing internally, Ray hauled himself out of the elevator shaft, planting one hand on the floor to push himself up.

The edge of the shaft opening was terribly neglected, coated in a thick, slick layer of grease.

With a massive six-foot-three frame, Ray stepped right onto that patch of oil. With a sharp skirr, his footing slipped out from under him, causing his center of gravity to collapse instantly. His towering body tumbled straight down rear-first.

And directly beneath him happened to be Mitch, who had just climbed up and hadn’t had the chance to clear out of the way.

THUD—!

A heavy muffled impact echoed through the corridor.

Air felt as though it had been sucked entirely out of the space, freezing everyone’s movements in place.

Ray sat down hard, landing squarely on top of Mitch’s... thighs.

Already stiff, Mitch went completely rigid from the impact, pinned motionless like he had been struck on a pressure point.

The resulting posture was so bizarre it immediately invited wildly uncomfortable thoughts.

Ray had his back to Mitch, while Mitch was forced to tilt his head back, leaving the two of them locked together in an absurdly intimate position.

Ray didn’t realize anything was amiss at first. He only felt his rear pressed against something... ridiculously hard.

In a split second, Ray’s mind flashed back to that night days ago—to Jack’s bulging sleeping bag and that line about "what kind of weapon you’re hiding in your pants."

A man’s threat response and territorial aggression surged to maximum capacity instantly.

Another damn surprise attack!

Wait, no, I won’t fall for that again—this isn’t a weapon!

Damn it... ever since he got tangled up with the girl in the truck earlier, he still hasn’t cooled down?!

Wait, it could still be a weapon. It’s not impossible that this kid is trying to take me out because he’s jealous that I get her all to myself.

Whatever, I’m beating his ass first!

"Mitch!"

Ray roared, his hand reaching back like an iron vice to grab Mitch by the throat, hoisting him off the floor and slamming him against the concrete wall.

"You motherfucker!"

His other hand reached straight toward the waistband of Mitch’s tactical pants, his voice overflowing with a storm of furious rage.

"Strip it off right now! Let me see what new kind of tactical weapon you’ve got hidden in here this time! Trying to stab me in the back?!"

Flabbergasted by this seamless flurry of insane moves, Mitch’s entire face flushed from his neck up, turning a deep liver-purple at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Ra... Ray! Are you fucking insane?! I didn’t!" His voice trembled violently, choked with humiliation and fury.

"You didn’t?!"

Ray let out a furious, bitter laugh, tightening his grip as he growled through gritted teeth. "Then tell me, what the hell was that... pressing into me just now?!"

"I..." Mitch’s lips quivered, utterly incapable of squeezing out a single coherent word.

"Well, well," Alex leaned casually against the wall, grinning like a sly fox that had just snagged a prize. "I know this show by heart. Last time it was Jack, and now it’s Mitch’s turn? Is everyone in our squad packing a lethal weapon?"

Jack scratched his head, stepping forward with an honest, bewildered expression: "Ray, I wasn’t doing anything back then! But Mitch? I don’t think he’s that kind of guy either! Definitely not!"

Hiding behind Theo, May buried her face in her military overcoat, her shoulders shaking violently as she nearly gave herself internal injuries trying to muffle her laughter.

Just then, Ray’s hand reaching for Mitch’s waistband froze mid-motion.

He felt it clearly.

His hand recoiled abruptly as if burned. In a fraction of a second, his expression turned darker than the bottom of a wok, his eyes filled with shock, absurdity, and the explosive fury of a straight man being violated.

That was... a man’s actual physical reaction!

Ray’s brain short-circuited for three full seconds. He whipped his head around to glare at Mitch with a look that suggested he wanted to skin him alive.

"Mitch!"

"You motherfucking..."

"Pfft—!"

Alex was the absolute first to lose control, bursting into a loud laugh.

Jack’s eyes widened like copper bells as he looked back and forth between Ray and Mitch’s blood-red face, letting out a belated, utterly dazed "Huh?", his entire expression screaming ’I don’t get what’s going on, but I am deeply shocked.’

"Analyzing from a biological perspective," Theo pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose, his eyes darting between the two men, "under extreme environmental pressure and high-intensity physical conflict, hormone levels fluctuate violently. It is not entirely impossible for physiological stress reactions to occur between individuals of the same sex due to the close-range exchange of pheromones."

He paused, a wicked smirk touching the corner of his lips as he looked toward Ray.

"Ray, this merely proves that Mitch’s physical functions are remarkably healthy... perhaps even overly energetic."

"Theo, with a mouth like yours, it’s a real tragic loss that you didn’t become a stand-up comedian," Ace leaned against the wall, his almond eyes curved, his voice dripping with gentle charm. "Though, Mitch’s preferences are truly... unique. It seems Ray’s charm has officially transcended gender boundaries."

"FUCK ALL OF YOU!"

Mitch finally snapped out of his frozen state. Like a cat whose tail had been stomped on, every hair on his body bristled up.

He shoved Ray off violently, his handsome face burning hot enough to ignite, as he pointed at his instigating teammates and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP! I’M STRAIGHT! STRAIGHT AS A STEEL BEAM!"

Having bellowed that out, he pointed a trembling finger at Ray, shaking with pure rage.

"And you! Get the fuck away from me! Who the hell would ever have feelings for you?! I get annoyed just looking at your face!"

"Then what was that just now?" Ray pointed with a dark, threatening glare, shooting back a cold question.

"I... I fucking..." Mitch was completely stumped. He couldn’t exactly admit that he hadn’t recovered ever since May’s face rubbed against his lap back in the vehicle, could he?!

Admitting that would be a hundred times more embarrassing than admitting he had feelings for Ray!

"Because I felt like it! None of your damn business!" Mitch yelled in total surrender, sticking his neck out like a combative rooster.

Watching this masterpiece of a scene unfold right before her eyes, May couldn’t hold it in any longer and erupted into wild internal laughter.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The end of a straight guy’s journey is stubborn denial!

Ray looks like he wants to eat someone alive! And Theo and Ace are absolute masters at fanning the flames, brilliance at its finest!

In the middle of this tense, volatile, and deeply awkward standoff—

"Giggle... giggle... giggle..."

A bizarre sound—resembling a young child playing with steel marbles—echoed abruptly from deep down the hallway.

The sound was crisp, chilling, and distinctly clear in the dead silence of the corridor.

The chaotic, absurd atmosphere froze instantly.

Everyone halted their movements in unison, snapping their heads toward the source of the noise.

At the far end of the hallway lay pitch-black darkness, gaping open like a massive maw ready to devour anyone who stepped near.

That chilling "giggle" continued unabated, and...

It seemed to be creeping closer toward them, inch by inch.