The underground corpse vault of Sunken Society had many layers, forming an inverted pyramid.
The upper levels were well equipped with various surveillance devices, and rows of metal doors were embedded in the light gray walls, with cameras flashing in the dark corners. Various rail gates cut the corridors into sections, and the scene was full of a sense of technology.
However, Minister Zou had no time to appreciate it.
He used his face to open the doors one by one and turned around in the cross-shaped corridor. The surrounding scenes were almost identical, seemingly endless, and dizzying.
There was a room behind each door, and each room was filled with mutated corpses. Since joining forces with Mr. Qiu’s group, they had not hesitated to use the power of the Evil Force to conduct experiments.
Thinking of the keyword “Mr. Qiu”, Minister Zou’s brain felt like it was being pricked by needles.
Not long ago, Wei Huaqian specifically contacted him.
Mr. Qiu brought them a lot of trouble, but the results were quite significant. The Shian League was forcibly interrupted, Fu Xingchuan was kicked out, and the famous partners of Haigu dissolved. The Haigu branch of Shian was in chaos, which was convenient for their actions.
Wei Huaqian emphasized once again at this critical point; things must not go wrong on the Sunken Society headquarters side.
Which made things difficult.
Minister Zou almost lost his way while lost in thought. He broke out in a cold sweat and pressed his temple hard.
Finding people was important. He shouldn’t indulge in wild thoughts. This was the safest branch of Sunken Society, in a very special location that was impossible to be attacked by outsiders.
Unless Shian’s “Charon” returned to normal.
Thinking of this, Minister Zou adjusted his breathing for a while, and the sweat on his forehead decreased slightly.
It must have been Zhang Wei who had drunk too much last night and was confused, taking the wrong regulated route. He just needed to look around along the way. As long as the confirmation of Zhong Chengshuo’s body was normal, it didn’t matter if that guy was dead.
He opened one of the ordinary metal doors and stepped into the hidden elevator. After what seemed like a century, the elevator door slowly opened, and an almost identical scene appeared in front of Minister Zou again.
There were no electronic devices in the deeper layer, and the next path had to be walked on foot.
Minister Zou sighed deeply and stepped into the dark corridor. Without all kinds of machinery, it was silent here, with only the cold light in his surroundings.
In the silent darkness underground, even the sound of blood flowing through the head was particularly clear. The cross-shaped corridor was still an endless pattern, and all directions led to darkness.
If there really was hell on earth, it was probably this.
“Turn left out of the elevator, go straight at the first intersection, turn right at the second intersection, turn left at the third intersection… After ten intersections, the fourth door, go down the stairs…”
Minister Zou dared not take a deep breath and kept muttering as he proceeded to the deepest part of the underground corpse vault. The silence around him was unbearable, and his heartbeat was getting faster.
One floor, another floor, and another. He walked quickly through empty corridors, looking for the stairs hidden behind a door. After about an hour, Zhang Wei was still nowhere to be seen.
Finally, Minister Zou arrived at the deepest part of the building.
The corridor was low and oppressive, like a tomb passage. The good news was that it was incredibly quiet nearby, and there were no signs of any kind of magic being used—it was clear that no one had used any spells here recently.
Minister Zou breathed a sigh of relief, swallowed his saliva, and headed toward the morgue where Zhong Chengshuo’s corpse was located.
Clack, clack, clack.
Faint sounds suddenly pounded into his ears. From some distant corner, he heard a series of footsteps striking the floor with leather shoes.
That guy Zhang Wei couldn’t keep his clothes clean, but he loved to put on airs, wearing leather shoes every time he went down to the morgue. Moreover, a naked body or a fierce ghost couldn’t make such a sound.
As expected, he must have gotten lost. Minister Zou couldn’t help but stop in his tracks, feeling pleased.
“Zhang Wei?” He called out in a not-too-loud, not-too-soft voice.
The owner of the footsteps seemed to ignore him and walk farther away.
Clack, clack, clack.
“Hey kid, you’re looking for death?” Minister Zou’s teeth itched. “Zhang—”
In the middle of calling out his name, he suddenly shut his mouth, his scalp tingling.
Something wasn’t right.
It was a big mistake to wander around in the depths of the morgue. Even if Zhang Wei’s brain was addled from alcohol, he wouldn’t do something as suicidal as this. And…and that series of footsteps was too regular, not something Zhang Wei could make by accident.
Clack, clack, clack.
The footsteps lingered nearby—sometimes close, sometimes far away—and the rhythm was as precise as a clock’s hands.
Is that really Zhang Wei?
…What exactly is it?
Minister Zou’s back shuddered, and the sweat on his forehead reappeared. Communication was impossible in the depths of the morgue. Maybe… maybe he should retrace his steps and report the situation.
He didn’t want to know what was making the sound, nor did he dare confirm the condition of Zhong Chengshuo’s corpse. Those footsteps seemed to step on his brain nerves with every step, and Minister Zou didn’t want to stay here for even half a second longer.
Although he wasn’t a cultivator, he knew the danger of “curiosity” in the metaphysical world. Minister Zou trembled slightly and turned around stealthily, lifting his feet—
The nearby footsteps suddenly stopped, and everything around him became silent as a vacuum.
Minister Zou’s breath almost stopped. He froze in place, not daring to breathe, wishing he could stop his heartbeat too.
Clack, clack, clack!
Without warning, the footsteps rushed toward him rapidly. They maintained their terrifying rhythm, as fast as a midnight omen.
Minister Zou swallowed a frightened scream and scrambled toward the exit. The identical corridors were like a maze, and the high tension and panic almost made him vomit on the spot.
The overhead lights in the corridor flickered on and off, forming a blurred shadow in his blurry vision.
Clack, clack, clack! The footsteps were getting faster and closer. Minister Zou was about to cry. He rushed forward without hesitation, feeling like his organs were filled with ice.
Must run away. Must…
Wait, what intersection was he at now?
Minister Zou was gasping for air loudly, his brain in chaos. Seeing another corner ahead, he had to slow down.
If those strange footsteps caught up to him, he might die, but if he got lost in the depths of the underground corpse vault, he would definitely die. Minister Zou wiped off his sweat fiercely, gathered his courage, and slowly turned around.
Behind him was the corner he had just passed, and something white protruded at the corner where the walls met.
Minister Zou wiped the sweat off his face fiercely, squinted his eyes—
That wasn’t a “protrusion” at all.
Someone was hiding at the intersection of the corridor behind him, revealing only half of a pale face, with one eye fixedly looking at him. The familiar eyebrows and eyes were unmistakably those of the missing Zhang Wei.
But if that were Zhang Wei, he would have shouted for help long ago.
Minister Zou’s legs became weak, and he almost collapsed on the ground.
“Who… What are you?”
The face didn’t answer, not even blinking. The slightly scattered pupils slowly moved down and looked at Minister Zou from top to bottom. It’s just that this movement was a bit too forceful, the man’s head didn’t move, but his eyes rolled down, and a lot of whites were exposed from his pupils.
The next moment, it slowly retreated behind the wall.
Minister Zou stood still like a quail for a long time. But after five or six minutes, there was no sound from the corner of the corridor.
Ten minutes passed. With a strong spirit fearless of death, Minister Zou, with wet pants, moved toward the corner where he came from–
In the corridor corner, there was only a pair of discarded leather shoes.
That thing was now walking barefoot.
…That thing might appear anywhere now.
Minister Zou felt a buzzing in his ears, and he trembled with fear, muttering to himself as he stumbled back the way he came.
A few hundred meters away, Zhong Chengshuo listened carefully, hiding on top of the corridor, almost encouraging Minister Zou to move. He didn’t want this guide to run away on his own.
After a simple exploration, Zhong Chengshuo was very sure that he couldn’t leave this place entirely on his own.
After obtaining a head and walking out of the morgue, he chose a direction and carefully explored along the way.
At first, he took a conservative route and would always circle back to the familiar front of the morgue.
Then Zhong Chengshuo changed his strategy. He started to remember one path at a time through elimination. This strange “ghost hitting the wall*” process wasn’t long. Theoretically, he could find the correct path.
*Idiom referring to losing one’s way in a maze-like place and ending up back where one started (aka going in circles).
However, things didn’t go as planned.
Three or four hours later, Zhong Chengshuo stopped at the “end of the corridor.”
The corridor was cut like a knife, with its end facing a bottomless darkness without any railings or sealed windows at the edge. Zhong Chengshuo stood at the end of this dead end, turning his neck with difficulty.
He saw “infinity”.
On all sides of the square and steep cliff, countless corridor openings crowded together like an orderly honeycomb. Everything seemed endless, no matter if he looked up or down. Even worse, the layout of each corridor opening was completely identical, and even the cracks in the details were the same. The whole space seemed like it had been copied and pasted by a mad modeler thousands of times.
This wasn’t sorcery or the miracle of architecture.
…It was a more exaggerated and cruel spatial distortion than the Corpse Cage.
Sunken Society had established its base in a twisted space. No wonder they were able to survive for so long under Shian’s nose. If he tried to continue it in such a rigid way, he wouldn’t be able to figure it out even after he retired.
“Come on, hold on.”
Zhong Chengshuo watched Minister Zou’s trembling figure and encouraged him expressionlessly in the shadows.
“I have to leave here.”
……
“What did you say?” On the other end of the phone, Fu Xingchuan’s tone rose half an octave.
“I said I want a Corpse Cage.” Yin Ren leaned against the balcony, looking at the sparse stars in the morning. “I don’t have much that can be associated with ‘the Other Side’, but that is one of them.”
Fu Xingchuan: “No, that thing—”
“I won’t take it for nothing. When this is all over, my hair, flesh, eyes… Whatever you want, I can take it off for you to study.” Yin Ren fiddled with a small thread protruding from his linen shirt. “Don’t worry, I can still grow more.”
On the other end of the phone, Fu Xingchuan lay back on his pillow. He rubbed his face fiercely. “That’s not the problem. If you mention Zhong Yi’s name, the ancestor will send you a dozen Corpse Cages, but to stably control them, there must be a Fu family descendent present.”
“I really want to help, but now everyone’s energy is focused on pursuing the sniper, so I can’t help watch over the Corpse Cage.”
After all, when Fu Wuyi perfected the Corpse Cage technique, it was to shelter the Fu family bloodline. In an era when evil creatures frequently appeared, Fu Wuyi indeed left himself a way out.
Yin Ren remained silent.
“Speaking of which, why are you suddenly interested in the Corpse Cage?” Fu Xingchuan sat up and stretched his neck.
“Zhong Chengshuo had investigated the places that were most affected by the Divine Descent,” Yin Ren said. “I had someone pull up Auntie Tao’s information and look it over.”
Fu Xingchuan recalled it for two seconds.
Tao Lan was a former head nurse of Haigu Municipal Hospital.
Many years ago, a huge gap appeared in Haigu Municipal Hospital, and Tao Lan lost her only daughter due to the gap. She frantically investigated it herself and was subsequently recruited by Shian. After helping to solve the gap problem in the Municipal Hospital, she received the support of the Fu family and was transferred to the Yandu branch with Fu Tianyi.
A simple and sad life.
According to Lu Xiaohe, there were only two types of Shian’s science posts—either they were extremely eager for money and power, or they wanted to know the truth about the people around them who had died. Tao Lan was the latter.
“Hiss… According to what you said, the sniper is quite interested in the Other Side.” Fu Xingchuan quickly caught on.
“Yes, but I have to make it clear that this is just my personal speculation.”
As soon as he mentioned the sniper, Yin Ren’s voice became slightly chilly.
“I’m a little interested in the method of opening up space in the corpse cage… If I take the initiative to throw out bait, I might be able to catch something.”
“Isn’t the sniper just the right target for the bait?”
The author has something to say:
The science post has become the villain of a horror movie! Is this the distortion of human nature or the decline of morality!
————
By the way, I’d like to remind all cat owners.
If you’ve been using an open or semi-open litter box before, don’t suddenly switch to a litter box with a divider door.
You should let your cat adjust first by removing the divider door.
…Otherwise, you might end up like me, throwing away sheets, mattresses, and blankets that were hiding cat poop. Wuwuwu.
The underground corpse vault of Sunken Society had many layers, forming an inverted pyramid.
The upper levels were well equipped with various surveillance devices, and rows of metal doors were embedded in the light gray walls, with cameras flashing in the dark corners. Various rail gates cut the corridors into sections, and the scene was full of a sense of technology.
However, Minister Zou had no time to appreciate it.
He used his face to open the doors one by one and turned around in the cross-shaped corridor. The surrounding scenes were almost identical, seemingly endless, and dizzying.
There was a room behind each door, and each room was filled with mutated corpses. Since joining forces with Mr. Qiu’s group, they had not hesitated to use the power of the Evil Force to conduct experiments.
Thinking of the keyword “Mr. Qiu”, Minister Zou’s brain felt like it was being pricked by needles.
Not long ago, Wei Huaqian specifically contacted him.
Mr. Qiu brought them a lot of trouble, but the results were quite significant. The Shian League was forcibly interrupted, Fu Xingchuan was kicked out, and the famous partners of Haigu dissolved. The Haigu branch of Shian was in chaos, which was convenient for their actions.
Wei Huaqian emphasized once again at this critical point; things must not go wrong on the Sunken Society headquarters side.
Which made things difficult.
Minister Zou almost lost his way while lost in thought. He broke out in a cold sweat and pressed his temple hard.
Finding people was important. He shouldn’t indulge in wild thoughts. This was the safest branch of Sunken Society, in a very special location that was impossible to be attacked by outsiders.
Unless Shian’s “Charon” returned to normal.
Thinking of this, Minister Zou adjusted his breathing for a while, and the sweat on his forehead decreased slightly.
It must have been Zhang Wei who had drunk too much last night and was confused, taking the wrong regulated route. He just needed to look around along the way. As long as the confirmation of Zhong Chengshuo’s body was normal, it didn’t matter if that guy was dead.
He opened one of the ordinary metal doors and stepped into the hidden elevator. After what seemed like a century, the elevator door slowly opened, and an almost identical scene appeared in front of Minister Zou again.
There were no electronic devices in the deeper layer, and the next path had to be walked on foot.
Minister Zou sighed deeply and stepped into the dark corridor. Without all kinds of machinery, it was silent here, with only the cold light in his surroundings.
In the silent darkness underground, even the sound of blood flowing through the head was particularly clear. The cross-shaped corridor was still an endless pattern, and all directions led to darkness.
If there really was hell on earth, it was probably this.
“Turn left out of the elevator, go straight at the first intersection, turn right at the second intersection, turn left at the third intersection… After ten intersections, the fourth door, go down the stairs…”
Minister Zou dared not take a deep breath and kept muttering as he proceeded to the deepest part of the underground corpse vault. The silence around him was unbearable, and his heartbeat was getting faster.
One floor, another floor, and another. He walked quickly through empty corridors, looking for the stairs hidden behind a door. After about an hour, Zhang Wei was still nowhere to be seen.
Finally, Minister Zou arrived at the deepest part of the building.
The corridor was low and oppressive, like a tomb passage. The good news was that it was incredibly quiet nearby, and there were no signs of any kind of magic being used—it was clear that no one had used any spells here recently.
Minister Zou breathed a sigh of relief, swallowed his saliva, and headed toward the morgue where Zhong Chengshuo’s corpse was located.
Clack, clack, clack.
Faint sounds suddenly pounded into his ears. From some distant corner, he heard a series of footsteps striking the floor with leather shoes.
That guy Zhang Wei couldn’t keep his clothes clean, but he loved to put on airs, wearing leather shoes every time he went down to the morgue. Moreover, a naked body or a fierce ghost couldn’t make such a sound.
As expected, he must have gotten lost. Minister Zou couldn’t help but stop in his tracks, feeling pleased.
“Zhang Wei?” He called out in a not-too-loud, not-too-soft voice.
The owner of the footsteps seemed to ignore him and walk farther away.
Clack, clack, clack.
“Hey kid, you’re looking for death?” Minister Zou’s teeth itched. “Zhang—”
In the middle of calling out his name, he suddenly shut his mouth, his scalp tingling.
Something wasn’t right.
It was a big mistake to wander around in the depths of the morgue. Even if Zhang Wei’s brain was addled from alcohol, he wouldn’t do something as suicidal as this. And…and that series of footsteps was too regular, not something Zhang Wei could make by accident.
Clack, clack, clack.
The footsteps lingered nearby—sometimes close, sometimes far away—and the rhythm was as precise as a clock’s hands.
Is that really Zhang Wei?
…What exactly is it?
Minister Zou’s back shuddered, and the sweat on his forehead reappeared. Communication was impossible in the depths of the morgue. Maybe… maybe he should retrace his steps and report the situation.
He didn’t want to know what was making the sound, nor did he dare confirm the condition of Zhong Chengshuo’s corpse. Those footsteps seemed to step on his brain nerves with every step, and Minister Zou didn’t want to stay here for even half a second longer.
Although he wasn’t a cultivator, he knew the danger of “curiosity” in the metaphysical world. Minister Zou trembled slightly and turned around stealthily, lifting his feet—
The nearby footsteps suddenly stopped, and everything around him became silent as a vacuum.
Minister Zou’s breath almost stopped. He froze in place, not daring to breathe, wishing he could stop his heartbeat too.
Clack, clack, clack!
Without warning, the footsteps rushed toward him rapidly. They maintained their terrifying rhythm, as fast as a midnight omen.
Minister Zou swallowed a frightened scream and scrambled toward the exit. The identical corridors were like a maze, and the high tension and panic almost made him vomit on the spot.
The overhead lights in the corridor flickered on and off, forming a blurred shadow in his blurry vision.
Clack, clack, clack! The footsteps were getting faster and closer. Minister Zou was about to cry. He rushed forward without hesitation, feeling like his organs were filled with ice.
Must run away. Must…
Wait, what intersection was he at now?
Minister Zou was gasping for air loudly, his brain in chaos. Seeing another corner ahead, he had to slow down.
If those strange footsteps caught up to him, he might die, but if he got lost in the depths of the underground corpse vault, he would definitely die. Minister Zou wiped off his sweat fiercely, gathered his courage, and slowly turned around.
Behind him was the corner he had just passed, and something white protruded at the corner where the walls met.
Minister Zou wiped the sweat off his face fiercely, squinted his eyes—
That wasn’t a “protrusion” at all.
Someone was hiding at the intersection of the corridor behind him, revealing only half of a pale face, with one eye fixedly looking at him. The familiar eyebrows and eyes were unmistakably those of the missing Zhang Wei.
But if that were Zhang Wei, he would have shouted for help long ago.
Minister Zou’s legs became weak, and he almost collapsed on the ground.
“Who… What are you?”
The face didn’t answer, not even blinking. The slightly scattered pupils slowly moved down and looked at Minister Zou from top to bottom. It’s just that this movement was a bit too forceful, the man’s head didn’t move, but his eyes rolled down, and a lot of whites were exposed from his pupils.
The next moment, it slowly retreated behind the wall.
Minister Zou stood still like a quail for a long time. But after five or six minutes, there was no sound from the corner of the corridor.
Ten minutes passed. With a strong spirit fearless of death, Minister Zou, with wet pants, moved toward the corner where he came from–
In the corridor corner, there was only a pair of discarded leather shoes.
That thing was now walking barefoot.
…That thing might appear anywhere now.
Minister Zou felt a buzzing in his ears, and he trembled with fear, muttering to himself as he stumbled back the way he came.
A few hundred meters away, Zhong Chengshuo listened carefully, hiding on top of the corridor, almost encouraging Minister Zou to move. He didn’t want this guide to run away on his own.
After a simple exploration, Zhong Chengshuo was very sure that he couldn’t leave this place entirely on his own.
After obtaining a head and walking out of the morgue, he chose a direction and carefully explored along the way.
At first, he took a conservative route and would always circle back to the familiar front of the morgue.
Then Zhong Chengshuo changed his strategy. He started to remember one path at a time through elimination. This strange “ghost hitting the wall*” process wasn’t long. Theoretically, he could find the correct path.
*Idiom referring to losing one’s way in a maze-like place and ending up back where one started (aka going in circles).
However, things didn’t go as planned.
Three or four hours later, Zhong Chengshuo stopped at the “end of the corridor.”
The corridor was cut like a knife, with its end facing a bottomless darkness without any railings or sealed windows at the edge. Zhong Chengshuo stood at the end of this dead end, turning his neck with difficulty.
He saw “infinity”.
On all sides of the square and steep cliff, countless corridor openings crowded together like an orderly honeycomb. Everything seemed endless, no matter if he looked up or down. Even worse, the layout of each corridor opening was completely identical, and even the cracks in the details were the same. The whole space seemed like it had been copied and pasted by a mad modeler thousands of times.
This wasn’t sorcery or the miracle of architecture.
…It was a more exaggerated and cruel spatial distortion than the Corpse Cage.
Sunken Society had established its base in a twisted space. No wonder they were able to survive for so long under Shian’s nose. If he tried to continue it in such a rigid way, he wouldn’t be able to figure it out even after he retired.
“Come on, hold on.”
Zhong Chengshuo watched Minister Zou’s trembling figure and encouraged him expressionlessly in the shadows.
“I have to leave here.”
……
“What did you say?” On the other end of the phone, Fu Xingchuan’s tone rose half an octave.
“I said I want a Corpse Cage.” Yin Ren leaned against the balcony, looking at the sparse stars in the morning. “I don’t have much that can be associated with ‘the Other Side’, but that is one of them.”
Fu Xingchuan: “No, that thing—”
“I won’t take it for nothing. When this is all over, my hair, flesh, eyes… Whatever you want, I can take it off for you to study.” Yin Ren fiddled with a small thread protruding from his linen shirt. “Don’t worry, I can still grow more.”
On the other end of the phone, Fu Xingchuan lay back on his pillow. He rubbed his face fiercely. “That’s not the problem. If you mention Zhong Yi’s name, the ancestor will send you a dozen Corpse Cages, but to stably control them, there must be a Fu family descendent present.”
“I really want to help, but now everyone’s energy is focused on pursuing the sniper, so I can’t help watch over the Corpse Cage.”
After all, when Fu Wuyi perfected the Corpse Cage technique, it was to shelter the Fu family bloodline. In an era when evil creatures frequently appeared, Fu Wuyi indeed left himself a way out.
Yin Ren remained silent.
“Speaking of which, why are you suddenly interested in the Corpse Cage?” Fu Xingchuan sat up and stretched his neck.
“Zhong Chengshuo had investigated the places that were most affected by the Divine Descent,” Yin Ren said. “I had someone pull up Auntie Tao’s information and look it over.”
Fu Xingchuan recalled it for two seconds.
Tao Lan was a former head nurse of Haigu Municipal Hospital.
Many years ago, a huge gap appeared in Haigu Municipal Hospital, and Tao Lan lost her only daughter due to the gap. She frantically investigated it herself and was subsequently recruited by Shian. After helping to solve the gap problem in the Municipal Hospital, she received the support of the Fu family and was transferred to the Yandu branch with Fu Tianyi.
A simple and sad life.
According to Lu Xiaohe, there were only two types of Shian’s science posts—either they were extremely eager for money and power, or they wanted to know the truth about the people around them who had died. Tao Lan was the latter.
“Hiss… According to what you said, the sniper is quite interested in the Other Side.” Fu Xingchuan quickly caught on.
“Yes, but I have to make it clear that this is just my personal speculation.”
As soon as he mentioned the sniper, Yin Ren’s voice became slightly chilly.
“I’m a little interested in the method of opening up space in the corpse cage… If I take the initiative to throw out bait, I might be able to catch something.”
“Isn’t the sniper just the right target for the bait?”
The author has something to say:
The science post has become the villain of a horror movie! Is this the distortion of human nature or the decline of morality!
————
By the way, I’d like to remind all cat owners.
If you’ve been using an open or semi-open litter box before, don’t suddenly switch to a litter box with a divider door.
You should let your cat adjust first by removing the divider door.
…Otherwise, you might end up like me, throwing away sheets, mattresses, and blankets that were hiding cat poop. Wuwuwu.
