The elevator door opened slowly.
The two metal doors which were somewhat dented and deformed struggled to part, letting out unpleasant squeaks as they chafed against the ground.
Both the spaces on either side of the doors were dark and dead silent, with the only source of light being the digits on the screen shimmering with a blood-red gleam.
There was also a faint smell of blood coming from the deep shadows outside the elevator, and this faint smell of rust seemed to invade their noses down to their lungs, leaving a salty and fishy scent lingering on the back of their tongues.
In the dead silence, Mo Yi could almost hear the resonance of his own even heartbeat and slow breathing.
They exchanged a pointed look, then turned their bodies sideways and carefully squeezed out between the elevator doors one after the other.
The familiar corridor in their memory reappeared in front of their eyes.
There was a weak light in the depths, but it was far from being able to dispel the shadows in the long corridor, and only the high iron fence in front of them glinted, reflecting that cold light.
Neither of them noticed any visible changes, as if opening the side storyline had not affected this floor.
However, Mo Yi and Jiang Yuanrou couldn’t take it lightly—after all, the thrilling scene they experienced in front of this railing was still fresh in their memory.
They suppressed their breathing and walked towards the gate as quietly as they could.
Mo Yi took out the small silver key from his pocket, and then walked to the iron door. Jiang Yuanrou turned on the flashlight knowingly to shine it on the keyhole, and cupped the other end of the keyhole to prevent the light from leaking further into the corridor.
Following a small metallic clink, there was a light click from the gate and it slowly and silently slid open.
Mo Yi exhaled slowly. Pressing on the hinge with one hand to prevent it from making a sound, he then carefully pushed the door open.
They made their way out quietly.
The corridor in front of him split into two forks. Mo Yi lowered his eyes and made a calculation in his heart, then made a gesture to Jiang Yuanrou: go straight.
Although there are many rooms where they could hide in on the right, according to the behaviour of the boss on this floor, he suspected that they would not be able to deceive her with the same trick again.
Their only issue was that the woman left in this direction before. However, this was also a shortcut they could take to get to the elevator faster.
Jiang Yuanrou nodded. She turned off the flashlight and walked forward together with Mo Yi.
They walked through the unlit corridor until they came to a fork.
Mo Yi subconsciously looked up at the wall illuminated by the pale light. There were two crooked words written on it in half-frozen bright blood: Area B. Blood flowed down from the characters, leaving snaking trails down the cold and dirty wall.
He took two steps forward quietly, then turned his body sideways and peered around the bend.
A familiar sound entered his eardrums.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Drip, drip.
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Ktfgf kjr rbwfatlcu vloofgfca atlr alwf. Ktf rbecv bo kjafg vgbqifar kjr mbwlcu ogbw atf vlgfmalbc bo atf fifnjabg.
Furthermore, when he came this way previously, almost all the lights in this main corridor had been turned off and only faint and continuous dripping sounds could be heard from the deep darkness, with each drip hitting the depths of the listener’s anxious heart.
However, they had no other option except to walk in the direction where the sound of dripping water was coming from—after all the elevator was in that particular direction.
He turned his head and said in a low voice to Jiang Yuanrou, “You walk behind me.”
The boss on this floor targeted female players. Moreover, her prop was still on cooldown, so getting caught now might as well be a game over for her.
Jiang Yuanrou nodded cautiously.
Mo Yi took a deep breath slowly. A thin layer of cold sweat slowly formed on his back. He flipped the flashlight in his hand on—
Although this might reveal his position, it was a necessary risk. He couldn’t afford to walk into a completely pitch-black space where he didn’t know what dangers were lurking, which would be akin to sending himself to his death.
The two made their way slowly towards the depths of the corridor one after the other.
As their steps approached, the sound of water droplets in their ears gradually changed from distant and blurred to one which was loud and clear. The smell of blood in the air gradually became more intense too, penetrating and occupying every sense of people’s senses.
Drip, drip.
At this moment, Mo Yi suddenly slowed down his pace. He frowned.
There was a sticky and slippery sensation under his feet. The dripping sounds were echoing in the darkness, seemingly amplified countless times in this dark and cramped corridor, clearly transmitting into his eardrums.
Mo Yi angled his wrist and lowered the light to his feet.
The round light spot was reflected by the floor, which appeared as smooth as a mirror. It took Mo Yi a few seconds to realise that the entire ground in the corridor ahead was covered by a dark red blood pool which was as flat and still as a lake.
The smell of blood in the air seemed as though it had condensed into a solid body, making one’s stomach churn with nausea.
Suddenly a small ripple appeared on the mirror-like surface of the blood pool illuminated by the flashlight. These gentle arc-shaped ripples slowly expanded from a distance away from them, scattering the spot of light.
Drip, drip.
The sound seemed to be coming from somewhere right in front of them.
Mo Yi’s heart was beating violently in his chest. His cold fingers subconsciously clenched around the flashlight, his fingertips turning white from the sheer force.
He slowly tilted his wrist up, shining in the direction where the ripples were spreading from.
The light pierced through the dense darkness, illuminating a spot just a small distance away—
Mo Yi’s eyes widened slightly and he subconsciously gasped.
There was a dead body nailed high on the wall a few steps away from him. The corpse was firmly pinned against the wall like the taxidermy of a butterfly. A pale and deformed face was facing Mo Yi, the eyes were a mere bright red slit, while the twisted lips remained stretched from ear to ear in a huge and weird smile.
The long silk skirt on the corpse was hanging down heavily, and the blood which had soaked through it was dripping from the hem—
Drip, drip.
Round ripples appeared on the mirror-like surface of the dark pool on the ground as the blood dripped down.
The boss who had chased them on the second floor before… was actually nailed to the wall, just like her victims.
Jiang Yuanrou’s gaze followed the flashlight and she let out a sharp inhale upon seeing the scene.
Shock left her incoherent and unable to control the volume of her voice.
“This, this is…?”
Mo Yi took a step forward tentatively. He studied the corpse hanging on the wall for a while—it looked lifeless and motionless, dead.
His brows were tightly creased. He did not feel any amount of comfort. Instead, this death was like a heavy boulder was pressing down on his heart, which was so heavy that it was stifling.
The danger of this floor had abruptly changed from a known level to one which was vague.
And… of course, the killer of this female boss could only be more dangerous than her.
Mo Yi subconsciously thought of Edwin who had been released from -1F, and his expression turned solemn. He pressed his lips into a tight grimace.
Jiang Yuanrou, who had recovered from the shock just now, stared at the corpse nailed to the wall. With her complexion still remaining a little blue, she lowered her voice.
“We have to leave this floor as soon as possible.”
The two of them came to the same conclusion by coincidence—it was not suitable for them to remain too long on this floor.
Mo Yi nodded in affirmation. He turned the direction of the flashlight in front of him again, then quickened his pace and walked towards the elevator at the end of the corridor together with Jiang Yuanrou.
The blood pool under their feet made a sticky sound with their steps, echoing between the empty and silent walls.
As they approached the elevator, Jiang Yuanrou stepped forward like last time and forcefully parted the metal doors.
They could only see half of the elevator. It was stuck in the middle when Mo Yi used it previously, and was still jammed in the same position.
Mo Yi stepped forward, bent down and peered into the elevator. The bright beam of the flashlight illuminated the narrow space inside the elevator.
The interior of the elevator looked terrible. The metal flooring and one of its walls appeared to have been punctured by some hard object, and the affected regions were caved inwards, the edges reflecting the light with a sharp lustre while the holes revealed the deep darkness of the elevator shaft.
Everything about the elevator seemed dangerous and scary.
But it was the only way they could take.
Jiang Yuanrou sucked in a deep breath. Pushing on the ground with her palms, she leapt into the elevator in a flash.
The elevator made a hoarse sound with her movements, and the strained steel support ropes were pulled taut. The portion of the elevator which was at the same level as his body, shook violently, and then slowly stilled.
Mo Yi felt half-relieved.
He took off his backpack and tossed it to Jiang Yuanrou who was standing in the middle of the elevator, then imitated what she did just now. He supported the ground with his palms, and jumped into the elevator slowly and cautiously. Although he ensured that his movement was as gentle as possible, the elevator still made a jarring groan from the friction and sank.
There was the sound of the steel wires being pulled and also the screeching of metal rope being tightened coming from all around them in this narrow and enclosed space.
Jiang Yuanrou quickly took a few steps forward. She groped around the perimeter of the small screen, and skillfully found and opened the metal plate.
After she swiped the scarlet card in the card slot, the elevator vibrated suddenly.
The metal doors of the elevator closed.
The same bright red -2 as what Mo Yi saw previously, as well as a small inverted triangle, appeared on the dark screen.
The elevator began to move slowly and silently, then quickly accelerated and descended.
Mo Yi still did not dare to allow himself to relax even in the slightest. He turned around and directed the flashlight at the huge holes in the elevator.
The hard steel walls were obviously unable to hold off the attack of the unknown creature. The metals had caved inward, looking like tofu that had been crushed.
And through the irregular openings, one could see the fast-moving and changing darkness outside.
The sharp edges of the holes glinted unnaturally under the light of the flashlight as they shifted between reflecting light and being shrouded in dark shadows as the flashlight swayed along with the slight shaking of the elevator.
Frowning, Mo Yi took a step forward and crouched down, then tentatively reached out and swiped his hand lightly across an edge of the broken iron sheet.
He rubbed his fingertips together. There was a weird slippery sensation on his fingers.
Mo Yi opened his palm and looked at his fingertips under the light, only to see that they were covered in a layer of fine silver-white powder.
It seemed to be… scale powder?
T/N: Scale powder is basically butterfly scales, which are so small that they have a powder-like texture. I never knew butterflies had scales because I am terrified of any and every insect in existence and the sheer number of insect images I have unwittingly stumbled upon during my research for this arc has scarred me for life…………
Thanks for the update
Insects are too different with humans that’s why it so scary
Thank you for your translation 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
….dear translator… you’ve worked hard 🫡