Watching the sharp, elongated teeth draw near his head, Charles, in a fit of desperation, swung the large package in his hands, using the recoil to fling himself away from danger. But as he pulled back, his clothes, snagged on the sharp teeth, tore with a ripping sound. Countless relics scattered across the ground, clinking and clattering.
Among them, an ancient oil lamp trembled slightly before suddenly emitting a dazzling light, illuminating the entire corridor as if it were day. The flying leeches, as if stimulated by the light, began to quiver as though they had been electrocuted.
How could Charles let such a perfect opportunity to escape pass by? Without a second thought, he clutched the small bundle of remaining items and fled for his life. Charles ran at the limit of human speed for nearly five minutes. Seeing that nothing was pursuing him, he finally stopped, breathless. When he saw the few relics left in his arms, he felt a pang of distress; only four items remained in his tattered clothes.
"Damn it! You snot worms, just you wait! I'll remember this! Once I make it big, I swear I'll come back and boil all of you in one pot!"
After venting his frustration, Charles pushed himself to his feet and surveyed the dim surroundings. If the previous area resembled a hospital, this place was an outright military base. The walls were no longer covered in glossy white tiles but were instead made of thick steel plates. He had never been here before; it seemed his frantic escape had led him to an entirely different part of the facility.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" Charles's voice echoed through the empty space.
He moved along the wall, heading deeper inside, and soon came upon a round iron door nearly five meters high. The door, almost half a meter thick, was not intact—a crack nearly split it in two. Charles carefully peeked inside and saw a vast, open area.
Suddenly, a faint cough echoed from within, causing him to freeze. What was that? Could there still be someone alive in here? After a quick glance back, he stepped lightly over the cracked threshold and entered.
The moment he was inside, Charles was stunned by the sight before him. It was a long tunnel, like an air-raid shelter, with an iron door every hundred meters. The nearest door had been torn from its hinges and was now forcefully embedded in the ceiling.
"Cough… cough, cough!" The coughing sound came again from the distance, sounding like it belonged to an old man.
Charles slowed his pace, cautiously making his way toward the sound. Soon, he found its source. A grotesque gate of flesh stood in the center of the number four doorway, constructed from splattered internal organs, congealed blood, lifeless eyeballs, shriveled limbs, and a mutilated brain. Within its frame swirled a mass of purple liquid. Embedded near the bottom of the gate's left side was the upper half of a Blood Corpse's torso. The cough had come from it.
The mangled figure opened its eyes and looked at Charles standing in the entrance.
"Ah, 096. Have you finally found another host? Come over, come over. I haven't seen you since they sent me to this damned place. Let's have a good chat."
He knows me? No, that's not right—he knows the mask on my face.
Charles's gaze swept across a record book on the wall. Project Number: 1068.
"Haha, I was wondering who it was! Turns out it's good old 1068. Long time no see, my friend. That's right, that's right, I am indeed 096," Charles said familiarly as he walked toward the flesh gate.
The Blood Corpse on the gate stared at Charles for a few seconds, then gently shook its head. "No, you're not 096. You haven't become it."
Seeing that he couldn't fool the creature, Charles dropped the act. "Hey, do you know where the exit is?"
"Are you seriously asking an immobile old man for directions? Have humans really gotten that stupid over the years?"
Over the years? Has this thing been around for that long? Could it know something about the Earth's surface?
Charles pondered for a moment before asking it for information about the surface.
"Ah, the sun. Of course I know about it. It's that thing that hangs up in the sky. I haven't basked in the sun for a long, long time. Can you move me outside so I can get some sunlight?"
Hearing this exciting news, Charles leaped over like a monkey, grabbed the Blood Corpse's head tightly, and shouted, "When did you see it? How long ago?"
"Damn it! Stop pulling my head! I can still feel that, you know!"
*CLANG!* Charles drew the Black Blade from his calf sheath and pressed it directly against the creature's face, threatening sternly, "Cut the crap! Talk, now!"
A trace of anger appeared on 1068's mangled face. "The door on my body. Go through the door on my body, and you'll see the sun."
The door? Charles thought of something, walked back to the entrance, and examined the record book hanging on the wall.
A few seconds later, furious, he rushed back and swung the blade at the creature's neck. "You dare lie to me! It's clearly written right here that your door leads to another world! No living thing that goes in ever comes out!"
As 1068 screamed, the entire flesh gate seemed to feel the pain, twitching continuously.
"You piece of garbage only fit for wiping someone's ass! I curse you!" 1068 shed its pretense and started spewing curses at Charles.
"Start talking! One more useless word and I'll chop your head off!"
Seeing the blade so close, 1068 finally relented.
Its expression grew listless as it said, "I've forgotten how long ago it was, exactly. The last time I saw the sun, I remember they were putting me on a ship. I was on that ship for a long, long time."
"Hahaha!" Overjoyed, Charles did several somersaults in the air, letting out a maniacal laugh.
"I knew it! Someone came down from the Earth's surface! I knew it! If they could come down, I can definitely get up there!"
But Charles's excitement was short-lived. A familiar red light began to glow from outside the doorway.
"Damn it! The snot worms are back!" Charles looked around frantically for a place to hide, but he quickly realized there was no cover in the entire room besides the flesh gate itself.
His mind raced. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He dashed to the corner of the room and, like a gecko, scurried up into the upper-left corner. With his limbs pressed tightly against the two walls, Charles used his powerful body control to wedge himself into place.
Just as he steadied himself, three flying leeches, gleaming with red light, floated into the room. The leeches paid Charles no mind and drifted straight to 1068. They began to vomit in front of the dark portal, and a stream of partially rotted mice poured endlessly into it.
They're… feeding 1068? Why?
While Charles was puzzling over this, 1068 began to speak. "Dr. Tina, you're as beautiful as ever."
Who is it talking to? Another question formed in his mind.
Just then, he saw 1068 look up at him. A smug smile spread across its mangled face, and Charles's heart sank.
"Dr. Tina! 096 has escaped! It's hanging in the upper-left corner of the room! Contain it, quickly!"