Chapter 17 First Steps into the Apocalypse 2

The cave has reappeared!

I still haven't grasped the pattern of the cave's appearance and disappearance, so it's not surprising when it appears or disappears. I had already prepared for the worst and planned to spend a lot of time investigating how to make the cave reappear, but now it has appeared on its own. How could I not be pleasantly surprised?

If Chang'an and Ma Zao were here, they might see the cave as an extremely ominous sign. But in my eyes, it's just a good start.

I lifted the wooden lid, and once again, the dark and deep entrance was revealed before me.

Unlike last time, I'm observing this cave alone at night, and my state of mind is completely different. Chang'an had worried that something "evil" might crawl out from beneath the cave, and at the time, I couldn't empathize with that at all. To me, during the daytime, when I was with Chang'an, this space seemed filled with the atmosphere of worldly life; ghosts would never come here.

But now, I feel as if this space has transformed into a demonic realm incompatible with reality. The hustle and bustle of the distant city has completely faded from my consciousness; everything that happens here is a "ghost story" unique to me. There are no other eyewitnesses, and no matter how I try to tell the public, I cannot gain their trust. In other words, it has become a realm where all sorts of monsters and demons can wreak havoc.

This time, Chang'an was no longer there to stop me, nor was Detective Kong suddenly knocking on the door to bother me.

What would happen if I went downstairs to my room and drilled a hole in the ceiling pointing towards the cave? I imagined it with great interest. But it wouldn't be good if doing so prevented the cave from appearing, and there were residents in the downstairs room. I didn't want to ruin the mystery that only existed when we were alone, fearing that if I disturbed outsiders, the cave would be startled and hide again.

I unloaded the backpack onto the floor and took out a wired camera and a selfie stick. I connected the wired camera to my phone, secured it to the selfie stick, and extended it down into the cave. Then I looked at my phone.

Contrary to my previous expectations, no image was displayed on the phone.

It seems wired cameras are ineffective; the signal blocking mechanisms inside and outside the cave are unrelated to wired or wireless connections. If that's the case, why aren't electronic signals blocked by the human body? Is it truly because the human body holds a special place in these strange events?

A scientist might pursue more rigorous conclusions, but I can readily accept this kind of mystical conclusion. Next, I retrieved the wired camera and selfie stick, switched my phone to video recording mode and turned on the flash, then used the selfie stick to send it down into the cave.

About a minute after I started filming, I put my phone away and looked down to review the video.

I had actually prepared myself for the possibility that electronic devices wouldn't function properly in a haunted space, as many horror stories do. But this time it exceeded my expectations; my phone successfully captured the scene below the cave.

This scene matches my and Chang'an's first impression of caves; it really is a basement.

It was a rather spacious basement, roughly the size of two-thirds of a classroom at first glance. Naturally, there were no doors or windows. The interior was also unfinished, with bare concrete floors and walls, and lonely gray shelves scattered around like those in a run-down convenience store.

Most of the shelves were empty, covered in dust, and the few that had items were just some open yellow cardboard boxes. There was practically no place to hide, and no trace of monsters, ghosts, or other strange things could be seen.

It's hard to say. What if electronic devices simply can't capture ghosts? Or what if there are monsters as small as insects or rats? We can't judge the strange based on common sense.

Suddenly, I noticed something strange in the video footage.

At the basement wall at the far end, something seemed to be reflecting light.

I pressed my eyes tightly against the screen, trying to see what it was. But I couldn't see it clearly. It wasn't a problem with the shooting angle; it was just that the thing was too small and too far away from the camera, making it impossible to confirm its appearance from here.

It was barely possible to tell that it was probably not a shard of glass or anything like that, and there were no other glass objects or anything else that would reflect light in the basement.

That thing looked very out of place in this basement.

It was fine before I discovered it, but once I did, I felt an inexplicable presence from that unknown object. Although it was just something "indistinctly identifiable" placed in a "dimly lit basement," it seemed like a black ink stain on a white sheet of paper. Coming to my senses, my attention was completely drawn to it.

What is that?

I kept savoring this incredible feeling, then put my phone away.

So now that we've seen it all, it's about time to go home, right? — That's impossible.

This is merely an appetizer, only enough to whet my appetite. It's already making my mouth water, and you want me to leave? Don't even think about it.

Next, I'm going to go deeper into this cave.

-

I have imagined the dangers I might encounter in the future.

The least threatening situation for me is physical danger.

To put it dramatically, even if ten Godzillas suddenly spawned in this basement, I would still have a "second form" as my ultimate move, making me invincible from the start.

But if it's a vengeful ghost with mysterious and unpredictable powers, then it's hard to say. If it could launch a mental attack or a curse at me, I can't guarantee I could withstand it. After all, I've never been subjected to that kind of metaphysical attack before.

The most threatening scenario would undoubtedly be that after I went down, the entrance suddenly disappeared and never opened again, trapping me inside completely.

Perhaps there are other, more ingenious and clever ways to investigate the interior details, without needing to personally risk one's life. But is there truly a way to experience this cave more effectively than by physically venturing inside? Words, pictures, videos… I don't want to learn about another mysterious and unpredictable space-time through such mundane means. I want to measure the space beneath the cave with my own feet, to breathe the air of this surreal space with my own mouth. That's why I came here.

To put it bluntly, I'm well aware that my rationality has been significantly diminished at this moment. Driven by my pursuit of "adventures beyond reality," this cave possesses an irresistible allure; I cannot resist it with reason. No matter what, I must explore it.

I gazed at the steps below the cave, then stepped forward, my right foot landing on the first step.

It felt like stepping into a deep, murky swamp; my foot had entered a space-time that didn't exist in reality, and I felt a tingling sensation all over my body. I took a deep breath, then lifted my other foot and continued downwards.

Step by step, I slowly descended the stairs, while the surrounding floor gradually rose until it covered my head.

I couldn't help but look up, and the real space had now transformed into a square opening above my head. I tried to control myself and look away, then stretched out my right hand to summon the "fireflies."

Orange-red specks of light appeared in the air, emitting a bright glow. Sure enough, the "fireflies" weren't impossible to summon below the cave, but rather impossible to exist here when I was outside the cave.

One after another, the "fireflies" appeared, their numbers quickly increasing to twenty or thirty. Then, under my command, they spread out to various parts of the basement, emitting an even brighter light that made the place as bright as day.

My feet touched the basement floor, and I surveyed my surroundings. There were no monsters, no ghosts, and no other strange phenomena. This entire space was now completely within my perception; I hadn't detected a single insect, let alone any tangible danger—it was practically a place devoid of life.

After a brief pause, I moved straight to the end of the basement.

Soon, I could see clearly what the unknown object that had been reflecting light in the video was.

The object that had fallen against the wall was an irregularly shaped, hard substance, entirely black, and about the size of a ping-pong ball. Although it was black, its material resembled jade, which is why it slightly reflected light when illuminated.

I picked it up and examined it repeatedly in my hand. This black jade not only looked like jade, but it also felt warm and smooth to the touch, although the edges were a bit rough, and you might cut your hand if you weren't careful.

In my judgment, this black jade stone does not appear to be a complete object; rather, it is more likely that it was broken off from a larger jade ornament.

So I looked around again, but I couldn't find any object that looked like the main body, nor could I find a second piece of debris.

I refocused my attention on the black jade. Even though the ground was cold to the touch, this black jade didn't radiate any coolness, nor did it feel warm at all; it was as if the concept of temperature didn't exist in the first place.

What exactly is this thing?

I observed more and more carefully.

But then, something incredible happened.

The moment I focused all my attention on the black jade, I felt that the darkness of the jade was like a black hole capturing light, "catching" my gaze.

When I realized something was wrong, I couldn't look away; I couldn't even move my eyeballs. The black jade stone began to grow larger in my field of vision, but I didn't know if it was actually growing larger or if my face was uncontrollably moving closer.

In the blink of an eye, the black jade filled my entire field of vision, and my soul seemed to fall, crashing into the black jade.

Then, in the pitch-black darkness, a gray mist emerged.

(End of this chapter)