Chapter 249 Experimental Tests
Just then, the elevator stopped descending, and the cabin door quietly opened.
Outside, there was only a bottomless darkness, along with a damp, musty, and chilly smell that hadn't been touched by sunlight in a long time. Sheen walked out and plunged into that abyss without a second thought. After a while, he realized that the crazy woman behind him hadn't followed, so he turned around and pulled the muttering Bell out of the darkness.
The elevator doors closed just then. She turned to look and found that the place had turned into a severely peeling, brownish-yellow wall, standing motionless in front of her, as if they had appeared out of thin air.
“That’s how the test site is.” Bell came to his senses and said haltingly, “That elevator just now only served as the entrance. Once everyone was in, it would close immediately, and if we wanted to get out, we would have to find a new exit.”
Sheen thought to himself, "You really are knowledgeable. At least for now, things are looking good. This person seems to be sober."
She looked at Bell, who was staring intently at the scene before him—it was supposed to be an experimental testing site, but it looked more like an abandoned shopping mall, with broken counters, shelves, and promotional flyers or whatever else was scattered everywhere. A few festive lights flickered futilely, but unfortunately, they couldn't stay lit for long.
She didn't detect any living creatures, so she took a few steps forward. In the distance, she could even see a passageway extending outwards, clearly indicating a forgotten shopping mall. Perhaps this place once housed hundreds of shops, but now only darkness remained, looking desolate yet undeniably real.
At the end of the road—far more distant—a few points of light struggled to shine, but in vain, they only made the environment more eerie.
"Have you been here before?" Sheehan asked.
“Yes, they’re all simulated building blocks, like backgrounds or something.” Bell walked aimlessly forward, continuing, “This is the site for many experiments and tests…”
This place doesn't look like a stage, Sheen thought. She didn't know if anyone had actually lived here. There was probably no one alive here now, but what was certain was that many people had died here.
She followed Bell's footsteps into the dark forest. Although she didn't sense anything else alive, she still looked around warily, finding only deathly silence all around.
Then, less than a minute later, they saw that thing—
At first, Sheen wasn't sure if she was seeing things, because the visible area in the mall was very small and the light was very dim. When the thing first appeared, it looked like a stain that had been accidentally smeared on a wall panel. But when they got closer, they realized that the "stain" was actually a person kneeling on the ground.
It resembled a highly decomposed corpse, its entire body covered in a slimy liquid—a yellowish-brown substance resembling pus with streaks of blood. Its mouth was wide open, facing the empty dome ceiling, and Sheen could even see swirling teeth inside, utterly disgusting.
She discovered that the thing had no facial features other than its mouth, much like the monster she had seen at the entrance. She wondered who had created this inferior product; these defects only made it seem more mutated and twisted, lacking any characteristics of a normal creature.
It was enormous, far larger than an ordinary human, nearly three meters tall, with arms hanging down at the bottom as long as an ape's. In the flickering light, Sheen was able to see some details—the monster had only four fingers, its skin tightly wrapped around its bones, it was extremely thin, and you could even see the shape of its bones, like the claws of some kind of feline.
After staring at him for a while, Sheen noticed that Bell didn't move, as if he was stunned.
What are you doing?
Bell suddenly moved and walked straight toward the wall panel of the monster. Sheen was startled and rushed over to grab her.
"Don't you fucking give me any trouble," she said viciously.
“We have to get there,” the madwoman muttered, then pointed to the passage behind the monster. “I remember now, the map is over there.”
"What map?" Sheen asked again.
She looked in the direction Bell pointed, and the corridor was still dark and ominous, but upon closer inspection... she could see something else—at the corner at the end, there was a notice board hanging on the wall, though the details were not visible from there.
But she could still discern the complex directions and markings—you'll always see something like this in shopping malls or other large shopping venues, similar to a panoramic route map, telling you where you can get to where you are, where you are, what locations are nearby, and so on.
She patted her pockets, damn it, she was out of cigarettes. What bad luck. Then she looked at the distant route map and the monster blocking her way.
“Listen, even if we’re going, it’ll be me. Maybe there aren’t any other routes here, but can you fucking stop making any rash moves?” she said. “Maybe we can go somewhere else and see what’s going on, but whatever you do, don’t take any risks and cause me trouble.”
“No…it’s not like that. The reason I’m here is destiny.” The madwoman said, her voice incoherent and unclear. “This place isn’t as simple as it looks. It’s just a testing ground…just like Eoubs’ control. This is a choice we’ve encountered. If we try to avoid it, it will only cause more disasters and detours. Please believe me, no matter where we go, we can’t avoid it. Only by reaching our destination can we avoid it.”
“You see, it appeared as soon as I regained consciousness; it can’t be a coincidence.”
Sheen stared at her intently, wanting to tell her to shut up so she could go over there herself, whether to avoid the monster or use her special ability to kill it. But she knew Bell was right. Ever since they arrived in this wretched place, the man's waking intervals seemed to be shorter than before, as if his only purpose was to be awakened in such bizarre and ominous circumstances.
She opened her lips slightly, but ultimately didn't say anything. She simply patted Belle's shoulder, held her tightly, and then walked forward together.
They were very close to the thing, and could easily see the semi-congealed mucus on its surface, which truly resembled a mixture of blood and pus. Its enormous, gaping mouth occupied most of its face; were it not for the hideous, terrifying fangs inside, it would have looked like a pitifully deceased human.
Then they discovered... that the monster actually had eyes.
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