Chapter 231 They
"…Last report, this is the Deep Dive Team, codename for the operation 'Adulthood'…"
A slightly vague sound reached his ears, and Yu Sheng stood there in a daze.
He looked up and saw that the colors in this mysterious "control hall" had faded. Hu Li and Irene were frozen in place like two phantoms in a black and white world. Even the dropped bullet was strangely suspended a few centimeters above the ground. Only that low voice was clearly heard in his ears.
This scene was exactly the same as his previous "conversation with the dead".
The voice continued to sound, as if it was right in front of him, less than a meter away. Yu Sheng couldn't see anyone there, but he clearly heard someone talking there - not to him, but as if talking to himself in front of some kind of recording device -
"...Everyone in the team is unable to move. We fell in this hall, our bodies melting like wax, our minds... our minds are mixed with all kinds of things, entangled with each other...
“My name is…is…no, I can’t remember.
“This is the final report. I don’t know if this recording will ever get sent back to headquarters, but I want to record what we saw.
"The Ankaela is a ship - at least that's what it looked like when it first set out. We've seen a lot about it since we came into contact with the device called the 'umbilical cord'.
"I... don't understand where this ship came from. The memories passed to us by the umbilical cord are crazy and chaotic. It seems to have drifted for a very long time, so long that it is beyond rational understanding. It comes from a place that is completely different from the real universe we know... Perhaps, that is the 'outside' that scholars speculate.
"But now, the ship has become something... inexplicable. I don't know how to describe what I saw while connecting the 'umbilical cord'. I saw the steel melting in the light, blood flowing from its fuel pipes, flesh growing on it, and the engine making a scorching roar. It has been talking to me, saying many things. The buzzing and rumbling noises almost destroyed my sanity...
"We escaped from the umbilical cord cabin and returned to this place to die. The impact it has had on us is irreversible. The protective equipment is no longer effective. Changes are happening from the inside out. I feel a gaze, right now, observing us at this moment - through each of our own eyes.
“I think I understand, we are all becoming part of it.”
Then there was a heavy gasp. Yu Sheng heard the voice that was so close suddenly become erratic, as if it was wandering throughout the hall, and then it stabilized, but it was not in the original place -
"We didn't know what would happen next, death, or something worse - we were prepared before we set out, we were not afraid of that, but we were worried about the catastrophic consequences that could result if 'it' got out of control.
"Ankaela, this alien ark that has learned to think, is still temporarily trapped in the dream called 'fairy tale', but it will break free one day. Something is growing deep inside it, some kind of... new life, which is gradually maturing at the other end of the umbilical cord, but the umbilical cord is damaged, and we are not sure what it is. The only thing is certain: when that thing makes its first cry after being born, many people will die at the border.
“Whoever gets this recording—whether it’s the Secret Service’s support team or anyone else who comes here to investigate later—must stop the birth of that thing at all costs.
"Through this hall, there is a short corridor. At the end of the corridor is a room where the 'umbilical cord' device is placed. There, the minds of mortals can barely establish a direct connection with 'Ankaela'. That may be the only way to fight - or at least expel this dark angel. We failed, our spirits could not withstand its invasion, but if you come here alive, if you can still keep your sanity at this moment and understand the voices we left behind, then maybe you can.
"Give it a try - there is no reward, no compensation, we have nothing to give you, and we can't even give you any noble reasons...
"All we can do is ask you to give it a try... before 'its' child is born in our world..."
The bullet that was suspended in mid-air fell to the ground with a crisp sound. The colors around it suddenly returned and the whole world started to move again.
Yu Sheng lowered his head and saw that the bullet bounced twice and slowly rolled to his feet, while a dark red shadow like blood spread from the side of the strange machine not far away and extended to his feet.
Is that the bloodstains “they” left behind seventy years ago?
Yu Sheng raised his head and found a figure who had appeared there at some point, staring at him quietly.
It was a hunting suit floating in the air, with a faceless shadow under the hood. The whole thing looked like an illusion and lacked any sense of reality.
Yu Sheng raised his arm and took a look, and saw that his "hunter" costume had disappeared at some point.
Hu Li, who was standing next to him, was holding Irene in his arms, and Irene was holding the squirrel in her arms. The three "people" also saw the shadow not far away at the same time, and shouted in unison: "Hunter!"
Yu Sheng's expression remained unchanged. He just calmed himself down and walked up to the hunter.
“…It’s been many years.”
The hunter's muffled, hollow voice went straight into his mind.
"We have been trying to find a way to return to this place, even though we have forgotten why we came back. Ankaela made us 'hunters' in the Black Forest. This hunting suit is like a solid 'shell' that traps us in the repetitive script in the angel's dream. We have tried to talk to 'Little Red Riding Hood' who entered the forest, but apart from shooting and killing the wolf, we are not allowed to do anything extra. We recall our mission and purpose again and again, but the memories are always worn out in the process of recalling..."
He raised his hand and pointed to the center of the hall.
"Ten bodies and twelve souls fell there. We tried our best to send two bodies back to the real world at the last minute, hoping that the remaining neural signals in the brains of the two bodies could bring what happened here back to the headquarters. Since then, we have been waiting for reinforcements, but in fact, we didn't have any hope at all. Under the circumstances at the time, the bodies sent back had been severely contaminated and could no longer carry any rational information.
"So when you took out that photo, we were shocked and even woke up from the 'roles' that Ankaela had woven for us."
"Yes, you woke me up and shot me with a bullet," Yu Sheng smiled, "It hurt quite a bit."
"…I'm sorry, but this was the only 'extraordinary move' we could make in the Black Forest. And it was because you absorbed wolf blood that we could 'regard' you as a wolf," the hunter's voice seemed to be filled with apology. "Death in the Black Forest is only temporary. The erosion and wolf transformation brought about by multiple deaths are more dangerous."
Yu Sheng thought about it, but still didn't explain to the other party that he actually came in directly in the flesh, and that they really shot him to death - he always felt that it was inappropriate to say this now...
"Anyway, reinforcements are here now," Yu Sheng raised his hand and pointed at himself, Hu Li, Irene, and Squirrel beside him, "Although we are not from the Secret Service, we have also accepted their commission... I'm sorry that the reinforcements arrived a little late."
The hunter just shook his head silently.
Then he raised his hand and pointed to a door on the other side of the hall.
"From there, you can go to the room where the 'umbilical cord' is."
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"Besides the umbilical cord, what else is there?" Yu Sheng's expression became serious. "What should I do?"
"That room is very small, and seems to be just a platform for maintenance. The umbilical cord is a connecting device located in the center of the circular platform. It connects to a special area below. We were unable to find the way to the lower level at the time, so we are not sure what is going on down there - but we can be sure that what Ankaela is 'breeding' is down there.
"By touching the umbilical cord, you will establish the strongest possible connection with Ankaela, but what happens after that..."
The hunter paused, and after a long silence, he shook his head slightly.
"There is no need to emphasize the dangers of this process. We cannot give you any promises or guarantees. In fact, there has never been a case where a human being has established a connection with a dark angel and remained safe and sound. From a rational point of view, it is okay for you to leave now."
"If I were to act rationally, I wouldn't have come here in the first place," Yu Sheng was happy and waved his hand to the hunter, "Okay, that's enough for you to know. I'll go over and take a look at the situation. You guys just rest here. It's been so many years, it's time for you to take a break."
He turned around and walked in the direction the hunter had pointed.
Hu Li followed him without hesitation.
Irene and the squirrel were a little nervous - but they had no choice but to keep up, one of them was held by Hu Li and the other by Irene.
The hunter's voice came from behind: "Wait..."
Yu Sheng didn't turn around, but just looked back slightly with a smile on his face.
"Don't worry, I'll try."
He opened the unlocked door, and a dimly lit corridor appeared before him.
At the end of the corridor, the surrounding dark red lights flickered slowly in the dimness, like a silent invitation or an ominous omen.
The baby's crying sound rang out again, but this time, it no longer sounded like a distant and vague illusion, but seemed to be right across the dark red light.
Yu Sheng raised the corner of his mouth and walked forward.
(End of this chapter)
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