Buzz… Buzz… Buzz…
He Gu had just entered a new environment and was cautiously surveying his surroundings when a sudden vibration startled him.
Instinctively, he reached into his pocket to press the volume button to silence his phone before taking it out to check.
It was 00:15. The vibration was from an alarm He Gu had set.
Time to head back!
After checking the time, He Gu didn’t hesitate and turned to exit through the heavy iron door.
Although he hadn’t fully explored the area, there was no time to delay. If he didn’t return soon, he risked missing the manager’s inspection.
Back in the buffer room, He Gu made a beeline for the elevator.
The elevator was still on this floor, and He Gu noticed a row of floor buttons outside the elevator door on this level.
Why was it possible to select floors here but not inside the elevator?
Without wasting time, He Gu pressed the button for the fourth floor.
Ding-dong…
The chime sounded, and the elevator doors slowly opened.
After He Gu stepped inside, the doors closed again, and a faint sensation of weightlessness followed as the elevator began its descent.
This time, the elevator smoothly traveled downward without stopping.
The radio in He Gu’s pocket remained silent, emitting no sound.
Soon, the elevator reached the fourth floor.
Ding-dong…
As the chime sounded again, the elevator doors opened.
He Gu stepped out without pausing and quickly made his way back through the corridor, soon reaching the spiraling iron staircase.
As he started to climb the stairs, a slick, cold sensation of something wriggling spread across his back.
The shadow that had been curled up on his back was finally awakening.
Soon, He Gu heard the shadow’s sharp, unpleasant voice: “This place… Didn’t you find the correct floor? Why are you heading back?”
He Gu replied indifferently, “We’re out of time tonight. I’ll come back tomorrow night.”
The shadow shrieked, “What do you mean out of time?! Are you still worried about the manager’s inspection?!”
“If you just make it to the core, trigger the martial law state, no one will inspect anymore. There’s absolutely no need for you to go back!”
The shadow seemed frantic, its tone even a bit hysterical.
He Gu asked warily, “You seem to be in quite a hurry?”
The shadow shouted irritably, “Of course I’m in a hurry!”
“I’m sick of this dark, sunless place! I don’t want to wait another day!”
“Don’t turn back, just past the elevator and you’re not far from the destination! Hurry, take me there! I’ll do anything!”
…
Listening to the shadow’s almost hysterical shouting, He Gu grew suspicious.
Did it mean that if he brought it to the core, it could escape?
Or was there something at that place that held a fatal attraction for it?
Considering this, He Gu probed, “What exactly do you want me to do at the core?”
The shadow fell silent for a moment, seemingly regaining its composure, and then let out a strange chuckle, “You don’t need to worry about that. You’ll find out when we get there.”
He Gu frowned slightly and said, “How about you give me some of your blood? That might help me get you to the core area sooner.”
Upon hearing this, the shadow suddenly shrieked, “Are you saying you’re heading back… because you haven’t prepared the four types of blood?!”
He Gu’s heart stirred, and he replied nonchalantly, “What do you think?”
The shadow began to struggle violently on He Gu’s back, “You!”
“I warn you not to target me!”
“Our situation is unique, we only have a bit of vital essence left, and if you draw blood, we’ll die immediately!”
As it spoke, the shadow’s struggles intensified, and He Gu felt as if a lively fish had slipped into his clothes, desperately flapping its tail.
While struggling, the shadow continued to shout, “If you kill me, you won’t be able to get out either, and you’ll never be able to come back in!”
The sharp echoes of the shadow reverberated in the empty staircase. It seemed truly desperate.
If it weren’t for the fact that it couldn’t leave He Gu in this place, it might have already broken free.
Seeing this, He Gu said indifferently, “If I wanted shadow blood, with so many boxes in the storeroom, do you think I’d need to bother with you?”
Hearing this, the shadow’s struggles paused and gradually quieted down.
After a moment of silence, the shadow chuckled again, “Yeah, yeah, you have no reason to harm me.”
He Gu rolled his eyes silently, hesitated, and then probed again, “Since you know about the four types of blood… then tell me, what are the four types?”
Upon hearing He Gu’s question, the shadow fell silent again, then uncertainly asked, “You… don’t know?”
He Gu, of course, wouldn’t admit he genuinely didn’t know and said lightly, “It’s not that I don’t know, I’m just not sure if the information I got is reliable. I want to verify it.”
The shadow hesitated and then said, “Actually, it’s not a secret that can’t be told.”
“The four types of blood are crow blood, black cat blood, shadow blood, and… the heart blood of someone wearing purple clothes.”
Hearing this, He Gu’s heart skipped a beat, and he asked, “Heart blood… of someone in purple clothes?”
The shadow continued, “Yes, the so-called heart blood must be drawn directly from the heart.”
As it spoke, He Gu felt a cold, slimy thing slide from his back to his chest, resting over his heart.
The shadow said, “Just insert the needle here, and it will bypass the ribs and go straight into the heart. Then you can draw the blood.”
He Gu frowned deeply, “If that’s the case… doesn’t it mean that one must kill a manager to obtain this so-called heart blood?”
The shadow chuckled strangely, “Kill a manager?”
“Heh… I’ve been in this damned place for so long, and I’ve never seen any purple clothes get taken down.”
“Those fools who tried ended up as nutrients.”
He Gu’s heart jumped, “Are the purple clothes that strong?”
The shadow shrieked, “It’s not about being strong or not. The purple clothes are almost the safest rank in this factory. Apart from themselves, no one can threaten their lives.”
He Gu took a deep breath, “If that’s the case, then this so-called heart blood is impossible to obtain!”
Hearing this, the shadow laughed again with a “kekekeke.”
“Who told you that you must kill a real purple clothes to get the heart blood?”
He Gu was taken aback, “What do you mean?”
The shadow said, “Look down at yourself. Aren’t you wearing purple clothes right now?”
…