The man in purple struggled, using his last ounce of strength to plead for He Gu’s help.

But in such a state, how could He Gu save him?

He Gu dared not act rashly, pressing himself against the door while holding his breath, watching as the man in purple was carried inside.

Following that, the person in white closed the door with a backhand, pushing He Gu, who was leaning against it, out of the way.

“Bang!”

The heavy iron door slammed shut.

By now, He Gu’s face was beet red from holding his breath.

After the door closed, the voice of the shadow finally rang in He Gu’s ear: “Alright, you can move now.”

“Phew…”

He Gu immediately exhaled the breath he had been holding in his chest and started breathing deeply.

Being forced to hold his breath for nearly a minute without any warning had almost done him in.

Standing outside the door, resting on his knees for a good while, He Gu gradually recovered.

At that moment, the sound of a chainsaw suddenly came from inside the iron door.

Soon after, the man’s agonizing screams also emerged.

“Ah—no!”

“I can help you… help you catch other intruders… Ahhh!”

“Stop! Stop now! No—”

…

The sound of the chainsaw, coupled with such heart-wrenching screams, was more disturbing than one could imagine.

Even He Gu, who had seen his fair share of turmoil, felt his scalp tingle and goosebumps rise all over his body.

Then, the voice of the shadow spoke again: “Let’s go, keep moving forward. No matter what you see or hear, don’t linger, and don’t touch anything. Enter any door with a purple mark, and we’ll reach our destination soon.”

After speaking, the shadow added a reminder: “On the road ahead, no matter who you encounter, stop all movement and hold your breath.”

He Gu nodded, took a light breath, and continued to walk forward.

Exiting the iron door, he found himself in a space resembling a large hall.

The hall was spacious, about the size of two and a half basketball courts.

Around the hall, there were rooms distributed like those in a hospital, giving off a familiar feeling.

As he walked forward, He Gu remained alert to all movements around him, ready to hold his breath at any moment.

He also observed the doors, searching for the one with a purple mark as mentioned by the shadow.

Soon, He Gu found a door marked with purple and quickly walked towards it.

Entering the door, he arrived in a room that looked like an office.

The room was not small, with seven or eight desks, some of which had computer screens still on, as if someone had just been working there.

There was even a half cup of steaming coffee on one desk!

Someone was here!

He Gu immediately became vigilant, subconsciously bending his body and walking forward stealthily, as if he were a thief.

At the other end of the office was another door, also marked with purple.

He Gu slowly approached the door, listened for a moment, peeked out cautiously to ensure no one was inside, and then carefully entered.

Passing through this door, He Gu came to a room resembling a factory workshop.

Several large pots were set up in the workshop, with purple-red broth bubbling and boiling inside, emitting a slightly fishy odor.

On the other side of the workshop, there were two doors, one on the left with a purple mark.

He Gu continued towards that door.

In this way, He Gu passed through several rooms, like a set of nesting dolls—some were offices, some workshops, and others resembled laboratories.

Almost every room showed signs of recent activity, yet He Gu had not encountered a single person from start to finish.

It felt as if, just minutes ago, many people had been busy at their workstations, and then suddenly, they all vanished into thin air.

This eerie atmosphere made He Gu uncomfortable.

Especially the constant worry of someone appearing, yet never seeing anyone, added to the psychological pressure.

After passing through seven or eight empty rooms, He Gu arrived at a slightly smaller hall.

Upon reaching this hall, He Gu saw a glass door in the distance that seemed to be the entrance and exit of the hall.

From afar, He Gu could even see a few security guards with electric batons standing guard outside the glass door. Looking further, he could see the beams of searchlights moving outside, and the distant iron fence was faintly visible.

That scene outside… seemed somewhat familiar?

After pondering for a moment, He Gu realized that the iron fence was the same one he had seen earlier—the core area’s fence!

He Gu was now inside the core area!

While He Gu was lost in thought, the voice of the shadow spoke again: “Go to the right, there’s an escalator there. Take it to the second floor.”

“We’re almost at our destination… How exciting, hehehe…”

Listening to the shadow’s eerie laughter, He Gu couldn’t shake the feeling that the entity had ill intentions.

But remembering the rule that he could trust what the shadow said, at least the path it pointed out should be safe.

With this in mind, He Gu nodded and walked to the right.

Soon, He Gu saw an escalator in operation.

However, as he just stepped on the escalator and began to ascend, he saw a group of people in white hazmat suits rushing down from the second floor, hurrying down towards the first floor.

He Gu immediately stood still on the escalator, holding his breath motionless.

The people in white hazmat suits seemed indeed unable to see He Gu, and they passed by each other on the escalator without incident.

He Gu quickly reached the second floor and found another hall similar to the first floor.

He Gu walked while scanning the surroundings, looking for a room with a purple mark above the door.

At that moment, He Gu suddenly saw a figure standing at the entrance of a room not far away.

He Gu instinctively stopped and held his breath, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was a mannequin.

The mannequin was dressed in an orange work uniform, standing quietly at the entrance of the room, as if watching He Gu.

This made He Gu feel somewhat uneasy, and he asked in a low voice, “Does that… count as a person?”

The shadow’s reply came quickly: “That piece of wood? Of course not.”

He Gu, still not reassured, asked again, “Can I move now?”

The shadow replied with a strange laugh: “You can.”

He Gu let out a sigh of relief, took another deep look at the mannequin, and turned his head to continue searching for a room with a purple mark above the door.

Soon, He Gu saw a room in the far corner with a purple mark above the door and quickly walked over.

However, as He Gu passed through that door, he saw another figure in an orange work uniform.

Just like the previous one, this was also a mannequin, sitting on a chair inside the room, facing the doorway, as if watching He Gu.

From this distance, He Gu noticed that not only was the mannequin wearing an orange work uniform, but it also had a badge on its chest with the letters “S11” written in orange.

He Gu’s mind stirred—did mannequins have numbers too?

Or was it that someone had put their own work uniform and badge on the mannequin?

He Gu gave it a wary glance and saw another door inside the room with a purple mark above it, so he quickly walked over.

But when He Gu entered through that door, he immediately saw another mannequin in an orange work uniform!

This room appeared to be a storeroom, somewhat cluttered with various items and some mechanical tools.

The mannequin was standing next to a tool rack, its right hand posed as if about to take a tool from the shelf, its face directed towards the door, seemingly watching He Gu.

At the same time, He Gu noticed that this mannequin also had a badge on its chest, with the same number: S11.

This made He Gu tense up, and he quickly looked back at the office he had just passed through.

It was then that He Gu realized that the chair in the office, which had previously been occupied by the mannequin, was now empty…