"Through there, you'll reach the final area!"

The shadow's voice trembled with excitement, and He Gu could tell it was thrilled.

Looking at the filthy delivery port, He Gu couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

Almost there!

Finally!

At this moment, the shadow reminded him again, "Oh, remember to change back into the purple clothing before you go in."

"Most of the time, purple is safer than orange."

He Gu nodded thoughtfully and took out the purple clothes he had just changed out of from his backpack, putting them on again.

After a moment of contemplation, He Gu asked, "Do I have to crawl in backward with my butt facing inward here too?"

The shadow let out a sinister laugh, "Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore, hehehe…"

Taking a deep breath, He Gu suppressed his nausea and crawled into the filthy, foul-smelling delivery port.

Inside the delivery passage, it was pitch black. He Gu groped his way forward inch by inch.

After crawling just a few steps, the ground beneath him suddenly gave way, and he fell into a sloping chute.

He Gu slid down the chute rapidly, and a few seconds later, he landed with a thud on a sticky, slimy floor.

As soon as he hit the ground, a nauseating stench assaulted his senses, making He Gu wonder if he had fallen into a sewer.

It was pitch black all around, and he couldn't see his hand in front of his face.

At this moment, besides the nauseating smell and the wet, sticky ground, He Gu had no idea where he was.

Just then, the shadow's low voice whispered in his ear, "Remember, no matter what happens, don't take off the purple clothing before you leave here."

With that, the shadow let out another sinister laugh, "This is the core area. Good luck, hehehe…"

As the words faded, He Gu felt a cold, slimy sensation on his back, and then the shadow left him.

This made He Gu instinctively tense up. He quickly took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.

However, the phone's flashlight was weak, only illuminating a range of less than two meters in front of him. Beyond that, it was still pitch black.

Holding up his phone, He Gu looked around and found that the space seemed much larger than he had imagined.

The darkness around him seemed endless, and the light from his phone's flashlight was swallowed by the darkness, revealing no boundaries.

The ground beneath He Gu's feet was wet and sticky, a dark red color as if soaked in blood for a long time.

On the ground, there were occasional pieces of what looked like rotting flesh and some unrecognizable, soaked fragments of cloth, resembling workers' uniforms.

The environment was truly creepy. Holding up his phone, He Gu cautiously moved forward.

After just a few steps, he suddenly heard footsteps in the darkness ahead.

"Thud… thud…"

The footsteps were slow, sounding like someone trudging through mud.

He Gu's heart tightened, and he quickly raised his phone to follow the sound.

But the phone's flashlight was too weak to reach far, and the front remained dim and unclear.

"Who's there!?"

He Gu shouted, steeling himself.

The footsteps stopped abruptly.

Silence fell again, and He Gu could hear his own breathing and heartbeat.

He Gu felt a chill down his spine. Holding up his phone with one hand, he slowly reached into his pocket with the other, gripping a small bottle containing a mixture of four types of blood.

A few seconds later, the radio in He Gu's pocket suddenly crackled to life.

"Zzz… sss…"

"You've finally arrived."

He Gu recognized the voice; it was 424.

This seemingly out-of-context sentence made He Gu pause, listening intently.

"You must already know, I'm 424. Can you tell me your code?"

Hearing this, He Gu's expression turned strange.

The radio's messages were usually "scene replays," but this time… it felt like a direct conversation.

As He Gu pondered, 424's voice came through the radio again, "Don't doubt it, I'm talking to you."

Hearing this, He Gu felt a chill run down his spine, his back suddenly cold.

"You're… talking to me!?" He Gu asked tentatively.

The radio crackled again, "Yes."

He Gu was instantly filled with dread, his hair standing on end.

"You've been watching me all along!?"

In that moment, He Gu had the urge to turn and run.

424 wasn't dead!

And he was talking to He Gu through the radio!

What did this mean!?

The guidance or clues He Gu had received from the radio all along could very well have been traps!

At this moment, 424's relaxed laughter came through the radio, "No need to be so tense."

"I can't monitor you; otherwise, I wouldn't need to ask for your code."

"Only when you brought this radio here could I communicate with you."

"Before this, the radio only contained a few recordings I left behind."

Hearing this, He Gu calmed down a bit and asked, "Then where are you?"

424's voice continued from the radio, "Friend, I'm right here. Take a few more steps, and you'll see me."

He Gu felt a chill down his spine and shouted into the darkness ahead, "If you're right here, why not talk to me directly? Why use the radio to play tricks!?"

"Hahaha…" 424's laughter came through the radio, "Friend, it's not that I don't want to speak directly, but… I can't open my mouth anymore."

"If you hadn't brought this radio here, I might never have had the chance to communicate with anyone again."

He Gu's heart tightened, "Why?"

The radio fell silent.

A few seconds later, 424's voice came through the radio again, "You haven't told me your code yet."

After a few seconds of hesitation, He Gu replied in a deep voice, "444."

The radio fell silent again.

This time, the silence lasted about two minutes.

He Gu frowned, "Are you still there?"

As soon as He Gu spoke, the slow, trudging footsteps in the mud resumed in the darkness ahead.

"Thud… thud…"

The footsteps slowly approached He Gu, now less than five meters away!

He Gu nervously held up his phone, pointing it forward. In the weak light of the phone's flashlight, he could vaguely see a silhouette almost blending into the darkness.

Then, the footsteps stopped.

424's voice came through the radio, "444, my friend, I can give you what you want."

"If you're ready, take a few more steps forward."

Hearing this, He Gu's heart tightened. After a moment of hesitation, he took a deep breath and steeled himself to move forward.

He had come this far; there was no turning back.

Whatever lay ahead, he had to face it!

"Thud, thud…"

He Gu stepped on the wet, sticky ground, holding up his phone as he walked forward step by step.

Soon, the vague silhouette ahead became clearer.

When He Gu finally saw the figure's face, he froze in place…