Outside the heavy fire door, a figure clad in purple work clothes stood, right hand extended forward, seemingly about to push the door open.

The sudden appearance startled He Gu.

The man seemed equally jolted by He Gu’s abrupt door opening, gave him a quick once-over, and without a word, walked in and headed straight for the corridor.

He Gu also glanced at him, then turned and walked out.

“Can this person see me?” He Gu whispered.

The shadow chuckled, “He’s not one of them; he’s an intruder like you, who seems to have lost his way and is preparing to leave first.”

Hearing this, He Gu was slightly taken aback, “So, he should also have a shadow, right? How could he not find the way?”

The shadow replied indifferently, “While I can guide you, there are a few places I cannot accompany you. Whether you find the right way out is up to you.”

After a pause, the shadow added, “But since you brought that radio… you shouldn’t worry about this problem.”

He Gu nodded thoughtfully, realizing that without the radio, finding the way out would still be a question!

While speaking, He Gu had already closed the heavy fire door.

Outside the fire door was a narrow corridor, dimly lit by several old lamps hanging from the ceiling.

“Keep walking down the corridor, no matter what noises you hear, do not stop, and certainly do not look back,” the shadow’s voice continued.

He Gu nodded and briskly walked forward.

Halfway through, the sound of high heels clicking suddenly echoed from behind He Gu.

His heart tightened, remembering the shadow’s warning not to look back, and he quickened his pace instinctively.

But no matter how fast He Gu walked, the footsteps remained a constant three meters behind him!

“Click, click, click…”

With the footsteps persistently following, a sense of unease shrouded He Gu, who asked in a low voice, “What’s behind me?”

Silence surrounded him; the shadow seemed to have fallen asleep, with no response coming.

At that moment, a gentle yet chilling female voice emerged from behind He Gu, “Sir, have you seen my daughter?”

The voice seemed to whisper right into the back of He Gu’s head, sending a buzz through his mind and making his hairs stand on end.

It was the woman in red!

He Gu’s heart clenched, he dared not respond, nor did he dare to look back.

At the same time, a dilemma flashed through He Gu’s mind.

If it really was the woman in red, should he press his back against the wall immediately?

But the shadow had just instructed He Gu to keep moving forward, not to stop or look back!

After a moment’s hesitation, He Gu decided to trust the shadow.

With his mind made up, He Gu stopped dwelling on it and broke into a run.

Yet the footsteps in high heels continued to follow closely, never more than three meters behind, no matter how fast He Gu ran.

He Gu ran all the way to the end of the corridor, where he found an iron staircase winding downwards, its handrail leading into a dark abyss, resembling a deep chasm.

The footsteps still closely behind, He Gu didn’t hesitate and started running down the stairs.

The staircase spiraled down, and after one full turn, He Gu could see the previous corridor diagonally above him in front.

Taking advantage of this moment, He Gu glanced into the corridor and saw a familiar burly figure.

It was the bandit-like 414!

414 still had his arms crossed behind him, leaning slightly forward in his usual standoffish pose.

But his back was empty, without a shadow.

Most bizarrely, he wore a pair of red high heels, staring blankly at He Gu.

“Sir, have you seen my daughter?”

414 didn’t follow but spoke from the end of the corridor, his tough appearance at odds with the woman’s voice.

Of course, He Gu wouldn’t answer; he glanced quickly and continued down the stairs without looking back.

After descending a while, the shadow’s grating voice finally rang out again, “Keep going down the stairs, at the bottom is another corridor, and there’s an elevator in the middle of it.”

He Gu responded with displeasure, “Why didn’t you answer me back in the corridor?”

The shadow chuckled, “That… was a special entity independent of it. If I had spoken, it would have followed you only to the end of the corridor. If I had made a sound, we both would have been done for!”

He Gu frowned, “Independent of it?”

“What is this ‘it’ you’re talking about?”

The shadow replied, “The situation in this pharmaceutical factory is far more complicated than you imagine. It’s not the only ominous presence…”

The shadow paused, then chuckled again, “Never mind, you don’t need to know so much. Hurry along.”

He Gu frowned, wanting to ask more, but the shadow fell silent.

Following the staircase down for about four or five minutes, He Gu finally reached the end.

Judging by the height of the staircase, He Gu felt he must be nearly a hundred meters underground.

At the end of the staircase was a building, too dark for He Gu to see its entirety, but he knew the staircase led directly into the corridor on the fourth floor of this building.

He Gu entered the corridor, which was much brighter than the previous one.

White doors lined both sides of the corridor.

He Gu stepped into the corridor, cautiously moving forward.

Soon enough, he saw an elevator in the middle of the corridor.

The elevator was conveniently stopped on the fourth floor.

Then, the shadow’s voice echoed again, “Once you enter this elevator, I must temporarily hibernate and won’t be able to give you any hints until you leave the elevator.”

The shadow chuckled, “As for which floor to get off, honestly, I don’t know. But the radio in your pocket should give you the answer.”

“Oh, and remember to stand close to the wall inside the elevator, never expose your back.”

As the shadow’s voice faded, He Gu felt a slimy wriggle on his back, as if something was sticking to him and curling up into a ball.

He Gu took a deep breath and pressed the elevator button.

“Ding-dong.”

A chime sounded, and the elevator doors slowly opened.

He Gu stepped in, backed up against the wall as instructed, and looked up, only to freeze.

The elevator was lined with mirrors on all sides, smooth and buttonless, offering no way to select a floor.

Simultaneously, the elevator doors began to close.

Then the elevator started moving, and He Gu could feel it ascending.

Seconds later, the long-silent radio in his pocket suddenly crackled to life.

“Static… Hiss…”

After a series of noises, a panicked male voice burst through, “Run! Run fast! Get out of here!”

…