Upon hearing the shadow’s words, He Gu instinctively looked down at himself.

Only then did he realize that he too was dressed in a purple uniform.

He Gu was taken aback: “This isn’t an actual promotion to a purple robe. Can just wearing a purple outfit count?”

The shadow cackled eerily: “A promotion to purple robe? Trust me, you wouldn’t want the day that necessitates such a promotion.”

“Of course, simply donning a purple outfit doesn’t make one a true purple robe, but once you’re in here, even a fake purple robe is recognized. So in here, your own heart’s blood can be used.”

Listening to the shadow, He Gu felt a chill in his chest and frowned: “But sticking a needle into the heart to draw blood… How is that different from suicide?”

The shadow let out a strange laugh: “Why would you need to stick yourself? You’re not the only purple robe in here.”

At this point, the shadow smacked its lips: “You dared to come in without knowing these things…”

“You’re lucky you weren’t cornered in the corridor and drained of blood, hehehe…”

He Gu felt a shiver at these words and fell silent, thoughtfully continuing to climb the stairs.

Before long, he finally reached the top of the seemingly endless iron staircase.

He Gu arrived once again at the narrow corridor.

From a distance, he saw the bandit-like 414, wearing high heels and moving stiffly through the corridor, heading straight towards him upon sight.

He Gu’s heart tightened, as this thing had blocked the only way out!

At that moment, the shadow’s shrill and unpleasant voice rang out: “Don’t look at it, don’t engage with it, don’t stop, just keep walking forward.”

Hearing this, He Gu took a deep breath and, steeling himself, stepped into the corridor.

Soon, He Gu encountered 414 in the corridor.

He Gu didn’t look at him but lowered his head and quickly walked past 414.

414 followed silently behind He Gu, matching his pace.

“Click-clack, click-clack…”

The sound of high heels followed closely behind He Gu, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

He Gu ran through the corridor with his head down and finally reached the heavy fire door.

The footsteps of the high heels pursued relentlessly, and as He Gu pulled open the fire door, that gentle yet chilling female voice sounded again: “Sir, have you seen my daughter?”

He Gu’s scalp tingled, and without a moment’s delay, he quickly pulled open the door and stepped inside.

Inside the fire door was the sorting workshop.

Upon entering, He Gu immediately saw Old Ma dragging a wooden box towards a room on the side of the workshop.

He Gu didn’t delay and quickly walked into the sorting workshop, heading straight for the delivery passage deep inside.

As He Gu reached the halfway point, Old Ma happened to drag the box into the side room.

Taking advantage of Old Ma closing the door, He Gu caught a glimpse inside.

There was a large pot about half the height of a person in the room, boiling with black liquid, and a faint stench could be smelled.

He Gu didn’t have time to see more details before the door was shut firmly.

Faintly, He Gu thought he heard the sound of smashing the wooden box and sharp, panicked screams from inside the room.

He Gu felt his hair stand on end and without slowing down, he quickly reached the pile of cardboard boxes.

On the wall inside the pile of boxes, about 1.5 meters above the ground, was a dark passage with a diameter of 2 meters.

A bit of the conveyor belt from the passage was sticking out, still slowly rotating.

He Gu took a deep breath, jumped up to grab the edge of the conveyor belt, and with some difficulty, climbed onto it.

The conveyor belt was in constant motion, like a treadmill set to a slow speed.

Once on top, He Gu immediately started running forward without stopping.

Fortunately, the conveyor belt wasn’t moving too fast, and although it was strenuous, He Gu quickly ran off it.

After running along the main conveyor belt for a few minutes, small passages, each one meter square, began appearing on the walls to either side, each marked with a number.

Quickly, He Gu found the passage marked “44” and, with effort, climbed up into it.

This section of the passage was sloped, much like a tube slide in a playground, and He Gu had to exert a lot of effort to prevent himself from sliding back onto the main conveyor belt.

After a strenuous climb of four or five meters up the tube, He Gu, drenched in sweat, returned to the delivery passage leading to storage room 44.

Upon arrival, the passage was pitch black, and He Gu couldn’t stand up straight, so he had to continue crawling forward quickly while remaining prone.

After about ten minutes of crawling, He Gu heard the shadow’s shrill and unpleasant voice: “I’ll be waiting right here for you, hoping you’ll still be alive tomorrow night, hehehe…”

As the voice faded, He Gu felt a cold, slimy sensation moving across his back as the shadow left him.

He Gu didn’t delay and continued to crawl forward.

Crawling forward was strenuous, but it was certainly easier than crawling backward.

After several minutes, He Gu crawled out of the passage and returned to storage room 44.

The storage room was still in complete darkness. He Gu checked the time on his phone; it was 2:03 AM.

He Gu had returned faster than he expected; there was still over fifty minutes before the manager’s patrol.

Thinking about it, it made sense; He Gu had crawled in backward, which was naturally slower.

Moreover, he had been cautious and exploratory going in, but on the way out, he had charged straight ahead, so the return journey took less time than the inward one.

After catching his breath in the dark storage room, He Gu carefully made his way out and took a detour to the restroom in administrative building 3.

He changed back into the blue uniform he had hidden in the ceiling and stashed the purple clothes and various items that couldn’t be found in the same spot.

After completing these tasks, He Gu took another detour back to the inner storage area and returned to his office.

When He Gu sat down in the office, it was 2:51 AM.

At that time, He Gu noticed that the occupant of the neighboring office, 401, hadn’t returned yet.

That guy had left before He Gu, and still hadn’t come back; could he have also entered the passage?

Five or six minutes later, He Gu saw 401 hurrying back.

Soon, at 2:57 AM, the crow’s call sounded on time outside the window.

“Caw! Caw! Caw!”

This time there were three calls, indicating that the manager’s next patrol would be in three hours.

As expected, the manager came to check on time.

After the manager left, 401 left the office again.

He Gu hesitated for a moment and decided not to go back in.

After all, there were only three hours until the next check, and He Gu needed to leave at least half of that time for the return trip; he probably wouldn’t even make it to the elevator in that time.

There wasn’t much point in retracing a path he had already explored.

So, He Gu sat in his chair, slowly piecing together the information in his mind as time quietly slipped by.

Before he knew it, it was time to clock out.

He Gu left the office, had a hearty meal in the cafeteria, and then quickly returned to his dormitory, ready to get a good night’s sleep before seeking another opportunity to explore.

But as He Gu arrived at his dormitory door, he suddenly found a black backpack lying quietly at the entrance.

…