Translator: CinderTL
Near the staircase railing hung a wooden sign, its message—"Danger: Staircase. Do Not Enter"—scrawled in a script that resembled the tracks of insects.
"Brother Jiang," Wen Liangshan stammered, his hand trembling as he pointed beyond the caution tape to a corner of the wall. "Look! What's that?"
Approaching, they discovered a large puddle on the floor, within which lay a tangled mass of sodden hair.
The hair was disheveled, varying in length, and appeared to be a mixture of multiple people's locks. Most disturbingly, a pungent, acrid odor emanated from it—the unmistakable scent of formalin.
Activating their phone flashlights, they directed the beams upward into the stairwell. The darkness above seemed to intensify, as if the light itself were being suppressed, limiting visibility to just a few meters. From their vantage point, the staircase appeared to lead into an abyss.
Yet within this limited range, they witnessed a scene that would forever be etched in their memories.
The wooden steps were in a state of severe disrepair, riddled with gaping holes.
The cave was pitch-black, yet it felt as if a hand might reach out from the shadows at any moment to grab their feet.
The steps were littered with debris, including shards of glass—the kind used for specimen jars. It looked as if someone had deliberately smashed a collection of jars here.
But even more disturbing were the piles of neglected objects in the corners: dark, blocky masses and spherical clusters tangled together, covered in coarse black hair.
Huai Yi tightened his grip on his iron hook.
Jiang Cheng stepped forward, tore down the caution tape blocking their path, and tossed it aside. "Let's go."
The path was treacherous and fraught with danger. The group carefully watched their footing, with Wen Liangshan, feeling unwelcome, trailing alone near the edge.
Staring down at the gaping holes in the steps, his heart pounded with dread, terrified of glimpsing something he shouldn't.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm. "Stay behind me," Jiang Cheng said. "Step in my footprints."
Wen Liangshan was overwhelmed with gratitude, thanking him profusely.
The staircase seemed to stretch endlessly, its dilapidated state painfully obvious. Cracks riddled the handrail, and the metal supports for the wooden banister were twisted into grotesque shapes, marred by what looked like knife slashes.
Finally, they reached the fifth floor.
Standing in the fifth-floor hallway, the group felt as if they had stepped into a living piece of history. They no longer needed their flashlights; a gray haze enveloped everything, as if a filter had been applied.
The details weren't crystal clear, but it was enough for Jiang Cheng and the others.
"Wait a minute," Huai Yi said, hurrying forward and leaning close to Jiang Cheng. "Brother Jiang, I know I shouldn't say this, but I have to. I feel like something's been following us."
"It started on the second floor. Whatever it is, it's been trailing us, keeping just out of sight. When we speed up, it speeds up too. When we slow down, it slows down as well."
"I don't know what it wants, but you know this is the last floor. Should we deal with whatever's behind us before we go any further?"
Judging by the horrors of the third and fourth floors, the fifth floor could only be worse. If they were caught in a pincer attack at this critical moment, they were doomed.
To Huai Yi's surprise, Jiang Cheng shook his head. "Ignore it. Focus on finding the last registry."
"Ignore it?" Huai Yi couldn't understand.
Jiang Cheng pulled out his phone, lit up the screen, and showed Huai Yi the time: 12:33. They had barely eleven minutes left, even pushing it. And they still needed time to escape.
Time was running out.
"That thing didn't start following us on the second floor," Jiang Cheng said finally. "I noticed it as soon as we entered this building."
Huai Yi's eyes widened.
The group continued down the corridor. There were no doors or rooms on either side, only bare walls. Occasionally, they spotted water stains and patches of black mold spreading like festering wounds.
Jiang Cheng stopped, took the corpse hook from Huai Yi, and scraped the wall with the hooked end. A large section of plaster crumbled away, revealing damp bricks covered in a revolting mass of mold.
They discovered that even behind the intact wall panels, an unidentified liquid had seeped through everything. The entire five-story corridor was like an apple with only a few dark spots on its skin—but cut it open, and you'd find the inside completely rotten.
"There's a gate here," Wen Liangshan suddenly said.
Following his finger, they spotted a dark green gate set flush into the wall. If it hadn't been slightly ajar, it would have been easily overlooked.
This was the first room they had encountered since arriving on the fifth floor.
Fatty looked up at the sign hanging above the gate, which read "First Display Room" in black ink.
They had previously visited the Second Display Room on the third floor. Now they were back at the First Display Room. Though frightened, they couldn't suppress their curiosity.
What horrors awaited them inside?
As the gate slowly creaked open, their questions were answered. Wen Liangshan's eyes widened in horror. If Huai Yi hadn't swiftly covered his mouth, a bloodcurdling scream would have escaped.
Behind the gate, less than three meters away, stood a figure staring intently down at them.
It wasn't a living person, of course, but a corpse that had been dead for who knew how long.
The body was submerged in a large glass container. What made it truly unnerving was that, unlike the severed heads they had seen earlier, this corpse's eyes were wide open, fixed directly on the gate.
"Doctor," Fatty said, his voice trembling, "I swear, this guy looks like he knew we were coming. Like he's been waiting here for us."
"Brother Fugui," Wen Liangshan pleaded, his voice strained, "for the love of God, can you just shut up?"
The Second Display Room had contained severed limbs, organs, and heads. It seemed logical that the First Display Room would showcase entire bodies.
As they ventured deeper inside, they discovered the space was larger than expected. Along the walls stood rows of glass containers, each housing a corpse—men, women, children, and the elderly.
Jiang Cheng counted sixteen in total, all displayed in identical glass containers.
Unfortunately, they couldn't find the donor registry.
Near the gate, Jiang Cheng noticed a plaque. In bold black ink, it read: Every body donor deserves our deepest respect. Visitors are urged to approach this place with reverence.
At all times, maintain absolute silence. Do not disturb their eternal slumber.
Below this were brief biographies of each donor.
Jiang Cheng glanced at the summaries and was about to leave when something caught his eye. He froze in place.
It wasn't over yet. There was more to come.
(End of the Chapter)
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