Gao Hai carefully took a step, slowly approaching the two blurry figures.
Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the two figures and making their contrasting heights—one tall, one short—particularly conspicuous.
Gao Hai heard voices coming from their direction. The sound started as a faint, indistinct murmur before gradually becoming clearer, until he could make out the content of their conversation.
It was the voice of an old man and a young man, their words interweaving.
The old man was saying:
"From this day forward, the development and protection of the Red Nut Gray Hole are in your hands, Pedi. You must watch over this park well."
And the young man replied, full of vigor:
"Of course, Mr. Auston. I will. I'll develop this park into a renowned attraction in the state, work until we get national certification, and turn this place into a world-famous destination that will thrive for a hundred years. That is my promise."
At that moment, Gao Hai's gaze went past the two figures and looked out the window.
He saw the park outside, which was under construction.
An old, shabby sign was being taken down, and a new one was being erected.
The originally rough, pitted cave entrance was being carefully tended to, with plans to build a staircase.
Fences were being put up, and the newly planted flowers were beginning to bud.
Finally, a very tall monument was lifted by machinery, moved into position, and then slowly lowered.
"Do a good job."
Of the two blurry figures beside him, the old man reached out and gently patted the young man's shoulder. Then, leaning on his cane, he limped slowly away and disappeared down the hallway.
"I will. I promise."
The shorter, younger man nodded solemnly in response before he, too, turned and vanished.
Gao Hai, who had walked to the window, looked down at the monument. With his superhuman eyesight, he could clearly read the inscription below the statue.
"Auston V. Brown"
"The first warrior to successfully explore the Red Nut Gray Hole, complete the survey of the entire cave system, and successfully develop it for use."
"Founder and first president of the Red Nut Gray Hole Tourism Development Company."
That was...
The surrounding scenery changed once again.
Gao Hai saw scraps of paper fluttering everywhere—Red Nut Gray Hole tickets, banknotes of various colors, and other documents of all sizes.
He watched the place transform from a completely natural cave to one with various facilities being installed. A park was built outside the cave, then expansion and safety projects were undertaken inside, and basic infrastructure was established. Step by step, the area underwent a world-shaking transformation.
The number of visiting tourists was growing.
The dangerous area behind the Great Slide, specially opened to explorers, was expensive to enter but attracted many adventure enthusiasts.
A wave of cave tourism was sweeping through the America.
And Pedi, who had taken over the cave from Auston, successfully seized this opportunity, perfecting the attraction.
Gao Hai reached out and caught a document that was perfectly intact, unlike the other tattered scraps of paper.
It was a letter.
A plain document with a very simple cover, devoid of any decoration.
"To Werbo:"
"Hey, it's been five years since we last saw each other. After college, you wanted to go into safety management, and I ended up at the Red Nut Gray Hole Tourism Development Company. We promised that whoever made a name for themself first wouldn't forget the other, so now I'm reaching out."
"I'm the president of this company now. A thirty-two-year-old president, impressive, right? Feel free to worship me, hahahahaha."
"Anyway, you know what I mean. I need your experience. I need you to help me further improve the safety measures at this attraction. Like that fissure on the gentle slope—ha, someone's gotten stuck in there for the seventh time. I really don't get what those tourists are thinking, climbing over the fence when it's clearly cordoned off. If that fissure weren't so narrow, ha, I can't even imagine what it'd be like to fall straight to the bottom of a 300-meter-deep chasm. And the great cliff, too. It's just too high; even professional explorers can easily get into trouble there. We need to install a simple pulley elevator, and that's something you're the best at."
"That's right, I need you. Go ahead and laugh if you want. I'm sure you bastard are roaring with laughter as you read this."
"Don't think I can't guess your expression, you son of a bitch. We've been fighting the kids from the next street over since we were five. I know whether you're about to shit or fart just by the way you lift your ass. Now get your butt over here. The plane ticket is enclosed with this letter."
"—Pedi"
Auston, who first developed the Red Nut Gray Hole; Pedi, who took over the cave attraction; and Werbo, who assisted him with safety management.
The information revealed to Gao Hai by this memory fragment was deeply concerning to him.
He started walking, wanting to delve deeper into this place.
What exactly happened in this cave?
Why did a nationally famous tourist spot end up becoming such a chaotic, twisted place of horror stories?
What was the key?
The origin of all the disasters, hidden within this pitch-black mountain cave—where did it all begin?
Too many questions swirled in his mind, with no answers to be found.
Although he didn't know why he could perceive things within these memory fragments, Gao Hai had no intention of stopping. He decided to press deeper, to try and find more clues, to seek the truth he desired from these shattered phantoms.
But at that very moment, Gao Hai suddenly noticed that the building he was in was growing dim.
As if light itself could no longer exist, the surroundings were rapidly dimming, plunging into a lightless environment.
Something was approaching in the darkness.
Screech—Screech—
It sounded like a metal object being dragged across the floor.
He began to realize he had to run.
The once clean and tidy hallway was becoming dilapidated.
Muddy water started dripping from the ceiling.
Outside the window, the sunny grounds of the Red Nut Gray Hole park were gone, replaced by a cold, gloomy cave with flickering lights that looked as if they could go out at any moment.
It was here.
His Blessing was still unable to detect it. He couldn't sense the slightest bit of goodwill or malice, nor could he discern what it was.
But Gao Hai's instincts were already screaming warnings at him, telling him he had to flee with all his might and not let the darkness catch up.
Screech—Screech—
The dragging sound seemed incredibly slow, yet it was closing in rapidly.
That thing had already discovered him.
Even though he was not in a real, dilapidated cave but within someone's memory, the thing had still found Gao Hai. It was rapidly approaching, intending to end his life right here and now.
I have to get out of here.
The more Gao Hai advanced, the more he ran, the more impossible it became to move.
The walls on both sides were closing in.
The once-high ceiling was steadily pressing down.
The place had, at some point, turned into a low, pitch-black cave.
Amidst the sound of crying, he thought he could faintly hear someone shouting "Hold on!"
Then, Gao Hai opened his eyes.
He looked at Chika Fujiwara, who was lying in his arms, held tightly by him.
Yes, I can feel her emotions. It's really her, not some monster in disguise.
Her face was a little red, though. It seemed she wasn't asleep, or perhaps she had woken up much earlier? In any case, although Chika was now lying obediently in Gao Hai's arms, her head resting on his slightly numb arm, it wasn't hard to tell from her occasional slight tremors and the deepening blush on her cheeks that she was awake and only pretending to be asleep.
In the dream, she was the one holding me while we slept, but now that I'm awake, the situation is completely reversed?
In any case, at least Maki didn't see this. Thank goodness.
Just as Gao Hai was thinking this, he suddenly heard the "click" of a lock from the door beside him.
The next moment, the heavy metal door was pushed open, and Maki Shijo, dressed in a black soldier's uniform, appeared expressionlessly in the doorway. Her purple eyes stared intently at Gao Hai, who was on the single bed, holding Chika.
"Uh, well, what a coincidence..."
Unsure how to react to this overly dramatic scene, Gao Hai gave a slight twitch of his lips and finally raised the hand that wasn't pinned under Chika to give Maki a little wave.
________________________________________
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