Chapter 186: Picking the Lock

In the flashlight beam, the white threads writhed in agony. I had only wanted a closer look, but the things seemed to fear the light, quickly retreating beneath Old Tao's skin.

"Are they alive?" The threads felt like living creatures, as if each individual strand were an independent organism. "What on earth are they?"

I was certain now that Old Tao was long dead. He hadn't come back to life. Instead, these thread-like things had tangled around his bones and joints, manipulating his corpse.

"Looks like some kind of parasite." I shivered and backed away a few steps, staring at Old Tao as he continued to twitch on the ground.

"Did you find anything?" The short security guard was even more nervous than I was. He wrung his hands, breaking out in a cold sweat.

I handed the flashlight back to him with a warning. "It isn't a corpse coming back to life—someone is behind this. Stay away from these things; there's something weird inside them."

The short security guard nodded in fervent agreement. "Okay, okay. Can we leave now?"

"Let's go. We'll figure things out once we're outside." Certain that Old Tao was truly dead, I felt no guilt as I snapped both of the corpse's legs to stop it from chasing after us.

The air in the underground passage was stagnant, reeking of the strange odors given off by the corpses. Staying down here too long brought on a tightness in my chest and shortness of breath.

The short security guard and I retraced our steps, sweeping the flashlight over the ceiling to search for the hole we had dropped through. But only a few minutes later, before we could even find the exit, more of those swaying figures appeared in the distance down the corpse transport passage.

The light caught their attention, and their movements began to speed up.

"Could it be people coming to rescue us?" The short security guard had one immense strength, and that was his optimism.

In the flashlight beam, I could see them clearly. Their dark, liver-colored skin was exposed, and every single one of these figures had a small round tag tied to its wrist. The tags clearly recorded their names, ID numbers, time of death, and cause of death.

"Run!" There were simply too many of them. The short guy and I couldn't possibly fight off this many.

"Run where?" the short security guard stammered, gripping the flashlight.

"The underground corpse repository!"

With our retreat blocked, we had to force our way forward, even if a mountain of blades and a sea of fire lay ahead.

Our footsteps echoed down the pitch-black transport passage. Sprinting with everything we had, we quickly put some distance between ourselves and our pursuers.

I knew perfectly well that even greater danger lay ahead, but we had no choice. We could only sprint headlong into despair.

I had no idea how much time had passed. In the dark passage, that strange stench grew even thicker. Aside from scattered bits of broken brick, I began seeing a growing number of animal corpses on the ground.

There were dissected frogs, birds sliced open and stitched back together, and the fresh corpses of cats and dogs that had been dead for no more than a day.

"Does this path lead straight to hell?" The short security guard covered his mouth and nose, yet he still breathed in that indescribably pungent stench. It was a foul mix of rotting flesh and formalin. With no air circulation in the passage, my lungs felt tight, the sensation of suffocation growing stronger by the second.

"I can't run anymore." The short security guard leaned against the wall, bending over to gasp for air. His face looked awful, his eyes entirely bloodshot.

"If we stop, we die!"

"I can't. I can't catch my breath. I'm so dizzy I can't even see the path." The short security guard shook his head, his body slowly sliding down the wall.

Although I also felt a tightness in my chest, my internal organ endurance was much stronger than an ordinary person's, likely because I practiced the Profound Truth Mental Method.

"Give me your hand. I'll carry you!"

The short security guard looked at me as if his ears were playing tricks on him. "Just run by yourself. We only met by chance, I..."

"Cut the crap!" I shoved the Underworld Live Show Phone into his hands and hoisted him onto my back.

Carrying a person made the path much more difficult, but the short security guard was the only confirmed living person I had found in the West Campus. Whether for the Underworld Live Show's task points or just to have a helper, saving him offered only benefits and no drawbacks.

"Hold on tight." The muscles in my arms bulged. Fortunately, the short guy wasn't too heavy. If it had been Old Song, I couldn't have carried him even if I tried.

My speed noticeably dropped, and I could faintly hear the sounds of the monsters chasing us from behind. After running another few dozen meters, the corpses on the ground multiplied. Used medical vials and bloodstained bandages were scattered about, forming a terrifying scene. But the most troubling part was that a fork in the road suddenly appeared right in front of us.

"Left or right?" Two pitch-black entrances loomed before us, like two beasts fighting over food.

I had the short guy shine the flashlight down both paths. He took a look and said, "Go right. The left side is a dead end—there's just a locked iron door at the end."

I had also seen what lay down both passages when the light swept across them, but I ignored his advice and carried him straight into the left path.

"Brother, this is a dead end," the short security guard said in despair, his voice now weak and breathless.

"It's a dead end for you, but not necessarily for me." I dumped the short security guard by the wall and ran over to the locked iron door.

An iron chain as thick as a thumb was wrapped around the doorpost. I gave the iron lock a hard shake. It was bound tight; the only way through the door was to open that massive padlock.

"How could you possibly yank an iron chain open?" the short security guard asked. Listening to the chaotic footsteps in the passage and watching the terrifying figures slowly close in, he muttered, "Is this retribution for stealing the gross anatomy teachers?"

I ignored the short security guard, running my hands along the iron chain. "Not a speck of dust. This iron chain was just put on. Someone has been watching us this entire time. They deliberately sealed this path to strip us of our options, forcing us to flee into the area they designed in advance."

A pair of eyes in the dark had been watching every move the two security guards and I made, but I just couldn't figure out why he was doing this.

Killing us should have been a simple matter for him. Why go to such great lengths?

"Buddy, what's your name? You're a stand-up guy. We can at least keep each other company on the Yellow Springs Road." The short security guard had completely given up, squeezing out a weary smile.

"Keep each other company, my ass! Guard the intersection and give me one minute." I barked at the short security guard, pulling out a crisp new banknote and rapidly folding it up. I wasn't sure if I could get this door open, but it was my only chance—the only chance to break free of someone else's control and escape this death trap!

The person behind the scenes didn't know I was an expert at picking locks. He thought a few measly chains would be enough to restrict my freedom.

"Even the tightest plan has a loophole. This is where the tables turn tonight!"

Aiming the flashlight at the keyhole, I got a clear look at the spring mechanism inside. My hands were as steady as a precision mechanical watch as I finished folding the banknote at top speed.

"They've caught up!" Fighting with every ounce of his remaining strength, the short security guard scrambled to his feet. He yelled while grabbing random things off the ground and hurling them at the horde of gross anatomy teachers, whose dead white tongues lolled from their mouths.

I remained unfazed. Every second was precious right now. I circulated the Profound Truth Mental Method, condensing my intent in my spirit platform, my eyes locked on the spring's position.

Pinching a corner of the banknote, I slid the sharp folded point inside.

I only had one chance. Once the banknote was used, the paper would crumple, making it even more impossible to trigger the spring.

"Hurry! I can't hold them off!" The swaying gross anatomy teachers had reached within five meters, their grotesque faces seemingly twisted with the dead's strongest jealousy toward the living.

My fingers slick with sweat and my heart racing, I pressed down on the banknote key to snap the spring, simultaneously yanking the heavy padlock with all my strength.

Clack!

With a crisp snap, the iron chain hit the ground. The door was open!

"Let's go!" Snatching up the iron chain, I dragged the short security guard inside, then quickly shut the door and locked it again.

Bang!

With the iron door shut, I slumped against it and sat on the floor, my heart threatening to pound out of my chest. Only then did I realize my hands were completely slick with sweat.

The short security guard had also been scared half to death. Having narrowly escaped with his life, he lay on the floor, greedily breathing in the fresh air. "I really owe you my thanks for getting us out of there. I swear, I'll absolutely never mess with corpses again."

"Don't be so optimistic." I took a deep breath and used the wall to push myself to my feet. "Earlier, I saw a lot of dark silhouettes standing motionless in the classrooms of the Laboratory Building. If they're the same as the monsters in the tunnel, we're in danger tonight."

Looking up, I had no idea where I was now. I scanned my surroundings, only to see rows of slightly ajar doors.