Chapter 89: The Adjacent Cell

"Dirt trapped beneath the nails, rough skin... this finger probably belonged to a man who did heavy manual labor." I shooed the rat away and examined the severed digit in front of me. "A clean cut, sliced right through the joint. The killer must have some medical knowledge, or at least a deep understanding of human anatomy."

Among all the murderers I've encountered, doctors are the most unique. They possess extensive professional knowledge, exceptional psychological fortitude, and are often clear-headed, calm, and decisive—making them incredibly difficult to deal with.

"Squeak!" The moment I dropped my guard, the rat snatched up the severed finger, leaped into the ditch, and vanished without a trace.

"There isn't even a vent in this room. The rats rely entirely on this ditch running through it to get in and out." I stared at the thirty-centimeter-wide channel reeking of rotting corpses. "If I want to map the layout of this underground structure, this is the only way through."

After pacing the room for ages without finding a single clue, I finally settled my gaze on the ditch.

"If the rats can get in and out through here, so can I." The nauseating, fetid ditch was my only way out. But let alone lying completely submerged in it, just sticking a hand in required immense courage.

The water in this ditch was used to wash away corpses. The accumulated stench of so many years would be unbearable for a normal person.

Looking closer, I spotted strands of long women's hair and bone fragments mixed in with the blood and filth. "Too cruel. Just how many people were tortured to death in this place?"

I narrowed my eyes. I currently had two choices.

The first was to wait right here. Whoever imprisoned me would definitely make a move eventually. I just needed to wait for the exact moment they opened the door, capitalize on the fact that they didn't know I'd already untied my ropes, and fight my way out.

The downside to this method was that I'd only get one chance. A single mistake, and I would be doomed forever.

The second option was much safer. I could leave my room through the ditch, continue searching for clues, and perhaps discover something new.

Reason dictated I choose the second method, but looking at the ditch where the bloody water had just dispersed, I hesitated.

"Livestream viewers, what do you think I should do now?"

"Just close your eyes and go in. Press 1 if you agree he should crawl through the stinking ditch."

"Damn, this is one smelly livestream!"

"The smell isn't what's scary. The scary part is getting stuck halfway. Then you'd reek for all eternity!"

After thinking it over, I decided to give it a try. It was a matter of life and death; I couldn't afford to pass up any opportunity.

I took off my pants, stuffed them into a plastic bag along with the Large-Screen Phone, and tied the bag securely to my leg. Grabbing the rusted iron grate with both hands, I shook it forcefully. It took about five minutes to finally pry it off.

I stuck a hand into the ditch. The water submerged my elbow. The depth was barely enough for me to squeeze through.

"To hell with it!" Taking a deep breath, I laid down in the foul water. The heinous stench seeped into my body through my pores. Even with my mouth and nose clamped shut, I nearly passed out from the smell.

Silently reciting the Profound Truth Mental Method, I focused my intent on Sitting in Forgetfulness at my spirit platform and laboriously crawled through the ditch.

It was only a crawl to the adjacent room, taking barely a dozen seconds, yet it felt as if an entire hour had passed.

When light reappeared overhead and my mouth and nose could finally breathe fresh air again, I felt like I had just crawled back from the brink of death. I dragged my body up and collapsed on the floor beside the ditch.

"I made it." I opened my eyes. The structural layout of the adjacent room was completely identical to the one I'd just left.

The only difference was that a little boy was locked inside this room. He huddled in the corner, his eyes full of terror as he looked at me.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here to save you," I declared shamelessly, despite barely being able to protect myself.

The boy was clearly terrified of me. Without saying a word, he pressed his body desperately against the wall, as if wishing for a hole he could hide inside.

I kept my distance and sat down in the opposite corner. The locked room quickly fell silent.

Water trickled down, drip, drop. I used the time to carefully observe the little boy. His lips were purple and his skin was deathly pale, likely the result of going without sunlight for a long period.

He was slightly chubby with a messy head of hair. His clothes were intact, showing no signs of tearing or struggling.

While I was observing the boy, he was also stealing glances at me. After about fifteen minutes, noticing that the terror had faded from his eyes, I tried talking to him again.

"What's your name?"

"Song Xiaofeng."

Hearing this name, I subconsciously thought of Xiaofeng from the Anxin Hotel. "Why does your name sound like a girl's?"

"My dad gave it to me. My mom passed away early, so my dad split up her name and gave the parts to us three brothers."

"Three brothers?"

"Yeah. My older brother is Song Xiaowang, and my younger brother is Song Xiaoyao."

"So your mother's name was Wang Fengyao."

The boy stared at me in disbelief. "How did you know?"

"Is that really so amazing?" I was somewhat speechless; this kid didn't seem too bright. "When were you locked up here?"

"I don't know." The boy shook his head. "It feels like it's been a really, really long time."

I stroked my chin and tried asking in a different way. "You've been locked in here this whole time, so they must be bringing you food and water. Do you remember how many meals you've eaten?"

"I've eaten lots of meals. For water, I just drink from the ditch. I can drink whenever I'm thirsty." The boy answered earnestly and methodically, yet he failed to reveal a single piece of useful information.

"Drinking the water from this ditch... it's a miracle you're even alive." The little boy had probably suffered some sort of trauma; he just felt different from normal children his age.

"Have you heard any unusual sounds or seen anyone special since you were locked in here?"

Song Xiaofeng bit his finger, scratching his head in thought. "I haven't seen anyone else, but I often hear someone crying. It sounds just like my mom."

"Sounds like your mom?" I slowly approached the little boy. "Do you remember the very last thing you were doing before you came in here?"

"I was playing hide-and-seek with my family. Dad hid my younger brother and told my older brother and me to go find him. Later I fell asleep, and when I woke up, I was in this place."

"Hide-and-seek? Your dad hid your younger brother?" I couldn't make sense of a single word Song Xiaofeng was saying. I felt there was a problem here, but I just couldn't figure it out.

"Forget it. We are fellow sufferers at the ends of the earth. If I manage to escape in a bit, you follow closely behind me. When I tell you to run, you run. Understand?"

I didn't know if the little boy actually understood or not; he just looked at me and gave a silly chuckle.

Standing up, I walked over to the ditch and grabbed the rusted iron grate once again.

"What are you doing?" the boy asked, squatting curiously on the other side of the ditch.

"I'm saving you." Gritting my teeth, I used every ounce of strength I had to pry the iron grate off. My fingers were cut by the rust, stinging and itching simultaneously. "Damn it, the rust got into my flesh. If I don't treat this fast, it could easily lead to a tetanus infection."

Just as I was about to toss the iron grate aside, footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the door.

"Shh, don't say a word!" Holding my breath, my heart leapt into my throat. I was terrified someone would come in right now; that would mean everything I'd done so far was for nothing.

Perhaps I should be thankful for the fully sealed iron door. The prisoner couldn't see what was happening outside, and the people outside didn't know what was going on inside either.

The footsteps slowly faded away. Accompanied by the heavy thud of an iron door closing, the corridor returned to dead silence.

"Scared the hell out of me." Gently setting down the iron grate, I didn't rush off to the next room. Instead, I recalled the footsteps from a moment ago.

From near to far, they had taken about thirty steps before the sound of the iron door closing rang out.

"Thirty steps is roughly fifteen meters. Assuming every cell has the same layout, I'll have to pass through three more rooms to reach the place where he left." I turned to the curiously staring boy and said, "Stay here and don't run around. If someone comes in, dive into the ditch and escape to another room first."

After instructing the little boy, I took a deep breath, looked at the murky water, and slipped back inside without hesitation.

Perhaps my senses had already grown accustomed to the pungent stench; my movements the second time were much nimbler than the first.

In just a few seconds, I popped my head out. Opening my eyes, I saw that the cell's layout was completely identical.

The only difference was the person imprisoned inside.

As my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, my gaze locked with that person's, and we both saw the shock in each other's eyes.

"Shh, keep quiet!"