Along the way, Eric cast a sidelong glance and observed that over twenty players were present.
It was her first encounter with so many fellow participants.
If the initial conditions for them all upon entering the dungeon were similar, then the total number must have been multiplied severalfold—had this mission truly deployed over a hundred players?
Was the difficulty set too low, or was it exceedingly high?
More than twenty players braved the rain, following the man into a small chamber adjacent to the helipad. The chamber was, in fact, an elevator spacious enough to accommodate nearly thirty individuals, including the pilot.
"I'm not going! I refuse to go!" a player suddenly dashed out of the elevator, waving frantically at the group from outside. "Are you all fools? Get out now! It's definitely perilous down there!"
A ripple of unease spread among the players, yet none followed him outside.
The man attempted persuasion but, seeing the player steadfast, reluctantly activated the elevator. Employing fingerprint and password access, he commenced the descent.
Unease began to creep through the group, Eric included. Having just escaped from the underground laboratory several floors beneath, the thought of returning belowground unsettled her deeply. Yet, she steeled herself to proceed.
Recalling the broad helipad overhead, Eric surmised this facility was an even larger underground laboratory than the one she had just fled.
Sure enough, when the elevator doors opened, the view before her mirrored the previous lab's stark, icy-white decor.
Exhaling a heavy breath, Eric swiftly surveyed her new environs.
"Follow me; I will lead you to the lounge," the man instructed, setting his umbrella upon a nearby rack. Together, they traversed the pristine white corridor. Lining the lengthy passage were numerous chambers—some enclosed merely by glass walls. Within, technicians busied themselves with their tasks. In a corner, cages stacked atop each other imprisoned myriad animals, their frantic movements shaking the iron bars ceaselessly.
This scene brought to Eric's mind the mutated monkeys she had recently battled; evidently, similar experiments were being conducted here.
According to the common patterns of game dungeons, this underground lab was certain to spiral into chaos and collapse. She had once escaped via the ventilation shaft—what fate awaited this time?
Others shared this foreboding thought, casting a heavy pall over the players' mood.
Upon reaching the lounge, Eric found it stocked with warm beverages and food. Parched and famished, she lifted a cup of hot coffee, sipping it slowly, and accompanied it with two small cakes.
The guide retreated, bidding them to rest.
"What exactly is going on? Has anyone experienced a dungeon like this before?" an anxious player inquired.
"Patience," another replied serenely, taking a measured sip of his drink. "There are quite a few story-driven dungeons like this. Consider this a respite. Rest and replenish your strength; shortly, the narrative will resume. Based on my experience, the forthcoming challenges will be no less demanding than before."
"The difficulty will certainly be higher than before!" another player asserted.
Among the players, a note of trepidation surfaced. "Knowing that insurmountable challenges await below, how can you still dare to descend? This place lies more than twenty floors underground!" Regret tinged his voice as he lamented not having fled the elevator with another player earlier.
"That is the very essence of 'nothing ventured, nothing gained.' Without entering, the narrative cannot unfold, and the halo will never manifest. In this game, one cannot shirk the dungeon's demands. When the NPC commands descent, we must obey—the halo is most likely concealed deep below. Those who remain above risk being locked out; should they miss the halo's emergence, once it fades, they will find no return to the transit station," an experienced player advised gently, sighing deeply. "This is but a standard dungeon. I once braved a paranormal one; knowing ghosts awaited, yet pressed on to uncover clues—that was truly courting death."
Eric absorbed their discourse silently, committing it to memory.
Suddenly, dizziness overwhelmed her; alarm flashed in her mind, yet a moment later, darkness claimed her consciousness.
Every occupant of the lounge collapsed.
In the monitoring room, the supervisor's gaze fixed intently upon them. "Increase the dosage. Administer another injection in ten minutes to ensure they lose all capacity for resistance."
"Yes, sir."
"Then dispatch them all to level minus twenty-one for Professor Wang. All subsidiary laboratories erupted into chaos; the test subjects revolted en masse and have since been eradicated under the purge protocol, save for these remaining security personnel. Their bodies have been contaminated; releasing them is unwise. Convert them directly into test subjects. What of the one stationed above? Did he escape?"
"That guard remained vigilant; he incited others previously. When agents were sent to escort him down, he resisted fiercely and was neutralized."
The supervisor waved dismissively. "One less makes no difference. Carry him off to feed the experiments."
When Eric regained consciousness, she found herself confined within a water-filled cage. Adjacent compartments held other players—some stirring and probing their enclosures for escape routes, others still steeped in unconsciousness.
The water was shallow, barely reaching her abdomen as she sat. A sudden chill coursed through her—it was ice cold.
Moreover, the frigid water was laced with chemicals. Eric scooped some to her nose; the liquid appeared black, redolent with a bitter medicinal scent.
"What shall we do? Why have they imprisoned us?"
"We must devise a means of escape!"
The lucid players clamored loudly; Eric struggled upright and began scrutinizing the iron cage.
Alas, she could discern no flaw in the cage's construction—not even the location of a door—and had no inkling of how she had been confined within it. A sensation of weakness coursed through her limbs; after standing briefly, she faltered and sank back against the iron bars.
"Has anyone found an exit? This water is tainted; prolonged exposure will drain us of all strength!"
Eric closed her eyes, drawing breath slowly to rebuild her fortitude. Grasping the cage anew, she rose to her feet once more, aware that prolonged immersion was untenable. Yet another circuit around the cage revealed no vulnerabilities. Her strength waned again, and she slid helplessly downward.
Gradually, silence descended among the players; all understood the peril of the water and conserved their energy by speaking little.
Ultimately, Eric resigned herself to sitting in the icy water, each breath feeling frail. Her gaze remained fixed unblinkingly upon the cage as she marshaled her dwindling strength.
The cage was partitioned into countless solitary cells; Eric rested within the narrow confines, eyes closed to gather her thoughts. Though she spied no surveillance cameras, a deep wariness of the laboratory restrained her from utilizing any supermarket supplies to restore her vigor.
Judging from the gnawing hunger in her abdomen, she estimated at least six hours had elapsed.
What did the laboratory's captors intend by holding them here?
Suddenly, faint groans whispered near her ear; she opened her eyes swiftly.
The player in the adjacent cell writhed in agony, emitting low moans.
"What's wrong? Where do you hurt?" Eric asked anxiously.
The player suddenly slammed his head against the bars repeatedly, blood spilling freely before he could reply.
Reaching through the dense iron fencing to grasp his hand and assess his condition, Eric was struck the next moment by a searing pain—like countless iron hammers crashing down upon every sinew and bone, every fiber burning and aching in excruciating torment.
"Ah!" she cried out involuntarily.
Eric writhed desperately within her cage, pain overwhelming her until unconsciousness claimed her. Similar fates befell the others; anguished cries gave way to weakening screams, until a profound stillness settled over the iron enclosures.
Though senseless, Eric's body burned as if cast into a furnace; agony clung to her like a shadow. She had never fathomed the mortal flesh could endure such torture and lamented her dwindling chances of survival. Amid the haze, visions of a forgotten childhood stirred.
She beheld a vast sea of crimson blossoms, crawling amid towering flowers. Gazing upward, she saw a dance of red waves swaying in the breeze, the moon above glowing scarlet.
"Why return to the fields of ginger flowers again? Come quickly, let us go home to Mother."
Gentle words faded as cool hands lifted her; she rested against her mother's chest, sleep heavy in her eyes while watching the crimson waves recede.
Her mother briskly carried her onward; the chilling breeze caressed her face, beckoning her to nestle closer into the warm embrace. Smiling, her mother tightened the hold, and comforted thus, Eric drifted into slumber.
Upon awakening, remnants of this childhood dream lingered, momentarily softening the sting of pain and leaving her dazed.
It was her first recollection of youth, despite lacking memories before the age of ten. Her earliest conscious moment remained the hospital ward awakening, relatives watching over her bedside, gently stroking her head and sighing.
"Your parents are gone; you must be strong. Thankfully, they left you an inheritance—your future need not be bleak. Grow well, child."
Sighing, Eric's leg throbbed fiercely. Instinctively, she lashed out with a kick.
Bang!
Turning, she saw a monkey hurled by her blow.
Its red eyes and snarling ferocity mirrored precisely the abomination she had encountered in the previous laboratory.
Recoiling from the strike, the beast lunged anew. Fueled by a surge of fury, Eric—cherishing those fragile memories of maternal solace—resolved to crush this monstrous interloper.
From some unknown depth surged a primal, fierce resolve; with a fierce cry, she charged forward.
Matching beast with beast, she snarled, bit, and tore with wild abandon.
Her veins burned as if flooded with boiling blood, each movement more savage than the last; her eyes glowed with crimson fire. For a time, she slipped beyond conscious thought, her soul submerged in instinctual carnage.
When clarity returned, she found herself seated amid a mutilated mass of flesh and gore.
Blinking, blood dripped from her brow, trailing past lashes and pooling beneath her eyes. Raising a hand, she beheld it—fur-covered, the joints grotesquely thickened and distorted.
This was no human hand; it was—
Gazing downward at the crimson surroundings, she recoiled as though scorched!
In an instant of illumination, a dreadful truth dawned: the mutated monkeys from the laboratory were no mere primates; they were transformed humans!
A chill of horror shook her to the core. Touching her face and limbs, she confirmed the metamorphosis. Had a mirror stood before her now, she would see not a woman but a beast—a "monkey," not a human.