Chapter Fifty-Five: The Compressed Elevator

“You risked your life to save me before; today, I will repay that life!”

Sweat beads covered Haoyang’s forehead and back, slowly trickling down his cheeks. Though he breathed heavily, his steps dragged forward.

“Tap! Tap!”

Drops of sweat fell to the ground, echoing throughout the corridor. Occasionally, blood oozed from wounds on his legs, soaking his trousers.

Gradually, he spotted a hollow area in the pitch-black passage ahead. His eyes brightened; summoning all his strength, he lifted his leg and moved forward.

Inside, a group of figures swayed unsteadily, their noisy shouting relentless—drunken curses spilling out.

Haoyang eyed the chaotic crowd with a growing sense of dread and fear.

Not because he feared the darkness, but because it felt as if countless eyes were staring at him, as if they intended to devour him!

He should have been grateful to have made it this far, yet an overwhelming terror rooted him in place, unwilling to enter.

Gritting his teeth, he wrestled with his dark thoughts. But what if things turned out well? What if the compressed elevator was truly there?

If he didn’t move forward, death was certain.

At the brink of life and death, he made his decision in an instant. Even if the path ahead led to a den of dragons and tigers, he was resolute.

“Hurry up! Stop dawdling like a woman!”

Seeing the figures wobble more and more around him, irritation flared within Haoyang as he scolded the person operating the elevator.

“Don’t rush so damn much! It’s dark! How can it go faster? Damn!”

The operator, equally frustrated in the darkness, snapped back.

Though it was a compressed elevator, it relied on ancient lever principles, crafted from the softest yet strongest spider silk of perfect density and the heaviest Russian alloy in the world.

Control was button-based but far from the idiot-proof smart elevators—complex circuits required precise button combinations to activate escape mode and ascend to the surface.

“Ah! It’s moving! It’s moving!”

Suddenly, the elevator jolted, accompanied by the clinking of chains. The group erupted in excited cheers.

“We’re finally escaping!”

***

“Look ahead! Is there someone there?”

She, standing on the outermost edge, spotted a shadow and exclaimed in surprise.

“A shadow! Could it be a monster?”

“The laboratory is sealed—how could a monster get in?” he replied in disbelief.

Around them, chaotic speculation about the monster’s existence swirled.

“There was an earthquake just now! Maybe something crawled out from below!” one scientist chuckled hoarsely, his voice eerie.

“Rumor has it there’s an ancient tomb beneath this place!”

“Woo! Woo!”

As he absorbed the words, an uncanny sound echoed in his ears, and he felt a hand on his back.

Goosebumps prickled his skin as he quickly turned around.

Relieved, he saw familiar figures surrounding him.

“Stop fooling around! You know as well as I do if there’s an ancient tomb down there or not!”

“Enough with the nonsense! Look carefully—who’s that ahead?”

He patted the younger, panicked man beside him.

“Who is it?”

“Could it be one of our comrades?”

With the tall man’s explanation, attention shifted back to the identity of the shadow.

Look! Isn’t that Haoyang? He seems to be carrying someone on his back!

She was the first to spot the figure earlier and had been scrutinizing him closely. Now she could clearly see the visitor’s features.

“It’s Dr. Haoyang!”

“Dr. Haoyang!”

“Let him in quickly! The elevator’s about to start!”

“The person on his back? It must be Zhenhua! They’re so close; he’d definitely bring Zhenhua to escape with him!”

One researcher sighed, for people were selfish, all hoping to save themselves. Only a few cared about the fate of friends and family. Dr. Zhenhua’s generosity was truly admirable.

***

Some mocked and sneered, while others showed kindness and concern.

“With everything going on, still caring about Zhenhua? Foolish.”

“Serves him right if he can’t get out.”

“Anyone who wants to save him can try! The elevator’s about to start anyway!”

The researchers inside the elevator expressed these concerns.

“Who’ll help bring him over?”

A voice came from deep within the elevator.

“Who’s going to pull him from the outside?”

One researcher said it aloud but made no move.

Outside, the person merely turned their head away—no action. If they tried to pull him, the elevator would start and leave without them.

No rescue.

Silence fell, punctuated only by heavy breaths. Everyone pretended not to hear.

The chains began to turn slowly, and soon, they would soar to the surface.

…

Outside the elevator, Haoyang carried Zhenhua on his back. Cold voices echoed from within the elevator, but his face remained expressionless—humanity twisted, despairing death, the bleak nature of mankind in this world.

Like cold snakes, devoid of humanity.

He prayed only that the elevator would start after he climbed aboard.

Step by step, he approached the shadowy figures. He lifted his leg to step in.

Suddenly, his chest felt heavy, as if he collided with a weighty object. His balance faltered, and he fell backward.

The chains clanked, and the elevator before his eyes vanished without a trace…