The red door.
Just like Room 304 in the Shirakawa Apartments, a completely blood-red door.
However, according to Explorer Rule No. 2, the man named Werbo is inside this room. He seems to retain a certain degree of self-awareness, much like Xusheng. Those rules were likely distributed by this man using some method; otherwise, it would be hard to explain why players can always quickly obtain new relevant rules when changing identities.
Although that is the case, the Research Base shouldn't have much to do with Werbo. The situation at that base is somewhat unusual, and Gao Hai dares not jump to conclusions even now.
In short, according to the content of the rule sheet, he should be able to find the man named Werbo behind this red door.
Thinking this, Gao Hai took a step toward that blood-red door, then stopped.
Next, he turned around and, without the slightest hesitation, began moving quickly in the direction away from that door.
Intense malice was spreading.
Almost at the exact moment Gao Hai turned around, he heard the sound of that door opening behind him.
Drip-drop—
Water droplets fell onto the ground.
Rapid footsteps chased from behind.
In this moment, Gao Hai unleashed his full potential, running with all his might. In a single second, he crossed a distance of 15 meters, sprinting through the corridor at a speed exceeding world records.
Fragmented sounds were spreading.
Like someone raising a glass with another in celebration, laughing together.
Like someone arguing fiercely with another, smashing various things onto the ground.
Like someone conversing indifferently with another, then walking in different directions, parting ways, never to find a trace of warmth again.
The thing behind him was catching up at an extremely high speed.
If not for the enhancement of his S-rank physical constitution, Gao Hai had no doubt he would have been caught immediately. But even with a physique surpassing human limits, the distance between him and the opponent was still constantly shrinking; there was simply no way to shake that thing off.
Use an Obsession Item? No, there's no time to turn around. He would likely be caught by the opponent before he could even throw the Obsession Item out.
The corridor was running to its end; from this position, he could already see there was no road ahead. Was his only choice to try jumping out the window?
Gao Hai's gaze flew across the doors on both sides, observing with his similarly enhanced dynamic vision, only to find that the nameplates on these doors were equally blurred and unclear. Obviously, they could not be entered at all and were merely decorations.
No, there was one door with a clear nameplate!
Thud!
Gao Hai's footsteps came to an abrupt halt. He slammed his body toward one side of the corridor, bursting open a large door. Then, while his body was still mid-air before landing, he extended his foot to hook the door handle, spun to generate force, and slammed the door shut violently.
The thing chasing him stopped at the doorway and did not enter.
At the final moment before closing the door, Gao Hai saw clearly what the thing looked like. It was something that had lost its human form, resembling a pile of minced and stirred meat reshaped into a barely human structure. Dark red blood flowed constantly from its body, dripping onto the corridor.
Drip-drop—
As if making such a sound, originating from somewhere unknown yet also right before his eyes—a sound both blurry and distinct.
Click!
The door closed, shutting that thing outside.
Gao Hai could hear heavy breathing, the sound of that thing's footsteps pacing, and finally, the sound of it slowly leaving.
He climbed up from the ground and turned to survey the room.
This was a modest office. Against one wall stood a large bookshelf filled with various documents and reference books on professional subjects. They appeared to be books regarding how to build tourism infrastructure and security defense work.
On the desk in the center of the room sat a miniature model of the Red Nut Gray Hole scenic area, a safety certificate, and two documents. On the other side was a large open cabinet containing tools like bolt cutters and screwdrivers. It looked like these tools had been used for some time, appearing somewhat old and worn.
Gao Hai knew where this place was.
This was the office of Werbo, the Safety Division Manager of the Red Nut Gray Hole Tourism Development Company.
In the process of running into this place just now, he had clearly seen the words "Safety Division Manager's Office" on the nameplate, as well as the name "Werbo" pasted below it. In other words, this was Werbo's office in this company during his time as the safety manager.
"If you cannot find the entrance to the 'Artery', go to my office. I am behind the red door; they have always kept that door for me. I will leave a key inside..."
Recalling the content on that rule sheet, Gao Hai suddenly realized that this thing had actually dug a pit for him.
If you can't find the entrance to the "Artery", you can go to Werbo's office to find clues.
But Werbo's office does not mean it is the "red door". These two things are actually completely different, yet they were mixed together in the final sentence, creating a misleading impression. If Gao Hai hadn't been cautious and refrained from approaching that blood-red door—identical to Room 304—he might have already started his third loop by now.
"The second type of rules is intended for players who know more information, so the content is more precise and involves more things. But at the same time, this type of rule itself has been subject to certain pollution, so do traps and malice already exist within the content?"
Realizing this, Gao Hai let out a long breath, feeling an indescribable exhaustion.
This disordered instance, twisted into different space-times, was already exhausting enough. If it were just simple toxic information interaction like in the Shirakawa Apartments, that would be one thing, but if the information itself contained various traps, the path ahead would likely only get harder.
He wondered where Chika Fujiwara was right now.
If these scenes were all residual echoes left by people who died in the cavern, then she should also be within a scene constructed from some memory right now. He just didn't know specifically where she would be, or how far apart she was from him.
He couldn't help but think of the previous loop, the moment when Chika, who had been acting alongside him, died.
At that time, Gao Hai hadn't dared to look back at her state, but he knew very well that Chika died because of him. Even though it wasn't his intention, this point still made Gao Hai extremely unhappy. And now that girl had gotten lost halfway; he didn't know if he could find her again—well, he meant finding her while she was still alive.
Forget it, don't worry about these unsolvable problems for now. First, see what intelligence clues are hidden here.
Calming his mood, Gao Hai first carefully observed the office again to confirm no ghosts were hiding there, then cautiously approached the bookshelf and pulled out the documents one by one to check them.
These documents... were all detailed records regarding facility replacement and maintenance at the Red Nut Gray Hole. To think every single one had detailed, specific content—normally, most documents in residual echoes should be blurry, right? Only things involving key memories can remain clear?
Realizing something, Gao Hai returned the document in his hand, then picked up a maintenance reference book of at least three or four hundred pages. Flipping through it, he found that although the content was somewhat blurry, a significant portion was legible.
It was as if he could see such a scene.
A man conscientiously leading his subordinates through the cavern time and time again, checking the safety of various equipment and facilities day after day, never setting aside his thirst for knowledge, spending every day with a serious and earnest attitude.
He put the book back into the bookshelf.
Having confirmed that nothing should be hidden on the shelf, Gao Hai turned and walked to the desk, reaching out to pick up the two documents lying on top.
The former was a letter. It looked like it had just been written and hadn't been mailed out yet.
"To Howard:"
"It's me, Werbo."
"You may not have a deep impression of me. After all, you are a rising star in the City Fire Station, while I am just a marginalized minor character."
"But now, both you and I are trapped in the same storm, unable to escape all this. After the tragedy of Andres, you are the person most qualified to speak on what happened inside the Red Nut Gray Hole. You went in three times and came out three times. Yet many of your teammates stayed inside forever. And moving forward, more people will surely lose their lives in that damned cavern. As long as it continues to operate, none of this will change."
"I never thought I would reach this step one day—turning against my once-best friend, even destroying his future. But there have been too many meaningless sacrifices, too many innocent deaths. I cannot watch this continue; I must find a way to shut down that damned attraction."
"You are the only person I can turn to for help. We must expose all this, and end this disaster, these tragedies, once and for all."
"It cannot go on like this. If you receive my letter, please reply as soon as possible. I have already found a reporter responsible for the exposure. As long as you are willing to speak up, we can definitely generate enough public opinion to shut down the scenic area."
"—Werbo"
The content of the letter was simple and appeared very messy. It seemed Werbo's mental state wasn't very good when he wrote this letter.
Howard. This name had not appeared before. But Werbo called him a rising star of the fire brigade, so perhaps clues related to him could be found in the rain-drenched cavern world where the Rescue Team existed. Perhaps the residual echo he just saw in the warehouse actually belonged to this man named Howard. If so, it would help clarify the timeline of this instance.
Thinking this, Gao Hai then picked up the second document.
It was also a letter.
However, unlike the handwritten letter just now, this one was text printed by a printer. The formatting wasn't very rigorous either; it felt like it had been written in a rush as well.
"The letter you sent to Mr. Smith has been intercepted. You are not dead right now because I pleaded for leniency from Mr. Antonitovan."
"What do you think you are doing? Do you think that by taking some ambiguous things to expose, running around shouting, you can change anything?"
"Do you think that as long as everyone knows there is danger inside the Red Nut Gray Hole, everyone will happily sit down to shut down this scenic area and work together to solve the problems inside?"
"I don't recall you being such a stupid person, Werbo. I've known you for so many years, and I never thought you were such a fool."
"This matter is no longer something you or I can decide. Do you still not understand? The Red Nut Gray Hole was selected as a new national-level scenic area this year, and this year happens to be the last year of the mayor's term in this city. Do you really not understand what this implies?"
"Why do you think Mr. Antonitovan, a dignified Senator, cares about our scenic area when he has nothing better to do? Why was our scenic area, clearly very crude, specifically featured on the front page of an international travel magazine with seven or eight pages of introduction? Why have so many experts and celebrities visited our scenic area in the past two years? Why could our park win so many awards all at once? The mayor is his grandson-in-law. Now that the mayor's term is ending, the Red Nut Gray Hole, personally promoted by the mayor, is the face of these people."
"But you, you want to destroy all of this directly? Oh, do you think you can find some third-rate pheasant program, run up there and yell a few sentences about how dozens of people have gone missing in this scenic area, so we must shut down this dangerous place—and then things will develop in a good direction?"
"For such an important matter, did you really think no one knew about those little moves you were making? The reason you can still sit here reading the document I wrote to you, instead of dying in some small river out in the wild, is because I am f**king trying every possible way to plead for you."
"Stop your irrational behavior. Stop spreading your compassion randomly. If you are really so loving, go aid the slums, stop staring at this place."
"You are my most important friend, Werbo."
"Don't throw your life away for this kind of thing, okay?"
"I will find a way to shut down the Red Nut Gray Hole, but that can only be after the mayor's term ends. Even if this place has many problems now, it must be maintained. Please, I beg you, Werbo, do not force yourself into a dead end. You are already a billionaire now, aren't you? We have made so much money and gained so much fame relying on this scenic area. Why lose your life for something neither you nor I can do anything about?"
"Don't forget, you still have your mother to support. Do you want her to see the news of your death?"
"—Pedi"
At the end of the lines of cold printed text was a handwritten, incredibly ferocious phrase: "fuxkyou".
It could be seen that the content of Pedi's letter to Werbo was quite heart-wrenching. Gao Hai could almost imagine what kind of expression Werbo had when he saw this letter.
No, it seemed he didn't need to imagine.
Because Gao Hai could already hear the incredibly heavy breathing sounding right beside him, as well as the nauseating scent of blood seeping into his nasal cavity bit by bit.
Haa...
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