The World Below Surface

Chapter 43: The Omniscient God

The Elevator Game presented players with a daunting choice: remain within the confines of the elevator or embark on an exploration of unknown terrain. Though they were well aware of the precarious nature of the game, they had little choice but to proceed with caution.

As soon as the four of them stepped out, they suddenly stopped. The corridor before them was long, narrow, and chillingly dim, with an amorphous atmosphere that evoked the feeling of traversing through a hazy, grey mist.

"Stay close and be mindful not to lose sight of each other," Chu Xiu advised. "It's best if we cling to each other's clothing."

The passageway was too cramped to accommodate their side by side, so they formed a single file and clung to the person before them. Chu Xiu led the way, followed by Shi Yan, Nie Yun Zhen, and Ye Sheng Ke, who hastened their pace.

"Remember, it's easy to lose one's way in another world, so we mustn't separate and must keep track of the path that leads us back," Chu Xiu reiterated, quickening his stride.

Their predicament was such that they had no other recourse. The female ghost they encountered in the elevator could catch up with them at any moment, and remaining in the elevator indefinitely was not an option. Therefore, Chu Xiu devised a plan to lure the ghost out and lose themselves in this strange world, hoping to return to the elevator eventually.

But why did the corridor seem to grow eerier by the minute?

The walls, which had a base colour of white, were barely visible through the thick layer of dust that coated them. Scrawled across the borders was a series of drawings that resembled the work of a child's hand. Chu Xiu glanced at them fleetingly before resuming his march.

The drawings grew more bizarre and unsettling as they progressed deeper into the passage. They mostly depicted twisted faces and limbs with grotesque expressions. The use of dark colours in the palette made them all the more unsettling.

Chu Xiu glanced behind him, and his gaze alighted on the three figures trailing him. At the sight of them, he felt a modicum of relief and proceeded to lead them forward.

Softened by time and wear, the floor yielded underfoot like decaying flesh. Yet despite the soft surface, the three of them pressed on, their footsteps resolute and unwavering.

Breaking the silence, Shi Yan whispered, "This corridor seems never-ending."

"Indeed," Nie Yun Zhen murmured in agreement, his voice pitched low. The three had agreed to speak every few minutes to prevent anyone from getting lost and maintain a semblance of humanity in their grim situation.

They walked on, and their hushed conversation was broken only by the sound of their steps until it was time for Ye Sheng Ke to speak. But when his turn came, there was only silence.

Nie Yun Zhen's heart raced as he realized the hand holding onto his jacket was icy cold. The footsteps behind him were soft and insubstantial, like moth wings fluttering. He tried to remain calm, but fear seized him as the hand crept up towards his neck, four fingers digging into his skin.

"Xiaoye, please stop poking me. It hurts," Nie Yun Zhen said, his voice feigning casualness, hoping to mask the terror that gripped him.

There was no response from behind him. The hand continued its slow advance up his neck, sending a chill coursing through his veins. He reached out to poke Shi Yan's back, trying to keep his tone even. "Wait a moment, I need to tie my shoelaces," he said, hoping the excuse would give him a chance to assess the situation.

In reality, none of them wore shoes with laces. But the ruse gave him a moment's respite, allowing him to take stock of their surroundings and formulate a plan. The stakes were high; one false move could mean the difference between life and death.

The words had scarcely left his lips when he feigned a bow to the ground, pretending to tie his shoelaces in an elaborate knot. All the while, he used the opportunity to swivel his head slightly, and there, looming before him, he spotted a ghastly apparition, a wraith as white as snowflakes and seemingly crafted out of white paper, hovering weightlessly on its feet, standing mere inches behind him! Its pallid hand still bore the traces of a symbolic gesture.

Without a doubt, Ye Sheng Ke had vanished into thin air.

Nie Yun Zhen's heartstrings constricted suddenly. The ghost's ability to abduct Ye Sheng Ke unnoticed was genuinely petrifying.

He averted his gaze and faked tying his shoelaces, buying time to think. With lightning-fast reflexes, his mind raced.

What could he do? The corridor was too narrow, and he stood third in line. Two people blocked his path ahead, so there was no way he could dart past them unobserved. And if he let them go first, wouldn't he wind up the last man standing?

And where had Ye Sheng Ke gone?

To avoid catching the attention of the spectre behind him, Nie Yun Zhen had to remain composed, even though he quivered with fear. He rose gradually, clutched Shi Yan's coat, and steadied himself.

Simultaneously, the ghost behind him snatched his coat.

"Let us proceed," Nie Yun Zhen asserted firmly, refusing to betray his composure.

Hold on a moment! Why is Shi Yan's dress hem as light and flimsy as a sheet of paper?

As Nie Yun Zhen watched in astonishment, Shi Yan and Chu Xiu, who led the way, swivelled slowly around. Their faces were now entirely akin to papier-mch dolls: pallid skin, scarlet lips, their heads spun 180 degrees, grinning maniacally at Nie Yun Zhen. "What's the matter?" they chorused.

The paper doll behind him sidled closer, placed a hand on his shoulder, and a mouth resembling a narrow slit opened and shut, speaking in Ye Sheng Ke's voice.

"What's the matter?"

These were the last words Nie Yun Zhen heard before blacking out.

If Lu Yan were present, he would have identified that the paper dolls resembled those they had encountered in Red River Village. But he was absent, so Nie Yun Zhen plunged deeper into the unknown realm.

"This passageway seems endless." After an eternity of walking, Shi Yan could not contain her exasperation.

Perhaps it was her senses deceiving her, but as she pressed forward, the simple sketches on the wall seemed to take on their own life. She could even discern the strong emotions the artist imbued in the images. The eyes in each portrait conveyed a message of bitter resentment and malevolence that seemed to fixate on her.

'These paintings are most unnerving...' thought Shi Yan to herself.

She turned her head to confront one of the images, feeling an icy shiver dance down her spine. As she rubbed her arms and averted her gaze, she suddenly noticed that the other three were nowhere to be seen!

She was the only one left, standing in the hallway, staring into the inky blackness. Her fear was so intense it was as though her very soul had fled her body.

How how could this be happening?

She couldn't fathom how they could have vanished without a trace. She had yet to encounter any ghosts during this mission that could dispatch multiple people simultaneously. That meant the only one in danger was herself.

Stay calm, stay calm. Shi Yan stifled the urge to scream and concentrated on thinking clearly. She remembered looking at one of the paintings before they parted ways. Was that the key?

This time, Shi Yan fought against the compulsion to gaze at the paintings and instead lowered her head to stare intently at her shoes. She slowed her pace and listened intently, trying to catch a whisper of the other people's footsteps.

Shi Yan was left disappointed yet relieved that despite her strained attempts at listening, all she heard were her own footfalls. There was no trace of the other three to be found.

'Where... Where am I?'

It was then that she heard the mysterious sound of rustling from all directions. She searched the surroundings with bewilderment, but the excessively dark environment hindered her sight, causing her to nearly black out several times due to the abundance of paintings on the walls.

The paintings grew increasingly dense, but the style remained rough. However, that face...that face was evident!

Somehow, when she saw that face, Shi Yan's heart became overwhelmed with an unidentifiable feeling of discomfort, irritation and depression. She instinctively avoided the face and quickened her pace, soon finding herself running away from it altogether.

'But where should I run to?' she asked herself, only to find that the corridor had no end.

With a firm clench of her teeth and a resolute expression, Shi Yan made a tough decision and abruptly spun around, determined to run back the way she came. In horror tales, the protagonist was often warned against such actions lest they glimpse some monstrous apparition lurking behind them. Nevertheless, Shi Yan cared little for such cautionary tales.

Surely, the female ghost that haunted the elevator had been lured away by now, right? Even if she returned to the scene of the supernatural encounter, it shouldn't pose a problem. But what greeted her was sheer shock and despair: the path ahead grew narrower by the second!

'This is not good! The corridor is shifting!'

As soon as she realized this, the faces on both sides of the hallway began to manifest in greater detail, their skull-like features becoming increasingly pronounced. Their malevolent expressions bore down upon her from every angle, and the bumps on the walls took on a menacing quality.

The walls were drawing closer and closer, and no matter where she turned, there was no escape. She sprinted forward desperately to reach the elevator, but to her cruel dismay, the walls closed in, leaving her trapped just ten meters away.

"No!" Shi Yan uttered a piercing scream, her hands flailing as she attempted to push through the narrowing gap. At that moment, it didn't matter if the grotesque creatures with one-eyed heads sank their teeth into her flesh; all she cared about was escaping with her life.

However, the elevator was now beyond her reach.

"Mother..." she gasped, her final word before the walls echoed with a faint "creak, creak," the macabre sound of starving mouths devouring their feast.

An enormous gush of fresh blood sprayed forth, only to be swiftly absorbed by the walls, which promptly resumed their original state, unfolding slowly on either side.

"Remember, we'll wait outside for a while, and when five minutes are up, we'll promptly return to the real world by taking the elevator," Chu Xiu advised.

After several minutes leading his trio of teammates, he abruptly halted and prepared to hold their ground temporarily.

With several tasks, they had no leisure to amble through the otherworld. Furthermore, if they failed to finish the next game by midnight the following day, the retribution that awaited them would be far more frightful than death!

When he finished speaking, however, there was no response behind him. To his astonishment, Chu Xiu whirled around to find no one standing behind him!

Who was it that tugged at his sleeve just moments before?

Without further thought, Chu Xiu spun around and darted back in the direction he had come from, only to pivot once again after running for a short while.

The reason became evident as Chu Xiu gazed upon a figure in a school uniform, its form contorted and its bones realigned, crawling towards him on the ground. The girl dragged a long trail of blood behind her, and though her crawling speed was not particularly quick, she closed the distance between them with each passing moment. The putrid scent of decay emanated from her form.

Chu Xiu's heart sank as he realized her identity - the crawling girl was none other than Wen Qing.

After Ghost Granny had killed her, Wen Qing had prayed fervently to the gods for a chance to start anew, to right the wrongs she had committed and save everyone. Her wish had been granted by the almighty god, but at a cost - an entire hotel's worth of lives was to be sacrificed.

To ensure her survival, Wen Qing hid in the elevator and killed everyone who crossed her path. However, she had never anticipated that her father would be among the victims. Upon discovering her father's decapitated head amidst the piles of corpses, Wen Qing realized the gravity of her actions - the god would not grant her the same wish twice.

However, her father had already pleaded to god - to bring his daughter back to life. The price he had paid was steep, the sacrifice of all the living beings that his daughter held dear.

Wen Qing's black cat, grandmother, and Yun Qian had all fallen victim to his cruel and ruthless hand. Yet, he spared himself, the perpetrator behind these atrocities.

In a twisted turn of fate, Wen Qing was the one to complete the sacrifice. The elevator, filled with both victim and perpetrator, plummeted to their deaths. However, Wen Qing was granted a second chance at life, resurrected from the dead.

But the trauma she endured had taken its toll. Her memories were lost to her, and she could only rely on her friend to navigate the familiar yet unfamiliar street of Yin-Ming Road. Death seemed to follow her, dying and resurrecting again and again.

Little did Chu Xiu and his entourage comprehend that by randomly selecting two pedestrians instead of Wen Qing, they could have evaded the subsequent events spawned by the malevolent deity, and their lives would not have been thrown into chaos.

Wen Qing and Yun Qian's appearance on Yin-Ming Road had been carefully orchestrated, a plan to break the game cycle. The only way out was to refuse to play along with the spirits.

Yet, it was too late for them. The Four-Corner and Elevator games were traps designed to ensnare unsuspecting victims in a vortex of time and space. Surviving one round only increased the difficulty of the next, as the challengers artificially increased the stakes.

Chu Xiu sprinted through the narrow corridors, his heart pounding. The twists and turns of the labyrinthine hallways slowed him down, making it difficult to outrun the danger behind him. A feeling of dread crept over him as he ran, a sense that something was amiss. He heard the scratching sound of something creeping behind him, but when he turned around, the sound stopped. Suddenly, he felt a presence above him and swiftly crouched to the ground, barely avoiding the ghost's sharp claws.

His eyes widened as he saw the ghostly figure crawling up the wall and onto the ceiling. He remembered how it had chased him earlier, moving with incredible speed and agility.

Now empty and lifeless, Wen Qing's eyes were fixed on him with a resentful and vicious gaze. She looked like a broken doll, her bones shattered, and her skin as white as a sheet. Yet, somehow, she managed to crawl onto the ground and move with lightning speed along the ceiling.

Panic rising within him, Chu Xiu frantically searched for a way out. He ran to the end of the corridor, where he spotted a staircase. Without hesitation, he slid down the railing, leaving the ghost behind.

He landed with a thud and quickly assessed his surroundings. To his surprise, he found himself standing on a bustling street. His dishevelled appearance starkly contrasted with the well-dressed crowds that passed by him, barely sparing him a glance. Two girls, however, secretly took his picture as they walked past.

Chu Xiu remained motionless, standing still, his heart racing with a mix of fear and curiosity. He glanced back at the empty space where the staircase and the hotel had stood just moments ago. As he turned his attention back to the street, a group of people dressed in red and white robes caught his eye. Their unnerving gaze was fixed on him with an unsettling intensity.

At the sight of this group of people, Chu Xiu's brow furrowed. He was familiar with the cult that proclaimed itself as all-knowing and all-powerful and worshipped an allegedly omniscient god, but his knowledge was limited.

Chu Xiu made his way on the pavement, creating a path they could pass through without drawing their attention. However, as the group approached, the woman leading them abruptly stopped before him, scrutinizing his face. "Excuse me, sir, do you believe in the existence of an all-knowing and all-powerful god in this world?"

Chu Xiu had no desire to converse, but the woman persisted, beckoning her followers to bring the idol forth with a serene and devout smile.

That idol...it was unmistakably familiar!

"Believe in my Lord, and you shall have eternal life. My Lord knows everything and can do anything."

"Is that so?" Chu Xiu replied. "Then, can it transport me back?"

At his question, the woman's gentle smile grew even warmer. "My Lord can do anything, but only in exchange for something of equal value."

"Equal value exchange?" Before Chu Xiu could enquire further, someone in the distance called out his name loudly. Chu Xiu didn't respond immediately; instead, he turned to look.

Ye Sheng Ke was standing on the opposite side of the road, waving at him, looking completely at ease. If only his shadow on the ground wasn't a bit too long.

Chu Xiu's steps, which were initially meant to rush over, abruptly stopped. His mind was filled with doubt.

At that moment, a different call reached his ears. "Chu Xiu, over here."

Chu Xiu spun around and looked up to the second-floor balcony, where he caught sight of Lu Yan, the person he had been searching for.

Without hesitation, Chu Xiu bid farewell and rushed towards the stairs, taking them two at a time. By the time he reached the second floor, the long queue below had vanished.

"Have you discovered anything?" Lu Yan asked, his tone blunt.

"Have you ever heard of the Omnipotent Cult?" Chu Xiu replied.

Lu Yan naturally had.

"I intend to make a wish to Him, to see if I can escape my current predicament," Chu Xiu murmured to himself.

Lu Yan didn't find this odd. After all, he had made a similar wish to the all-knowing god not long ago.

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