novelhk Chapter 111 Sound
Chapter 111 Sound
This is not Earth, nor any corner he has ever seen in his geography textbook.
This is a satellite numbered "47".
The sky was yellowish-brown, and thick clouds tightly covered the planet's mouth and nose.
The rain was pouring down, and every drop of rain that hit the helmet visor left a murky, oily film.
"Huff... huff..."
Ye Jianguo dragged his heavy steps onto the muddy black soil.
His orange protective suit was not only bulky, but also emitted a foul stench, as if it had been peeled off a dead body.
"Ye Guo, your heart rate is rising."
Chen Hua's voice came through the headset. Due to signal interference, her voice sounded sometimes near and sometimes far.
"I'm fine, supervisor."
Ye Jianguo stopped and leaned against a withered, black giant tree to catch his breath.
He glanced down at the yellow toy scanner he was clutching tightly in his hand, then at the tarmac beneath his feet, made of rusty metal plates.
Behind him, the dilapidated spaceship spewed steam.
"The current target is 0/3000," Chen Hua said anxiously. "If we can't raise this money within three days..."
"I know."
Ye Jianguo gave a wry smile.
"I'm going to the main entrance. Please keep a close eye on the radar on the ship. If you see a red dot... you know what to do."
"Don't be stubborn, Ye Guo." Even through the cold facade of superior-subordinate relations, Chen Hua's voice softened slightly.
"rest assured."
Ye Jianguo strode forward and rushed into the rain.
……
Inside the spaceship.
Chen Hua sat in the grease-stained command chair, with a row of old CRT monitors in front of him.
The screen flickered with a ghostly green light, and the image kept jumping due to poor signal.
Her current role is as a spaceship crew member, commander, and supervisor.
This sounds like a great job, as you don't have to go out and face those unknown monsters, but what it's actually like is still unknown.
The blue dot representing Ye Jianguo on the screen is slowly moving closer to the huge square building.
Deep inside the building, several red dots of light were wandering aimlessly.
"That is..."
Chen Hua squinted, his fingers flying across the keyboard, trying to bring up the monster's encyclopedia.
[Bio-scanning: Unknown]
Threat Level: High
[Suggestion: Run.]
The brief review reveals the company's extreme disregard for the lives of its employees.
……
The main entrance to the concrete building is a heavy hydraulic steel door.
Ye Jianguo exerted tremendous effort to push it open a crack and squeezed in sideways.
"Clang!"
As the door closed behind him, the sound of wind and rain outside was instantly cut off.
This is the "facilities," which are the junkyards they're going to plunder.
Half of the overhead light tubes were broken, while the other half flickered wildly, dividing the long corridor into two distinct black and white sections.
The floor is made of metal mesh, through which you can see the bottomless, pitch-black abyss below, and faintly hear the sound of a huge fan turning.
Ye Jianguo turned on his flashlight, the faint beam of light appearing precarious in the darkness.
"Sizzle... sizzle..."
The scanner turned on its green light.
In stock.
Ye Jianguo's eyes lit up. Following the signal, he carefully bypassed a pile of abandoned oil drums and arrived at a room that looked like a control room.
On the dusty table, there was a glittering golden object.
It is a brass wine glass.
"Heh, it seems the previous owner of this place had quite a bit of taste."
Ye Jianguo reached out and grabbed the wine glass.
The moment my fingers touched the wine glass, a chill ran down my spine.
"Thump."
A dull, loud thud came from the next room.
Ye Jianguo immediately turned off the flashlight, squatted down against the wall, and his heart was pounding in his chest.
He held his breath, not daring to make a sound.
"Buzz... Ye Guo, what's wrong on your end?" Chen Hua asked anxiously through the earpiece, "Your heart rate just spiked to 140."
"Don't speak."
Ye Jianguo lowered his voice, "Something's coming."
"I can't see it!" Chen Hua's voice was filled with terror. "The radar shows that there's nothing around you! There's no red dot!"
No red dot?
Ye Jianguo's underwear was instantly soaked with cold sweat.
"Thump, thump, thump."
The footsteps drew closer.
Ye Jianguo gripped the shovel tightly in his hand.
This is all the weapon he has right now.
"roar--!"
A roar exploded in the darkness.
Immediately afterwards, a huge black shadow crashed through the iron gate next door and rushed in.
Using the flickering lights in the corridor, Ye Jianguo was able to see what it was.
It is a monster with only an upper body.
Its head is a fish head covered with barbs. It has no legs, but instead has two muscle tissues similar to those of a giant shark's head. It crawls frantically on the ground using these two forelimbs, at an astonishing speed.
And now, Ye Jianguo is squatting right in front of it.
"run!!!"
Chen Hua screamed into his earpiece.
Without needing to be reminded, Ye Jianguo's body had already reacted before his brain.
He hurled the brass goblet at the monster's face, and in the instant it turned its head, he turned and ran.
"roar!"
Enraged, the monster slammed its arms into the ground and launched itself forward.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The metal grid floor groaned under its impact.
Ye Jianguo ran wildly through the maze-like corridors.
He was no longer young, and the body in the script was weakened considerably; a weariness from the depths of his soul slowed him down.
To make matters worse, the terrain here is too complicated.
Dead ends and steam vents were everywhere.
"Turn left! Turn left ahead!"
"There's a blast door over there; I can try closing it remotely!"
Useful information came through the headset.
Ye Jianguo slammed on the brakes, his shoes scraping against the metal mesh, sending sparks flying. His body slammed into the wall on the left, and he stumbled into the passageway on the left.
The sound of metal twisting came from behind. The monster crashed into the corner of the wall, but it only paused for a second before adjusting its posture and continuing its pursuit.
"We're here! It's just ahead!"
At the edge of the field of vision, a heavy hydraulic door was in the open position.
"Hurry! It's catching up with you!"
Ye Jianguo gritted his teeth and squeezed out the last bit of adrenaline from his body.
Ten meters, five meters, two meters...
Just as he was about to rush over the door frame, the metal mesh beneath his feet suddenly broke.
"Snap!"
Ye Jianguo's right leg sank into the hole, and he fell heavily to the ground.
"Ye Kingdom!"
"Close the door! Close the door now!" Ye Jianguo lay on the ground and glanced back.
The monster was less than two meters away from him.
If the door isn't closed now, the monster will rush in and tear him to pieces in this dead end.
If the door is closed...
"I can't lock you out! You're still outside!"
"Close it! Trust me!"
Ye Jianguo roared as he tried to pull his leg out, but the broken metal mesh completely stuck his ankle.
That's too late.
The monster leaped high into the air, its two thick forelimbs slamming down with tremendous force toward Ye Jianguo's head.
Ye Jianguo watched the monster getting closer and closer.
As a veteran, even in death, he would keep his eyes open and watch the enemy who killed him.
It's just... a bit of a shame.
"Sizzle—"
The loudspeaker hanging on the wall in the corridor suddenly started making noise.
A voice filled with terror and rapid breathing blared from the loudspeaker:
"Huff...huff...who's there?"
This is... Lu Dan?
For half-fish that rely on hearing and vibration to hunt, this sudden, close-up bang was like a flashbang exploding right next to their eardrums.
"Awoo?"
The half-fish, which was originally in a pouncing state, suddenly became stiff.
Its small brain became confused, tilting its head slightly. The forelimbs that were originally aimed at Ye Jianguo's head veered a few inches and slammed heavily onto the floor next to his ear.
"boom!"
Metal fragments flew everywhere, cutting Ye Jianguo's cheek.
It's now!
Ye Jianguo did not waste this opportunity.
He jerked his body away, ignoring the fact that one of his feet had been severed by the metal, and managed to pull his leg out.
Then he raised the shovel in his hand and, with all his might, slammed it down on the monster's head.
"when!"
A crisp sound.
Although the shovel strike didn't cause any real damage, the huge shockwave made the monster take another half step back.
Using the reaction force, Ye Jianguo rolled on the ground and entered the room.
Chen Hua, who had been watching the console, slammed his finger on the Enter key the moment he saw Ye Jianguo cross the line.
"laugh--"
The hydraulic door emitted a heavy screech of air release, and a steel plate several meters thick crashed down.
"Bang!"
Almost at the same time the door closed, a loud crash slammed into the door panel.
The door panel bulged inward, and dust fell in clumps, but it held up.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Ye Jianguo slumped to the ground, his back against the iron gate that was being violently pounded.
His right leg was a bloody mess, and his orange protective suit had been torn open with a large hole.
But he is alive.
"Ye Guo? Ye Guo!" Chen Hua's voice rang out in the earpiece.
"Cough cough... He's not dead yet."
Ye Jianguo touched his chest.
That sound just now...
"Manager Chen Yunyun," Ye Jianguo gasped for breath, a forced smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "Did you hear that announcement just now?"
"I heard it." Chen Hua's voice trembled. "That was...?"
"Yes……"
Ye Jianguo picked up the brass wine glass that he hadn't let go of even in death from the ground.
"Looks like they're really putting in a lot of effort."
"It sounds like they were really frightened."
Although Ye Jianguo made a joke, his eyes became extremely complicated.
What does this mean? Are the scripts not isolated from each other? Or is it only them that are like this?
In another scenario, Lu Dan's actions transcended time and space, saving his life.
Ye Jianguo struggled to his feet and used an iron shovel as a crutch.
"Supervisor, give me directions, we need to get back to the ship."
"That thing outside is still banging on the door, I have to take a detour."
……
Inside the spaceship.
When Ye Jianguo limped back to the cabin with his brass wine glass, it was already half an hour later.
Chen Hua rushed over, wanting to help him, but seemed somewhat at a loss.
Ye Jianguo waved his hand, plopped down on the ground, and took off his helmet.
His face was full of exhaustion, and the white hair at his temples was soaked with sweat.
"Today's targets..." he said, pointing to the wine glass.
Chen Hua put it into the recycling bin, and a number popped up on the screen.
[Recycling Value: 45 yuan]
Current metric: 45/3000
I escaped death, risked my life, and earned 45 yuan.
We are still 2955 short of the target of 3000.
"fine."
Chen Hua handed Ye Jianguo a bottle of water, her hand still trembling slightly. "As long as you're alive, there's always a chance."
"What did that sound mean?" she hesitated for a moment.
"It means we are not an island."
Ye Jianguo took a sip of water, and his eyes sharpened again.
"Perhaps...it's not as closed off as we imagine."
"Let's rest first."
Ye Jianguo closed his eyes and leaned against the cold bulkhead.
The rain was still falling, pattering against the hull of the boat.
On this abandoned planet, in solitude twenty million light-years away, two old comrades-in-arms, listening to the rain, guarding their 45 yuan loot, await tomorrow's sun—or tomorrow's death.
……
And in the distant, pitch-black [Dark Room].
Time continues to accelerate at an alarming rate.
Lu Dan stood in the corner of the 8-meter cube. The "Who's there?" he had just shouted using the "ventriloquist's trick" not only scared away the thing that wanted to ambush him, but also unknowingly turned the gears of fate in another world.
But he didn't know.
He now faces a more direct threat.
The "thing" that was attracted by the sound became even more agitated after discovering that the corner was empty.
"Hiss—hiss—"
The sound of fingernails scraping the ground came from the darkness.
It's looking for him.
Lu Dan held his breath and slightly raised the revolver in his hand.
He's blind now, but he's a blind man with a brain.
That shout just now, while revealing the fact that there was "a sound," also allowed him to pinpoint the approximate location of the other party by listening to the sound of the thing moving.
It is about 6 meters to the left front.
"bring it on."
Lu Dan silently recited in his heart.
He was waiting, waiting for an opportunity to fire... waiting for the passage of time to bring him a turning point.
Just then, the floor shook slightly.
The sounds of the organization operating resumed.
Even though the space has been expanded, the physical coordinates of the lifting platform, which was originally located in the center of the 4-meter space, remain unchanged.
It rose up.
It carries with it some new "gift" or a new "curse".
Although Lu Dan could not see, he could hear.
"bite."
A crisp notification sound rang out in the darkness.
Immediately afterwards, a cold, synthesized electronic voice echoed in the empty room:
[B chose the light.]
As a consequence, C lost his sight.
Now, the game begins.
【C, it's your turn to choose.】
Lu Dan's lips twitched.
"Yi...you really are...not polite at all."
Although he complained, he felt a sense of relief.
In this godforsaken place, as long as your teammates aren't idiots, even if you sabotage each other, it's better than waiting to die alone.
He slowly made his way toward the sound of the elevator platform.
The monster lurking in the shadows seemed curious about the new sound; it stopped crawling and began to purr.
A three-way standoff.
A blind Lu Dan, an unknown monster, and an elevator with a fatal choice.
On a vast stage shrouded in darkness, the second act begins.