Chapter 108: Human Skeleton

A faint, unfamiliar sound suddenly echoed through the silent space, instantly altering both their expressions as they scanned their surroundings.

Because this layer was excessively vast, composed almost entirely of display racks and corridors like a colossal museum, the sound reverberated with no clear direction.

Lin Xian’s nerves tightened: “This place definitely has more than just the two of us!”

Kiki grew tense, quickly grabbing her mobile terminal, checking the route, then fearfully glancing around and urging Lin Xian: “Hurry, past the next corridor is the gene cryo-storage zone.”

Lin Xian moved without hesitation, gripping his electric blade tightly as his focus surged to its peak.

Creak…

The sound came again, seemingly just behind several display racks to their side, moving parallel to them.

Tap, tap.

Lin Xian and Kiki broke into a light run, their tactical flashlights casting flickering beams across the dark floor ahead.

Creak…

The dragging sound continued. Lin Xian’s heart lurched—he’d already sprinted far, yet the sound remained as if clinging to the racks nearby, always appearing precisely to his left.

As Lin Xian and Kiki turned into a long corridor, something strange occurred: whether due to air or vision, their flashlight beams began dimming, the darkness ahead swallowing their sight like thick ink.

Simultaneously, the dragging creak emerged from the ground just behind them.

Creak…

“Ah! Lin Xian!”

The sound startled Kiki; she let out a soft cry. Since she couldn’t keep pace with Lin Xian, he grabbed her hand and yanked her forward.

Their running echoed hollowly through the vast corridor. Kiki’s heartbeat raced, one hand gripping Lin Xian’s, the other clutching her mobile terminal tightly.

Then the strange dragging sound came again—this time, it felt as if it were right behind her skull.

Kiki flinched, instinctively releasing Lin Xian’s hand and unleashing her ability backward!

Hum!

Invisible force surged, sending out a shockwave.

A muffled impact rang out—as if something unseen had been blasted away.

“Lin Xian, something’s behind us!”

“I know!”

Lin Xian sprinted at full speed, but Kiki clearly couldn’t keep up. Unlike him, her ability hadn’t enhanced her physical stats—unlike Lin Xian, who’d gained superior physical attributes after his cultivation upgrade.

Now, sprinting at full force, Kiki nearly gasped for air.

Tap, tap.

As they passed through the long corridor, a cryo-chamber glowing with eerie blue light appeared ahead. White mist flowed through the passage, obscuring the path.

“What’s going on? The power’s out, isn’t it?”

“Cryo-chambers usually have independent emergency power. But judging by this, some chamber must’ve leaked.”

Lin Xian checked his Geiger counter as he ran. Both he and Kiki wore gas masks—nothing else protected them.

“Go through here!”

Kiki shouted.

As they plunged into the cryo-chamber passage, freezing white mist engulfed them. Visibility dimmed further. Lin Xian raised his blade horizontally, gripping Kiki’s hand tightly with his other.

“Hello.”

Suddenly, a voice came from ahead—sounding like a little girl’s—but it sent chills down Lin Xian and Kiki’s spines.

Not just because it appeared out of nowhere, but because its tone was stiff, unnatural.

In short:

Not quite human. “Who’s talking?!”

“Watch out!” Lin Xian, running ahead, instinctively yanked Kiki into a narrow side passage beside a cryo-chamber.

Whoosh!

Something seemed to roll past the passage they’d just left.

“You! Hello!”

The strange voice came again, deeper now—as if forcing itself to sound “normal.” But the more it tried, the more horrifying it became.

“Over there!” Kiki panted, pointing toward the corridor entrance—the direction they’d just come from.

Lin Xian looked. The white mist outside the corridor was rapidly flowing sideways, as if something was approaching through the fog.

And it was large!

Strange Entity!

Lin Xian’s first thought: That size couldn’t be a zombie—or any human Gui .

Thud, thud, thud~

Lin Xian adjusted his breathing rapidly, dragging Kiki forward.

“It’s following us.”

“Hurry, it’s just ahead!” Kiki urged.

They burst out of the gene cryo-storage area into a corridor—when the strange voice sounded again.

!

“You!!! Hello!!!”

The voice became piercingly sharp, artificially mimicking human speech.

Lin Xian turned toward the sound, his tactical flashlight beam sweeping toward the glowing cryo-chamber door.

There, a black silhouette shaped like a human skeleton stood.

Sprinting toward them!

“Watch out!”

Lin Xian yanked Kiki hard behind him, activating his Mechanical Heart to rapidly forge a steel frame barrier across the corridor, completely blocking the path.

Clang! Creak!

The shadowy human skeleton, its form indistinct, slammed into the steel frame. The structure twisted instantly, sparks flying from the wall. The sudden barrier halted the monster in the dark. Just as Lin Xian prepared to flee through the opening, a blood-red skull slowly ignited in the darkness.

The skull’s hollow eyes and gaping mouth blazed with infernal flames. Instantly, a towering, three-meter-tall crimson human skeleton, covered in bony spines, appeared before them.

Aaahhh!!

A piercing shriek tore through their eardrums. From the crimson skeleton’s mouth erupted a jet of white flame mixed with a wave of blood. The scorching, foul stench flooded the entire corridor.

“It spits fire?!”

Lin Xian’s expression hardened—he reacted instantly.

Ice Shield!

Boom!

The flame wave illuminated the whole corridor. Kiki, pressed against Lin Xian’s back, raised her hand and used telekinesis to block the heat. Invisible force held back the scorching air. Blood splattered everywhere, staining the corridor red, spraying outward from Lin Xian’s position.

Lin Xian’s ice shield vaporized instantly; the steel wall behind it glowed red-hot. Had Kiki not blocked it, his steel barrier would’ve been melted through.

“What the hell is this thing?”

“How the hell can a Strange Entity speak?!”

“Go!” Kiki’s face paled. She reached upward, grabbed a massive ceiling chandelier, and yanked hard.

Clatter!

The metal chandelier crashed down, smashing onto the crimson skull, pinning the creature beneath Lin Xian’s steel frame. The frame groaned, bent, and collapsed under the weight of the chandelier and debris.

Seizing the moment, Lin Xian grabbed Kiki and bolted from the corridor. Under their flashlight beam, a narrow maintenance tunnel appeared ahead.

New book, seeking monthly votes, brothers—get on board and charge!

(End of Chapter)