Chapter 349: The Gubao of the Different Dimension

"We can go in now." Wang Han felt a tap on his shoulder; the voice behind him had been a beat late, and he responded only after a half-second delay.

Seeing Wang Han's strange expression, which was filled with a mix of confusion and undisguised exhaustion, Li Yuning felt a bit worried about his state. "Are you alright? If you're really not feeling well, you should go back to the car and wait for me to return."

Alone, back to the car?

Wang Han suddenly snapped back to reality, shook his head vigorously, and said firmly, "I'm fine, I'll pull myself together."

Li Yuning didn't try to persuade him further, only saying, "Barring any accidents, it's even more dangerous inside than what we encountered just now. Be serious. No matter what happens later, look after yourself first; don't worry about me, okay?"

"... I understand." Wang Han felt a bit awkward and nodded in agreement. Compared to a high school girl, his performance was far from adequate, and to be earnestly lectured by her—it was impossible not to feel ashamed.

Li Yuning gently opened a crack in the door, peering into the warehouse to check the situation, only to find it exceptionally quiet, as deathly silent as the environment outside.

At this moment, both of them couldn't help but feel puzzled. In their worldly prejudices, a Socialite Gathering was nothing more than an elegant exchange of toasts in a magnificent place, surrounded by exquisite and expensive snacks, with beautiful and refined music playing in the background while discussing high-society topics. Even if it wasn't lively, it certainly wouldn't be this deathly silent.

Is there really anyone inside? Wang Han couldn't help but wonder.

Li Yuning had previously oiled the door hinges, so the old, small door didn't make any creaking noises when opened. Her professional door-opening technique made Wang Han's imagination run wild; he didn't know if this was a required course for an Investigator or a skill the young girl had picked up elsewhere.

Opening the door and walking in, Wang Han and Li Yuning were both stunned. The warehouse was indeed, as they had guessed, empty of objects and empty of people.

"This... where did everyone go?" Seeing this scene, Wang Han walked quickly to the center of the empty warehouse. Even a sentence spoken at his normal volume echoed clearly throughout the space.

Li Yuning then walked to Wang Han's side. She silently scanned her surroundings, then made a discovery and walked over to a puddle of liquid not far away, crouching down to examine it.

Wang Han guessed that Li Yuning must have found something. He followed without a word and stood to the side to keep watch, remaining vigilant for any movement while she observed.

"This isn't water." Li Yuning's nostrils twitched slightly as she caught a peculiar scent. "It's urine."

"..." Wang Han's mouth twitched. Thinking that this was supposedly the site of a Baizhou City Socialite Gathering, an unsightly and bizarre image couldn't help but surface in his mind, and his brain felt like it was about to split.

It wasn't as if that group of women had come here to line up to use the restroom.

Li Yuning noticed Wang Han's strange expression and realized he had misunderstood. The girl didn't seem to know what shyness was; she said with a serious look, as if explaining science, "This isn't human urine. It's the excrement of an Abnormal creature called a Dwarf Mound."

"What is that thing?" Wang Han was always full of questions about these unknown things. Although he knew some things were better left unknown, he couldn't help his curiosity; it was easy to succumb to the human nature of greed for knowledge.

"Actually, there are legends about them all over the world: evil gnomes, evil goblins, little demons, and so on... To summarize, they are a type of gnome-like creature. They can be considered distant relatives of ancient humans, though by now, their genetic relationship to humans is about the same as that of chimpanzees," Li Yuning explained. "They are the product of ancient humans mating with an Abnormal creature. They look similar to humans, but unlike humans, they have completely embraced the Abnormal and accepted madness. They have no reason, only desire and madness. They are quite ugly creatures that love slaughter, gluttony, and reproduction, and they have always harbored malicious intentions toward humans."

"Compared to Corpse Disciples, the existence of these guys is even more disgusting. Boss Brother said that because these ghost things are so repulsive, even the Alien God that created their race abandoned them. This race was also driven into the Different Dimensional Space of Huitu by the joint efforts of ancient humans and other races. Only those with sinister intentions who seek to blaspheme would summon them."

"Did that group of 'socialites' summon this thing here not long ago?" Wang Han was bewildered. Just hearing Li Yuning's description, he knew how sinister and filthy an Abnormal creature the Dwarf Mound was; he truly couldn't understand how this thing could be related to those glamorous socialites.

"The books in Boss Brother's shop record that although the Dwarf Mound is a disgusting thing—dirty, yes—one has to admit that these guys are full of treasures. Various parts of their bodies can be used as substitutes in many evil rituals, and even their urine can be a material to open a Space Channel," Li Yuning shook her head.

Wang Han felt a chill, looking at the puddle on the ground. Heaven knows what kind of hellish things those crazy women did to the disgusting and pathetic Dwarf Mound.

Putting the disgusting matter aside, Wang Han's expression was grave. Now he knew that the socialites had gathered here, opened another Space Channel, and traveled to another space—it was like a nesting doll, double the secrecy. If Li Yuning, who was proficient in Abnormal knowledge, weren't here, the trail would likely have ended here.

But even knowing the gathering was held in a different dimension, Wang Han was still distressed because he didn't know how to get in.

However, at that moment, Wang Han felt his arm being grabbed, and his whole body fell uncontrollably. Looking over, he realized that Li Yuning had actually sunk into the seemingly shallow puddle, dragging his arm down into the "puddle" with her.

Once he realized the truth of the puddle, Wang Han instinctively resisted. Seeing his face getting closer and closer to that puddle, he was almost frantic...

Holding his breath as he passed through the puddle, Wang Han felt a chill and was dejected, feeling that he was no longer clean.

"Just wash up when we get back, it's fine," Li Yuning comforted him.

Wang Han wasn't a pretentious person. Since things had come to this, he didn't dwell on it. He looked around and found himself on a cliff covered in black stones, amidst thunder and lightning. The night was pitch black, with twisted red and black colors swirling overhead. Under the sound of huge, booming thunder, there were hidden gusts of eerie wind and the wailing of ghosts all around... The strange environment here left no doubt that they were absolutely not on Earth.

Yet, on the cliff, there appeared a human-style Gubao building, glowing with bright, scarlet light, as if a banquet were being held.

Wang Han knew that was the place they were going to.