Chapter 154: Eerie Shadow

"That manual..." Fatty suddenly spoke, his voice thick with remorse, "We should've read it like a Bible!"

No one spoke.

It's too late to say this now.

The pamphlet beside the map wasn't a prank; it was the ship's only survival guide.

But they, due to their mission and inherent arrogance, broke the rules above, causing their fellow teammates to die a gruesome death.

The route to the "Diving Passage" still required passing through two compartments.

At this point, they had no choice.

"Check ammunition, prepare to move forward."

"Captain, the manual says we must not leave this place, we..."

"Shut up!" Maiersi snapped his head around, his eyes blood‑red beneath the combat helmet, "Either stay here and wait to die, or find a way to live—your choice!"

The final rule was the one they had to break.

But they could obey the other rules as much as possible to avoid further casualties in the team.

No one said another word.

They forced themselves to rally, raised their guns, and with heightened vigilance, continued to grope deeper into the hull.

At the end of the Corridor stood a half‑closed door, beyond which lay a spacious cargo unloading area.

High on the ceiling, a few dim yellow bulbs cast a pallid light, pulling long, short, oddly shaped shadows from the stacked containers and debris on the floor.

The rotting stench in the air reached its peak here.

The five of them entered cautiously, their steps on the metal floor echoing hollowly.

"This place feels... off," Fengniao lowered his voice, his gaze sweeping over the twisted shadows.

Those shadows were too clear.

Clear enough to seem alive.

Suddenly.

A team member at the rear let out a short, muffled grunt.

Maiersi, who was ahead, spun around abruptly.

"What's wrong?"

The member stood frozen, his body trembling slightly with an extremely weird amplitude.

His gun barrel drooped uselessly, his eyes wide and fixed on his own feet.

Everyone followed his gaze.

They saw his Shadow, the black humanoid silhouette cast on the floor, now being tightly grasped by an even darker claw extending from a container's shade!

The claw was not solid at all, but more like a mass of pure, flowing darkness.

"Fire!"

Maiersi reacted instantly, roaring the order.

Clack‑clack‑clack!

Bullets instantly poured toward that shadow.

However, every bullet pierced the darkness, striking the containers behind and scattering dazzling sparks.

Under the terrified stare of the group, the black claw jerked violently!

"Tear—"

A sickening, cloth‑ripping sound echoed.

The member's Shadow was ripped cleanly apart, split into two!

"No..."

The member let out the final, desperate moan of his life.

The next second.

His body, in full view of everyone, was as if cleaved at the waist by an invisible massive blade!

Upper and lower halves separated instantly, blood and entrails splashing onto the ground.

The wound was smooth as a mirror.

He didn't even scream, just split in two; the upper half crashed heavily to the floor, his eyes still holding extreme terror.

"Run! Run fast!"

Everyone's sanity shattered completely at that moment!

What the hell is this thing?

Attack the Shadow and kill the body?

This is beyond their comprehension entirely!

The survivors went berserk, sprinting toward the far end of the unloading area.

From the shadows behind them, that vague humanoid monster of pure darkness pursued at an unhurried pace.

It had no legs, merely gliding on the ground, yet it was astonishingly fast.

"Fatty! Cover!"

Maiersi roared.

Fatty halted abruptly, turned, pulled two flash grenades from his waist, set the Detonator and tossed them.

A blinding flash erupted instantly!

The entire unloading area was illuminated a ghastly white!

The humanoid Shadow emitted a silent, high‑pitched whine under the flash, its form becoming much thinner.

Useful!

However, just as everyone saw a glimmer of hope.

Another black silhouette, moving even faster, darted out from the side shadows and lunged straight at the last remaining team member.

"Watch out!"

The hummingbird let out a startled cry.

But it was too late.

The team member only felt his foot clamp down, his Shadow being firmly stepped on by the monster.

He looked down in terror and saw the monster raise its sharp claws.

"No!"

At that hair‑trigger moment, Fatty roared and lunged forward, shoving the team member aside with one hand.

He himself, however, lost his balance and fell to the ground.

His Shadow was completely exposed within the monster's attack range.

"FUCKYOU!"

Fatty made an internationally friendly gesture toward the monster.

The next second.

The black claws came down hard.

Fatty's Shadow was torn to pieces in an instant.

And his body was likewise ripped apart, turning into a pool of indistinct flesh and blood.

"Fatty!"

Maiersi's eyes seemed about to burst.

Torpedo fragments fell right beside Fatty's shattered corpse.

That was their mission objective!

But he no longer had time to pick them up.

The dark monster, after killing Fatty, surged toward them again.

Only a few dozen meters remained!

The heavy, round hatch of the diving chamber was right before them!

"Captain! Move quickly!"

The hummingbird and another team member flanked Maiersi on the left and right, shielding him.

"I'll cut off the rear!"

The team member roared, turned, and charged at the monster, trying to use his own body to buy the Captain a few final seconds.

The black silhouette flashed by.

The team member's Shadow was pierced instantly; he screamed miserably, collapsed, his body shattering into fragments, bleeding from all seven orifices as he died.

Only Maiersi and the hummingbird remained.

"Go! Captain, take the message out!"

The hummingbird summoned all its strength and shoved Maiersi hard toward the diving chamber's hatch.

Maiersi slammed into the hatch heavily, the massive impact making his head spin.

He looked back and only saw the hummingbird's body being completely devoured by darkness.

"No—!"

Maiersi let out a beast‑like roar.

But the heavy hatch behind him slowly closed on its own.

"Boom—"

Accompanied by the final muffled thunder, the whole world fell silent.

Outside the door were all his brothers.

Inside, only he remained alive.

Maiersi collapsed on the floor, his body trembling violently, tears mingling with sweat pouring out through the seams of his combat helmet.

No one knew how long had passed.

He jerked his head up; the last trace of emotion in his eyes was completely replaced by a cold, soldier's resolve.

He quickly donned the diving gear and activated the emergency egress protocol of the submersible.

Accompanied by a violent shudder, the submersible detached from the bottom of Haiyang Ningjing Hao and sank into the cold, dark abyss.

Jingti Hao's searchlight finally spotted a drifting human silhouette on the roiling sea surface.

The rescue team hauled the already exhausted Maiersi aboard.

When his helmet was removed, the face stained with blood and tears showed no expression at all.

The medic tended his wounds and wrapped him in a thick blanket.

Maiersi leaned against the damp, cold hull, staring blankly at a puddle on the Jiabǎn below his feet.

The standing water reflected his weary, downcast figure.

Only.

Yet the reflection's outline was silently changing.

Its shape kept twisting and stretching, becoming snarling and grotesque......

It was no longer human at all.