A pitch-black tunnel.
More than a dozen Velander soldiers in protective suits shone flashlights around, carefully searching every shadow-covered corner as they cautiously advanced.
The air here carried a suffocating oppression. It was as if pairs of covetous eyes lurked in the darkness... the dead coveting the living.
Because the space was too quiet, even the slightest sound seemed exceptionally abrupt. Everyone consciously or unconsciously kept conversation to a minimum, speaking only when necessary.
An hour had passed since the thousand-man force led by Favri discovered this tunnel, and this exploration team had spent a full hour searching deep into the ruins.
Yet even now, they had not found the end of the tunnel. Some of them could not help but wonder if they were simply going in circles.
It was no wonder they thought so.
After all, the tunnel stretched on like a black hole.
The deeper they went, the stronger the unease in their hearts became.
As though if they stayed in here too long, they would never get out again...
"Damn it... where did those digging guys find this cursed tunnel?"
"Who the hell knows..."
"The ruins of a settlement from over a hundred years ago... I just want to know what the point of exploring this thing is. Could there really still be living people in here?"
"Enough, shut your mouth!"
Telling ghost stories at a time like this did nothing but scare themselves. The man who had been reprimanded by the captain gave an embarrassed smile and stopped talking.
The others also shut their mouths instinctively, and the bottomless tunnel returned to its spine-chilling silence.
At last, it was time for their routine report.
The Velander soldier at the front of the group took a deep breath, removed the radio hanging from his shoulder, and