"Vmmm~"
At Old Owl's touch, the heavy iron door slowly slid open, letting out a deep, resonant clang like an ancient bell.
A wave of air several times colder than outside surged out, carrying the mixed scents of disinfectant, stale dust, and an indescribable, chilling gloom. It enveloped Xiao Ran at the doorway, and even the white mist of his breath seemed to freeze instantly.
Old Owl pressed the cold switch on the wall beside him.
"Click, click, click—"
Amid the dense clatter of machinery, the industrial cold lights arranged in a row along the warehouse ceiling abruptly came on, one by one, from nearest to farthest, layer after layer, bank after bank!
The blinding white light instantly drove away the shadows in the entrance and fully illuminated the space beyond the door.
The underground warehouse was even deeper and larger than he had imagined.
Cold white light poured down from the high ceiling, illuminating the space below as brightly as day, yet casting an impersonal chill over everything.
The warehouse had been laid out like an enormous grid of tombs.
Neat and tightly packed, they stretched as far as the eye could see, holding thousands of... body bags!
The thick, standard-issue military body bags were a dark green. Packed across the entire floor, they resembled ranks of sleeping soldiers.
A dense Death Qi surged through the room, forming a uniquely powerful Corpse Qi.
"These are..."
Xiao Ran walked to the nearest body and unzipped the bag. A man lay motionless inside, his chest pierced through and his arm and shoulder partly missing.
Standing to one side of the doorway, Old Owl said calmly, "The border isn't safe. There are always casualties. The company and the military can't move everyone's bodies here in time. Those who do make it here