The moment Yu Xing entered the dream, he was struck by the damp, oppressive air. Water dripped somewhere nearby, and all sorts of foul, rotting smells flooded his nostrils.
He opened his eyes and found himself standing in a particularly crude corridor. Uneven red bricks covered the floor, a rusty pipe leaked overhead, and several cells lined both sides, shut off by iron bars.
The cells stretched as far as he could see, disappearing around a corner. The foul smells were coming from inside them.
Yu Xing approached a random cell and peered inside.
It was crude and filthy, with almost nothing in it. A metal bed had been welded to the floor at the far end, and someone had haphazardly covered it with withered straw.
The cell he had chosen happened to be unoccupied, but large patches of dark red blood had dried on the straw and trailed onto the floor. Half a piece of stale, hard bread lay by the wall. Two fat rats passed by, glanced at it disdainfully, and let out a mocking squeak.
It seemed that the person who had once lived here had been treated worse than a rat.
The wall beside him was covered in all kinds of scratches, as if different people had left messages there. Yu Xing couldn't make them out at first, but with the system's help, he saw that the entire wall was covered in pleas for help.
Some trailed off with ellipses: "Save me... there's a monster..."
Some repeated themselves like broken records: "It's here! It's coming again! I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"
Some were pleas: "When can I get out?"
Some recorded the drudgery of daily life: "I'm so hungry. The rats gnaw on me at night. It hurts so much!!"
Since