Behind the Door

Chapter 4: Behind the Door

Cold.

He hadn't even had time to look around after stepping through the door when his body had already registered the sensation.

This cold didn't seem to come from the temperature around him, but... from inside.

"Bang—"

The door slammed shut behind him.

Only then did control of his body finally return to Bai Yanliang.

He immediately turned around. Behind him was nothing but a gray mist. There was no door in sight.

"Ah!!!"

A woman's piercing scream rang out through the thin fog.

There were other people here.

Bai Yanliang's expression remained calm, but his mind was unusually active.

Gray mist surrounded him on all sides. High above, in a place that might or might not have been the sky, hung a pair of enormous, narrow, dark-red objects, giving off a dim, unsettling glow.

"The last newcomer has arrived."

A man's voice came from the thin fog ahead. Bai Yanliang tensed and looked forward. "Who's there?"

But at the sight before him, Bai Yanliang's pupils contracted.

The gray mist in this space seemed to be gradually clearing. Countless human silhouettes began to emerge from within it.

They stood there without a sound, like corpses, facing Bai Yanliang in silence.

"Oh?" A woman's voice, tinged with curiosity, came from the front as well.

It wasn't just her. The countless figures around them seemed to stir, and one by one, their bloodcurdling gazes fixed on Bai Yanliang.

"What an interesting newcomer. He's actually this calm."

As the voice fell silent, the surrounding fog finally cleared completely!

Beneath the dim glow, Bai Yanliang finally saw what lay before him.

People... all kinds of people!

Men and women in fine suits, in rags, strong and sturdy, scrawny and shifty, stunningly beautiful, plain and unremarkable... All sorts of people suddenly appeared before him.

Or rather, they had been standing there all along, their figures concealed by the gray mist.

"Welcome, newcomers." The speaker was a refined-looking man around thirty. Judging by his voice, he had been the one speaking earlier, too.

Bai Yanliang looked at him. He had a refined, handsome face, a tall, straight figure, and was dressed in a well-tailored suit. A pair of square silver-framed glasses rested on his nose.

Before Bai Yanliang could respond, another voice suddenly cried out.

"Y-You... Who are you people? Let me go! Where is this? Let me out! Otherwise, I'm calling the police!" The woman's shrill voice trembled slightly. She was the one who had screamed earlier.

"Please calm down first and think carefully about how you got here." The suited man's voice wasn't loud, but there was something reassuring about it.

Bai Yanliang glanced to his side. A young woman in her twenties was sitting on the ground beside him, her face full of fear and panic. There was also a middle-aged man like Bai Yanliang, who had remained silent from the start. But unlike Bai Yanliang, he didn't look calm. His slightly furrowed brow, the direction of his toes, and his constantly contracting pupils all betrayed his unease and fear. He was just... forcing himself to keep it under control.

"I don't care! I don't care what tricks you used! Just let me leave!" The woman's voice remained piercing and grating.

"Who do you think could instantly transport dozens of people to a place like this?" The suited man remained gentle in his manner, not growing angry even at the woman's hysterical outburst.

At last, the woman fell silent. Everything she had said just now had been nothing more than an attempt to escape reality.

Still, her gaze remained dazed and fearful. Perhaps she wanted to believe this was a nightmare she could wake up from.

"Are you... Zhou Li?" The middle-aged man who had been silent suddenly spoke. His voice carried a hint of doubt, but also a measure of certainty. He was looking at the suited man.

Zhou Li looked at him in surprise. "You know me?"

"The financial prodigy who turned down twenty companies. Of course I know you." Having recognized a familiar face, the middle-aged man seemed to relax a little. "I'm Shen Changrong, president of Baisheng United Group in Shen City. We met at a gathering once."

"You were in Shen City?" Bai Yanliang suddenly interjected.

Shen Changrong seemed to realize something as well. He looked at Bai Yanliang and nodded. "That's right. I was opening my office door just now. Who knew I'd end up here when I stepped inside? You..."

"I was in Ye City," Bai Yanliang replied. After getting his answer, he said nothing more and turned his attention to the man named Zhou Li.

It was clear that Zhou Li was something like a leader to the dozens of people standing behind him.

As it happened, when Bai Yanliang looked at Zhou Li, Zhou Li was looking right back at him.

His gaze held surprise, appreciation, and admiration. He said sincerely, "We've met plenty of newcomers by now. Most of them act like this young woman. Even the few who stay calm are like Mr. Shen, uneasy and suspicious to some degree. You're the third person I've met who showed no fear at all upon arriving here."

Bai Yanliang's thoughts stirred. He held out his hand. "Bai Yanliang."

"Zhou Li." Zhou Li shook his hand, and the two exchanged names.

Then Zhou Li didn't continue speaking with Bai Yanliang alone. Instead, he addressed Bai Yanliang, Shen Changrong, and the woman who was still staring blankly. "I know you have a lot of questions and feel uneasy, but we don't have time for me to explain everything. I'll only say this once."

Here it comes.

Bai Yanliang's thoughts stirred. In fact, ever since Zhou Li and the people behind him had appeared, Bai Yanliang had sensed that something was off.

Although they outnumbered him, they seemed... like a disorganized mob.

That was unusual. When people were part of a group, even if they weren't close, they usually formed smaller cliques based on their temperaments, interests, and other factors.

But Bai Yanliang couldn't see any such bonds here. Instead, from the beginning until now, these people had been silent, while also giving off a faint, elusive emotion.

Bai Yanliang had seen this emotion before, at Ye City Psychiatric Hospital. It was called despair.

Besides, although they stood together, there was a clear distance between them.

Bai Yanliang could tell at a glance that they were wary of one another. He wasn't the only one; Shen Changrong had already noticed as well. The only one who knew nothing was probably the woman still staring blankly.

Then, after seeing that the woman had turned her gaze to Zhou Li as well, he finally continued:

"The truth is, no one knows where this place is. Everyone here ended up here the same way: they opened a door for no apparent reason and found themselves here. There's no rhyme or reason to it."

"And we're forced to periodically complete some damn, cursed tasks." Zhou Li's expression darkened. He looked at the three of them, his eyes flickering behind his lenses with frustration and resignation. "I'm not just saying the tasks are vile. I mean they're literally haunted."