The deeper Gao Ming ventured into the Underground Water Network, the more disturbed his mental state became. Stranger still, he noticed nothing wrong, as though he had long since grown used to it all.
They walked past the wooden board covered in tasks, sewage dripping from their trouser legs. Gao Ming and the driver seemed to have become part of this filthy world.
In his eyes, the garbage floating on the Underground River slowly sprouted flesh and blood, carrying people's former memories. Thin roots grew in the cracks in the walls, like long rat tails, swaying gently and vanishing in an instant when touched.
There was no light in the world beyond the wire mesh. Reality had been shut out. This place belonged to darkness alone, and everything here was bound to it.
Flowers resembling babies' mouths bloomed on thick moss, and fish with human faces swam through the water. The air grew viscous. Every breath felt as though they were swallowing something, leaving an uncomfortable sensation in their lungs.
Without needing any prompting from Gao Ming, the driver grabbed the rope, afraid of straying too far from him. Even so, something went wrong.
The driver stepped on something, slipped, and fell to the ground. His hands groped wildly, and his fingertips touched a thigh wrapped in slick, wet plastic.
"A corpse! There's a dead person here!"
Gao Ming held the driver's hand still and crouched beside him, looking toward the corner. A cleaner in a hazmat suit was propped against the wall. The work badge on his chest bore seven different stamps, indicating that he had worked for the Cleaning Company for a long time and cleaned seven forbidden zones. He was a veteran employee in every sense, yet even someone this experienced had died in the sewers.
The