Deadly Tunnel

Lin Ye got out of the vehicle. The prison transport was still some distance from the tunnel. The Supervisory Personnel clearly did not want to approach it, as though the tunnel would devour them.

"Number 1, you go in first."

The Captain this time was a white man with a stern face who looked difficult to talk to.

The other two Class-D Personnel did not move. Unfortunately, Lin Ye was Number 1 this time, so he could not have someone else scout ahead for him.

Lin Ye walked up and let the Supervisory Personnel put a helmet on him.

"Can you give me a weapon?"

Lin Ye asked as usual.

The Supervisory Personnel glanced at the Captain, and only after seeing him nod did he draw the dagger at his waist and hand it to Lin Ye.

Carrying the dagger, Lin Ye approached the tunnel. It was a large, two-lane semicircular tunnel, twenty meters wide and ten meters high.

Two rows of overhead lights lined the tunnel ceiling, their yellowish-white light illuminating every corner.

Lin Ye entered the tunnel along the right side. There were no people or vehicles inside. The long passage stretched out of sight, with no way of knowing where it led.

After walking for about half an hour, Lin Ye had encountered nothing, and there had been no sound from his headset either. The tunnel occasionally curved, but there were no forks. He could only go forward or turn back.

This one's a little easy. I've walked for half an hour without encountering a monster. Last time, I'd already restarted several times in half an hour.

Lin Ye thought idly. Just then, his vision suddenly went black, as though all the overhead lights in the tunnel had gone out at once.

Lin Ye stood still. Everything around him was pitch-black, without a trace of light. Apart from his own heartbeat and breathing, there was not a sound.

After waiting a while and seeing no sign of the lights coming back on, Lin Ye hesitantly took a step forward.

That step was like pressing a switch. The entire tunnel was suddenly illuminated.

Lin Ye narrowed his eyes. With the sudden change in his surroundings, he needed a little time to adjust.

Just then, Lin Ye suddenly noticed what seemed to be a dark shape diagonally ahead, on the left side of the road. His eyes flew wide, and through the blurry afterimages, he barely made out the dark shape.

It was a tall, hulking humanoid monster.

Writhing strips of flesh covered its body. Its limbs were long and narrow, bone spikes covered its waist and abdomen, and a dark blue-black tail grew behind it.

Lin Ye turned and ran. All he had now was a dagger. He was no match for this dangerous-looking monster.

Great god of the tunnel! It was just a thought! Don't actually throw a bunch of monsters at me!

The monster let out a frenzied roar and lunged toward Lin Ye like a wild dog that had not eaten for days.

Lin Ye's vision went black, but only for an instant. The next moment, the overhead lights came back on, and the monster behind him suddenly fell silent.

"Huh?"

Lin Ye looked back and found no monster behind him. Everything that had just happened seemed like a hallucination.

"What the hell?"

If he had not been certain he was mentally sound, and known that something was wrong with this tunnel, Lin Ye would have wondered whether he was crazy.

Lin Ye hesitated, then turned and returned to where he had encountered the monster. This time, the overhead lights did not go out, and there was no trace of any monster there.

"Fuck, this is seriously freaky."

Lin Ye raked his fingers hard through his hair. This mission was even more troublesome than the last. He was not sure whether to keep walking or turn back immediately.

Forget it. I'll follow this path all the way in this simulation and see what I run into if I keep going forward. I've got ten simulation attempts anyway.

Lin Ye continued forward. The tunnel was deathly silent, with only the sound of his footsteps.

Give me a cup of milk tea. No, let me come across a milk tea shop.

Let me run into a few monsters, preferably ones with pointier brains.

Let me return to Blue Star, and give me a hundred million while you're at it.

Lin Ye made wishes in his mind as he walked. The timing of his encounter with the monster had been too much of a coincidence, forcing him to wonder whether this tunnel could grant wishes.

But his wishes did not come true. The tunnel remained deathly silent.

After another few dozen minutes of walking, the overhead lights went out again.

This time, Lin Ye did not stop. The darkness flashed past, and Lin Ye stared wide-eyed diagonally ahead while silently reciting:

This one's a little easy. I've walked for an hour and only encountered one monster. Last time, I'd already restarted several times in half an hour.

Sure enough, a figure appeared diagonally ahead of Lin Ye, on the left side of the passage. But it was not the monster he had imagined. It was one of the Class-D Personnel who had come in the same vehicle as him.

"Why did you come back? Is there something up ahead?"

"How did you get ahead of me?"

The two spoke almost simultaneously.

Lin Ye froze for a moment, but immediately realized that the other man thought he had turned back.

But he had not turned back.

There were no forks in the tunnel. Unless the other man had started from the other end, he would have had to pass Lin Ye to get ahead of him.

Would those Supervisory Personnel take him to the other end of the tunnel? Is this some kind of experiment?

Is he lying to me?

Did he pass me when the lights went out? But what would be the point of doing that?

Is he really Class-D Personnel? Could he be some kind of mimicking monster?

Chaotic thoughts tangled into a ball in Lin Ye's mind. With too many uncertainties, he could not reach a conclusion for the moment, unsure whether he should trust the fellow human in front of him.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean, get ahead of you? Did you get turned around?"

Jesse watched Lin Ye warily, his right hand reaching toward his waist.

"Sorry, didn't the lights go out earlier? I might have gone the wrong way."

Lin Ye hurriedly apologized. He did not want to clash with the other man under these circumstances. He was strong, but the other man was no weakling either. One careless move could waste a simulation attempt.

"Earlier? Wasn't that just now? You're really hard to understand. Are you a foreigner?"

Seeing Lin Ye's agreeable attitude, Jesse did not continue drawing his weapon, but he still did not approach Lin Ye.

"Have you only experienced the lights going out once? It happened to me once before."

Lin Ye did not approach him either. They both needed some distance for safety.

"Oh, so that's it. Maybe it's different sections of the tunnel. That was the first time the lights went out for me. Everything was pitch-black, and I couldn't see a thing. I waited there for ages, but the moment I stepped forward, the lights came back on."

Jesse complained.

"...Same here."

Lin Ye raked his fingers hard through his hair. This place was even more troublesome than he had imagined.

"Perfect. Since you've turned back, let's head back together. We've been walking for so long, after all, and there's no end in sight. Nothing from the headsets either. I've wanted to go back for a while, but I was afraid those bastards would shoot me if I went back alone."

Jesse licked his dry, shriveled lips as he spoke.

"Sure, let's go back together. They probably won't kill us. At worst, we'll have to walk through again."

Lin Ye agreed.

After approaching Jesse, Lin Ye suddenly felt that something was off. The other man was listless, in even worse shape than he was.

"Ugh, after all this walking, I'm getting hungry. Good thing I ate extra before coming."

Jesse sighed as he spoke.

"...How long have you been in here?"

Lin Ye's vision went black, and he heard a reply beside him.

"Huh? Almost three hours. I'm absolutely exhausted."