"...This is the Deep Dive Team, code name 'Adults', reporting for the last time..."

The slightly muffled voice reached his ears, and Yu Sheng stood motionless.

He lifted his head and saw that the mysterious "Control Hall" had lost all its colors. Hu Li and Erin, like two phantoms in a black and white world, were frozen in place, and even a falling bullet was bizarrely suspended a few centimeters from the ground. The only real thing was that deep voice echoing in his ears.

This scene was exactly like when he had previously engaged in "Dead Communication".

The voice continued as if it were coming from just a meter away. Yu Sheng saw no one there, but he could clearly hear someone speaking—not to him, but as if they were talking to some recording device:

"...Everyone in the team is incapacitated, we are lying in this hall, bodies melting like wax, thoughts... thoughts merging with all sorts of things, intertwining with each other...

"My name is... is... no, I can't remember.

"This is the last report. I don't know if this recording will ever make it back to headquarters, but I must document what we've seen.

"Anka Aela, it is a ship—or at least, it was when it first set off. After coming into contact with that device called the 'umbilical cord', we saw many things about it.

"I... don't understand where this ship originated from. The memories transmitted through the umbilical cord were mad and chaotic. It seems to have been drifting for an incredibly long time, so long that it's beyond rational comprehension. It comes from a place completely different from our known universe... perhaps what scholars speculate to be 'outside'.

"But now, this ship has transformed into something... beyond rational explanation. I can't describe everything I saw during the connection with the 'umbilical cord'. I saw steel melting in the light, blood flowing from its fuel pipes, flesh growing gradually, engines roaring fiercely. It kept talking to me, saying many things, those buzzing noises nearly destroyed my sanity...

"We escaped from the compartment housing the 'umbilical cord', back to this place to await death. The impact it has on us is irreversible, the protective gear has failed, and the changes are happening from the inside out. I can feel a gaze, right now, observing us—through each of our eyes.

"I think I understand now, we are all becoming part of it."

There was a heavy breathing sound, and Yu Sheng heard the nearby voice become erratic, as if it were wandering around the whole hall, then it stabilized but not from the original position:

"We don't know what will happen next, death, or something even more terrifying—we were prepared for this before departure, we don't fear it, but we are worried about the catastrophic consequences if 'it' loses control.

"Anka Aela, this otherworldly ark that has learned to think, is currently trapped in a dream realm called 'Fairy Tales', but one day it will break free. Deep within it, something is growing, some... new life, slowly maturing at the other end of the umbilical cord. But the umbilical cord is damaged, and we can't be sure what it is. One thing is certain: when that thing lets out its first cry upon birth, many many people in Boundary Land will die.

"To whoever receives this recording—whether the Special Service Bureau support troops or future investigators—stop that thing from being born at all costs.

"Beyond this hall, there's a short corridor, and at the end of the corridor is the room housing the 'umbilical cord' device. There, mortal minds can barely establish a direct connection with 'Anka Aela'. It might be the only way to resist—or at least drive away this Dark Angel. We failed, our minds couldn't withstand its invasion, but if you made it this far and still retain your sanity, understanding these words we've left behind, then maybe you can.

"Give it a try—there's no reward, no recompense, we have nothing left to offer you, not even a justifiable reason...

"We can only plead, give it a try... before 'its' child is born into our world..."

The bullet suspended in mid-air fell to the ground with a clear sound, and the colors around them abruptly returned, the whole world started functioning again.

Yu Sheng looked down and saw the bullet bouncing twice, slowly rolling to his feet, while a dark red shadow, like bloodstains, spread from the peculiar machine nearby, reaching his feet.

Was this the bloodstain "they" left seventy years ago?

Yu Sheng looked up, finding a figure that had appeared at some unknown moment, silently staring at him.

It was a hollow hunter's clothes floating in mid-air, with a shadow without a face beneath the hood, lacking any sense of reality like an illusion.

Yu Sheng glanced at his own arm and noticed that the "Hunter" outfit he wore had disappeared without him noticing.

Beside him, Hu Li held Erin in his arms, Erin holding the squirrel, and the three of them simultaneously saw the distant shadow, exclaiming in unison: "Hunter!"

Yu Sheng's expression didn't change, he steadied himself and walked up to the Hunter.

"...It has been many years."

The Hunter's indistinct and hollow voice resonated directly in his mind.

"We have been trying to find a way back to this place, even though we ourselves have forgotten why we needed to return—Anka Aela made us the 'Hunters' in the Black Forest. This Hunter's clothes are like a solid 'shell,' trapping us in the endlessly repetitive script of the Angel's Dream. We once tried to talk to the 'Little Red Riding Hood' who entered the forest, but apart from shooting the Evil Wolf, we're not allowed to do anything extra. We repeatedly recall our mission and purpose, but those memories always wear thin during the process of recollection..."

He lifted his hand, pointing to the center of the hall.

"There lie ten bodies, and twelve souls—we did everything we could in the final moments to send two bodies back to the real world. We hoped the remaining nerve signals in those brains could carry the information of what happened here back to headquarters. Since then, we've been waiting for reinforcements, but we never actually held out much hope—given the circumstances back then, the bodies we sent back were already severely contaminated and couldn't possibly carry any rational information.

"So when you took out that group photo, we were shocked beyond belief, even awakening from the roles Anka Aela had woven for us."

"Yes, you woke up and even shot me with a bullet," Yu Sheng smiled faintly, "and it hurt quite a bit."

"...Sorry, but on the stage of the Black Forest, that was the only 'out-of-line' action we could take at the time. Additionally, it was because you had absorbed the wolf's blood that we could 'see' you as an Evil Wolf," the Hunter's voice carried a hint of apology, "Deaths in the Black Forest are only temporary; it's the erosion and wolf transformation brought by multiple deaths that are more dangerous."

Yu Sheng thought about it, still deciding not to explain that he had actually entered in the flesh that time, and that shot really did kill him—somehow it felt inappropriate to say that now...

"In any case, reinforcements are here now," Yu Sheng raised his hand pointing to himself and to Hu Li, Erin, and the Squirrel beside him, "Although we are not from the Special Service Bureau, we accepted their commission... sorry for the slight delay."

The Hunter merely shook his head silently.

He then lifted his hand and pointed to a door on the other side of the hall.

"Go out from there, and you can reach the room where the 'umbilical cord' is located."

"Besides the 'umbilical cord,' what else is there?" Yu Sheng's expression grew serious, "What should I do?"

"The room is small, seemingly just a platform for maintenance. The 'umbilical cord' is a connection device in the center of the circular platform. It connects to a special area below. We couldn't find the way to the lower level at the time, so we're not sure what's down there—but we are sure that whatever Anka Aela is 'nurturing' is down there.

"By touching the umbilical cord, you can establish the strongest connection with Anka Aela, but beyond that..."

The Hunter paused, and after a long silence, he shook his head lightly.

"There's no need to stress the dangers of this process. We can give you no promises or guarantees. In fact, there has never been a case of a human establishing a connection with the Dark Angel and coming out unscathed. From a rational standpoint, you could leave now."

"If I were being rational, I wouldn't have come in the first place," Yu Sheng chuckled and waved at the Hunter, "Alright, knowing this is enough. I'll go and check it out—you all should rest here, after so many years, you deserve a break."

He turned around and walked in the direction the Hunter had pointed.

Hu Li followed him without hesitation.

Erin and the Squirrel seemed a bit nervous—but one was being carried by Hu Li and the other by Erin, so they could only follow along.

The Hunter's voice came from behind: "Wait..."

Yu Sheng didn't turn around; he just looked back slightly, a smile on his face.

"Don't worry, I'll give it a try."

He opened the door that wasn't locked, finding a dimly lit corridor ahead.

At the end of the corridor, the encircling dark red lights flickered faintly in the gloom, like a silent invitation, or an ominous omen.

The baby's cry sounded once more, but this time, it no longer felt like a distant, indistinct illusion. It seemed as though it was right there, on the other side of that dark red glow.

Yu Sheng curled his lips into a smile and strode forward.

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