"The eighth one."
The voice was faint—almost unreal.
It seemed to seep up from underground, yet at the same time, it was right beside their ears.
It had no source.
And yet, it struck directly at their nerves.
The moment the words fell—
The entire underground space was suddenly locked.
As if an invisible hand had clenched everything shut.
The air stopped moving.
Every breath felt thick, cold, and damp—filled with the stench of mold and rusted blood.
It pressed against the lungs, suffocating.
The beam of light in Captain Zhang's hand flickered violently.
Shadows twisted across the walls—
Like countless hands clawing and writhing.
Then—
The light began to dim.
Visibly.
Rapidly.
Not because the battery was dying.
But because the darkness…
Was eating it.
Devouring it piece by piece.
"Who's there?!" Zhang barked, his voice sharp. "Show yourself!"
No answer.
Only the echo—
Cold.
Hollow.
Repeating again and again along the walls:
"The eighth one…"
"The eighth one…"
"The eighth one…"
Each repetition—
Lower.
Closer.
Lin Wan stood still.
Her breathing slowed.
Too slow.
Like something that was no longer alive.
The noise from earlier still lingered in her mind—
Fragments of screams.
Desperate pleas.
The final moments of countless dying people.
Cold. Broken. Chaotic.
But this time—
It was different.
What she heard…
Was not the past.
It was now.
"It's watching us."
Her voice was quiet.
Cold.
Sharp as ice.
Zhang froze.
A chill ran down his spine.
"What did you say? Who's watching us?"
Lin Wan didn't look at him.
Her gaze slowly lowered—
Toward the bottom of the stairs.
Toward the deepest darkness.
"It's not something you hear," she said softly.
"It's something that's staring."
The next second—
Click.
The last trace of light vanished.
Total darkness.
Absolute.
No direction.
No sense of space.
It was as if they had been thrown into an endless void.
Zhang instinctively reached for his gun.
His fingers fumbled—
But found nothing.
"My gun…?!"
For the first time—
There was panic in his voice.
"Don't move."
Lin Wan's voice sounded beside him.
Very close.
Too close.
Something felt wrong.
Zhang turned sharply.
"Lin Wan?"
Nothing.
Empty air.
His heart stopped for a split second.
"Lin Wan?!"
A hand—
Cold as ice—
Gently rested on his shoulder.
"I'm here."
The voice whispered right beside his ear.
Low.
Hoarse.
Not human.
Zhang froze completely.
Because he knew—
That wasn't where she had been.
Cold sweat exploded across his back.
"Don't turn around."
The voice continued.
Calm.
Emotionless.
"It's right behind you."
Zhang's hands began to shake.
His instincts screamed at him to run.
To escape.
But his body wouldn't move.
Because deep down—
He knew—
Moving would mean death.
Then—
Far ahead—
In the deepest darkness—
A light appeared.
Not a flashlight.
Not a lamp.
An eye.
Crimson.
Massive.
The size of a human face.
Slowly opening.
Thud.
A heavy step echoed from deeper below.
The ground trembled slightly.
Thud.
Closer.
Each step—
Pressed down on their nerves.
Zhang's breathing broke apart.
"What… what is that thing…"
From the darkness—
Lin Wan's voice came again.
This time—
It was truly her.
"That's not a thing."
Her tone was calm.
Too calm.
As if she already knew.
"That is…"
She paused.
Her eyes locked onto the eye.
"The core of this place."
Thud.
The third step.
Right in front of them.
The crimson eye shifted—
And locked onto them.
Then—
All the walls began to bulge.
Violently.
More violently than before.
Shapes emerged—
Hands.
Faces.
Bodies.
People.
Pressing out from inside the walls.
Desperate.
Distorted.
Screaming silently—
But this time—
They made sound.
"HELP ME!!"
"Don't let it see me!!"
"It's choosing the next—!!"
Before the sentence finished—
All of them were dragged back inside.
Instantly.
Gone.
Silence returned.
Only the eye remained.
And—
The footsteps.
Closer.
Closer.
Lin Wan didn't move.
Didn't retreat.
Didn't run.
Because she finally understood.
These deaths—
Were never random.
They were chosen.
And now—
It was her turn.
The crimson eye narrowed.
Watching.
Marking.
Then—
That voice spoke again.
Closer than ever.
Right beside her ear.
"Lin Wan."
Her pupils shrank.
It knew her name.
"You can hear."
The air froze.
"Then…"
A pause.
A hint of something like a smile.
"Can you hear me?"
At that moment—
Her ability was forced open again.
But this time—
She didn't hear the dead.
She heard—
It.
Pain exploded in her mind.
Like needles tearing through her brain.
Her consciousness was ripped apart.
And then—
She saw.
Fire.
Three years ago.
Nanling Sanatorium.
Burning.
Flames swallowed everything.
Smoke filled the air.
And in the fire—
A figure stood in the hallway.
Still.
Calm.
Not running.
Not afraid.
He looked up—
At the fire.
Then—
Slowly—
Turned his head.
Through the flames.
Through time.
He looked directly at her.
And smiled.
The vision shattered.
Lin Wan gasped awake.
Her breathing broken.
Her body trembling.
"It didn't die here…"
Her voice finally cracked.
Zhang's voice shook violently:
"What are you talking about?! What is it?!"
Lin Wan slowly lifted her head.
Her face pale as death.
Eyes locked on the eye.
"It…"
She forced the words out.
"Walked out of the fire."
"And now—"
Her voice dropped.
Like a sentence of death.
"It's looking for the eighth person…"
"…who will survive."
In the darkness—
The crimson eye widened slightly.
And smiled.
The countdown—
Had begun.