In the year 3036, it was hard to imagine that there were still restricted areas so isolated from the world. Besides this hidden underground elevator, there were no roads leading to the outside.
The elevator arrived, and as the doors opened, a cloud of dust assaulted the senses.
The forbidden zone, untouched by human feet for a decade, had long since turned into ruins, with a thick layer of dust accumulated on the ground.
The light fixtures and wires were sparsely hanging, and due to the lack of electricity, the lighting was poor. One could only rely on the faint light from outside to barely make out the surroundings—
The equipment in the lobby had rusted and grown moldy long ago; the tables and chairs were haphazardly scattered, resembling a neglected graveyard. The windows were already shattered, and the sea breeze was forcefully rushing in.
The elevator’s “Feline Giant” squad, elite therapists transferred from Yan City, not only possessed profound expertise in the field of psychic healing but also boasted formidable combat skills. Their mission today was to approach 001 and, if possible, use psychic healing to quell the rebellion of 001.
The first step was to disperse and search for 001.
Before their arrival, they had strategized: act independently to maximize survival rates, so even if one or two were lost, others could continue the mission.
As the elevator doors opened, several tall figures turned paler than paper, their movements out of the elevator exceedingly slow.
But Shu Tang—
She was there for a matchmaking event.
Shu Tang took the lead, hastily exiting the elevator.
The “Lion Sister,” the team leader, seeing the Amur Tiger’s bravery, gritted her teeth and also stepped out of the elevator.
Shu Tang moved quickly, soon disappearing from the sight of others.
Damp, dark, silent.
Every step Shu Tang took echoed, the surroundings so quiet that only her breathing was audible.
She hadn’t expected the Cape Sanatorium to have such a dilapidated area, especially when the exterior appeared so pristine yet the interior was in such disrepair.
It was said that the closer to the center of the Sanatorium, the more expensive the hospitalization fees. Shu Tang calculated that in such a core area as Zone 1, the daily hospitalization cost was about ten thousand, and even as an employee, she had to say: this was too much of a rip-off.
Shu Tang wandered aimlessly like a headless fly, eventually finding a map sign. She leaned over to locate the wards, but when she looked up, she saw a handprint.
It was black, like an age-old blood handprint.
Shu Tang shivered, looking around: My goodness, isn’t there anyone else? It’s terrifying.
Shu Tang wondered if she had taken the wrong turn. She pulled out her access card and checked again—it was indeed “01”!
She lowered her head and fumbled in the medical kit she carried, pulling out a flashlight.
The area around her instantly lit up.
Shu Tang: “This is much better.”
Feeling secure again, she followed the map on the signpost and headed towards the ward area.
…
On the other end of the monitor.
Chen Sheng stared intently at the screen, which displayed real-time surveillance of the restricted area.
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Just ten minutes ago—
Chen Sheng had just escorted Shu Tang inside when he ran into the belated expert from Yan City, which left him stunned.
The expert had just arrived, so who had gone in just now?
However, it was just a fifteen-minute delay, and the small team had already entered.
Because of this episode, he did not broadcast the surveillance as originally planned to Director Qiu, who had evacuated to Zone 3. Instead, he stayed in the control room with the military personnel under his command to discuss their strategy.
Chen Sheng wasn’t worried about the safety of anyone in Area 001 of the restricted area. The existence of the Cape Sanatorium, including the restricted area, wasn’t to protect the people inside—it was to protect the people outside.
Chen Sheng kept his eyes on the monitor and finally realized they had no options.
They could only hope that the girl who had wandered into the restricted area, with her SSS-grade psychic power, could save her own life.
However, the first to encounter trouble wasn’t Shu Tang, who had accidentally entered, but the most formidable fighter, the Black Panther male alpha.
“Look, the first monitor!”
Black Panther Alpha was sweating profusely, looking at the water stains on the ground.
No one had entered the restricted area for ten years; such obvious water stains shouldn’t be possible. And yet, there in front of him on the dusty floor, the water stains spread like a halo of black blood.
Male Alpha stiffly turned around—
At the dark end of the corridor was a shadowy figure with an indistinct face.
Everyone’s breathing halted.
Dripping from the long ends of the shadow’s hair, the undried sea water continued to fall.
Drip, drip.
The black panther felt an immense fear explode in his heart, a tingling shiver running up his spine, yet his legs were as if filled with lead, unable to move.
The tall, dark shadow slowly approached him.
One step, two steps.
Suddenly, the slowly advancing shadow stopped.
“He” turned his head with sluggish movements.
Because in the darkness, a very glaring beam of light appeared.
…
Yes, Shu Tang was shaking her powerful flashlight.
The flashlight was of excellent quality, so bright that even the chickens thought it was dawn.
With its help, Shu Tang quickly found the entrance to the hospital ward.
As she pushed the door open, she was met by the howling, icy sea breeze.
The hospital ward was actually built over the sea.
Not far off, the sea was pitch black.
Among the rugged rocks, a massive stone fortress stood tall, enduring the battering of the waves. This fortress looked remarkably like the Bastille as depicted in the illustrations of the French Revolution from Shu Tang’s history textbooks in her previous life.
The identities of the patients at the Cape Sanatorium were either rich or noble, so having their own private wards wasn’t surprising.
Shu Tang: But, isn’t owning a miniature Bastille a bit exaggerated?
Shu Tang knew the other party’s family was well-off, but she hadn’t expected them to be this affluent. She had been slightly worried about discussing breaking off their match later, concerned it might hurt the omega’s feelings.
Now, seeing this Bastille, and thinking of her own single-digit bank account, Shu Tang felt that this could very well work out.
She had always vaguely felt that the other party was not satisfied with the match.
—After genetic matching, omegas can obtain alphas’ contact information and easily meet them online.
However, months had passed, and there had been no move from the other party.
Thinking this, Shu Tang opened her umbrella and hurried towards the “Bastille.”
Ten years ago, this place was surrounded by warning tapes, like a boundary line between a dark, cold monster world and modern civilization; ten years later, the blue climbing roses on the warning tapes bloomed wildly and lushly, obscuring the original appearance.
From a distance, the “Bastille” appeared immensely majestic. The fortress was made of numerous giant stones, which could isolate strong mental fluctuations, and possessed a primitive yet solid beauty.
In the dark world, apart from the howling of the sea and the sound of rain, it seemed only Shu Tang’s footsteps remained.
In the surveillance room, a frightening silence prevailed.
Shu Tang was headed in the direction of “his” “lair”!
Merely stepping into the forbidden zone was already highly dangerous, not to mention delving into his lair. Such an intrusion into his territory could easily enrage Number 001!
“No, have someone stop her!”
Chen instinctively brought the walkie-talkie to his mouth but was unable to make a sound.
—He could not sacrifice others’ lives for one trespasser.
However, during this hesitation, Shu Tang had already crossed the long stone stairs and knocked on the fortress’s stone door.
No sound was heard.
“Is anyone there?” Shu Tang asked.
Still no response.
In the darkness, the waves tirelessly lapped against the shore.
At that moment, the rain briefly stopped, making the surroundings feel even more acute.
Suddenly, Shu Tang felt a chill down her spine, as if a terrifying monster was silently staring at her from behind.
Shu Tang paused in her tracks.
But before she could react, the next second, she immediately smelled an unfamiliar yet enticing scent she had never experienced before.
Shu Tang had never smelled pheromones before.
In high school, once, an omega’s suppressants failed, and the present alphas looked at him with wolf-like gazes.
—At that time, Shu Tang was sweeping the floor;
Soon, the little omega’s pheromones leaked, the alphas’ eyes turned red, on the verge of an indescribable riot.
—Shu Tang continued sweeping;
Eventually, the endearing omega grabbed the hem of Shu Tang’s clothing.
Shu Tang: ?
—Obediently, Shu Tang changed her spot and continued sweeping.
In the end, during this serious incident, Shu Tang helped her class earn the “Health Initiative Red Flag.”
Shu Tang: Pheromones, aren’t they just like perfume?
So initially, having never smelled pheromones before, Shu Tang didn’t realize what it was. She just suddenly began to release pheromones involuntarily, the rush of secretion causing her head to spin, her heart thumping wildly as if drumming up something frenetic.
It took Shu Tang a while to calm her racing heart:
Damn it, who is grilling fish nearby?
Shu Tang hesitated for a moment but decided to ignore the vague sense of danger ingrained in her biological instincts. She followed the aroma of fish seasoned with lemon juice and sea salt, crispy and delicious.
Behind the monitor, everyone’s breathing slowed down a half beat.
Shu Tang first noticed the water stains on the stone stairs, and then she saw a dark figure on the rocks just below the stairs.
—There really was a fish.
On the reef, there was a tall merman, half submerged in water.
His silvery-white long hair was dripping water steadily.
In the torrential rain, he slowly lifted his head, his pupils lacking irises, just a deep, dark void.
His features were so beautiful, they seemed almost divine, even the translucent pale blue fins fluttering behind his ears were elegant and mesmerizing.
Yet, facing such a beautiful creature, the initial reaction of ordinary people wasn’t admiration, but a chilling horror!
It was a dangerously eerie kind of beauty.
In South Island City, the rainy weather came in bursts, and it seemed like the brief respite was about to end and rain would start falling again.
All of this felt like the beginning of a rainy night’s ghost story. In fact, that was exactly what it was: ten years had passed, and “he” had undergone some mysterious changes, his mental powers had mutated in peculiar ways, just as the therapists in the sanatorium had uneasily predicted, resembling less a human and more the otherworldly creatures and monsters that descended on polluted areas.
Shu Tang stood far away, motionless for a long time.
In the control room, everyone held their breath:
Don’t scream!
Don’t run!
She wasn’t wearing any protective gear, just one turn to run, and she would be torn to pieces!
Just when Chen Sheng thought she was paralyzed with fear—
Shu Tang walked quickly over, crouched on the rocks, stretched out her hand, and held an umbrella over the tall merman, shielding him from the pattering heavy rain outside.