The corridor was enveloped in darkness, with only faint moonlight spilling onto the floor, creating a speckled play of light and shadow.
Shen Jingqi's heartbeat gradually accelerated, an inexplicable sense of fear spreading in his heart.
There was no stairway at the end of the corridor, only a spacious room.
Shen Jingqi froze, standing there helplessly. He clearly remembered there should be a stairway here; why had it suddenly disappeared?
Frowning, Shen Jingqi turned to head back. But just then, he heard a faint sound behind him. He quickly turned around, only to see nothing. Did he hear wrong? Confused, he decided to keep moving forward.
He tried another path, but soon found that this was also a dead end, just like the previous corridor. He walked in a circle, only to find himself back at the starting point, as if trapped by some mysterious force.
Shen Jingqi clutched his phone tightly, the screen's light glaring in the dim space. His fingers moved quickly, opening the compass, orientation explorer, and various map apps, hoping to find some guidance in the boundless darkness. But the scene before him brought an unprecedented chill to his heart.
"What... is going on here?" he whispered, his voice echoing hollowly in the empty room.
The compass needle was spinning wildly, showing no sign of stopping, as if being pulled by an invisible force. The marker on the orientation explorer kept jumping, pointing one moment to the ceiling, the next to the walls, losing its value for reference entirely. As for the map apps, they displayed strings of garbled text, completely unrecognizable.
Frowning, Shen Jingqi tried to use the phone's light to illuminate his surroundings, but the light was too weak, barely enough to see the transparent glass floor beneath him, and the dense, surging information bands below. These bands flashed like living nerves, transmitting some sort of unknown message.
"Calm down, Shen Jingqi, there's got to be a way." He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.
He began recalling the last time he passed through here, trying to piece together the building's structure from memory. But strangely, the images in his mind seemed out of sync with reality; the familiar corridors, stairs, and rooms were now blurred, as if shrouded in an invisible fog.
"Something's not right here," Shen Jingqi muttered to himself, beginning to doubt whether he was truly in the familiar building, or if it was all a carefully designed trap.
Suddenly, a notification popped up on his phone screen, an unknown message: "Are you looking for a way out? Perhaps I can help you."
Shen Jingqi's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly checked the message source, only to find it was from an unfamiliar number. He hesitated for a moment, then decided to reply: "Who are you? How do you know I'm here?"
The waiting seemed interminably long, each second suffocating. Finally, the screen lit up again, the message concise and direct: "Who I am isn't important. What matters is, I can help you leave here. But you must trust me."
Shen Jingqi gripped his phone, his knuckles whitening from the pressure. He knew that in this unknown space, any choice could bring unforeseen consequences. Staying, however, was akin to waiting for doom.
"Alright, I trust you." He pressed send, feeling both anticipation and unease.
The other party didn't seem in a hurry to respond. After a while, a new instruction appeared on the screen: "Close your eyes, take three steps forward, then turn left." Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet
Though filled with doubt, Shen Jingqi followed the instructions. He closed his eyes and stepped cautiously, afraid of misstepping. After three steps, he stopped and turned left as directed. When he opened his eyes again, he was astonished by the sight before him.
The once empty room had vanished without a trace, replaced by a narrow passageway, with faint light seeping through its end. Moved, Shen Jingqi quickened his pace toward the light.
As he approached, the light grew brighter until he emerged from the passage, finding himself standing before a door. Unlike any he'd seen before, the door emitted a faint blue glow, with intricate patterns flowing on its surface, as if alive.
"Is this the exit?" Shen Jingqi thought to himself, reaching out to touch the door. The patterns on it seemed to respond to his touch, slowly rotating to form a circular portal.
Just as he was about to step through the portal, a voice sounded behind him: "Shen Jingqi, are you really ready to leave?"
He turned abruptly, seeing a figure emerging from the shadows, wearing clothes similar to his own, though the face was obscured, as if covered by a thin mist. Startled, Shen Jingqi stepped back: "Who are you? How do you know my name?"
The figure smiled slightly, a hint of mystery in the voice: "I am your other side, Shen Jingqi. In this world, everyone has their own shadow. I am yours, embodying your fear, doubt, and uncertainty."
Shen Jingqi frowned: "My shadow? How is that possible?"
"Why isn't it possible?" The figure stepped closer, a challenging tone in the voice, "Do you think you understand this world? Do you think you can escape easily? Remember, it's us who created this world, and it's I who am trapped here."
Unease welled up within Shen Jingqi: "What... what are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying leaving isn't the solution." The figure pointed to the portal, "Passing through that door, you might return to the real world, but you'll lose your understanding of this world, lose your shadow, a part of yourself. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Shen Jingqi was stunned; he had never considered the severe consequences of leaving.
"I... I don't know." He spoke softly, his voice full of bewilderment.
"It's okay, you still have time to think," the figure retreated, blending back into the shadows, "Just remember, the choice is yours. Whether to face fear or escape reality, the decision is yours alone."
Shen Jingqi stood there, his gaze lingering between the portal and the shadow.
At that moment, he suddenly felt a powerful tremor. Looking up, he saw cracks forming on the ceiling, as if something was breaking free from within. Meanwhile, the information bands below became agitated, flickering ominously red.