Chapter 499: F*ck——! The Horde is Alerted! |
At this very moment!
He found himself inside a massive vertical mine shaft.
The shaft was pitch black.
Relying on the faint indicator lights from mechanical equipment, Pew looked up.
Above his head was a huge ring-shaped machine, and extending from the ring were four vertical tracks running straight down.
A trickling stream of water cascaded down the tracks, flowing into the shaft's depths that were like an abyss.
Mounted on the tracks were devices resembling escape pods from Titanfall, lacking a sealed hatch cover.
Currently, he was securely strapped into the pod with safety harnesses.
Across from him, similarly fully geared up and locked in another pod, was Jack, also taking deep, nervous breaths.
Pew tried moving his hands and feet, finding himself locked in tightly with almost no room to move, which only heightened his tension:
"What the hell kind of place is this, can't see the top or bottom..."
"Who knows... hiss... hoo..."
Jack across from him also spoke up, his voice coming through the radio with a slight crackle of static:
"Look at the top left of your UI, our current Z-axis is -300M... that's 300 meters underground..."
Consider that typically, the height of a thirty-story residential building is only about 90 meters.
Three hundred meters underground means the height of three stacked high-rises.
It's understandable that the mine shaft was pitch black.
However!
This was only their starting depth!
As they were speaking!
—CLANG—!
Suddenly, mechanical sounds echoed again in the silent mine shaft!
The pod hatches above them slowly closed, the thin sheet metal hatches sealing them inside.
Immediately after, a cold, mechanical voice prompt rang out in the vast, empty shaft—
[Preparing Dispatch]
[Target: A1]
[Danger Level: Minimal]
[Target sent to terminal]
[3...............]
Whoosh—!!!
As the voice prompt finished!
Suddenly, Pew felt the entire pod shudder violently!
Immediately after, a heart-pounding sense of weightlessness, like a tidal wave, surged over him in an instant!
"Fxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxk-- ! ! !"
Whoosh—!!!
Outside the narrow pod window, the rugged, pitted rock walls of the shaft flashed by rapidly!
The two pods, driven by the massive machinery, plummeted at nearly twice free-fall speed!
And the Z-axis depth reading in the top left of the U-interface increased at a frantic pace!
Accompanied by intense high-frequency vibrations, an experience more thrilling than any drop tower ride, made Pew curse uncontrollably!
He finally understood why the machine sprayed cold water onto the tracks before dispatch!
Because at such high descent speeds, the mechanical apparatus would generate unimaginable heat from intense friction with the tracks!
So damn meticulous! Old Thief! You really know how to make games!
Then since you're so good at making games, why the hell didn't you warn us we were going to "jump off a building" you Dooooooogthing!!!
Screaming all the way down! Their descent depth kept increasing!
Three hundred meters... five hundred meters... seven hundred meters...
And the audience was also exclaiming in shock—
"Holy sh*t—! I thought the trailer was just a cutscene! They actually have this rapid descent mine shaft segment?!"
"This is way too intense..."
"It's literally a drop tower..."
"Gotta admit, Old Thief always manages to pull off some wild stunts beyond the core gameplay."
"The game hasn't even officially started yet, and we get a drop tower ride as an appetizer."
"Gives off the same vibe as when PUBG first let players experience parachuting."
"Different approach, same brilliant effect, you could say."
"This is awesome, I'd buy it just for this drop tower experience."
"Definitely, looks thrilling just watching..."
"How's Pew feeling? Having fun?"
'.....
In the livestream chat, the barrage of comments kept flowing.
Meanwhile, Pew climbed out of the pod, his legs feeling like jelly!
After fifteen seconds of rapid descent!
They had finally reached a spot a full kilometer below the surface!
"Damn... oh damn..."
Pew opened the pod hatch, his legs wobbly like noodles, his walk unsteady:
"There better be something good down here, worth this trip, otherwise this is pure torture, I need a minute..."
Saying this, Pew drew his pistol, found a relatively well-lit corner, and sat down on the floor to calm his racing heart.
Looking around.
This place seemed to be a factory warehouse, quite spacious, with even a small forklift parked not far away.
The overall architectural style resembled heavy industrial Soviet-era design from the 1970s.
Crude steel railings and shelving crisscrossed the space, the air thick with a cold, damp, rusty metallic smell.
A few dim yellow lights cast the entire warehouse in a murky half-light, making paths barely visible but with extremely low visibility.
Near the eastern side, a massive iron door, wide enough for two trucks and over twice a person's height, lay hidden in the shadows.
Beside it, an old hanging lamp illuminated a patch of mottled, thick concrete wall—
[Zone-80]
Zone 80.
No idea what it meant.
Maybe there were Zones 81, 82, and so on later.
After resting for about half a minute, Pew stood back up.
Jack had also been scouting around nearby:
"Nothing around here, wanna head further in?"
"Let's go!"
Grabbing Jack's hand, Pew pulled himself up from the floor.
Even though nothing seemed amiss in the surroundings, Pew gripped his gun even tighter.
No anomalies were the biggest anomaly.
After all, this was a Golden Wind game!
The experience of playing *Silent Hill PT* back in the day was still vivid in his memory!
In that haunted house of Lisa's, nothing seemed wrong when he first woke up either.
But as he walked, things got weird.
This game was likely the same.
And!
Anyone who's walked alone at night knows.
The quieter and darker the environment, the more spine-chilling it feels.
Because at this moment, everything you face is unknown, danger could be lurking everywhere.
And this psychological suggestive pressure often works far better than just throwing a jump scare at you right away.
Shuffle— Shuffle—
Tap— Tap— Tap—
In the silent, dim warehouse, only the echoing footsteps of Pew and Jack could be heard.
With top-tier sound design enhancing the atmosphere, the air was thick with tension.
"Damn it... where are the monsters? Why aren't there any? Give me at least one, so I can feel a bit more at ease!"
Jack couldn't take it anymore, even unconsciously lowering his voice to complain.
This was pure torment.
Sure, he had complained before that *Endless Dark Tide* throwing monsters in your face right away was a cheap design with no horror feel.
But this *GTFO* design was downright diabolical!
In this huge warehouse at the start, they really didn't put a single monster?
Pure psychological horror, keeping players in a constant state of apprehension?
Jack felt his hair standing on end. Turning a corner, heading towards the eastern door, he looked back at Pew and muttered:
"This is just psychological tor..."
"Shh— Don't move!!!"
Before he could finish!
Suddenly, Jack saw Pew, who was walking behind him, freeze in his tracks, frantically waving his hands at him, signaling him not to move under any circumstances!
Immediately after!
Jack heard a faint heartbeat sound right beside his ear—
Thump— Thump— Thump—
With the powerful sound effects, Jack could clearly tell the sound was right next to him, positioned low, almost brushing against his right leg.
Fxxxxxk!
Jack's heart skipped a beat!
Because the area near the eastern door was darker compared to other spots,
Plus, he had been talking to Pew while looking sideways, completely failing to notice anything on the pitch-black path.
If Pew hadn't warned him in time, he might have already bumped right into this... *thing* behind him.
"What... the hell?"
Gulping, Jack whispered with slightly ragged breath, slowly turning his head to look—
There, in the hazy, shadowy mist, was the silhouette of a humanoid figure, currently kneeling and crouching less than a meter in front of him to his right.
This "person" was nearly naked, its left chest cavity faintly emitting a weak glow, clearly illuminating its vascular network beneath the skin.
By that faint light, he could see its head was split into two halves, a vertical maw lined with interlocking fangs constantly opening and closing—
At this moment!
Jack felt his own heartbeat stop!
It seemed like all the blood in his body froze solid!
His body jerked violently, his foot instinctively pulling back!
Shuffle—!!!
In the deathly silent, dim warehouse, that single footstep was piercingly loud!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
And the split-mouthed sleeper seemed startled by that clear footstep, its heartbeat sound growing more intense, its fanged head lifting as if it was "looking" at Jack with its maw!
"I— F*ck—!!!"
Jack practically squeezed out a suppressed scream through gritted teeth, swinging his assault rifle around to aim at the heart-thumping sleeper, finger resting on the trigger!
However!
In that split-second, lightning-fast moment!
By the increasingly bright heartbeat glow of the sleeper!
Jack clearly saw that not far behind this sleeper!
There was actually another humanoid monster with a head covered in tumor-like growths and protrusions, currently sitting on the ground!
And!
As the split-mouthed sleeper grew restless, the neck area of the tumorous sleeper also began flashing with a dangerous red light—
"Don't—!!!"
Seeing Jack about to pull the trigger!
Pew, walking behind, lunged forward in a desperate attempt to stop him!
However!
In that fleeting, electric instant, his attempt to intervene was ultimately half a beat too slow for Jack!
—BANG—!!!
A massive gunshot exploded in the silent warehouse, like a single-shot fireworks shell bursting in a quiet night sky!
And in the instant the muzzle flash lit up the area, the eastern door was illuminated, and Jack clearly saw—
In front of the door, densely packed, were at least a dozen or more deformed sleepers, some crouching, some sitting, some standing, hidden in the darkness they couldn't see before.
And the next second.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Groooowl—!
Red lights flashed everywhere!
The horde was alerted!!!