"Slap, slap."

A pink mass of flesh slowly squirmed.

A chunk of flesh, uncertain whether it was a human face or a scar, emerged on the surface, giving Yun You a twisted smile.

It wobbled as if beckoning to the girl.

"...!"

Yun You was startled. She instinctively turned around, stepped forward, wanting to get a closer look at this eerie thing.

But when she blinked again, the pink mass had vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed.

Initially, Yun You was skeptical, thinking the flesh had slipped away while she wasn't watching.

But when she arrived at the spot where the mass had been, she found no trace of it left behind, not even a drop of slime.

This was enough proof that the mass indeed hadn't been there, otherwise, with its gooey state, it couldn't have left behind nothing.

"Could it be... a hallucination?"

Yun You considered the possibility.

The elderly worker Miles, who kept a journal, experienced hallucinations on the night he entered the mine without any protective gear.

Earlier, Yun You's hazmat suit had been damaged, exposing her body and wounds to the pink mist, making hallucinations plausible.

Yet she couldn't shake the feeling that things weren't that simple.

A hallucination might deceive her eyes, but it couldn't fool her Apprentice Death God senses.

The mass definitely existed; this answer came from the powers of the Apprentice Death God.

"What on earth is that thing? Could it truly be, as the journal says, a human that's been assimilated?"

"Or could it be some other 'thing'?"

Yun You furrowed her brows, quietly contemplating, a perpetual unease hovering within her like a cloud.

"Chica! Is there something wrong?"

Noticing the little girl lagging, Jack and Frost Moon instinctively assumed Yun You encountered trouble and quickly returned to her side.

"No, it's nothing..."

Yun You shook her head.

She pondered a moment and realized guessing wouldn't yield answers. She needed to press on.

Moreover, she had no reason to worry, having two loyal companions by her side.

In such a lonely, dark place, companions are the source of reassurance.

"Let's keep going; there's nothing worth seeing anyway."

The girl waved her hand, intending to move on.

But just then... a voice, from an unknown source, whispered next to Yun You's ear.

Its tone was incredibly deep, yet carried a mischievous undercurrent.

"Hee hee hee."

"Guess who I am?"

Yun You's face stiffened and she instinctively looked around.

Nothing.

She initially thought Master Zero was joking around, but upon silently chanting Red Scale's name in her mind, realized this wasn't Master Zero's voice.

Because Master Zero had entered a dormant state.

"Don't bother trying to find me~ Hee hee..."

"Because..."

"I am everywhere."

"I'm right... by your side..."

Amid thin, sharp laughter, the voice slowly faded away.

But it only added to Yun You's growing unease.

What did it mean? Why say it's by her side?

Could it mean that it had somehow unknowingly infiltrated their group?

The more the girl thought, the more wrong it seemed.

One moment, she felt grateful for reliable friends, and the next moment, she was told there might be issues within the team...

This was truly disconcerting.

"Hoo..."

She exhaled heavily, forcing herself to stay calm.

"Don't overthink. Stay calm. With limited information, suspecting this and that is pointless."

"Doubts without concrete evidence only cause trouble for oneself."

"Maybe this thing is trying to mislead me. Recklessly suspecting companions now is utter folly."

With these thoughts, she followed closely behind Jack and Frost Moon, choosing to trust them.

But what happened next didn't dispel her suspicions, instead deepening her doubts.

...

The three moved through the narrow, dry tunnel, arriving at a fork.

At the left entrance of the fork, there was a "special" vengeful corpse.

It was a blue-clad worker, but wore a white safety hat with a three-bar armband on its shoulder, looking like it had been a "foreman" or "captain."

Most strangely, this foreman did not hold a pickaxe or shovel but a rusty dagger, its blade stained with reddish-brown, resembling... blood.

In its pocket, Yun You found another journal.

But for some reason, this journal was severely damaged, corroded by some liquid, making the text illegible... and the handwriting itself was so sloppy that Jack and Frost Moon couldn't make sense of it.

Only Yun You, equipped with the Analysis Chip, could decipher the words.

Yet given the journal's bizarre content, she didn't immediately read it aloud...

[Exploration Journal · Excerpt 4]

[Recorded by: Aurora...]

[Date:...]

[By chance, I discovered a crumbling note from a foreman, containing some... very weird, yet crucial information]

[But I don't know if it's true or false, since it would have a devastating impact on "unity." True or false, it's a double-edged sword]

[I wasn't sure whether to record it, so I decided to smudge it with some acid and write it in sloppy handwriting from home. This way, only a select few with sharp minds and abundant knowledge could discern the note's content]

[And it implies that those able to understand the note would often remain calm and have their own judgment, not easily misled by information, nor dumb enough to destroy their team]

[Below is the content of the note, once again reminding you to judge its truth carefully, and not to rush to conclusions]

[...]

[To future discoverers]

[This is Mine 23's No. 1 worker team. I am the leader of this group]

[Previously, foreman of group 117 left information explaining our foolish acts and sins, so I won't elaborate here]

[I'll detail only our "sacrificial process" and what followed, to serve as a reference for you]

[To cure our ailments, team No. 1, totaling 150 members, carried a large number of animal XX (stains obscured) into the mine and drew "Its" symbol, placing the animal XX (stains obscured) on it]

[Initially, "It" gladly accepted the offerings and exhibited "miracles," restoring deformed limbs to normal]

[But later, "It" was no longer satisfied with just some offerings and reached out to us workers]

["It" incited its minions, aiming to shatter our consciousness and destroy our bodies... But coal miners, known for unity, stood firm together, unafraid of it!]

[So, it devised a method]

[Internal division]

[One day, an elderly miner, adored by all, was defending exploring workers alone, holding back "Its" minions]

[We all thought the old worker would never return, but that night, he hobbled back]

[Overjoyed, we all welcomed him with cheers]

[But we didn't realize his gaze had changed, losing its familiar honest warmth, replaced by a sinister look no miner should have]

[That night, as we slept, he quietly rose, pickaxe in hand, and smashed 21 colleagues' skulls when they were defenseless]

[I was dumbfounded, instinctively retaliated, stabbing his heart]

[Even as he fell, the smile on his face never faded]

[From then on, I understood]

[The one who returned wasn't the old miner, but "It"]

["It" wore our companion's skin, infiltrating our midst...]

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