Chapter 565 No Way Back

Chapter 565: No Way Back

Tian Yue was right. Chi Yan's purpose in going upstairs was just to check, simply to confirm the situation on the fifteenth floor. You could even say he probably just wanted to see if the door to the fifteenth floor had warped from the heat and to observe what was behind it compared to the fourteenth.

His plan was simple. He figured it would just be a quick look-around—they'd only need a few minutes, ten at the most, to return to where Tian Yue and Xu Rui were waiting. It wouldn't take long, nor would they risk going in too deep.

As for inviting Su Bai along, it was merely due to an inexplicable feeling of safety.

But things still went sideways.

At first, they climbed the steps, their footsteps echoing in the narrow space. The surroundings seemed quieter than anywhere else in the Neonatal Department.

Later, when they reached the landing and took a few more steps upward, a strange sensation suddenly rose up in them—

It was as if the surrounding air had turned sticky. The temperature hadn't changed, but the air felt more humid, more uncomfortable.

Su Bai stopped. Through the blood butterflies' eyes, he "saw" a thick fog surging up like a tide from below the stairs, carrying a corrosive, overwhelming presence. It instantly blocked their original retreat.

"How could this happen?" Chi Yan turned around in shock to see the dense fog already blocking their path behind them, devouring the stairs, silent yet terrifying and utterly unstoppable.

"It seems just as you said before. The only barrier to the fifteenth floor is a thin wire mesh. So, the Eerie Entities lurking here will ultimately induce or even force us to go to the fifteenth floor," Su Bai said. The blood butterflies he controlled were feeble compared to the puzzle pieces and were now even unwilling to approach the sudden fog. "'It' isn't about to let prey that walked right into the trap get away."

Su Bai's voice was unhurried, yet it carried a chilling certainty.

"Feiyu! Xu Rui!" Chi Yan shouted several times toward the fog.

Logically, they were only half a floor away from the people downstairs. They should've been able to hear him if he just shouted. Yet, strangely, there was no response from below. The sound was swallowed by an invisible wall, completely failing to reach them below.

"Xiaoya, you try too." Su Bai remembered Le Shiya's ability.

Le Shiya nodded. Usually, she loved to "act," but this time, she wasn't in the mood for that at all.

She closed her eyes, trying to use her ability to reach the people downstairs, attempting to send sound, information, even emotions. However, after just a moment, her face began to pale, cold sweat trickling down her temples—clearly no longer an act.

In the end, Le Shiya helplessly opened her eyes, wiping the sweat from her forehead, her voice low and serious. "No good. I can't reach them at all."

"We've been cut off."

Su Bai had the blood butterflies continue flying upward. Their wings trembled slightly, sending back overlapping and distorted images. But even so, Su Bai still noticed that the heavy security door to the fifteenth floor was actually... slightly ajar.

That heavy metal door should have been completely sealed, yet now it was silently opened a crack, as if inviting the guests who had already arrived at the doorstep.

Chi Yan and Jie Ying exchanged a silent glance, a look passing between them, each knowing what the other was feeling.

Go up, or... not go up?

However, it seemed they no longer had any other choice.