Chapter 570 Fifteenth Floor

Chapter 570: The Fifteenth Floor

As the fifteenth floor's security door swung open, a blinding white light flooded through the gap. This light was even more uncomfortable than the illumination on the fourteenth floor, making them instinctively want to shut their eyes to alleviate the sudden sting and burning sensation.

But each of them knew that in this bizarre and unknown fifteenth floor, even a moment's let-up could invite unpredictable danger. Closing their eyes now might mean exposing their lives to an unknown threat.

And so, despite the searing pain in their eyes as if they were being seared, Chi Yan and the others endured the physical discomfort. They blinked their tear-moistened eyes, fighting to adjust to the sudden glare, and forced their eyes wide open, staring fixedly at what lay ahead.

Their vision gradually cleared, and the sight of the fifteenth floor slowly came into focus.

On the surface, the corridor ahead looked extremely similar to the fourteenth floor—the same off-white walls, still clean and tidy floor tiles. Light spilled down, illuminating the entire corridor as brightly as daylight.

But a closer look revealed differences—

It was too empty, unsettlingly so.

There were none of the childlike paintings outside the wards like on the fourteenth floor, not a single hospital bed or counter, or any lounge areas like on the thirteenth floor. There wasn't even a trace of human presence. It was as if this space had been completely emptied, the only thing remaining being this not-so-wide corridor.

A corridor, pure and simple.

By rights, with no wards here, the whole floor should feel more spacious. Yet, strangely, the corridor before them didn't look much bigger than the fourteenth floor's corridor. Moreover, the emptiness here induced an even deeper sense of suffocation.

Everyone could clearly sense that something was wrong here.

It was too clean, too tidy, and too... "lifeless."

Even though this corridor appeared unremarkable on the surface, standing at the doorway without yet stepping onto the fifteenth floor, Chi Yan and the others already felt a suffocating pressure.

"Although it's strange..." Chi Yan's voice was low, laced with a barely perceptible tension. His gaze slowly swept the surroundings as he cautiously added, "It doesn't seem dangerous right now. Not even those motionless nurses have appeared."

His eyes involuntarily glanced backward. The mist behind them still churned, like the tentacles of an abyss silently drawing closer, sending chills down their spines.

Time was running out.

"We can only accept—'its' invitation," Su Bai's voice sounded from the side.

No one hesitated now.

They couldn't leave anyone outside the door, for the mist behind them left them no way back.

But the moment the last person stepped across the threshold into the fifteenth floor...

*Creak—*

A heavy, slow sound rang out, as if some invisible giant hand were pushing it. The fifteenth floor's security door slowly closed behind them, finally emitting a low, muffled thud, cutting them off completely from the fourteenth floor.

"...!"

The instant the door shut, they all felt a strange suffocation at once, as if the whole world had ground to a halt in that moment.

The air around them still existed, yet they felt as if they were in a completely sealed space. They could feel no movement of air, detect any temperature changes, or even perceive the slightest fluctuation of energy.

Utter silence.

Extreme silence.

Even in the desolate realm where Blood Epiphyllum resided, Su Bai could hear the wind sweeping across the scorched earth, the faint rustle of dry branches colliding, even the whispers and watchful eyes hidden in the dark.

But here, there was nothing.

Even the faintest trace of "life" had been stripped away, as if "living things" were never meant to exist here.

"Any situation?" Su Bai frowned. Although he could "see" through the blood butterfly's vision, the light on the fifteenth floor was too glaring. The blood butterfly's view was a wash of blinding white, all contours distorted and writhing, preventing him from clearly discerning the surroundings.

"Nothing," Chi Yan's voice was slightly parched. He slowly uttered these words, then added gravely, "Or perhaps... this itself is the worst situation."

"The mist didn't follow us in," Jie Ying gently tilted her head, her gaze sweeping over the tightly closed door behind them as she calmly analyzed. "It's unclear whether we should wait for the mist to recede or actively seek another exit."

"Is there really another exit?" Chi Yan's frown deepened. His eyes scanned the silent, empty corridor, a note of doubt in his tone. "If the structure here is the same as the fourteenth floor, there should only be one staircase entrance... Surely we're not expected to walk through walls?"

Su Bai slightly turned his head, squinting. His vision remained chaotic, unable to clearly capture the true scene.

"There likely aren't any other 'Deep Dive' members hidden here either."

"Right, there's nothing here except walls..." Chi Yan's voice trailed off with hesitation, as if he had realized something, his words cutting short abruptly.

*Boom—!*

Suddenly, a deep and violent tremor shook the entire corridor. The ground instantly trembled violently, cracks rapidly spreading across the walls, debris showering down.

The next second—

The walls were torn apart by dense, withered branches!

Countless twisted branches surged out from the cracks like a tidal wave. Like monsters long imprisoned, they unleashed their most violent fury upon breaking free, radiating a destructive aura as they madly swept toward the group!

"Damn it—!"

Chi Yan swiftly retreated, his pupils constricting. And at that very moment—

The shadow behind Su Bai twisted slightly. In an instant, a similarly countless number of crimson vines erupted from the shadow!

They lashed out like living things, instantly intertwining and entangling, forming a protective barrier around everyone!