The World Below Surface

The horror’s feral snarls and roars echoed in the dimly lit room, punctuated by the sound of splintering wood and metal as it ripped apart the cabinets in search of prey. The floor was littered with corpses and blood, dragged and tossed around by the creature’s claws and teeth. The survivors cowered in their hiding places, feeling the cold sweat run down their backs and the tremors in their limbs.

“Please, please, please, we have to get out of here, it can’t find me, it can’t find me…” Jin Fu Gui whimpered, his chubby legs shaking uncontrollably.

His black hair was soaked with a sticky substance that smelled of rot and decay, dripping onto his neck and staining his collar. He was too scared to move, too scared to peek out, his only hope was to pray and light another candle.

Lin Chu huddled in the cabinet, her breath shallow and quiet. She clenched her numb fingers around the candle, hoping it would last a little longer. She wondered when the beast would leave, and what would happen then.

She remembered what she had told Chu Xiu before: "There are evil ghosts in every cabinet, waiting for the horror to leave. When it does, they will come out and kill anyone who doesn't have a candle. We are all fighting for candles, for our lives…"

Feeling a cold gust of air behind her, she heard a low, raspy voice muttering something unintelligible. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the sound, and felt a cold hand grab her shoulder, squeezing it hard. The coldness spread through her body, making her shiver.

She waited for what felt like an eternity until the noise outside ceased. She could hear the horror's laboured breathing and the slow, heavy footsteps gradually moving away from the room.

But with every step it took, the coldness behind her grew stronger.

Jiang Yu felt a cold presence behind him, getting closer and closer. He could sense its icy stare, filled with hatred and cruelty, scrutinising him for weaknesses. He knew it was only a matter of time before it would strike.

A silent scream of terror filled his mind as he heard Tan Xu emerge from the cabinet. ‘Hurry! Get out of here!’

He was too close, way too close. If luck had been on his side, he might have been able to grab the last candles from Tan Xu's hands. He hoped that whatever was hunting them would leave some trace of his clothes and the candles in his pockets.

Tick-tock.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed in the dark, accompanied by a faint dripping of liquid.

What was that?

Tick-tock.

Another drop.

His mind was numb, unable to process anything else. He felt a presence behind him, a cold and hungry force that wanted to consume him. But he couldn’t move, he couldn’t escape. It was as if the thing had taken control of his body, paralysing him with fear.

Was he possessed by a ghost?

The candle in his hand was dying, its flame barely flickering. Jiang Yu knew that when it went out, so would his life.

The only consolation was that the monster seemed to lose interest in him. Its footsteps receded, a final hiss, and then the door slammed shut.

He was alive. He had survived.

But for how long?

He dared not move too much, lest the flame go out. Jiang Yu endured the icy chill behind him and slowly, inch by inch, pushed open the cabinet door.

He ventured into the blackness beyond the door, clutching a flickering candle that barely pierced the gloom. He crept forward, wary of what might lurk in the shadows.

He froze.

A sliver of light from the candle revealed a ghastly sight: a face, frozen in a rictus of agony, its eyes bulging and fixed on him, its mouth twisted in a silent scream.

It was Tan Xu who had been decapitated and hung by his hair from one of the cabinet doors. The sound that had drawn him here was the steady drip of blood from the severed neck, splashing on the floor.

Jiang Yu gasped, his heart pounding in his chest. He fought the urge to vomit, to run, to scream. He forced himself to push the door open wider, exposing more of the grisly scene.

"Go away, Tan Xu. Leave me alone. I didn't kill you. It wasn't me..." He muttered.

He knew that most of them, the task performers, did not become ghosts after death. How else could they ruthlessly betray and murder each other for the sake of survival?

He pushed the cabinet door aside, blocking the sight of the severed head. But he could not block the sound of the dripping blood, nor the feeling of being watched by unseen eyes. He took another tentative step forward, then emerged from the cabinet.

The hall was a nightmare. A suffocating darkness enveloped him, swallowing the feeble light of his candle. He could not see the walls, the ceiling, the end of the hall. He could only see the cabinets, the black wooden cabinets, lined up in neat rows, filling the hall.

They looked like coffins, standing upright, waiting for their occupants.

He held his breath and followed the source of the sound, moving deeper into the darkness.

The horror that lurked here might not have a taste for human flesh. If it had spared their heads, their bodies might still be intact. Tan Xu and Xi Men Yuan had carried at least two candles each.

And then there were Jiang Bai and Lin Chu.

Jiang Yu whispered their names under his breath, his heart burning with hatred.

He had felt the phone vibrate moments ago. He was sure, beyond any doubt, that one of them had made the call, and he suspected it was Lin Chu.

The floor was uneven and slick, as if coated with layers of wax. Jiang Yu walked past rows of cabinets, some whole, some broken, some toppled over.

He sensed a movement, and heard another cabinet door open.

Click.

He spun around and looked to his right, where a thin gap had appeared in a closet door.

A pale, sharp claw shot out from the gap!

The sounds of doors opening multiplied, creating a cacophony of clicks and creaks. He could not tell if they were opened by ghosts or humans.

Lin Chu opened the door.

She had no luck at all; as soon as she stepped out of the door, she came face to face with Jiang Yu.

He smiled at her, but Lin Chu felt a chill run down her spine. He wanted her dead, more than ever before.

Was it for the candles, or something else?

Lin Chu met his gaze without flinching.

Beneath the deceptive charm of her pretty face, her eyes glittered with cold contempt in the flickering light. She radiated a frosty aura that surpassed Jiang Yu’s own, leaving him no doubt - she had been playing them for fools all this time.

Fang Tu had been right to distrust her.

And yet, Qiu Zhi still defended this viper.

Now, Di Ying, Xi Men Yuan, and Tan Xu lay dead.

He had to find a way to sway Qiu Zhi to his side, or else Jiang Bai and Lin Chu would not hesitate to team up and end his life.

Ignoring Lin Chu’s taunts, he veered off the main path and pressed on.

He dodged the grasping hands of the restless ghosts, the candle in his grip dwindling by the minute.

He could already… glimpse Tan Xu’s remains.

Ripped apart, drenched in blood, barely recognizable by the scraps of clothing. He stepped over one of Tan Xu’s limp severed hands, making his way to the larger heap of gore.

The first few rows of cabinets bore the brunt of the damage, especially the back end of the first row and the second and third rows. The ones at the very front had been spared by the beast’s initial rampage, but now lay in splinters.

As he advanced, he saw…

A horde of ghosts feasting on Tan Xu’s carcass, among them the familiar face of Xi Men Yuan, whose claws dug into the flesh and crammed it into his mouth. Another ghoul yanked out a shiny white leg bone and gnawed on it leisurely.

Its nose twitched, as if sensing something, and slowly turned its head towards him.

He scanned the floor, littered with discarded clothes that the ghosts had left untouched. Among the bloody rags, he spotted three candles, their wax spilling over the tiles like blood.

How could he reach them?

His eyes darted to the grisly feast that the ghosts were devouring, tearing flesh from bone with their teeth. He felt a shiver down his spine as he heard the soft tread of Lin Chu behind him.

The candles had shrunk to mere stubs. He guessed they had no more than five minutes of life left.

His heart pounded in his chest, in sync with Lin Chu's closing steps.

Was she after Tan Xu's candles, and Xi Men Yuan's too?

She must have had the same idea as him.

He slid a long dagger out of his sleeve, feeling the cold metal graze his elbow, which heightened his senses.

He had to stay calm, move carefully, to ensure the candles would not go out.

Then, a sudden whoosh cut through the silence.

He dodged by instinct, honed by years of living on the edge of survival. He caught a glimpse of the projectile as it whizzed by him, a wooden stake sharpened to a point.

They were not just aiming at him.

The second wooden projectile grazed the flickering candle in his grasp.

Darkness swallowed him.

A ravenous ghost, feasting on human flesh, snapped its head around, fixing its hungry eyes on Jiang Yu. He was still caught in the act of twisting his body to evade the flying wooden stake.

The face of his assailant… was Jiang Bai!

A dim glow revealed the features of Lu Yan, the fugitive wanted by the law.

Time seemed to freeze and then accelerate. Jiang Yu had no chance to comprehend or react, as his vision suddenly soared, surveying the pitiful survivors below.

Lin Chu met his gaze, her expression devoid of the icy resolve she had shown against the enemy, replaced by a serene detachment, as if… she was gazing at a corpse.

Yes, a corpse.

A delayed agony seared his neck and a weightless feeling engulfed his lower half.

On the floor, hordes of savage ghosts swarmed, reducing the carcasses to bones and scraps.

A hand lifted the bloody candle.

Lin Chu advanced towards Lu Yan. They maintained a cautious gap of five or six metres, inching their way to the edge of the hall.

From a distance, Qiu Zhi, Jin Fu Gui, and the others appeared, drawn by the firelight. Jin Fu Gui was the most animated, waving frantically at the pair, his eyes shining with hopeful anticipation.

The wick of Jin Fu Gui’s candle had almost reached its end, casting a feeble glow on his terrified face. He clutched the candle as if it were his lifeline, knowing that once it was gone, so was his hope of survival.

Lu Yan watched him with a cold and calculating gaze, weighing the risks and rewards of his next move. He had no idea how much longer they would be trapped in this pitch-black tomb, or if he would ever stumble upon another source of illumination.

Lin Chu glanced at him with a slow shake of her head, as if she knew what he was thinking. She had an eerie familiarity with this place, as if she had seen it before in a vision. Maybe she had… predicted this?

Lu Yan said nothing, his fingers groping the damp earth for another piece of wood. He found one and began to whittle it into a sharp point with his knife, his movements swift and silent.

Suddenly, Jin Fu Gui lurched backwards with a gurgle, his eyes wide with shock. A slender wooden stake protruded from his throat, spilling blood onto his clothes. His candle slipped from his grasp and hit the ground, its flame sputtering and dying.

A horde of hungry ghosts, drawn by the smell of flesh and blood, leapt out of the shadows, their howls filling the air. They tore at Jin Fu Gui’s body, ripping and gnawing at his flesh. He made no sound, for the dead feel no pain.

Lu Yan pulled back his arm, his expression grim. He met the eyes of Qiu Zhi, who was approaching them.

Anger should have surged through Qiu Zhi's veins. He had regarded Jin Fu Gui and Jiang Bai as his comrades, his allies in this hellish mission. How could he tolerate such a betrayal from one of them? Yet, as his gaze met the inky blackness of Lu Yan's eyes, mirroring the flames that danced in the shadows, a shiver ran down his spine and he retreated involuntarily.

Lu Yan ignored him. He scanned the dim surroundings, searching for a way out.

But he saw nothing. Only darkness. A darkness that seemed alive and hungry.

It was teeming with pale, spectral figures with tails that swirled and clustered in chaotic frenzy, emitting faint moans and shrill screams, leaving trails of hair, blood, and bits of flesh in their wake. The floor was scattered with piles of black or yellow substances, unidentifiable and repugnant. Cruel ghosts hunched over carcasses, tearing and gnawing, blood spilling over their hands and mouths.

The air was dense with a cold, charred stench, laden with dust.

But the exit was nowhere to be seen.

Most of the mission leaders were already dead, but Lu Yan felt no remorse. He let the survivors glare at him with hatred, and when they made a move, he dispatched them with ease, as he had done with the rest.

The sound of chewing grew louder.

Qiu Zhi had hoped that Lu Yan would spare some of them, but he soon realised that he was playing a cruel game. He waited until the ghosts had finished their meal and became restless, then he killed another one. This way, he kept the ghosts at bay.

They disappeared, one after another, into the dark abyss.

Lin Chu and Jiang Bai had made a pact, a silent understanding that sealed others fate.

Who would be next? Qiu Zhi wondered, feeling a cold sweat on his brow. He knew he was no match for their cunning and ruthlessness.

Was there nothing he could do but wait for the inevitable end?

The final corpse was devoured, leaving only bones and blood.

Lin Chu caught Lu Yan's eye and whispered, "How should we deal with Qiu Zhi?"

Lu Yan shrugged. “What do you expect me to do?”

"Fair enough," she nodded. She stopped, took out a candle from her pocket, snapped off a fragment, and flung it to Qiu Zhi from a distance.

Qiu Zhi reflexively grabbed it. When he saw what it was, he froze in place.

Consider it repaying a favour, Lin Chu thought. If they didn't escape before the candle flickered out, Qiu Zhi was just out of luck.

Lu Yan ignored them, marching on with a determined stride.

They heard footsteps accelerating behind them, pounding the ground urgently. Lin Chu and Lu Yan spun around and saw Qiu Zhi closing in on them with a determined pace, his candle flickering in the gloom.

He appeared harmless; they stopped and waited for him.

Miraculously, the candle survived the run, burning until Qiu Zhi reached them.

He squeezed the candle's ends together, lengthening it. "Are you two attempting to solve the problem?" he asked casually.

But they understood his meaning and nodded, not resenting him for attracting the ghost's attention with his words.

Qiu Zhi accepted their response.

He straightened his back, saluted them respectfully. "Please convey my respects to my mother." Then he extinguished the candle in his hand, handed it to Lin Chu, and swiftly disappeared into the darkness without looking back.

They listened to a faint splash, followed by the eager gnashing of the hungry spirits.

Qiu Zhi remained silent until the end.