Dozens of kilometers from the Gelius Parking Lot ruin, in the town of Yongnian…
A towering man draped entirely in gray-white veils, with only a pair of amber eyes exposed, strode toward a silver building surrounded by coconut palms.
He passed through the lobby without sparing a glance at the guards or staff who greeted him with cautious nods, stepping into the elevator and pressing Level 9.
Two office workers were about to join him. But the moment they saw him, their footsteps faltered. They quietly stepped back as the elevator doors slid shut.
The veiled man remained still, eyes fixed on the display.
Ding.Ninth floor.
A lavish lounge sprawled before him. Marble walls, blue and gold accents, game tables, a full bar, karaoke pods—it had everything.
And yet, it felt lifeless.
At the massive curved window stood an old man, hunched and white-haired, gazing out toward the ocean.
The veiled man approached with soundless steps.
"Someone is investigating the Gelius Parking Lot," he said. His voice was unnaturally clear—too perfect. It sounded like a synthesized language pack, devoid of any human tone.
"I've been informed," the old man replied, turning to reveal a face like cracked leather. Deep lines, skin like dry clay. But his small, round eyes glinted with a startling intensity.
"A newly-formed company. Registered under a Bai Xing national. No traceable background."
"I hoped they'd back off," the old man muttered, "But they don't seem to care."
"They need to feel pain before they'll understand," the veiled man said calmly. "Grenan's methods are too soft. Let me handle it."
"They aren't just some petty thugs," the elder nodded. "Make it clean. We've buried the truth for decades. It must stay buried."
"Don't worry. In a place like this, dozens disappear every year. Smugglers, mercs—bad luck takes many forms."
The man peeled off his veil.
His face was a horror of burn scars.Worse still—his entire jaw was made of silver-white metal.
Back at the dig site...
Amid a clearing surrounded by coconut trees, two yellow excavation machines rumbled across sandy ground.
A crew of workers in yellow hardhats moved around with sensor rods and cables.All bore the Hongjin Corp logo.
Two vehicles arrived. One black SUV, one yellow transport truck.
Out stepped Song Ran and Li Chengyi.
Li's gaze instantly fell on the black pit at the center of the site—five meters wide, ringed with reinforced steel. Two black hoses stretched out, still pumping something unseen.
A dark-skinned man with a scruffy mustache approached.
"I'm Huang Zhisheng. I'm the site manager."
They shook hands briefly.
"Where's Dr. Ding Chongyi?" Song Ran asked directly.
"She's still down below—wanted to personally test the soil composition."
Song nodded. "We'll wait."
Li didn't mind. The deeper excavation wasn't his priority right now.
He took out his phone—still no word from the company's experts about the white-clad boy he'd seen in the Dead Zone. They were working off the image sketch, but progress was slow.
With a sigh, he slipped on his AR glasses and approached the pit.
"Gelius Parking Lot was buried in the Reitz Earthquake, over 80 years ago,"
A worker approached—a young woman, skin darkened by the sun, but with bright blue eyes and a kind smile.
"It had five underground levels and could hold over 600 cars. Built by a company called Aixi Engineering. But it never opened—failed structural inspections shut it down."
"Then why were there people inside when it collapsed?" Li asked.
"Ah, that's the dark part."
She explained the chaos of the time—civil unrest, border conflicts, and armed looting.Refugees had hidden inside the parking structure during the violence.
And then—the earthquake hit.
Many never made it out.
Li gazed into the pit.
It was pitch-black.
He activated Engineering Mode on the AR glasses, enabling night vision and magnification.
The view shifted—he could now see at least 10 meters down.
But then—
SPLAT.
A pale, corpse-like hand suddenly grabbed the edge of the pit.
Startled, Li yanked the glasses off.
Nothing.
No hand.
He frowned. A hallucination?
Cautiously, he put the AR glasses back on.
Nothing there.
He zoomed deeper. Dirt. Steel. Adhesives.Still nothing.
Shaking his head, he turned away from the pit.
After an hour, a muddy figure emerged from below.Wearing camo and AR gear—it was Dr. Ding Chongyi.
She looked over 60, hair graying, face lined, but with the confident posture of a veteran academic.
"Old Song! Still kicking, I see!"
"Can't say the same about being happy to see you," Song Ran grunted.
They tapped elbows—a Bai Xing social greeting.
"This is Li Chengyi. Give him your findings."
"Of course!" she said warmly, shaking Li's hand. "You've got a good aura, young man."
"Please tell me what you found," Li cut straight to the point.
Ding nodded. "Structurally, the base is stable. Minor collapses, but the main load-bearing walls are intact. It can be entered—but we'll need time to reinforce the shaft."
Then she reached into her coat pocket and handed Li a silver storage chip.
"This contains our preliminary findings based on your sketch of the boy."
Li pressed the chip against his AR glasses.
A flood of images and data streamed into his display.
He scanned quickly—and his expression grew serious.
"We couldn't confirm his name. But we discovered something else," Dr. Ding said.
"An outbreak… right?" Li muttered.
The report hinted at a long-buried epidemic.
[📘 Interactive Ending – Mystery + Lore Tease]A buried parking lot. A forgotten disease.Was the boy in white a victim… or the origin?Comment your theories and don't forget to Add to Library to uncover the secrets of Gelius! 🧠💀