But as I plunged to the bottom, I discovered soft padding beneath me. He Xin was also not far away, though she seemed to have fainted from extreme shock.
I felt around me, realizing that what had saved my life were countless balloons. Strangely, none of them burst under my full weight.
My brow furrowed, and I hurried to He Xin's side. I gently patted her face and softly said, "He Xin, wake up!"
After a moment, He Xin's warm eyelids trembled slightly, and she gradually opened them.
"Dad, Dad, where is this? Is it hell?"
"Sigh, we're both alright. It seems the interior of this church is quite spacious. I wonder where Liu Yuning and the others are."
"Ah! That's good then!" He Xin suddenly sounded relieved, sat up, brushed off the dust, and continued, "I knew we weren't meant to die. Let's go find them!"
He Xin's actions made me want to force a smile. When would this child ever truly grow up?
Following me, the handgun was now in my hand. I remained on guard, only to find that the place where we had fallen was a room filled with countless colorful balloons.
This room seemed vast. No matter where we went, we couldn't find an end. It was so strange. What if it was like this everywhere? If we continued like this, we would surely perish from exhaustion. At this moment, I suddenly remembered the person who had kicked me down. Who was that? Read here.
Before, it was only He Jinghui and He Xiaoyu behind me. Could it have been them?
But why would they do this?
Weren't they our family's bodyguards? How could they commit such a treasonous act?
I didn't dare tell He Xin this at the time. After all, He Jinghui and He Xiaoyu were our pillars of strength. If they had betrayed us, then everything would be over.
As we walked, we finally found a wall. Although there was no door, it at least proved that there was an end to this place. At that moment, He Xin had a sudden inspiration. She twisted her wristband, and soon a gnawing sound came from not far away. I knew it was the drone, Little Bean, arriving.
This fellow still used the same old tricks. With the drone, these walls were as good as nonexistent. Little Bean cut through them directly with its cutter, opening a passage for us. Its capabilities were comparable to those of a professional SWAT officer.
We passed through the gap and found another passage not far away. This one was clearly different. The walls on either side were illuminated by flickering, dim lights, but the colors of these lights were all different, clearly designed intentionally. The sources of the light were strangely shaped lamps. I observed that these lamps were fashioned in the shapes of animals. At first, I couldn't make out what they were, but upon closer inspection, I realized they were the twelve zodiac signs.
As He Xin and I passed the first Aries, its eyes suddenly opened, emitting a strange, cackling sound from within, as if the ram was mocking us with a distorted voice!
Moreover, the lamp was moving, swaying continuously. Then, the other zodiac lamps nearby began to move left and right. Taurus's nose spewed strange green smoke, Sagittarius's bow and arrow pointed at us, and Aquarius's top sprayed bizarre, murky liquid...
"Not good!" We instinctively turned and ran. However, the entrance behind us was blocked. Wasn't it opened by the drone earlier? It was too strange. This place was filled with traps and peculiar structures. If you weren't careful, you could be hunted. Just as the drone was about to carve out a new escape route for us, a strange red beam of light shot out from the mouth of Gemini, striking the drone's top!
At that moment, Little Bean seemed to be interfered with, emitting strange clicking sounds as it crashed into the wall, falling apart!
He Xin shrieked. Perhaps she never imagined that her creation would be destroyed, especially at a time like this.
I grabbed her hand. There was no time to worry about the drone now, as I noticed the smoke was already spreading, and the murky liquid was slowly floating up from our feet.
At this rate, we would soon be in grave danger. I felt around frantically, hoping to find an escape route within these sealed walls.
However, these walls were incredibly sturdy, with no cracks. As the poisonous mist and sewage rose, we felt our every inch of skin suffocating. After an unknown amount of time, He Xin and I collapsed weakly into the sewage...
"He Sheng! Wake up quickly!"
"Wake up!"
I didn't know who was calling me, but when I opened my eyes again, I found myself back in the main hall of the church. However, I was alone. I slowly stood up, and my gun had not been taken away.
I looked around. The sky outside seemed even darker, and the sound of heavy rain was spreading. I could even see rainwater beginning to flood the church. At this moment, wanting to find He Xin, I went to the place where He Jinghui had discovered something earlier. However, it seemed there was no path there. Beside it, I found a staircase. Just as I was about to approach, something suddenly fell from the top of the staircase!
I instinctively pointed my gun forward. A person bound with ropes, wearing white, fell down.
At first, I was almost startled, mistaking it for a naked corpse. However, as I got closer, I realized this person's build was somewhat familiar.
Getting even closer, I saw a hairless head turn with mechanical movements, stiff and slow.
At that moment, my gun was pointed straight ahead.
Until a hoarse, grinning face without a nose turned towards me, I couldn't help but pull the trigger!
With a bang, the person let out a scream, and the rope snapped. The person fell down the stairs, hitting the ground with a thud. Their head was smashed to pieces, and blood instantly spread across the floor, almost dyeing it red.
Just then, a strange, mocking voice rang out: "Detective He, look closer, who is that?"
"What?" Hearing the strange voice, I felt a sense of realization. As I approached the bloodstain, my eyes widened. How could this be!?
The person before me was He Xin!!