Chapter 32: The Shadow Gate

The moment the door creaked open, a wave of cold, damp air rushed out, carrying the scent of decay—like night wind trapped in a deep well. Lin Han frowned and took a cautious step forward, but his foot suddenly slipped.

He looked down. His shoe had stepped into a puddle of something warm and sticky.

"Walau eh, what is this?"

Noya crouched down, dipped her fingers into the liquid, and brought them to her nose. Her brows knitted together.

"It's teh tarik."

Lin Han stared at her. "You kidding me? Who the hell spills milk tea in a place like this?"

Su Xueqing ignored them, pulling out her flashlight and shining it into the darkness beyond the door. The beam swept across the walls before settling on a long, unmoving shadow. It stood still—too still.

Lightning flashed across the sky, momentarily flooding the space with stark white light. In that brief second, Lin Han saw it—the shadow's nails were an unnatural shade of bluish-green, eerily similar to the old man's from earlier.

"Watch out!" Su Xueqing grabbed Lin Han and yanked him backward.

The shadow didn't advance. Instead, a thick wave of blood mixed with a sickly-sweet durian stench seeped through the doorway, curling into their lungs like invisible tendrils. Lin Han clenched his jaw, his stomach twisting at the smell.

"Aneh, you got any talismans for this?" Noya asked under her breath as she slowly edged back.

Lin Han couldn't stand the heavy curry scent on that aneh, but right now, that was the least of his worries. His hand instinctively reached for the knife at his waist.

Yet, the shadow remained still. It was retreating—no, it was luring them in.

Su Xueqing's fingers trembled slightly. Something was off.

Her flashlight's beam wasn't illuminating anything past the doorway. It was being swallowed.

Like the darkness itself had taken on a solid form and was devouring the light whole.

"This door… it's wrong," she whispered.

Lin Han barely had time to react before a sharp metallic clang echoed through the space. He had only just begun to crouch down when the noise abruptly cut off, as if someone had strangled it in midair.

A sudden chill crawled up his spine, a whisper of breath against his skin.

Noya's voice was barely above a murmur. "Something is watching us."

That sentence sent ice running through their veins.

Lin Han turned his head—but all he saw was the swirling blackness beyond the door.

The wind stirred, wrapping around them with a clammy, deathly touch.

And in that moment, he realized—

"This place… isn't meant for the living."

But it was already too late.

The Shadow Gate—cracked open.

The wind slithered along the cracked brick walls like a living thing, whispering in a voice too low to be understood. Su Xueqing's flashlight barely cut through the suffocating darkness, its weak beam swallowed before reaching the end of the corridor. Noya bit her lower lip lightly, her fingertips grazing the grip of her pistol—but she didn't draw it.

"Lin Han, are we really going in?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Lin Han didn't answer. His eyes were locked onto the pitch-black passage beyond the doorway, as if some unseen force was calling them forward, daring them to cross that invisible threshold.

Then, a rotting durian stench mixed with the sharp tang of blood punched Lin Han in the gut, so sudden and intense that his stomach lurched.

"Walau eh… what the hell is that smell?" He swore under his breath, his face twisting in disgust.

Su Xueqing took half a step back, her shoulder hitting the cold wall as her fingers unconsciously tightened. "Lin Han, be careful—"

Before she could finish, a strange sound slithered through the darkness—a slow, grinding noise, like bones scraping against each other. It was deliberate. Prolonged.

A chill crawled down Lin Han's spine.

"Who's there?" His voice was low, wary, his hand instinctively reaching for the folding knife at his waist.

Silence.

Then, lightning cracked through the sky, momentarily illuminating what lay beyond the gate—a figure, hanging motionless in mid-air.

A black robe concealed most of the body, but beneath its sleeve, a pale wrist gleamed in the flickering light. On that wrist was something unexpected—a faintly glowing emblem…

"Genting Group's insignia?" Su Xueqing blurted out.

"Impossible…" Lin Han's breath hitched, his heartbeat out of rhythm.

A sudden draft brushed against them, cold as fingers trailing down their skin.

And then, the hanging figure's head snapped to the side with a sickening crack, its empty eyes now staring straight at them.

"Ah neh…?" Noya's voice wavered, uncertain.

But the next second, the lips of the figure curled upward—into a grotesque smile.

—Click.

The flashlight cut out.

Darkness swallowed them whole.

Something shifted near their feet. Crawling. Rustling.

Lin Han's chest tightened. Something cold, damp, and disturbingly human-like was slithering up his ankle—a finger?

"Sial! Get out!" Noya cursed, yanking out her gun—but before she could aim, an icy grip latched onto her wrist, holding her still.

Lin Han tried to move, to react—but he couldn't. The shadows around them had come alive, pinning them in place.

Su Xueqing's breathing quickened. Her voice trembled. "Lin Han… I can't see you anymore…"

"This isn't a normal gate…" Noya's whisper was hoarse, her sweat trickling down her neck. "It's a Shadow Gate."

From within the black void, a voice rumbled, low and amused.

"You've finally arrived."

The darkness wrapped around them like a damp shroud, suffocating and absolute. Su Xueqing instinctively gripped Lin Han's arm, her fingertips icy cold. Noya's gun was raised, pointing toward the abyss, but she could feel it—something moving, shifting, like a black mist, like distorted figures writhing in the void.

"Lin Han, do you feel that?" Her voice was lower than usual.

Lin Han gave a small nod, but he didn't speak. His heartbeat was picking up speed because he had finally realized something—they were no longer in the same world.

"Something is wrong with this place." Su Xueqing's voice wavered slightly.

Suddenly, the rancid stench of durian, mixed with the metallic tang of blood, assaulted their senses. It was like someone had ripped open a decayed corpse, letting its putrid juices seep into the cracks of the floor.

"Walau eh, what kind of cursed smell is this?" Noya muttered, covering her nose—only for her motion to freeze midair.

Something was crawling up her leg—slick, cold, and disturbingly warm at the same time.

—Plop.

Lin Han flicked his lighter open, casting a dim, flickering glow around them. And then, they saw it.

A severed hand.

It was moving, fingers curling and stretching like a dying spider, its palm turned upward as if reaching out for salvation.

Lin Han's stomach lurched violently, bile rising to his throat. But what sent an even deeper chill through his bones was the ring on the hand's fourth finger—

The insignia of Genting Group.

"Something is very, very wrong!" Su Xueqing suddenly yanked Lin Han's arm, her breath coming in sharp gasps. "This isn't the Snake Temple! We walked through… the wrong door!"

—Tap. Tap. Tap.

A slow, deliberate set of footsteps echoed through the void. Each step landed with a wet squelch, like boots sinking into unseen pools of liquid.

Su Xueqing's pupils shrank, her throat tightening as she stared into the darkness ahead.

A streak of lightning split the sky outside, illuminating the figure standing before them.

It was an elderly man, draped in black robes, his skin a sickly shade of blue and purple, as if he had been drowned and left to rot. His lips were stretched unnaturally wide, revealing jagged, yellowed teeth.

He was holding a lantern.

And inside the lantern wasn't fire—it was a human head.

"Found you."

The old man's lips moved, but his voice echoed from all directions at once.

"You belong here."

Noya fired.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bullets tore through the robe, but no blood spilled out. It was as if the bullets had merely passed through air.

"Run!" Lin Han growled, grabbing Su Xueqing and Noya as they sprinted toward the nearest corridor.

The ground beneath them started crumbling, as if something unseen was devouring the space. Flashes of lightning revealed writhing shadows lining the walls—twisting, stretching, like spirits forever trapped within.

They ran, lungs burning, chased by whispers that curled around them like smoke.

"Don't run… You're already here…"

And then, just as they reached the exit—darkness swallowed them whole.

Everything fell silent.

Lin Han's breathing stopped for a moment. His feet were no longer on damp stone, but—

Soft carpet.

His eyes snapped open, and he found himself standing in an opulent room. A golden chandelier cast a warm, inviting glow. Luxurious paintings adorned the walls. The scent of sandalwood lingered in the air.

This was…

The VIP Lounge of Genting Casino?!

"Sial… weren't we at the Snake Temple?!" Noya cursed under her breath.

"What the hell is—" Su Xueqing started, but before she could finish, the doors to the room swung open by themselves.

A middle-aged man in a tailored suit stepped inside, a gleaming badge pinned to his chest.

Genting Group Senior Executive.

A slow, knowing smile stretched across his lips. He raised a hand and gestured toward them.

"Welcome, esteemed guests. We've been expecting you."