Chapter 25: Underneath the Observatory

Old Li stumbled back, muttering in panic. "It's still alive… It's twitching!"

Yang knelt cautiously, his flashlight casting sharp shadows over the mound of soil in the closet. The hand was human—but not recent. The skin was mottled, grayish-brown, as if buried for decades… yet the fingers moved, curling inward like something was pulling from below.

Yang reached out instinctively. As his fingers brushed the edge of the earth, a sharp jolt shot through his spine. For a split second, he couldn't see the room—only darkness and heat.

He was underground. Trapped. Screaming children surrounded him. A red heartbeat echoed.Then he was back.

He gasped, recoiling. "Something's pulling people underground. Something… conscious."

Old Li lit a match and dropped it into the soil mound. Nothing happened.

"No smell," he murmured. "This isn't real earth."

Beneath the observatory floorboards, they discovered a rusted hatch sealed with eight iron nails—each etched with different symbols. A tattered note was pinned beside it.

"DO NOT OPEN UNTIL ALL SEALS ARE BLESSED.""IF YOU HEAR THEM WHISPER—PRAY THEY DO NOT KNOW YOUR NAME."

"Dr. Luo tried to open it," Yang said grimly. "And failed."

That night, they slept in shifts. Yang woke suddenly around 3 a.m., the room buzzing faintly like an old power station.

Then… tapping. From under the floor.

Tap.Tap.Tap tap tap tap.

It formed a pattern. A code?

He placed his ear to the wooden planks.

A child's voice whispered:"Let us out, Brother Xiang. We remember you."

His blood turned to ice.