SCP Corporation: Contain Bonfire-Chapter 191: On this day, God made a promise to all mankind._1
"All I know is that there are probably two shelters that still exist in this province, one is the ’Human Future Research Institute,’ and the other is the ’Dawn’s Light Foundation,’ but their exact locations are unclear. They are very secretive about their whereabouts."
Wang Hu shook his head; however, as he spoke, he seemed to think of something, "In our settlement, there might be someone who knows where the shelter is; he seems to have escaped from one."
"If you can help us and bring back supplies, I can promise to hand him over."
Nowadays, it’s hardly realistic for them to bring back supplies on their own strength, and without supplies, the settlement won’t last long.
Moreover, the geographical location where the supplies are stored is also in these people’s hands; they can’t obtain it by force.
When he finished speaking, the expressions of some people behind him changed, knowing this could likely expose their own location.
However, a few others showed thoughtful expressions, realizing that since neither party was the enemy and there was no malice, it was better to have a reasoned discussion—after all, it’s always better than resorting to physics.
Wang Hu took note of the expressions of his companions, silently marking those who might be suitable for further development.
"Hmm?"
On the other side, Colin and his group were also taken aback. They hadn’t steered the conversation towards this "sensitive topic," fearing it would arouse suspicion.
But to their surprise, these folks had brought it up themselves.
"We can..."
Qin Chuan and the others exchanged glances, then took out several pieces of paper wrapped in rotten cloth and passed them over, "This is the information they left behind, and their bodies can be seen just a little further inside the hall..."
"Can you describe the state of their bodies when you saw them?" Wang Hu took the letter and glanced at the address on it, immediately understanding the destination.
"Hanged, mummified..." Qin Chuan added some details.
After an employee of Bonfire Company died, they knew that if one died under the twilight, the body’s moisture would rapidly evaporate, turning into a mummy.
They hadn’t disturbed those hanged mummies, but the mummies of their own people had been simply buried on the spot.
Listening to Qin Chuan’s explanation, Wang Hu and the others nodded—the method of hanging was indeed their arrangement this time.
If these guys suspected to be members of the shelters had made the kill, they most likely wouldn’t know the "hanging" code.
"Then, we’ll rest for a while, and while we’re at it get to know some of the conditions here..."
Qin Chuan looked at the people around him, about to say something, but was suddenly interrupted by Colin from the side.
"Did you guys hear anything?"
Colin cocked his head to the side, looking a bit confused. Something didn’t feel right to him, yet he was not sure, but a sense of indescribable hunger was rising within him.
This made him realize that things might not be so simple.
"What sound?"
Qin Chuan was stunned, about to continue speaking, but suddenly heard three dull thumps near his ear.
"Thump, thump, thump~"
It wasn’t just him; everyone present heard the sound. At first, they were all taken aback, failing to understand what the noise was or where it was coming from. It just felt like some heavy drumbeat resonating, causing the air itself to vibrate.
However, the next second, while everyone paid attention, they heard the dull sound rise again...
"Thump~ Thump thump~ Thump thump~"
The sound seemed to herald the revival of something, and Colin and the others suddenly realized—wasn’t this just the sound of a heartbeat?
Moreover, they could clearly feel that the sound was coming from underground!
Wang Hu’s face suddenly changed, as if he had thought of something, "Bad news! It’s that thing underground in Shelter No. 24! Run for it! Otherwise, once it wakes up, we’re all going to die!"
The fact that the Children of Twilight wouldn’t enter this accursed place had a reason after all...
Colin muttered to himself, ready to flee, yet he felt a strong sense of hunger welling up inside him.
His complexion changed suddenly, and immediately after, he heard a certain sound emanating—
"Eat, eat, the incomplete one born from beneath the ground..."
"Eat, eat, eat! A great tonic..."
"It has been so long since I have eaten..."
Biblical whispers lingered by his ear as a tantalizing scent of meat infiltrated Colin’s nostrils, and it seemed he could "see" clearly with his eyes that the aroma was emanating from beneath the ground.
However, at that moment, the Saintess following Colin, silently trailing and bestowing BUFFs without doing much else, seemed to notice something, directing her gaze towards him.
In her eyes, everything was hazy, unseeable, inaudible, but she felt a familiar and terrifying entity awakening.
Without needing the prompt of parchment, she took the initiative to enhance the BUFF effects on Colin.
"Eat my ass! Eating anything and everything will only harm you!"
Colin regained his rationality, suppressed the voice inside him, and hurried to keep up with everyone’s fleeing pace.
He had only paused for less than three seconds, so no one became suspicious, and as they left, the increasingly clear and, it could be said, deafening heartbeat sound gradually faded away.
"What in the world was that thing?" Colin asked while looking at Wang Hu, who was being carried on a survivor’s back.
"I’m not sure. I heard that Shelter No. 24 was once attacked by ’Twilight’s Children’ for some unknown reason, and when pushed to utter despair, they conducted a certain experiment. The end result was ’Twilight’s Children’ left, and that place became something of a forbidden zone."
Wang Hu explained the situation. To his knowledge, most anomalies wouldn’t actively approach that place, but interestingly, living people wouldn’t come to harm there.
In a sense, it could be seen as a safe haven.
Of course, the condition was not to stay too long, and to leave immediately upon hearing that heartbeat.
Otherwise, one might be trapped there forever...
After roughly understanding that as long as they left in time, they would not be entangled by whatever was there, Colin breathed a sigh of relief and paid no further attention.
Afterward, they made no plans to rest and headed straight for Dragon Bay.
As they hurried on their way, they learned more about this world from the survivors like Wang Hu.
For example, each time the ’Twilight’s Children’ disappeared, they would return again after about three days, shed light upon this place for a few days, and then leave once more.
This entity was a product of the Human Future Research Institute, and when asked why it only had an upper body, Wang Hu and the others attributed it to divine punishment for humanity.
A survivor carrying Wang Hu spoke through gritted teeth, "Those damned people attempted to create a creature that could rival God, leading to divine judgment. Their blasphemous creation was severed by the dominion of the heavens at the waist, forcing them to walk on hands, perpetually fatigued, as a warning and retribution."
Why does this sound so heavily infused with religious motifs... Colin guessed that the severing of the creature’s lower body might indeed have happened, but the inside story was likely different from what they were told.
Besides the ’Twilight’s Children’, they also learned about the situation of the great calamity.
It seemed that, roughly a decade and a half ago at the beginning of the year, daylight turned to The Night in an instant. The sun stopped rising, people went mad and feral, a myriad of bizarre rules emerged, and the world plunged into doomsday.
Later, they gradually came to understand some "truths" and knew that all disasters originated from those research institutes or shelters.
"However, we believe that as long as we persevere and maintain our faith in Him, eventually He will descend from the heavens, send His Angel Envoys, and rescue us all from The Night and disasters, delivering us from this sea of suffering..."
"Him?" Colin asked reflexively, but after asking, he suddenly felt a twinge of regret.
Seeing Colin’s inquiry, the young man carrying Wang Hu showed a hint of fanaticism on his face, not just him, but all the other survivors as well, exuding a fervent and devout look that made Colin and the others feel uneasy.
But he himself did not notice and continued to speak, "If you don’t mind, please allow me to introduce our Master to you, spread His image... This is the only chance for salvation for both you and us. All other attempts are futile, which you will come to understand eventually.
"And He, I have seen Him in my dreams. He symbolizes the white sky, radiates sacred and pure Light, extraordinarily merciful, with twelve beautiful pairs of wings. Despite being supremely great, He still deigns to assuage the hearts of us mortals...
"He told us not to panic, to pray to Him, and that one day, He will pass judgment upon all calamities and bring redemption to us, the innocent...
"He told me His name is... ’White Night’."
