Next Stage

Clang!

Jun opened his eyes at the sudden vibration. In an instant, a look of disbelief appeared on his face.

It was because the iron door that had kept him locked in there for so long was opening on its own.

Jun immediately stood up.

Soon, the iron door swung wide open.

There was no difference between the interior of his room and the outside. The total darkness that covered his eyes and the damp air that irritated his skin remained outside.

But unlike before, it was completely dark, which told Jun that it was likely nighttime outside.

Jun did not immediately leave his safe place; instead, he focused and listened carefully to ensure it wasn't a trap.

Only after a few minutes did he start to move silently. Jun discovered that outside the door was a large hallway.

To his left were numerous rooms with doors wide open, similar to his own. Jun thought that perhaps all the rooms had opened simultaneously.

The need to know what lay beyond drove Jun to move to the room next to his.

He had to walk about twenty steps to reach the next room.

Given the size of his room, which was only a few square meters, there were another ten steps that served as a barrier between the rooms.

This type of isolation was significant, effectively preventing those locked up from communicating with others.

Jun knew that no matter how sensitive his senses were, he wouldn't be able to overcome the thickness of the wall.

Sensing his surroundings, Jun noticed a figure lying in the room; the smell it emitted was horrific, causing him to step back several paces.

"Damn…"

Even though Jun was accustomed to the smell of his cell, there was no comparison to that of rotting human flesh.

The figure's body had been left to decay in the darkness. The foul odor indicated that the decomposition was already far advanced.

Jun entered the room and inspected the body while covering his nose, ignoring the unpleasant smell by all means.

He didn't touch anything, of course, simply curious about how this person had died.

Unlike Jun, he discovered that others couldn't bear the hunger and died of starvation.

Their room was as damp as Jun's, so it was filled with moss.

Probably, they hadn't considered consuming the moss, or maybe they couldn't adapt to the darkness as well as he did and therefore didn't notice the moss growing around the room.

Everyone was treated the same; they were served their food just as Jun was, which showed that they were being tested together.

After realizing this useful information, Jun walked down the straight hallway.

He counted more than forty cells, all of them open, and there were dead bodies in each one without exception.

Jun soon reached the end of the hallway. There was a large iron door blocking the passage.

The iron door was much thicker and larger compared to those that blocked the cells.

The locks on the door were also removed, making it either inaccessible or a door that could be opened by anyone.

Jun pushed hard, and the massive iron door slowly opened.

Beyond the iron door, the same hallway where Jun had been imprisoned continued, and again, forty iron doors were lined up in a row.

The only difference was that there was only one survivor in the area where Jun had been, but in this new section, there were two survivors here.

Both were boys, appearing to be the same age as him, which gave Jun even more useful information.

Crack!

"Who's there?" Both boys cautiously looked in the direction where Jun had been noticed by that sound.

Judging by their actions, it seemed that the two had become close as soon as they met.

It was clear that they had noticed the appearance of a new person by the sound of Jun's footsteps. Their attentive ears were proof of that.

Jun stopped without saying a word, analyzing the behavior of these unknown boys.

If he was in a test, then no one could be his ally; they were only tools that would help Jun get out of here alive.

Picturing the figures of these two boys in his mind, Jun could see that both boys were thin, as if the food at their disposal wasn't enough.

Compared to Jun, they seemed to be in better shape.

No doubt these boys quickly became attached to strangers, but Jun couldn't say the same about himself. He knew he came from a modern world and had historical knowledge of the war age in China; things were much worse than he initially imagined.

"Who are you? Where are you from? He and I are the only survivors in this section; we're not bad people."

The questions with affirmations were obviously directed at Jun.

Jun could see that the boys had nothing in their hands. Both had normal appearances, with Eastern features; he also had them but was unaware of his own appearance.

The boys seemed impatient; Jun thought that if he delayed responding, it would generate a conflict he hoped to avoid.

Only when Jun knew these boys weren't a threat did he grunt a little and say, "My name is Jun; I was locked in a different section from this one."

"The next area? So, you're saying there are other places like this?"

"That's what it seems like, but I doubt there are many survivors."

In response to Jun's answer, the boys became nervous; they had survived a long time here without knowing exactly why, but just knowing that the people who brought them here didn't care about their deaths, they knew they were alone.

Jun, of course, didn't want to instill fear in these boys. He spoke the truth, respecting the fact that these boys had survived as long as he had, showing that their will to live was strong, making them dangerous rivals.

"What are your names?" Jun didn't know how to address these boys, so he asked a question not to seem strange.

"I'm Lau, and he's Lin."

"Alright, let's get out of this place."

"Go where?"

"I think there are more areas like this. If the doors were opened, it means they don't want us in the cells anymore, so there must be a way that leads us somewhere else." Jun's gaze was fixed on the other side of the hallway.

There was also a massive iron door similar to the one he had passed through.

That meant if they continued, they would find the section of the next test.

Jun was the only one who wanted to keep moving; Lau and Lin didn't seem intent on moving due to fear.

"What if something bad happens to us?" Lin seemed to be a weak hound.

"Just follow me if you don't want to stay in this place waiting to die." Jun stopped paying attention to these boys.

Lin and Lau followed the sound of his footsteps.

If they had held hands, they could walk faster, but Jun didn't want to make physical contact with other people.

Giving up a hand meant he wouldn't be able to use it in case of an emergency.

It was like revealing a weakness or exposing himself to a greater danger.

Although no one had taught him that, Jun was aware that to survive, he shouldn't let anything slip by easily.

"Take my hand." Lin reached out to Lau; Jun thought these two would be distrustful, but the time they spent talking brought them closer, so Lau immediately took Lin's hand and positioned himself behind Jun.

Jun made sure to make noise so they could follow him; it wasn't necessary since it was a hallway, but he didn't want to reveal that he could walk completely silently without being noticed.

As they advanced toward the next area, they saw more survivors. This time, there were five boys of their age.

As with Lin and Lau, Jun also met and shared information with them.

They were alarmed by the sudden appearance of the group of three. However, before Jun could speak, the chatterboxes next to him solved the problem of explaining everything.

Jun glanced into the room while the others were conversing.

Most of the rooms also had decomposing bodies.

Unlike Jun's section, only a few people had died of starvation. Instead, most of them showed signs of self-harm.

Some had open wounds on their heads; others had bitten their tongues. Surely they couldn't bear the despair of being alone, so they decided to commit suicide.

It was a very harsh environment for boys like them who understood little. It made sense that they committed suicide, at least for someone who had suffered like them.

The next thing Jun looked at was their food tray.

It was definitely bigger than the food container in the area where Jun was confined, and the amount of food was greater.

At least in terms of food, it was clear that they received more rations than in the area where Jun was confined.

'Were they discriminating against the others?'

Whatever the purpose of those who imprisoned them here, it was clear that they achieved it by giving each section a different level of treatment.

Comparing the sections he observed, the environment in the area where Jun was confined was the harshest. It was a miracle in itself that Jun managed to survive there alone.

However, the boys chatting outside didn't seem to realize that fact.

When Jun went outside, Lin felt his presence and said, "They were also imprisoned at the same time as us. These are Chiu and Yiu; they're friendly."

Jun had no problem with anyone, so he greeted everyone but kept his distance.

Secretly, he held a piece of broken plate that was very sharp. If he was the only crazy one in this place, that was fine; he wouldn't survive here by trusting others.

Then, together, they opened the next area; however, the landscape that appeared this time was different from what he had imagined.