Chapter 047 The Depth of Fear
"I'll call Fang Ling, and then you and Flora go to the guard to get the communication equipment and luggage. After you get them, go downstairs and follow Fang Ling's instructions on the way."
"Who is Fang Ling?"
"There is someone in the Analysis Department who is responsible for studying your abilities. He is the one you will be working with from now on."
Su Ming called Flora and went to the guard post to get the luggage and communication equipment. The luggage was a very heavy backpack filled with compressed biscuits, water, and many batteries.
In addition, they were given a communication device, a flashlight, and a wristband.
"Are we going to that basement?" Flora.
"Yes." Su Ming nodded and looked at Xia Xiaoyu, "They didn't prepare your luggage. Do you want to go shopping temporarily?"
Xia Xiaoyu patted the storage box No. 7 behind her and replied, "Enough."
Su Ming put on the communication equipment and connected to Fang Ling's call line. As soon as the call was connected, a gentle voice came from the other side.
"Hello, my name is Fang Ling. I will assist you in completing this test.
The device you are wearing on your head now not only has the function of making calls, but also the function of taking photos, so I can now see what is right in front of you.
The bracelets on your hands will collect your heart rate and body temperature. I will use this data to monitor your body to ensure that you are in good health.
Now, we can head down to the basement."
Su Ming: "I understand."
Everything was ready, and Su Ming and the other two headed towards the spiral staircase in the basement.
He returned to the basement, opened the innermost door, and walked into the stairwell.
As soon as he entered the stairwell, he felt the temperature around him drop a little.
Su Ming began to observe the situation inside. In front of him was a spiral staircase leading downward. Under his feet was a concrete floor. The railings were plain stainless steel pipes that were inserted into the steps in a cross shape and welded together.
Su Ming took a flashlight, walked to the railing and shone it downwards. The light from the flashlight did not pierce the darkness. It even only shot out one meter away. The excess light seemed to be completely absorbed by the darkness.
"No matter how powerful the lighting equipment is, it can only illuminate a distance of one meter around it. This is the characteristic of this staircase." Fang Ling said in the headset.
"Su Ming, did you hear that sound?" Flora beside him asked softly.
Su Ming: "What sound?"
"It seems... a girl's voice." Flora said.
Su Ming looked at Xia Xiaoyu next to him, and Xia Xiaoyu nodded: "Although it was very slight, I also heard a little."
Fang Ling in the headset spoke again: "This is normal. Let's go down."
"It feels very weird here." Su Ming said as he walked downstairs.
"It is indeed a strange staircase, but it is not dangerous. As long as you don't lose your composure, there is generally no danger to your life." Fang Ling said.
Su Ming paused and frowned, "In other words, if I lose my composure, my life will be in danger?"
"You may understand that, but I believe that both of you will be safe in the end."
"I don't accept this ambiguous statement. Can you reveal more?"
“It’s not a secret. In fact, this information could be included in the informal archives, but someone in the higher-ups was afraid that it would affect the test subjects’ mental state, so it was only included in the archives of the Analysis Department.
To put it simply, you will face the test of fear in the future. When facing fear, many people will lose their composure, and many ordinary people will jump over the railing in panic.
Of course, you are not ordinary people, so don’t worry too much. As long as you are not stupid enough to jump off the building, you will be fine.”
"Those who jumped died?"
"They are probably all dead, but they could be alive. After all, this is an alternate dimension. No one has ever reached the bottom. If you are lucky enough to reach the bottom, you can help us confirm how many people fell to their deaths... Haha, just kidding."
"When I first heard your voice, I thought you were a normal person," Su Ming said.
Fang Ling: "Eh? Isn't it? I'm a very normal person."
“The mentally ill always say they are not mentally ill.”
"How rude! You're the first person to say that to me."
Su Ming did not respond to the other party. He walked down with full concentration. The light of the flashlight could only illuminate three steps under his feet, and the farther places were immersed in darkness.
No matter how many steps they took forward, the scenery was the same. In the silent atmosphere, the sounds became extremely clear, but there was no echo in the huge space.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Su Ming felt a little tired, so he stopped.
"Are you hungry?" Su Ming asked.
"Hungry." said Xia Xiaoyu.
"Flora, are you hungry?" Su Ming asked again.
Flora nodded gently: "A little bit, let's take a break."
"Well, eat something before you go."
Su Ming sat down on the steps, took out some compressed biscuits from his backpack, mixed them with water and ate them dry. While eating, he asked, "How long have we been walking?"
"Three hours." Fang Ling replied.
"Three hours... that should be a long way, right?"
"It's quite far indeed, but we usually use depth to describe the depth of the test subject in the spiral staircase. For example, Flora is now 30 meters underground, and you are one meter underground."
Su Ming was stunned and turned his head abruptly to look at Flora, who also stared at him in surprise.
"But Su Ming is by my side, and we are together." Flora said.
"Yes, but the instrument shows that you two are at different depths."
"...Then why are we in the same place now ? Could it be that Su Ming beside me is just an illusion?"
Flora touched Su Ming's arm and could feel it.
"But I can touch him."
Fang Ling: "Flora, just now , you moved down another meter."
"What's going on?" Flora asked in surprise.
"Haven't you watched the online course? What is the first rule of dealing with weirdness?" Fang Ling asked.
"Don't stick to common sense, accept reality, and then look for patterns." Su Ming answered Fang Ling's question on behalf of Flora.
When he first heard this, he didn't quite understand it, but now he gradually understands it.
There is no logic to weird things . Just like now, she and Flora took the same number of steps, but the measured depths were different.
Different depths meant different positions, but he was able to have physical contact with Flora, which was a very strange situation.
This place is specially used to measure the limit of human fear. So can it be understood that the depth in this space is the degree of fear in human hearts?
