The sight behind the door left everyone breathless.
It was a laboratory that looked as if it had been ravaged by monsters.
Instruments were toppled in every direction, glass shards carpeted the floor, and charred, curled papers were scattered across the blackened, scorched ground.
The walls were covered in dark, sprayed stains and deep, jagged claw marks.
But the most striking thing of all was the skeleton sitting beside the console in the center of the laboratory.
The tattered lab coat on its frame was still recognizably white, though it was now covered in dark, murky stains.
The skeleton's posture was uncomfortably twisted; it hadn't simply collapsed, but was half-slumped against the partially destroyed console, its head bowed as if keeping a final vigil over something.
A strange, bone-like dagger of bizarre design had precisely pierced its chest, pinning it firmly against the console.
On the hilt of the dagger, a pigeon-egg-sized purple crystal sat dim and lusterless, as if it had long since lost its function.
The skeleton's fingers, long since turned to bone, remained tightly locked onto a bright red, exceptionally prominent emergency button on the control panel.
Time seemed to have frozen here.
The moment the catastrophe struck—despair, determination, betrayal, or perhaps sacrifice—every story had been forcibly interrupted and sealed within this desperate posture.
Cheng Shuili's gaze was instantly seized by that eerie dagger and the purple crystal.
Subconsciously, she took half a step forward, her pupils slightly contracting as she sought to examine the nature of the blade. As she drew closer, an indescribable chill crept silently up her spine.
That indescribable chill was no illusion.
The very moment Cheng Shuili's gaze locked onto the strange dagger, the skeleton pinned to the console in the center of the room moved its head, ever so slightly.
An extremely faint "click" sound rang out in the dead silence, clear enough to make one's scalp tingle.
The bowed skull, as if pulled by invisible threads, began to lift itself, bit by bit, accompanied by a tooth-aching sound of bone grinding against bone.
The empty eye sockets stopped facing the floor and slowly, precisely, turned toward the uninvited guests at the door.
Deep within those sockets, there were no eyeballs, no flesh, only two faint yet heart-palpitating points of ghostly purple light, which ignited silently like a candle in the wind, "staring" at the intruders.
"Back up!"
Cheng Shuili let out a low command. She extended an arm to block Ginger Candy, who was curiously leaning forward to look inside, and then jerked back half a step herself. She held Night Hunt across her chest, keeping her eyes locked on the awakened skeleton.
But strangely, it seemed to have no intention of attacking. Like a human who had been motionless for a long time and was now numb all over, it carefully propped up its body, shifted into a new position with caution, and sat cross-legged on the table beneath it.
Following that, as if it had only just discovered the dagger in its chest, it tilted its head and reached out a hand, seemingly intending to pull the blade out.
But for some reason, it could only grasp the hilt; the action of "pulling out with force" was something it no longer seemed capable of performing.
With no other choice, it lifted its head to look at Cheng Shuili with its flickering purple eyes again. Its snow-white bony knuckles pointed to the dagger in its chest as it asked, "Can you help me pull this out?"
Help it, my foot!
Cheng Shuili was a human, for heaven's sake! Why would she help a monster that started talking nonsense the moment it woke up?
She remained highly vigilant. She didn't rashly agree, nor did she give a flat refusal; instead, she used Insight on the strange creature.
【Insight effective】
【Name: Remnant Remains】
【Origin: Once a core staff member of the research institute, he attempted to initiate the final purification protocol when the catastrophe broke out, only to be betrayed by a companion and pinned to the console with a bone blade. His intense obsession fused with the pervasive pollution, turning him into a distorted remnant attached to the skeleton—neither living nor undead, but an echo of eternal pain trapped in the moment of destruction.】
【Weakness/Admonition: You have already found everything hidden in the dungeon; all that remains is to listen to him explain the origin of the research institute ruins to clear the level! This is also a colleague of mine. He will constantly tempt you to help him pull out the bone blade, but do not listen to him. Also, mind the time.】
Right.
The time.
Cheng Shuili opened her panel and took a look. An hour had already passed since they entered the ruins.
It had to be said, the Abyss Ring was just too comprehensive!
There had been a colleague of its in the previous dungeon, too.
Cheng Shuili shook her head, pulling her focus back to the task at hand.
Next was... her gaze fell on the skull flickering with purple light—it was time to listen to this guy tell his story, right?
Fine, but she was in a hurry, so this guy had better talk fast.
Seeing that she showed no reaction and even displayed deeper wariness, the Remnant Remains opened and closed its jawbone a few times, producing a dry, grinding sound. The two points of ghostly purple light seemed to flicker more urgently, revealing a sense of... impatience?
"Help... help me..." it repeated, its white bony finger stubbornly pointing at the bone blade in its chest. "Pull it out... bondage... pain..."
Its voice was hoarse and shattered, like a damaged tape struggling to turn, carrying an icy chill that could drag a person into a deep abyss of despair.
Staring at the purple light in those empty eye sockets, Ginger Candy couldn't help but shiver, clutching tightly to the corner of Qi Wanyi's clothes.
Cheng Shuili, however, acted as if she hadn't heard its plea. Instead, she spoke coldly, her tone so calm it was almost cruel: "We don't have much time. Tell us what happened here, about the catastrophe at the research institute, and... who you are."
The development was too strange. Ailin stared blankly at Cheng Shuili, then turned to look at the remains.
The remains were even more stunned.
It froze with its hand held in mid-air, its skull tilted slightly as if trying to comprehend her words.
Although this was the first time this dungeon had been initiated, the specific NPCs in these dungeons had all rehearsed their parts before!
What kind of player just cuts straight to the point?
Shouldn't they be terrified, fearful, hesitant, and conflicted?
How could none of those emotions be present, and why had they started the main plot line already?!
The two points of purple light flickered violently, and the dark, sprayed stains on the laboratory walls seemed to become even gloomier in response.
It had been silent for too long, and Cheng Shuili repeated herself with a hint of impatience.
Now, even if the skeleton didn't want to, it had no choice but to start recounting what had happened there.
It was essentially a story about a research institute leak and internal betrayal, and the protagonist who had been betrayed was trapped here by this dagger, telling later arrivals about the past for all eternity.
Cheng Shuili felt a bit sorry for the guy, but she quickly realized that it was likely putting on a pathetic act, and the goal, of course,
was to get these humans in front of it to pull out the dagger.
Rate on N.U.
