Chapter 1153: City of Flesh and Blood
Qiu Shiliu felt that her vision was no longer as obscured as before. She moved closer to the crack, trying to get a better look at what was inside.
Slowly, her eyes widened, and her mouth hung slightly open.
The enormous, crimson, pulsating thing before her was actually a tall building made of flesh and blood.
This flesh seemed to have bones inside and blood vessels outside, winding its way upward to shape itself into a high-rise. The dark, bluish veins along its surface caused the entire structure to tremble faintly, as if it were alive.
Where windows should have been, there were now only white membranes, giving the impression of some kind of living organism.
"Fi-fif... five..." Qiu Shiliu tried to speak, but found her language system trapped by her chaotic mind. All she could do was raise the "Door" in her hand and scan the building before her from bottom to top.
Bai Jiu frowned, looking at Jiang Shi's left eye. The scene before them was certainly horrifying, but the image she could see was too small, not as immersive and visceral as what Qiu Shiliu was experiencing.
"What is that thing?" Bai Jiu asked, her voice a little hoarse.
"I want to see too..." Jiang Shi, noticing Bai Jiu's expression, became curious about what her own left eye was showing. "Ninth Sister... what did Sixteen see?"
"It's a building..." Qiu Shiliu seemed to finally regain her composure, her voice coming through Jiang Shi's left eye. "Ninth Sister, it's a building made of flesh and blood..."
"No... this thing is too strange..." Bai Jiu said. "Get away from there quickly. We don't know what kind of space that is... You could really end up in a completely unknown zone."
"I want to see too!" Jiang Shi said urgently.
"Alright... Ninth Sister... This place is indeed too weird. Maybe I should first..."
Before she could finish, Qiu Shiliu let out an "Ouch!"
Bai Jiu looked closely. Whether it was because the crack was unstable or Qiu Shiliu had used too much force, another fragment broke off from the edge of the crack as Qiu Shiliu reached out to steady herself.
Now, she could see even more.
That was when Qiu Shiliu realized that what lay within the crack wasn't just a "flesh-and-blood building"—it was a "flesh-and-blood world."
Behind this building stood countless other towering structures of flesh, along with roads made of bone and figures standing motionless in the distance.
A faint wailing began to echo from all directions, and loud, consecutive booms sounded from the sky above.
Boom!!
It seemed as if some strange entities had collided in the sky. The sound was so immense that Qiu Shiliu jumped back half a step.
Moments later, she heard something land beside the crack. But due to her limited field of view, she couldn't tell what it was.
Soon, a very soft voice came from inside the crack, murmuring two words: "How absurd."
Before Qiu Shiliu could react to what was happening on the other side, a large patch of flesh began to grow wildly near the crack, as if trying to seal it shut.
"Wait... hold on..."
Completely baffled by the situation, Qiu Shiliu could only extend her hands to try and stop the flesh from spreading.
What was going on?
There was someone on the other side?!
Was that person in danger, or were they in the middle of a fight with someone?
"Hey! Who are you?!" Qiu Shiliu shouted into the crack.
The crack had now shrunk to only the size of Qiu Shiliu's palm, and the flesh-and-blood building was almost out of sight.
Determined to make one last attempt, Qiu Shiliu stuffed the "Door" into her pocket and began tearing at the flesh with both hands. The sticky, greasy texture made her nauseous, but this was her only chance to figure out what was on the other side of the crack.
But the more she tore at the flesh, the faster it grew. Shreds of meat began to fall from the crack, eventually tumbling into the boundless abyss below.
About a minute later, suddenly—
A pair of ice-cold hands grabbed Qiu Shiliu's wrists. The shock made her let out a sharp cry.
"Sixteen! What's wrong?!"
"Ninth Sister... there's someone in this crack! They grabbed me!!" Qiu Shiliu forced herself to calm down and relay what she was seeing to the others.
"Never mind that! Find a way to get out of there!" Bai Jiu said.
Qiu Shiliu pulled her hands back, dragging the other person's hands out of the crack.
She noticed that the cold hands seemed to have little strength. It would be easy to pull away, so why had this person grabbed her?
Now, the crack was almost completely blocked by flesh, yet the other person's hands had emerged. It looked eerily as if the flesh itself had sprouted two hands.
Qiu Shiliu looked down and saw that the hands were pale-skinned with long, slender fingers. Their owner might have been a girl.
Before that thought could settle, the flesh between the two hands began to churn, as if something was trying to push its way out from within.
Sensing danger, Qiu Shiliu immediately pulled her hands free, then fished the "Door" out of her pocket and aimed it at the crack.
"Ninth Sister! Something is about to come out of the crack! If anything happens to me, remember what I'm about to say." Qiu Shiliu blurted out everything she needed to convey. "Inside is a city of flesh and blood. It seems like people live there. I heard sounds of fighting and also sounds of lamentation, but I couldn't make out what the laments were saying."
"Sixteen, go to the door behind you first. If it's too dangerous, escape through the door directly."
"Okay." Qiu Shiliu nodded, backing away slowly while keeping her face toward the crack. As she moved, she kept showing Bai Jiu the images through the "Door."
The next second, the flesh burst open violently, sending blood splattering everywhere. From between the two hands, a human head emerged.
How could this be happening? Yet at the same time, it sent a chill down one's spine.
Those two hands must belong to that person's body, but why would they use their head to break through the flesh and reach this side?
Looking closer, Qiu Shiliu's face turned deathly pale.
Could this thing even be called a "human head"?
It had long hair, with a cute hair clip still attached. The tips of its hair were dyed gold, and its clothes even had a cartoon pattern...
But this person had no face.
Where her face should have been, there was only smooth, flat skin.
Her hands kept pushing against the flesh, struggling to get her upper body through the crack. Then, she crawled out entirely.
Qiu Shiliu's heart pounded wildly. She had no idea what to do.
Then she heard the "girl" make a sound—
It was nothing but muffled sobs.
It felt as if something was covering her mouth, preventing her from breathing or speaking.
She was struggling.
But before Qiu Shiliu could say anything to her, the girl, after emerging from the crack, fell downward as if leaping from a building.
A stifled groan, muffled as if her mouth and nose were covered, came from the direction of her fall. Qiu Shiliu didn't even get a chance to speak to her before she vanished from sight.