Millennium Witch.

Chapter 2-2- Fog

Looking down at the fine, rusty metal mesh beneath his feet, Li You plopped down, recovering his strength while analyzing his current predicament.

First, he can't swim and is afraid to go into the water. Second, he is currently in the body of a little girl, so even if he could go into the water, it wouldn't be possible for him to swim to the other side. More importantly, there is no shore on the other side at all. If he swims over, he would have to start rock climbing, and even the top of the rock wall is curved inward... All things considered, this place is simply a natural prison, and it is impossible to get out by water.

Am I going to be trapped here and die?

Li You stared blankly for a while, feeling that the future was bleak and that he might as well jump into the water and start over.

Not long after, a white bird flying by suddenly caught his attention.

This bird was quite large, about the size of a pelican, but it looked more like a seagull. It plunged into the lake, and in no time, it had caught a fish in its beak and surfaced, looking very agile.

Seeing its vibrant appearance, Li You was encouraged and inspired. He thought that since there were fish in the lake, could he find a way to catch them to solve his food problem?

But just as he thought he could try it, an even larger shadow quietly emerged from underwater.

It was a fish, a huge fish, at least five to six meters long; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a water monster. It suddenly leaped out of the water, its purplish-red body creating a violent splash.

Li You watched this scene in astonishment, instinctively assuming it was a classic case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. But an unexpected sight appeared—the fish's head suddenly ripped apart, forming a four-lobed chrysanthemum-shaped mouthpart with three layers of embedded, ring-shaped sharp teeth in the center. Its turbine-like shape was far more terrifying than a meat grinder. It bit the white bird to pieces, then flipped over and submerged into the water, as if it had never been there.

On the metal platform, Li You stood there dumbfounded, his initial enthusiasm vanishing in an instant.

What the hell is this!

If I'm not mistaken, the head of that fish was split open, right? And that lamprey-like thing in the center is its mouth, isn't it?
Is this really a fish? Even in another world, this fish looks way too abnormal!
It's like they grew up drinking nuclear wastewater!
Wait a minute... Could it be that the horrific scene of skeletons scattered all over this underwater base is related to these terrifying fish monsters in the lake?
The image of the fish monster's head splitting apart kept replaying in Li You's mind, and he suddenly felt that the water platform wasn't so safe after all. He stood up, intending to move further away from the edge of the platform, when he suddenly noticed a continuously extending line appearing in the center of the lake not far away, splitting apart to both sides in the form of waves.

It's a fish!

That fish is coming!

What cut through the lake surface was the dorsal fin of the fish monster, but when you get closer, it looks like a fleshy crown of wrinkles.

It was extremely fast. Before Li You could react, it burst out of the water and landed heavily on the platform, causing the football field-sized water platform to tremble slightly.

"Idiot!!"

At this moment, Li You was finally able to see its appearance clearly. It wasn't a purplish-red fish; rather, most of its scales had fallen off, revealing writhing flesh and growths, which gave it its current color. Its pectoral fins had been transformed into two short appendages with hooked claws on either side. Its eyeballs were grayish-white and cloudy, connected by a fleshy thread, hanging precariously outside their sockets. Inside the eye sockets, countless tiny tentacles wriggled, like swaying sea anemones.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Li You would never have believed that such a terrifying fish could exist in the world.

This is so bizarre, disgusting, and grotesque!
But now was not the time to judge beauty or ugliness. He practically catapulted towards the side tunnel leading to the underwater facility and turned around to close the door—luckily, the door wasn't broken, and there was still a simple, usable mechanical structure to lock it.

After locking the door, Li You quickly rushed down to the basement level, and then heard a loud crashing sound coming from above and behind him. It was clear that the fish monster, which had failed in its hunt, was venting its anger on the metal door.

He stood trembling in the emergency exit on the basement level for a while, listening intently until the noise subsided and there was no sign of the door being forced open. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, feeling as if he had just escaped death.

Looking at the eerily quiet and gloomy surroundings again, he suddenly found it much more pleasing to the eye. He was determined never to go out again! There were no roads outside, but if he wanted monsters, there was a lake. He didn't want to be ambushed by a water monster one day; that would be too terrifying.

Of course, there might be monsters inside the facility, but based on Li You's observations and speculations, this place had been destroyed for at least several decades, and much of the paper was so brittle that it would turn to dust at the slightest touch. Even if there were monsters in the past, they would either have starved to death or left, and in any case, it would certainly be safer than a platform on water.

Moreover, the fact that the original owner was able to stay in this facility before transmigrating can be seen as another form of proof of safety...

Okay, the original owner might have been extraordinary. But what exactly made them extraordinary is still unclear.

Afterwards, Li You descended the spiral staircase of the emergency exit. But unlike when he went upstairs, he briefly peeked into the interiors of the other floors as he went down. Although he didn't find anything interesting, he also didn't discover any potential dangers.

A few minutes later, he went back to the ninth basement level.

However, the staircase did not end here.

With a glimmer of hope, he continued down and arrived at the entrance to the tenth underground floor.

After cautiously peeking around at the entrance for a while, the scene that came into view surprised Li You slightly: "Huh...?"

Like upstairs, this place also has a lot of fluorescent vines growing, but the difference is that this floor is filled with a white mist, making everything inside appear hazy.

Why is there fog?

He became alert, picked up an unidentified hard fragment from the ground, and threw it into the mist.

The next second, a crisp sound of metal hitting the floor echoed in the room. Li You pricked up his ears to listen carefully, but apart from the echo, there was no other sound; everything was immersed in a deathly silence.

After hesitating for a moment, his gaze shifted to the bottom of the stairwell. There lay the path to the eleventh basement level, but a closed metal door blocked his way, preventing him from exploring downwards.

At the same time, he also discovered a large number of skeletons scattered in the stairwell in front of the metal door, including at least eight or nine complete human skulls, and some obvious claw marks on the walls.

This inevitably conjured a scene in Li You's mind—monsters were pouring in from the outside, forcing the people in the base to flee to deeper parts of the underwater facility. Some, in a desperate attempt to survive, closed the safety passages, leaving everyone else outside…

It was a terrible and sad thing, but thankfully, it happened many years ago... he thought, then silently turned around, hesitated for a moment, and walked directly into the fog.

……

Contrary to expectations, the fog on this level didn't feel particularly special upon entering; it wasn't damp or cold.

Li You slowly moved forward inside for a while, when suddenly a wave of drowsiness washed over him.

Is it...I'm too tired...or...the fog...? This question arose in his mind, and then he knelt down, leaning against the main stem of a thick, fluorescent vine, and fell into a deep sleep.

(End of this chapter)