The night was dead quiet, with the moonlight softly shining down.
Outta nowhere, whispers started floating in the wind, creeping into my ears.
I was posted southwest of the power station, just behind a wire fence, nervously waiting for the physical army to show up. This was gonna be my first face-to-face with an entity.
Meanwhile, Jiu was busting his butt trying to fix the generator. Once it's up and running, it's gonna make a crazy loud noise, and only when that dies down will the power station kick in properly.
I was scratching my head, wondering why the hell the power station would make such a racket after being fixed, when Jiu dropped this wisdom on me: in the Backrooms, safety's always got a price, especially in a Level 5 death trap like this.
Just as I was zoning out, a piercing alarm went off behind me. Suddenly, a swarm of kites filled the sky.
I swear, I've never seen so many kites swirling around like that.
Jiu had already clued me in on what these kites meant. They're called warning kites, friendly entities that pop up in most outdoor levels.
When danger's close, they warn wanderers by flying in the opposite direction of the threat.
As they fly over, they let out this creepy childlike laughter. The louder the laugh, the bigger the danger; the more kites, the worse it is.
Right now, there were thousands of these kites above us, swirling and laughing like crazy.
I thought to myself, bitterly, does this mean we're surrounded and there's no way out?
Then, outta nowhere, a freaky smiling face appeared outside the iron gate.
The smile was huge, and those white teeth were glaring in the dark. Yup, it was a Smiling Mask.
The Smiling Mask seemed to be a signal. Right after, more and more smiling faces started popping up outside the fence, like they'd just materialized from the dark street.
Seeing this, I quickly grabbed two bottles of almond water from my backpack, popped the caps, and splashed it outside the fence.
Almond water's the best way to deal with Smiling Masks, and Jiu had hooked me up with plenty before we came.
With those two bottles, I managed to push the Smiling Masks back, even if I didn't take them out.
If I'd been alone with that many Smiling Masks, I'd have been toast.
But with the fence between us and all this almond water, I wasn't too worried.
The Smiling Masks in Level 9 aren't the real threat. I knew the most dangerous entity hadn't shown up yet.
Just as I was thinking that, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness outside the fence.
It was dragging a massive iron rod, its red body looking all skinny and weak. But anyone who's faced it knows the terror hidden in that frail frame.
When it saw me, it opened its toothless mouth and let out a continuous roar.
From Jiu's briefing, I knew this was a Sad Corpse, one of the most common and terrifying entities in Level 9!
It raised the iron rod high and brought it down with what seemed like a casual swing, but the impact dented the fence!
I quickly grabbed my gun and started shooting at the Sad Corpse.
Almond water doesn't do much against Sad Corpses, but a gun's the quickest way to take them down. Since it was my first time firing a gun, I ended up wasting a few rounds on the laughing mask next to me, and my hand was killing me from the recoil. But after emptying the magazine, I finally landed a few shots on the Sad Corpse. Luckily, one of them hit it right in the head. The Sad Corpse slowly collapsed, and instead of blood, some weird transparent liquid oozed out. It was too dark to tell what it was.
At this moment, I could hear gunfire coming from all directions. Compared to other areas, our situation seemed pretty manageable. After taking down the Sad Corpse, a few more showed up, but the barbed wire kept them at bay. Before they could break through, I managed to shoot them all down.
Every now and then, some hunting dogs and death moths would appear outside the fence, but a splash of almond water was enough to send them packing. After several waves of attacks, I didn't feel too threatened—in fact, I was starting to relax a bit. But I didn't let my guard down completely. Jiu and the others had way more experience in Level 9 than I did, and they'd all said this defense mission was a nine-out-of-ten chance of death. So, I knew there had to be some seriously dangerous entities out there—it's just that "it" hadn't shown up yet.
By now, there weren't many entities left in front of me, and the noise from the power station was gradually fading. But I didn't dare relax because I knew the most dangerous things often show up at the last minute. Just as I was thinking that, I suddenly heard Jiu's distant shout: "Everyone… Danger… Rally up!"
Hearing that, I quickly grabbed my backpack and bolted toward the power station. As I was running, I caught a glimpse of a massive creature crawling rapidly along the barbed wire to my left.
A chill ran down my spine, and I picked up the pace. When I reached the power station, chaos had broken out. The northeast corner, where Lu had been guarding, had been breached, and a flood of Smiling Masks, Skin Stealers, and Sad Corpses had poured in. The rest of the team was locked in a fierce battle with them.
As soon as I arrived, I didn't have time to chat with the others because several Skin Stealers were already charging at me. Luckily, I'd prepared almond water beforehand. Facing them, I threw it at them and quickly pulled out my gun to shoot. I was close enough to take them down after emptying the magazine. As for the Sad Corpses, Jiu and the others handled them. I was weaker, so I focused on taking out lone Skin Stealers and hunting dogs.
Thankfully, everyone in the Wandering Adventurers Alliance was highly skilled. Despite some minor injuries, we managed to clear out the entities. What excited me most was that the noise from the power station had finally stopped, and with a loud "bang," all the lights on the barbed wire lit up, driving away the darkness.
But Jiu's face was still pale. He asked us, "Did anyone see a black shadow on the barbed wire just now?" I quickly said, "I saw it." The other four team members also solemnly confirmed they'd seen it.
As soon as we finished speaking, Jiu suddenly raised his gun and shouted, "Be on guard! Be on guard! The Neighborhood Watch has appeared!" I spun around and saw a massive monster lying on the barbed wire behind me!
It had no body—just a huge, bloodshot eyeball, and beneath it were six long, reddish-brown tentacle-like legs. The Neighborhood Watch was perched on the barbed wire, its giant eye staring intently at us, occasionally turning as if observing something. The six of us were on edge, and at that moment, Jiu whispered to me, "When it charges, stay close to me and keep watch. I suspect there might be other 'Watchers' nearby. If they show up, shoot to alert us."
I nodded.
Jiu had told me about this entity before. It was a Level 9 entity, even more dangerous than a Sad Corpse, and it was a type of Watcher—basically, a giant eyeball.
In this level of battle, I couldn't do much. My only job was to warn them.
I slowly moved to the side.
At that moment, the Watcher on the barbed wire suddenly leaped forward, and in the blink of an eye, it was right in front of us.
Its six slender legs moved rapidly, and in an instant, it grabbed one of the team members and hurled him high into the air.
But Jiu, with his incredible jumping ability, leaped up and caught the team member. The rest of the team opened fire.
With the "tut-tut" of the machine gun, even though the Watcher had thick skin, it couldn't withstand the barrage and began to retreat.
Just as the Watcher was near the barbed wire, a white beam suddenly shot out from its giant eyeball, aiming straight at Jiu. His body seemed to move uncontrollably toward the Watcher's eye.
But Jiu's reflexes were lightning-fast. He quickly pulled out a spray canister and, as he got closer to the Watcher's eye, sprayed it forcefully. ...