Holle's thoughts deepened, and a flash of inspiration struck him. Setting aside the current situation, had the descent truly been peaceful? Had nothing gone wrong along the way?
Back then, when the anomaly in the stairwell was discovered and they decided to descend, why had they noticed the anomaly in the first place? It was because a subordinate had gone inside, and after ten minutes, hadn't emerged, thus triggering the alarm.
The question then arose:
Where had that subordinate gone?
That person had never been seen again!
When everyone learned that the subordinate hadn't returned, they had all descended. Yet, after going down, no one had ever brought up the matter of that person again.
They had simply continued their exploration downwards.
No one had stopped to consider where that person might have gone.
Why had everyone overlooked the very first person who had descended?
Clearly, their minds had been interfered with.
The journey had not been peaceful at all. At least, at the very beginning, one person's fate was unknown, yet the group had been mentally manipulated into believing it was peaceful.
And when this group encountered "anomalies" and "mysterious phenomena," would they truly all descend together, leaving no one to guard the entrance?
How could they have descended for three straight hours, reaching a depth of thirteen thousand meters?
Even when climbing the stairs – a thirteen-thousand-meter staircase, equivalent to nearly four thousand floors – could they really have climbed that high, for that long?
Holle hadn't felt anything amiss before.
But now, with his senses returning, he found it incredibly strange.
Without an elevator, climbing thirty to forty floors of stairs would exhaust anyone.
Climbing one to two hundred floors would be life-threatening.
As for climbing four thousand floors?
That was beyond human capability, wasn't it?
And their entire group had managed to accomplish it within three hours?
Whether they could apply for a Guinness World Record, Holle didn't know. But now, startled and alarmed, he understood that his thoughts and emotions had definitely been tampered with.
Otherwise, faced with the anomaly of climbing four thousand floors, or the disappearance of a bodyguard which they had dismissed as non-threatening – so many anomalies – he should have been immediately vigilant. Why was he only starting to be vigilant now?
"Where exactly is this place?"
Under the cover of night, the eerie ancient tower once again exuded an alluring pull. Holle had no desire to enter.
But after circling the surroundings, he reluctantly discovered that the area was desolate, with no houses or signs of human life.
More importantly, after walking in a circle, he found the ancient tower appearing before him once more.
This sent a chill down his spine, yet he also felt that escape was impossible.
He was certain that he had been walking in a direction away from the ancient tower.
And now, it had reappeared before him.
Analyzing this situation with his past experience of watching horror movies, there were only two possibilities.
One was that he had encountered a "ghost wall," where he appeared to be moving in one direction but was actually going in circles, thus leading him back to the ancient tower.
The other was that the ancient tower could move, and it had followed him after he left.
Holle didn't know which possibility he was facing, but he knew that no matter which it was, escape was impossible.
"Do I have to enter this ancient tower?"
Holle felt unwilling. He hadn't expected that even after resisting the ancient tower's allure with all his might, and not falling prey to its passive pull, he would ultimately have to actively enter it at the last moment.
This was truly damned!
Was this the work of demons?
Holle was armed with a firearm. Automatic weapons normally possessed lethal power and could effectively deter people.
But now, facing such a reality-altering, mind-interfering supernatural phenomenon, Holle, despite holding a gun, had little confidence in its effectiveness – over a dozen people had vanished without a trace!
Thinking of the more than ten missing people, including his own elder brother and bodyguards, fear began to creep into Holle's heart. He started to regret coming here.
Why bother?
Let the old man extend his life if he wanted to.
If he couldn't get the inheritance, so be it.
Even without inheriting the estate, his family's wealth was sufficient to ensure he lived a good life forever.
Why would a bona fide super-rich individual, instead of enjoying his life, come here to court death?
Holle took a deep breath.
This breath helped to suppress some of his fear.
"There's no other way. In this situation, I can't find the way back. To leave here, explore the surroundings, and return to the original place... the only option is to enter the ancient tower... there is no other path available."
"There's nothing I can do!"
"If I can't find a way out of here, I might starve to death!"
Some things, though known to be dangerous, must be done.
Holle had no choice.
Ever since he decided to investigate the anomaly of his father's extended lifespan at night, it meant there was no turning back. Having come this far, he couldn't retreat now.
Holle quietly approached the ancient tower. In his estimation, it was very tall, perhaps fifty stories high.
Fifty-story towers existed in reality, but they were usually bustling with people and didn't occupy a vast area.
This ancient tower, however, occupied a much larger footprint.
Nor was it as quiet and deserted as this tower.
Furthermore, although the tower was said to be fifty stories, the height of each floor was far from three meters, unlike ordinary houses, making it appear very spacious.
Holle pushed open the grand door of the ancient tower.
The long-sealed door seemed as though no one had visited for a very long time, covered in dust.
As he entered, it was pitch dark, with only his flashlight to guide him.
Holle switched on his flashlight, illuminating the scene within.
A rustling sound echoed.
It sounded like a flock of birds, or perhaps a large swarm of bats.
Holle, following the beam of his flashlight, looked upwards and saw a torrent composed of many black things passing by.
And these black things resembled the bat-like forms Holle had seen in the deeper sections of the stairwell before.
Bats.
It was a swarm of bats.
The non-aggressive nature of these bats brought Holle some relief. He had encountered similar bats in the depths of the stairwell. Not only could they be effectively dealt with using fire, but they also showed no inclination to attack humans.
In reality, there was no need to be afraid, only a slight psychological unease.
After the bats had all passed.
Holle then used his flashlight to survey the surroundings.
The interior of the ancient tower, though illuminated by moonlight filtering through the windows, was dim and the atmosphere extremely eerie.
The ground was covered in dust, as if no one had set foot here for a very long time.