Scarlet Descent

Bang! Shakalaka!

Just as Wei Wei stepped into the elevator, the faint sound of explosive music buzzed in his ears, forcibly drilling into his eardrums like an annoying fly.

Judging by the volume, it seemed not far away.

He slightly tilted his head to discern the source, his gaze sweeping over the old elevator buttons labeled for floors B1 to 9. Pressing his lips together, he chose the third floor.

The elevator doors slowly closed. A faint sense of dizziness emerged as the red digital numbers began to change.

From one to two, then to three.

When the elevator doors opened, the faint explosive music abruptly ceased. Outside the elevator was a vast expanse of empty darkness.

A faint cool breeze wafted in, as if someone were exhaling ghostly cold air against the back of his neck.

By the dim light spilling out from the elevator, it became apparent that outside was an unfinished space—bare concrete columns and dusty floors devoid of any human presence. Torn plastic bags rolled lightly across the ground, resembling weightless human heads.

Wrong floor.

Wei Wei pressed the close button and returned to the first floor.

Exiting the elevator, he walked outside and took another look at the building.

It was an abandoned structure on the outskirts of town, standing desolate and incomplete. Ten stories tall, its gaping floors were devoid of glass windows, each level resembling a greedy black mouth.

Peering in from outside, there were no signs of life anywhere in this building.

It didn’t even seem like there should be electricity here.

Yet somehow, there was not only electricity but also a functioning elevator. That alone suggested something was amiss.

Wei Wei furrowed his brow and returned to the elevator, deciding to try a more direct approach.

He pressed every button from floors 1 through 9 before drawing a handgun and aiming it at the elevator's control panel.

His pupils turned faintly red as if blood vessels were writhing within them. In a low voice, he threatened:

"Go up."

The elevator trembled slightly, as if shivering in fear. Then its display changed, rapidly ascending.

When it reached the third floor again, an unusual sensation of weightlessness suddenly struck his mind. It felt as though the elevator was plummeting downward at high speed.

Wei Wei nodded lightly, holstering his gun before turning to observe the elevator interior.

This peculiar weightlessness only meant two possibilities:

First, the elevator had malfunctioned.

Second, he had found a folded space — a hidden dimension. Bang! Shakalaka!

When the elevator doors opened this time, intense and shocking music mixed with alcohol fumes and dazzling colored lights assaulted him head-on.

Wei Wei squinted slightly and looked up at the chaotic scene before him.

Multicolored lights spun erratically like they were having seizures, casting beams of varying lengths that seemed intent on slicing this world into fragments.

Though somewhat tacky, the adrenaline-pumping music surged repeatedly like waves crashing against a ceiling.

Fashionably dressed men and women—clad in overly revealing outfits—shook their heads wildly on a crowded dance floor. From afar, they resembled wriggling earthworms swaying back and forth.

Wei Wei’s face briefly flashed with disdain as he observed this chaotic world.

He cast a stern glance back at the elevator as if warning it to behave itself.

Then he took a deep breath to suppress the surging desire within him. Keeping his composure steady and his steps deliberate, he walked out from the unnoticed corner by the elevator into this bizarre and garish world while casually rolling up his sleeves.

On both sides of him were countless people recklessly squandering their lives:

Someone shoved a large bottle of whiskey into their mouth, gulping it down like water. Their face turned purplish-red from severe alcohol poisoning, yet they unhesitatingly grabbed another bottle.

Another person wore a white hospital gown. Their face was sallow; lips purplish; eyes unfocused. Clearly on their deathbed and lying on a moving stretcher sustained by IV fluids alone—they still had a nurse shove a plastic tube into their mouth so they could inhale water vapor from it with all their remaining strength. Their emaciated chest heaved incessantly as they sucked desperately on that pipe.

Yet another was gambling—rapidly stabbing between their spread fingers with a sharp knife.

With a shhht sound, they slipped up. The blade severed most of their finger except for a thin strip of skin holding it together.

Excitedly pulling off that dangling piece of flesh entirely, they displayed it proudly to those nearby.

The surrounding crowd cheered loudly in approval, urging them to cut off another finger for fun.

In this cacophony of madness, Wei Wei found an unoccupied corner where he discovered that drinks were free here. He grabbed a beer and began drinking leisurely.

Immediately, several disdainful gazes turned toward him from nearby patrons.

Wei Wei understood this group’s peculiar hierarchy: The more recklessly one wasted their life here, the more admiration they garnered.

Uninterested in competing with them over such nonsense, he contentedly enjoyed his free beer instead.

Bang! Shakalaka!

The bar's atmosphere grew increasingly frenzied; music volume climbed higher and higher in monotonous yet agitating loops.

Men and women in every corner became progressively crazier—their multicolored hair whipping about wildly.

When midnight struck one o’clock sharp—and as massive clouds of dry ice suddenly rose from center stage—the energy reached its peak crescendo.

Everyone howled along with chaotic music while raising their hands high as if anticipating something monumental about to happen.

Even Wei Wei straightened up slightly where he sat alone in his corner; his fingers drummed absentmindedly against tabletop woodgrain beneath them...

As the Gothic DJ emerged from the iron door, his dramatic entrance captivated the crowd. His appearance—half-shaven head with the remaining hair styled into sharp spikes, glittering jacket adorned with studs, and dark makeup—exuded both arrogance and mystique.

He raised his hand in rhythm with the music, eliciting an even greater frenzy from the audience below.

The two masked men who followed him carried a black statue onto the stage.

The idol depicted a serene goddess with a compassionate expression, her feet resting on clouds as though she were a celestial being gazing down upon the mortal world. Her presence seemed to exude an aura of sanctity.

"Love life... Embrace life..." whispered voices echoed through the room as if in collective prayer. The chaotic bar scene transformed into something akin to a sacred ritual.

The music softened, and the crowd's fervor turned into a reverent silence. They bowed toward the statue, their faces filled with awe and devotion.

Under the rotating lights, something imperceptible seemed to emanate from the statue—a mysterious energy that sprinkled over the crowd. The effects were immediate: those who had been on the brink of alcohol poisoning regained a healthy flush; others who had been debilitated moments ago stood up with renewed vigor; severed fingers began to regenerate before their owners' eyes.

The crowd's excitement reached its peak as they witnessed these miraculous transformations. They cheered wildly, their joy bordering on madness.

Wei Wei, however, remained seated in his corner, his expression cold and detached. To him, this was no miracle but rather an abomination. The vitality that surged through these people was unnatural—corrupted life energy that defied the natural order. They were like puppets on strings, celebrating their false sense of freedom.

He sighed softly and pulled out his tablet to document his findings:

"Class-1 Hazard discovered."

He paused briefly before typing out his plan of action:

"Solution: Adhere strictly to Foundation protocols. Provide kind guidance and persuasion to lead these misguided individuals back onto the right path."

Satisfied with his report, Wei Wei smiled faintly before putting away his tablet. Then he drew two guns from his holsters and began inspecting them meticulously. The golden bullets gleamed under the dim light, their red-tipped heads radiating a sense of reliability.

With calm determination, he loaded the magazines and chambered a round in each weapon. Rising from his seat, he moved purposefully through the frenzied crowd, checking for any exits on this floor. Upon finding none, he secured all potential escape routes with heavy chains.

Returning to the main hall, Wei Wei smashed the light switch with a single punch, plunging the room into near darkness save for the erratic flashes of colored lights. Gripping his guns tightly, he muttered to himself:

"Persuading people to do good... That’s my favorite thing."