Dimensional Hotel
Chapter 307: Lost Between the Doors

A tower so massive, a ship that could traverse time and space, a cult lair concealing countless secrets… how many doors might be hidden within this place?

Many. So many.

Doors connecting different floors, doors linking various rooms, doors joining distant hallways, or even just doors used to divide specific areas, serving as barriers for security. Each door now waits silently for the fateful passersby.

A team cautiously moved through the connection passage leading to the core cabin in the D-1 area, searching for traces of the intruder’s spider-silk path.

An outsider had hidden aboard this ship, attacked the first combat squad and recovery team, and infiltrated parts of the ship’s systems. Now, the surveillance system was no longer reliable, and the team had to rely on their own efforts to find the intruder.

Dressed in light-powered armor, cloaked in black robes, the Hermitage Order combatants moved with swift steps. The various sensory systems of their powered armor allowed them to “sense” even the faintest disturbances in the air—changes in temperature, magnetic fields, and every subtle motion. They had also brought along the remaining Brass Knights that were still operational, deploying some of them with optical camouflage to spread out as hidden forces throughout the team’s front, rear, and nearby passages.

Various small drones fluttered nearby, darting through ventilation shafts, maintenance ducts, and connecting passages. These drones expanded the team’s “sensory range,” keeping an eye on more potential anomalous signals.

Such arrangements maximized the chances of timely and accurate intelligence. Even if the intruder was exceptionally strong, the team would at least be forewarned, avoiding complete annihilation in a surprise attack.

Luo Nan-22, the cultivator, could not imagine any enemy capable of sneaking up on the team under these conditions and kidnapping his members. Yet a lingering unease still clung to him, as if the very air around him was soaked with it.

“Cultivator,” a low-ranking cultivator suddenly broke the silence, muttering softly into the team’s comms, “I feel like someone is watching me from nearby.”

Luo Nan-22 glanced at the low-ranking cultivator who had spoken. “Ai Lun-27, you’re being too paranoid. There’s no one nearby. My spiritual intuition hasn’t detected anything.”

“Maybe…” Ai Lun-27, the low-ranking cultivator, nodded but continued to glance nervously around.

The long corridor was brightly lit, and a faint humming noise echoed from the nearby ventilation ducts. The gravity in the area had been restored, and the air purification systems were functioning properly.

The walls on either side were adorned with metal reliefs of ancient sages, while the arched ceiling was covered with brilliant, intricate paintings depicting various prophecies. Between the figures of the sages and wise ones, hidden cameras slowly turned, scanning the hallway below.

Everything seemed perfectly normal, yet there was an inexplicable tension in the air.

Ai Lun-27 felt as though the figures in the reliefs and paintings were watching him. He even thought… “One of them blinked at me just now.”

He could have sworn that, for a brief moment, the floor beneath his feet softened, like walking on soft, warm flesh. Beneath the floor, he imagined blood flowing, faintly pulsing. Nerve fibers seemed to stretch through the steel above him, echoing with the hum of electrical interference. Every wall seemed to hide malicious eyes, watching the prey walking between them—a strong, terrifying “impression” flooded his mind. For some inexplicable reason, Ai Lun-27 had these nightmarish associations, but in an instant, the malevolent feeling vanished, leaving him with the sensation of having dreamed a fleeting, absurd dream.

Was it because of the shameful flaw hidden in his genes? Or perhaps his initial self had too many neuro-sensitivity adjustments during the child generation process?

Ai Lun-27 shook his head, checking the detection data transmitted by his powered armor once more—everything appeared normal.

The team was now crossing the gate at the end of the D-1 area, heading toward the core zone.

It was near this gate that the previous combat squad had vanished.

But there were no signs of battle here.

Luo Nan-22 led the team, carefully checking the surrounding area before stepping through the gate first.

Ai Lun-27 walked at the rear, watching his comrades pass through the gate, their figures continuing down the opposite corridor, moving in a perfectly normal fashion. But for some reason, he felt that something was off.

It was as though the people crossing through the door hadn’t really reached the other side of the corridor. It seemed like everything he was seeing might just be an illusion.

The people around him seemed to fade away, and when the last team member crossed the door, Ai Lun-27 felt as though he was left alone, standing all by himself in the long corridor.

“Cultivator!” He stopped in front of the gate and suddenly shouted, “Something’s wrong!”

“Why are you over there?” Luo Nan-22 cultivator turned around, his expression one of irritation as he glanced in this direction. “Hurry up and come here!”

“I told you, cultivator, something’s wrong—I can feel it!” Ai Lun-27 gasped for breath, his heart pounding fiercely in his chest, a surge of indescribable impulse racing through his nerves. “Come back quickly! There’s a problem where you are!”

But Luo Nan-22 cultivator remained motionless, standing across from the door, staring blankly at Ai Lun-27, alongside the other Hermitage Members who had already crossed through the door.

Through the thick tactical helmet, Ai Lun-27 could almost feel the weight of their gaze, pressing on him.

“Brothers… sisters?” Something gripped at his throat, his voice tinged with an indescribable discomfort. “Are… are you really over there?”

Luo Nan-22 stood still, silently watching him, not speaking.

Suddenly, a sharp pain surged through Ai Lun-27’s head, as if his very nerves were being torn apart. He felt a tightness in his chest as a massive dose of spirit vision drugs flooded into his spine. The warning sound from his powered armor screeched painfully in his ears—and at that moment, as the drugs took effect, he finally saw it…

A pair of cold, pale gray eyes, almost as if drained of all color.

It wasn’t a “connection corridor” on the other side, but a strange hall, filled with fully armed Special Affairs Bureau Operatives.

Ai Lun-27 sucked in a sharp breath and turned to run!

At the same time, he quickly activated every communication channel in his powered armor, frantically calling out to every communicator he could reach—

“The door! The door is compromised! Don’t go near the ship’s doors!”

But only harsh static came through the comms.

Ai Lun-27 stopped, slowly lifting his head.

The ancient sages seemed to look down at him, shaking their heads in resignation. Metal reliefs, like flowing mud, dripped from “them” and piled at his feet, slowly binding his limbs. The ground beneath him softened, rippling like waves, gradually pushing him toward the nearest door.

The corridor filled with strange, metallic slithering sounds, mingled with Ai Lun-27’s repeated cries: “The door is compromised! Don’t go near the ship’s doors! The door is compromised! The door is compromised—”

…

Bai Li Qing turned her head, looking at the Hermitage Members who still stood motionless, allowing nearby Special Affairs Bureau Operatives to dismantle their powered armor without resistance. She gently rubbed her eyes.

Further away, the open ground was strewn with the dismantled parts of brass knights, and the remains of the “mud” substance had been reduced to ash.

Song Cheng stood by, watching as the last Hermitage Member was “thrown” in this direction. Unlike the previous ones who had approached quietly, this one immediately began shouting and even tried to attack the nearby deep dive operatives with his weapon. Fortunately, Xu Jiali acted swiftly, disarming the aggressor with a few quick moves.

“There aren’t many who can stay conscious under your gaze,” Song Cheng remarked with a hint of admiration. “There are some real talents among these people.”

“He’s drugged,” Xu Jiali muttered from nearby, lifting his head as the muffled sounds of his powered armor helmet came through. He had just checked on the Hermitage Member he’d knocked out, his tone now tinged with regret. “Even if we save him, he’ll be drooling like a vegetable. His brain’s practically fried from the spirit vision drugs.”

“…Let’s take him to the medical room first,” Song Cheng said, waving his hand. “The more live prisoners, the more intel we can gather. We need to figure out how these people got in here and what they want in Boundary City.”

The new batch of prisoners was quickly taken away, along with the previous two groups, all sent to the same containment facility.

Bai Li Qing and Song Cheng remained at the door, waiting.

The scene was quiet, but the atmosphere was tense.

Song Cheng glanced at the director beside him, several times wanting to say something.

After a while, he couldn’t hold back anymore. “Director, do you think… if we look at this from the public’s perspective, we should be the righteous ones, and these Hermitage Order people are the villains?”

Bai Li Qing turned her head to look at him.

“…Why does this feel like the roles have switched?” Song Cheng’s lips twitched. “I’ve done countless heretic cultist arrests before, and it never felt like this.”

Bai Li Qing’s expression remained neutral. “As long as we solve the problem and ensure Borderland’s safety, the little details don’t matter.”

“…You’re right.”

Just then, Bai Li Qing’s phone buzzed again.

She picked it up, her eyes slightly changing as she glanced at the screen.

Song Cheng immediately knew it was a message from Yu Sheng—only someone like him could get a change in expression from the usually impassive director.

“What did Yu Sheng say?”

Bai Li Qing replied, “He asked me if the Special Affairs Bureau knows what the ‘holy coffin’ of the artificial Saintess looks like.”

Song Cheng blinked. “…What’s he up to?”

Bai Li Qing sighed lightly. “He wants to try bringing the entire artificial Saintess system over—Saintess herself, the holy coffin, and the supporting maintenance systems.”

Song Cheng’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s… quite an astonishing idea.”

“…It certainly is.”

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation