Apocalypse Star House Hoarding

Chapter 233

The nighttime exploration was not going smoothly.

To ensure they didn’t miss a single clue, their plan was to filter through each floor starting from the 19th. However, unlike what they had imagined, the floors above the 19th were still filled with various offices, archives, and large exhibition halls.

The two of them randomly chose an office to sneak into and flipped through some documents. They quickly realized why the floors above the 19th were left unmarked—this section handled a large amount of commercial data, and many projects were strictly confidential.

Before Lin Wu’s death, his background was similar to the identity assigned to him in this mission world. He had worked as a military doctor for several years and had followed troops into Third World countries, directly facing warfare. He was skilled in many areas.

With the accumulation of experience from one world after another after entering the system tower, his survival abilities had reached their peak.

However, when it came to corporate projects and commercial documents in a peaceful world like this, he had almost no exposure. As for Yu Xi, it was even worse—before being bound to Star House and embarking on her apocalypse missions, she had been a home-based artist, and the only documents she had ever dealt with were commission contracts.

After skimming through the documents, they found no further useful information.

Starting from the 15th floor, the building contained various suite-like rest areas designated for high-level researchers to stay and rest.

They made their way up to the 31st floor and hid in the stairwell without rushing out.

The internal structure here was clearly different from the lower floors. The corridor was spacious, and at its center was a glass conservatory densely filled with greenery, surrounding an open-air area. Inside, there were even small animals being kept. The ceiling was twice as high as the floors below, seemingly merging two floors into one. The security measures here were obviously different from the 30 floors below. Even the security guards’ uniforms were different—not just ordinary suits, but tactical riot gear. Their helmets, vests, and joints were all well-protected, and each guard was equipped with a baton.

Yu Xi and Lin Wu exchanged silent glances in the darkness. The virus software Lin Wu had placed in the lower surveillance center might not be able to block the cameras here.

To be cautious, they waited in place for a while. During this time, Lin Wu pulled out a stun baton and handed it to Yu Xi. When the patrolling security guards passed by, they simultaneously dragged them into a hidden corner and knocked them unconscious. Then, they stripped the two of their riot gear in a utility room on the lower floor, gagged them, tied them up, and placed them in a hidden corner of a storage rack.

Yu Xi and Lin Wu quickly put on the riot gear, took the batons and access cards, and began patrolling openly, disguised as security personnel.

**

Starting from this floor, the building contained various laboratories. Some labs had large glass panels facing the corridor, allowing them to see inside at a glance.

At this hour, most labs were dark, with only faint lights from various instruments.

Some of the lab windows were slightly open, and Yu Xi could hear rustling sounds inside—animals moving in their cages.

In a few labs, she even heard human breathing. Peering through the narrow windows, they caught glimpses of people lying on experiment tables, some wearing metal helmets connected to numerous data cables.

Many of the machines here were completely unfamiliar to Yu Xi, radiating an advanced technological aura. She had no idea what kind of experiments were being conducted.

Suppressing their discomfort, they checked the rooms one by one but felt that none of these were the hidden lab they were looking for.

Although ordinary people could not reach this floor, and the research being conducted was unknown, the labs were arranged in a circular formation around the central greenhouse, clearly visible at a glance. This was far from being a concealed facility.

The elevators serving this section were separate from those in the lower floors, and the emergency staircases were also independent. Even if someone accidentally wandered up to the 31st floor, they would immediately be noticed by security and sent back down.

Finding the staircase leading further up, they prepared to leave this floor and continue their search when Yu Xi suddenly glanced toward the central greenhouse.

“What is it?” Lin Wu asked in a low voice.

“I feel like… something is watching me,” Yu Xi frowned. Her heightened senses sometimes picked up false signals—subtle shifts in the wind or minor noises could trigger a strong reaction. “There are animals inside the greenhouse, so maybe it’s just my imagination.”

From the 31st to the 40th floor, every two levels were combined into one, forming five large floors, all filled with various laboratories and testing rooms. Almost every research project the company was involved in had its own dedicated lab here.

When they reached the 41st floor, they were taken aback by what they saw.

Above this level, the entire building was an open space. The central area remained a greenhouse, while the perimeter near the glass walls featured tables and chairs, resembling a scenic café and relaxation area.

However, this area was likely reserved for executives and top researchers.

Unlike the floors below, the greenhouse here was not enclosed in glass but was a completely open space. The garden’s design was sleek and futuristic, built like a tiered pyramid from bottom to top, with each step covered in plants.

The higher it went, the smaller the structure became, until it seamlessly merged with the ceiling of the building.

There were no more floors above this—the upper section had been entirely opened up, forming a vast sky lounge.

A small waterfall flowed as part of the design, with the gentle sound of cascading water filling the quiet atmosphere. The surrounding lights were dim, creating a serene ambiance.

Yu Xi and Lin Wu had not expected the space above the 41st floor to be like this. Aside from the café and the greenhouse, there were no other rooms—just an open space encased by glass walls, making it impossible to hide a secret lab here.

“This is the top,” Yu Xi observed. “Could the lab be underground instead?”

“You mean a subterranean facility? The lower levels of the building aren’t restricted. I checked on my first day here—there’s nothing unusual in the parking garage, and I inspected the elevator shafts too. No signs of hidden access.”

Lin Wu pondered for a moment before adding, “What if the hidden lab isn’t in this building at all?”

“It can’t be,” Yu Xi said, glancing at her phone. The instructions were clear—’Explore the Nuo’ai Building.’ The interference time of the virus software was almost up. If they stayed here any longer, they might be captured by surveillance cameras on their way down.

Since they hadn’t found the hidden laboratory, it meant they had to continue staying at Nuo’ai. They couldn’t afford to expose themselves yet.

Lin Wu understood her thoughts. The two of them shared an unspoken agreement and decided to retreat for now.

They quickly returned to the 31st floor and used the external stairwell to reach the utility room. The two security guards were still in the same place, unconscious, but from their appearances, they would wake up soon.

Yu Xi and Lin Wu swiftly removed their riot gear, redressed the guards in it, and placed them inside the stairwell near the door. Then, they quickly made their way downstairs.

The movements during this process caused the two security guards to wake up.

At first, they were startled, their faces turning pale at the thought of the consequences of dereliction of duty. However, they soon realized that their weapons and access cards were still intact, with nothing missing. Both of them let out a breath of relief.

“What just happened?”

“Shh, don’t talk. Nothing happened.” The other guard immediately gestured for silence. “Nothing was stolen, no one noticed—so nothing happened.”

“But—”

“But what? Do you want to be transferred inside? The people who go in there never come back…”

The other guard’s face immediately changed upon recalling the rumors. “But… things outside aren’t looking good either. There have already been several incidents near where I live… Brother Ying mentioned it while eating in the security room last time. He said things have already spiraled out of control, and it’s only going to get worse…”

“Brother Ying? Then why don’t you think about this—since he said those things, have you seen him again?”

“Wasn’t he transferred?”

“Heh, transferred? You’re too naïve.”

“You mean… he was taken… inside?”

“Shh.”

“What do we do? I’m scared…”

“The outside isn’t safe either. Just keep your head down for now. Stay low-key…”

Two floors below, Yu Xi and Lin Wu, who had yet to leave, exchanged glances.

Inside?

**

The next morning, the two of them sat in a corner of a café, reorganizing the clues they had gathered.

Yu Xi glanced across the street at the Nuo’ai building. Under the sunlight, the fully glass-paneled skyscraper stood tall, dazzling and imposing.

She carefully counted the sections of glass on each floor and lightly sketched on her notepad. Before long, a detailed three-dimensional structure of the building emerged on the paper.

She even marked the exact locations of the elevators and stairwells.

Lin Wu leaned in to examine her drawing while mentally reviewing their route from the previous night.

In truth, the entire Nuo’ai building was nearly transparent with no apparent blind spots. Its outer walls were made of glass, and the interior was largely open. The only place that could potentially house a hidden lab remained between the 31st and 40th floors.

Lin Wu tapped that section of the blueprint. “We should try investigating it again over the next couple of days. If that doesn’t work, we should check out the station first. Between the two of us, we have four opportunities to confirm its location. The situation in the city is deteriorating, and if things really descend into chaos, veteran travelers will use the opportunity to plunder resources and ambush newcomers. It’ll be much harder to locate and confirm the station then.”

Yu Xi nodded. Lin Wu’s concern was valid—just before dawn, multiple online platforms had simultaneously released over a dozen videos of violent attacks.

Although those videos were swiftly taken down, just like the two security guards had said, things had already spiraled out of control.

Neither the people at Nuo’ai nor the authorities could respond to incidents as quickly as before. With the ‘Mirror World’ appearing more frequently and more people being affected, fear and panic were spreading.

And the more people panicked, the higher the chances of triggering the Mirror World—an escalating cycle of destruction. The collapse of order was only a matter of time.

While Lin Wu focused on analyzing the 31st to 40th floors, Yu Xi’s gaze shifted toward the uppermost part of the building. As someone who enjoyed drawing and had a strong sense of logic, she had an acute perception of spatial structures.

Looking at the highest nine floors of Nuo’ai from the outside, she felt a clear sense of discrepancy compared to their experience inside the open-air scenic space the night before.

After a brief pause, she muttered, “Two floors are missing.”

“What?”

Yu Xi looked down at the 3D blueprint she had drawn, her pen tapping the area above the 41st floor. “This space—the open-air scenic area we explored last night—it’s shorter than the actual external structure. Each floor of this building is about 2.8 meters high. From the 41st to the 49th floor, there should be a total height of approximately 25 meters. But last night, the interior space we were in definitely wasn’t more than 10 meters tall.”

As she spoke, Yu Xi shaded in the top two floors of her 3D sketch. “Here. There’s another space, right above the mid-air scenic area.”

Lin Wu frowned and immediately voiced his skepticism. “If there’s another space above that, where’s the stairway or elevator leading up to it? Don’t forget—this area has no visible floors. The glass walls are completely transparent, visible from all sides. If the hidden lab was really up there, how would they get up themselves? They wouldn’t be using a helicopter every time, would they? We would’ve noticed something that obvious.”

Yu Xi moved her pen again, this time pointing at the pyramid-shaped plant structure in the center of the mid-air scenic space. “Here. In the entire area, this is the only possible blind spot. And remember, this plant pyramid is connected to the ceiling.”

“Yes, it’s connected.” Lin Wu took her pen and drew a vertical shaft through the middle of the “pyramid.” “Because this section is hollow in the center—wait, you forgot something. This is the central part of the building. If there’s a hidden elevator or stairway, the least likely place for it is right here—”

He abruptly stopped speaking, staring at the vertical shaft he had just drawn. Suddenly, a realization struck him like a lightning bolt. He immediately told Yu Xi to pack up their things—they needed to get back to the company.

“What’s wrong?”

“I have a theory—we might have tricked ourselves into believing what our ears and eyes told us!” Lin Wu’s eyes gleamed with clarity.

**

The deception of the ears came from commonly accepted “facts.” Everything—whether it was online information, company brochures, or word-of-mouth—had mentioned that Nuo’ai’s central open space ran through the entire building.

The deception of the eyes was because every visitor to the company instinctively looked up to admire the sunlight pouring in from the highest point.

But was what they saw really the sky and sunlight?

Was everything they heard truly real?

Did the central hollow space truly extend through the entire building?

Over half an hour later, after separately observing the central hollow area from the lobby and various floors, Lin Wu and Yu Xi reconvened in a private changing room.

“How was it?” Lin Wu asked.

Yu Xi nodded. “You were right. The hollow space only extends up to around the 39th or 40th floor. Beyond that, what looks like an open space is actually a highly advanced digital screen—probably one that projects real-time footage of the rooftop sky, making it look seamless. Even changes in sunlight and cloud movement are perfectly replicated.”

She modified her 3D drawing again, shading in the so-called “hollow” section above the 40th floor.

Since that area wasn’t actually open, the hidden elevator or stairway had to be there.

Lin Wu tapped the section between the 31st and 40th floors. “The entrance must be somewhere in this area. We go back tonight.”

Yu Xi nodded in agreement.

That night, they changed their route, once again knocking out the two guards on the 31st floor. With practiced efficiency, they donned riot gear and helmets.

This time, their target was the central plant conservatory.

They quickly located the entrance to the glass greenhouse on the 31st floor. The security pass from the guards granted them access. As they navigated through the dense greenery, they discovered a spiral staircase hidden among the plants.

The staircase was securely locked behind a heavy iron gate, resembling a birdcage. Yu Xi glanced at the two thick locks above, then, without using any tools, simply grabbed them and snapped them apart.

Lin Wu: …

The spiral staircase ascended approximately nine floors. At the top, they reached an elevator lobby. Judging by its location and size, it should be directly beneath the base of the pyramid-shaped plant structure on the 41st floor.

Inside the lobby, there was only one elevator. From the exterior, it resembled a panoramic observation elevator. Running a hand over the surface, Lin Wu confirmed it was made of glass—but now, that glass had been entirely blacked out.

Before being hidden, this elevator must have once provided a stunning ascent through the mid-air scenic space, offering breathtaking views.

But now, the atmosphere was entirely different. The lighting in the elevator lobby was dim. The walls were old and worn, exuding an eerie coldness—an absolute contrast to the grandeur of the scenic area below.

The elevator doors could be opened, but their access cards didn’t allow them to operate it.

“Manual, then,” Yu Xi said, retrieving a set of climbing gloves and hooks, handing a pair to Lin Wu.

Lin Wu took them and expertly fastened the gear. As he surveyed the area, he muttered, “Strange… there aren’t any surveillance cameras here.”

Yu Xi had already noticed. Not only were there no cameras, but anything with reflective surfaces was also absent—even the walls inside the elevator had been covered with wooden panels.

They pried open the emergency exit hatch at the top of the elevator and swiftly climbed through, closing it behind them. Then, using the elevator cables, they skillfully ascended to the next floor, stopping in front of the upper elevator doors.

Yu Xi pressed her ear against the door for a moment. Sensing no movement outside, she forced the doors open.

Beyond was complete darkness. They had ascended past the mid-air scenic area—there really was another space up here.

A sealed-off, pitch-black space.

The surroundings were lined with old laboratory rooms. The walls and floors bore dark, dried stains.

The smell in the air, along with the shape of the stains, made it clear.

Blood.

Nuo’ai’s hidden laboratory wasn’t just one room.

It was an entire two floors of abandoned labs.

…

Thingyan: Next chapter is password locked. Please find the password in TOC.