In the dark, damp room filled with the smell of mildew, there were eight sets of bunk beds lined with wooden boards.
The heavy iron door was shut tight, no windows, housing thirteen people in the room with only a vent of twenty centimeters squared on the ceiling.
The smell of sweat, foot odor, and unknown peculiar odors mixed into a sour stink that made people want to retch.
Seven of the eight bunk beds were lined on both sides, only one was placed awkwardly in the middle of the aisle, seeming abrupt and out of place.
What stood out more was that the other seven bunk beds were all extremely messy, with ragged clothes, quilts, and socks piled chaotically. Only that one bed was very tidy, though the clothes and bedding were also old, they were cleaned and organized well.
Most of the clutter was stacked on the lower bunk, with the upper bunk having quilt folded into neat blocks, with a person sitting beside it.
A woman appeared to be in her twenties, perhaps could be described as beautiful if not for the scar across her entire cheek.
Now, if one were to use a word to describe her appearance, fierce might be more suitable.
In the room of a dozen, there was only this one woman. Her ability to occupy a whole bunk wasn't due to some "ladies first" principle, in fact, gentlemen didn't exist in such a place.
The woman's name was A Fei, like the word 'bandit', nobody in the room knew her last name, nor did anyone dare to ask.
Because in this room, she was the boss.
At this moment, A Fei was sizing up a man, a man who had just appeared in the room today.
Prior to today, there were only seven left in the room, today six more young, strong men were brought in.
This had happened countless times before, A Fei had long been used to it, even considered it a form of entertainment. After all, in this place, there wasn't much for amusement besides watching the rookies' expressions of fear, confusion, and helplessness, one of the few pleasures or soul comforts reminding one they were still alive.
A Fei had some interest before, but now she was numb, no mood for such boring activities.
During her nearly three years here, A Fei had met numerous newbies, but a newcomer like this man was the first she'd seen.
Those sent here usually had no choice, none would willingly come to such a hellhole, especially given the mortality rate is at twenty percent, which means two out of ten die each week on average.
Anyone who came to this place and didn't go crazy was already doing well, none had the mood for a silly grin.
But the young man had kept a smile on his face since arriving in the room.
Though that smile wasn't charming, it appeared unusually bright in a hellhole like this, even seeming somewhat glaring.
"Newcomer, what's your name?" A Fei spoke as if the smile made her uncomfortable, squinting at the young man.
"What are you staring at? Sister Fei is asking you a question!" Shouted a burly man in shorts from the side bed.
"Me? I'm Li Xiu." The young man realized A Fei was talking to him, smiled and answered, showing off two rows of very white and handsome teeth.
"What did you do to get in?" A Fei frowned, she was quite unaccustomed to the young man's smile.
"I didn't do anything." Li Xiu shook his head in reply.
"If you didn't do anything how would you end up here?" A Fei did not believe Li Xiu at all; no crime means there's no way he ended up in such a hellhole.
"Because someone told me this is a paradise for men, so I came." Li Xiu responded earnestly.
Ha ha!
Thunderous laughter erupted, the "veterans" laughed so hard they almost couldn't catch their breath.
"Right, right, it truly is a paradise for men here, you'll be in heaven soon." The burly man who yelled at Li Xiu laughed and said.
A Fei stared at Li Xiu, unsure if he was genuinely naive or playing dumb. Regardless of which, neither worked here; survival depended only on one's own strength and luck.
Decades ago, a bizarre organism suddenly appeared on Earth, nearly destroying human civilization.
Until a weapon known as "Demon Armor" was developed, humanity finally had a chance to breathe.
Together with those creatures called "soul demons" by humans, many mysterious doors appeared. The soul demons seemed to come from inside those doors.
Those ancient, bizarre, mysterious doors scattered globally, humans tried using various weapons to open and explore their secrets.
However, even the earliest weapons couldn't leave a mark, not even Demon Armor could harm them.
Only one method could open the doors, but it was incredibly expensive, requiring natural gemstones to be embedded on them for automatic opening, and only human flesh could enter the doors, without carrying anything.
Thus began humanity's true exploration of the mysterious doors.
Countless humans perished inside the mysterious doors in exchange for discoveries shocking enough to alter human perceptions.
The doors already explored contained different scenes; some understandable to humans, others incomprehensible.
So far, within the known and searched doors, while scenes varied, they shared something in common.
Inside the mysterious doors, it's like a special examination hall, entrants must face various trials.
Only those who reach the passing line can exit alive.
The so-called exam wasn't a test by conventional standards, nor did it award a diploma, the benefits gained unimaginable to ordinary people.
Human research into the mysterious doors has never ceased, with human casualties inside the doors already hard to count.
The underground base named "Abyss" was established beside one such underground mysterious door, people like A Fei are essentially akin to death squads, risking death each time they enter the doors for exploration.
Most there are either death row convicts or those burdened with immense debts, or with unavoidable reasons.
People like Li Xiu who voluntarily came here are rare, even if Li Xiu claimed so, few would believe.
Bzzz Bzzz!
The ear-piercing alarm sounded, instantly souring the faces of A Fei and a few of the older members.
"Dammit, what's going on? The Demon Gate is supposed to open in three days, how's it tonight..." The burly man showed a hint of panic, looking at A Fei.
Before A Fei could respond, the iron door in the room clicked, opening just a crack, then slowly swung open automatically.