Inside The Black Mist

Floating dust twirled in the ubiquitous black mist In the dim light, akin to a lonely dancer.

Black mist was an exclusive entity that only existed in the Inverse Universe, being the main culprit of the gloomy environment.
It absorbs large amounts of light and heat, leaving behind the Clough door forever dark and cold.

Next to the rusted filing cabinets containing cardboard boxes and files, a man wearing a red protective suit and a hood rummaged through the items on top of the cabinet. 

Those things had existed for who knows how long, and shattered to ashes even on the lightest touch.

“This 127th Inverse Universe makes me sick.
This civilization that once existed here, so similar to ours.
I won't be surprised if I get to see another me”

Turning around, he voiced impatiently,

“What's the situation, Tianyang? Haven't been able to contact the base yet?”

A small, dim light shone on his shoulder.
The light's effective range was already short, and with the absorbing black mist in the air, the luminance was greatly dimmed.

With that luminance, one could barely recognize the room as a file storage.

Paper littered the floor, worsened by messy footprints, and someone squatted on a thick stack of documents, tinkering with a standard communicator.

This instrument, resembling a radio, could be used for communication in the Inverse Universe, transmitting and receiving data.

The built-in security system can block unauthorized reception, and its components include a receiving antenna, a frequency conversion module, an enhancement module, and a backup matrix circuit.

At the moment, a person named Tianyang was installing a component onto the communicator, trying to strengthen the transmission signal.

Even so, the electronic noise from the communicator indicated the team's difficult situation.

“…
This is Collection Team Fourth Squad, I am Tianyang, soldier code 1507.
Base, please respond.”

No response, even after several attempts.
Tianyang looked up. 

A young face was made visible by the light.

“I can't contact them, Captain.
Maybe we're too deep, outside the maximum transmission distance of the terminal.”

Someone nearby kicked a shelf hard, pointing at the red-suited captain and yelled, “It's all your fault, Qin Wu! If it weren't for your arrogance, we wouldn't have been intercepted by those damn prowlers and gotten trapped!”

The captain, Qin Wu, pointed to the fourth team member guarding the door.
“Can you blame it on me? If it weren't for Dongyan swearing that he found the signal of the Pillar of Star, would I have brought you here?”

The team member at the door defended himself, “My digital model was not wrong.
Based on the recent data on the prowlers' activity, a Pillar of Star must exist in this area!”

Qin Wu rushed over and grabbed his suit.
“Then tell me, where exactly is this Pillar of Star now?”

“Quiet!”

Tianyang raised his fist.

Everyone in the Collection Team, including the captain, stared outside the door nervously.

In the corridor, the mottled walls were thoroughly covered with mold.

Strange noises resounded, originating in the nearby corner.

Like the dying gasps of a seriously ill patient or the low roar of an injured beast.

Tianyang reached into his toolkit strapped to his waist and fetched out a glow stick.

“What are you doing?” Qin Wu tensed up.

“We need lighting.
Did you forget? Prowlers don't react to light.” Tian Yang bent the glow stick and tossed it out.
It landed at the corner of the corridor, and the chemicals inside began to react, gradually producing a cold light.

In the cold blue-gray light, several figures appeared in the corner.

Those figures being extremely distorted, staggering and wandering on the other side of the corridor.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed the corner wall.
The skin on it was ulcerated, secreting a dark green pus.
It was sticky and made sizzles as it dropped.

Like water dripping on hot rocks…

The Collection Team's hearts rose to their throats, but fortunately, the hand quickly retracted.

“It's the prowlers!” Dongyan, a team member, retreated, “Captain, let's go.
I don't want to be caught by those things!”

“But how?” Another member shouted, “Even if we rush through this corridor, there are more prowlers waiting downstairs.
They are in every building in the street!”

“Shut up!”

Qin Wu tightened his Raider gun, his eyes flickering, “Looks like we can only do it one way.”

He turned around and reached out his hand to Tianyang, “Newbie, give me your gun!”

There was obvious hesitation on Tianyang's face inside his hood.

He instinctively tightened his gun.

Raider gun, a weapon provided to