Mark's heart was beating wildly in his chest, as if it wanted to break free and rush out of his body. His footsteps echoed in the metal corridor, and every step seemed to be stepping on his heart. He could hear the voices of the staff in the distance gradually becoming clearer, and their words revealed doubts and vigilance.
"Hurry, we must find a place to hide!" Mark shouted anxiously in his heart. His eyes quickly swept across the corridor on both sides, looking for a possible hiding place. His heartbeat roared in his ears, almost covering up the sound of his footsteps. Suddenly, he saw a half-open door not far ahead, with a faint light coming through the crack of the door.
Without time to hesitate, Mark sped up and rushed to the door. He gently pushed the door open, slipped in, and then carefully closed the door to make sure no sound was made. He leaned against the door, gasping for breath, trying to calm his breath.
This is a small storage room, surrounded by various boxes and equipment. There is a dim light in the corner of the room, emitting a faint yellow light. Mark's eyes gradually adapted to the light here, and he began to look for a possible hiding place. He noticed a pile of boxes at the other end of the room, with enough space behind them for him to hide.
He tiptoed over, trying not to make any noise. When he got behind the boxes, he found it was more spacious than he thought, even enough for him to lie down. He quickly hid inside, curling up into a ball, trying to make himself look as small as possible.
Outside the storage room, the footsteps were getting closer and closer, and Mark's heartbeat accelerated. He could hear the conversation of the staff, who seemed to be just outside the door.
"Did the surveillance cameras here capture anything?" a voice asked.
"No, everything is normal. It may be a false alarm." Another voice replied.
"Let's check it again, safety first." A third voice said.
Mark held his breath, he could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest. He knew that if he was discovered, he might never have a chance to escape. He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down, trying to calm his heartbeat with meditation.
The footsteps lingered outside the storage room, and Mark could hear the staff opening the doors of other rooms and checking. He knew they could open the door where he was hiding at any time.
Time seemed to slow down, and every second seemed as long as an hour. Cold sweat broke out on Mark's forehead, and his hand tightly grasped the survival knife, ready for the worst.
Finally, the footsteps began to move away, and the voices of the staff gradually disappeared. Mark breathed a sigh of relief, but he did not leave his hiding place immediately. He knew that they might still be nearby, and he had to wait for complete safety.
He waited quietly for a few minutes until he was sure that there was no sound outside, and then he slowly crawled out of his hiding place. He carefully opened the door of the storage room and peeked out. There was no one in the corridor, only dim lights and red lights flashing in the distance.
Mark walked out of the storage room and closed the door gently. He continued to move forward along the corridor, taking every step carefully, for fear of making any sound. He knew that he had to find a way out as soon as possible, or at least find a safer place to hide.
He came to the previous fork in the road, and this time he chose the passage on the left. This passage was narrower than the previous one, and the lights on the wall were dimmer. He could feel a chill rising from the soles of his feet, and the temperature here seemed lower than other places.
At the end of the passage was a heavy metal door with an electronic lock on it. Mark frowned. He had no password or key. He pushed the door hard, but it didn't move.
He looked back and the corridor was still empty. He returned to the storage room again, hoping to find some useful tools. He searched for a while and finally found a metal crowbar in a box.
He returned to the metal door with the crowbar, inserted the crowbar into the crack of the door, and pried it hard. The metal door creaked, but it still didn't open. More sweat broke out on Mark's forehead, and his arms began to feel tired.
Just when he was about to give up, the door suddenly made a loud noise and then slowly opened. Mark watched in surprise as the door slowly opened, revealing the space behind.
This is a huge room filled with various equipment and instruments. In the center of the room is a huge glass container filled with blue liquid, and something seems to be floating in the liquid.
Mark approached the container, his eyes wide open. Inside the container was a huge creature, its body covered with scales and its head with sharp horns, very similar to the monster he encountered in the ice cave. The creature seemed to be asleep, its eyes closed and its breathing steady.
A fear surged in Mark's heart, and he realized that this creature might be the product of a laboratory, or the result of some failed experiment. He began to suspect that everything in this frozen hell might be far more complicated than he imagined.
He turned around and prepared to leave, but just then he heard a low roar. He looked back and saw that the creature in the container was waking up, its eyes slowly opened, revealing a blood-red light.
Mark's heart jumped, and he realized that he had to leave here immediately. He turned and rushed to the other end of the room, where there was a door, which might be the exit to the outside world.
He ran as hard as he could, and the roar behind him was getting closer and closer. He could feel that the creature was chasing him, and its roar echoed in the room, shaking the whole room.
Mark rushed to the door and pushed it open with force. There was a narrow passage outside the door. He didn't have time to think and rushed in directly. He could hear the creature behind him approaching, and its roar echoed in the passage, almost freezing his blood.
He ran desperately, and at the end of the passage was a metal door. He pushed the door open and rushed out. Outside was a world of ice and snow, and a blizzard was raging. He didn't have time to think and rushed directly into the blizzard.
The wind and snow hit his face like a knife, and he could hardly open his eyes. But he didn't stop, he knew that he had to escape from this place, otherwise he would never escape the curse of this frozen hell.
He didn't know how long he had been running, and when he finally stopped, he was exhausted. He looked back, and the blizzard had covered his footprints. He couldn't see the creature or the horrible laboratory.
Mark knelt on the snow, gasping for breath. He knew he was not completely safe yet, but at least he had escaped from that horrible place for the time being. He raised his head and looked at the snowflakes flying in the sky, and a new hope surged in his heart.
He stood up and continued walking.