Chapter 2

I forced my eyes wide open and saw the deep-sea octopus.

Its enormous body occupied the center of the hall, its eight arms sprawled lazily across the floor.

One of them held my oxygen mask.

I mouthed:

“Give it back. I’ll die.”

Its voice was strange and hoarse.

“Yes, I know.”

I crawled over and reached for the mask.

But the wretched octopus lifted it higher, as if teasing a cat.

My chest felt pinned beneath a boulder. A ringing started in my ears…

Just as I thought my life was about to be cut tragically short, the octopus tossed me a new oxygen mask.

I put it on at once. Oxygen flooded my lungs.

I had no idea what sort of advanced technology this mask used.

It had no oxygen tube, and beside my mouth was a gill-like “feeding valve.”

I lay on the floor, gulping air.

“You only lasted 113 seconds,” it said. “You need more practice.”

I glared at it in fury.

It smiled faintly and tossed me a container of paste.

The stuff came in a clear, soft tube. It had the consistency of face cream but gave off an eerie blue glow.

“Long-lasting survival gel. Much better than what you’re wearing.”

“I paid fifty million for your contract. I’d rather not see the water pressure flatten you.”

“Your room is on the first basement level.”

“Have my breakfast ready at seven tomorrow morning.”

Then it crawled into the dark corridor.

I sat alone on the floor, staring blankly at the full-length windows.

Several dark shapes swam past the glass outside. I had no idea what they were.

At last, I understood. I had come to another world.

Three thousand seven hundred meters below the land, where sunlight never reached.

Dragging my suitcase, I went down to the first basement level.

There was only a storeroom here.

It was packed with scrap metal and the enormous skeletons of creatures I couldn’t identify.

I looked at the “survival gel” the octopus had given me and spread it over my body.

I was about to make the bed and go to sleep when my tablet chimed.

My eldest sister had posted an update.

[Happy twenty-one-and-a-half birthday to me! Thanks for the dress, Mom and Dad!]

In the photo, she stood in the middle of our rooftop garden.

Her gown was gorgeous, pink light flowing all around her.

Mom and Dad stood beside her, smiling with affection.

My little brother held up a cake while my younger sister rose onto tiptoe to put a birthday crown on our eldest sister’s head.

Everything was perfect.

As though their household hadn’t lost a person that day.

I stared at the screen for a minute, then switched off the tablet.

I slept badly that night.

Every so often, strange scratching sounds came from behind the storeroom.

At three in the morning, something cold touched my cheek.

I opened my eyes to find several white tentacles dangling in front of my face.

I sprang out of bed.

“Aah!”

Five minutes later, the octopus’s impatient voice came from the doorway.

“What are you screaming about now?”

I stared at the tentacle, my voice unsteady.

“There’s… there’s something in here!”

The octopus opened the door a crack and took a lazy look.

“Oh. It’s fine. Just a sea anemone.”

I was on the verge of falling apart.

“Can you make it leave?”

Its voice was cool.

“It moved in before you did.”

The anemone waved its tentacles in front of me.

As if showing off who was in charge.

I could only crawl under my blanket and wrap myself up tight.

When I finally fell asleep, I had a nightmare.

I dreamed the anemone was putting its tentacles into my ears!