William was shocked by the sight before him. There were far more people than he had ever imagined. William and Mr. Lee stepped out of the train and began walking toward the entrance of the base, but some guards stopped them and asked to see their IDs. Mr. Lee took out his ID and showed it to them, but William began to panic he didn't have any identification at all. When the guards demanded his ID, Mr. Lee calmly explained that William was a new climber. The guards checked William's pockets, scanned him with a strange metal detector, and finally allowed him to go inside.
They finally entered the base. William turned to Mr. Li and asked what that strange metal detector was.
Mr. Li laughed and said,
Mr. Li: That's not a metal detector, boy. It's a device that confirms whether you're human.
William: Confirms that I'm human!? Can you tell me more about it?
Mr. Li: I don't know much myself. That thing existed long before I arrived.
Mr. Li suggested William stop thinking about it and focus on getting his ID made. He told him to go to the reception, explain his situation, and then meet him later at the cafeteria.
William reached the reception desk and asked the lady how he could create his ID.
Receptionist: Are you transferring from another base, or are you a new climber?
William: Well, I'm new here… so you could say I'm a new climber.
Receptionist: Alright. Can you tell me your full name, age, and your pronouns?
William: My full name is William Carter, age forty, and my pronouns are he/him.
The receptionist entered his information into the computer, handed him a receipt, and told him to go to the third floor. William did as instructed he took the elevator up and asked a few people for directions. After some time, he finally received his ID.
However, he didn't understand why they needed to take his blood just for an ID. He decided to ignore it for now and thought it was time to meet Mr. Li.
But then a thought struck him: he had completely forgotten to ask Mr. Li where the cafeteria was. He had no idea where it might be, so he decided to ask someone for directions.
He looked around and noticed a man in a hooded jacket, trembling as if he were freezing despite the scorching desert heat. Curious and slightly concerned, William walked over to him.
William: Excuse me, sir… could you please tell me where the cafeteria is?
The man didn't answer. He just kept mumbling something unintelligible. William leaned in, trying to catch his words.
Stranger: Void… void… VOID…
Before William could react, the stranger snapped his head toward him with unnatural speed and bit down on William's ear, tearing it off violently.
For a moment, William's heartbeat stopped. Time seemed to collapse around him.
He reached up with shaking hands and froze when he saw thick blood dripping down his fingers.
His breath shattered.
From deep inside his chest, something primal forced its way out.
"A—A—A—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHH—!!"
He stepped away from the man as fast as he could, but the strange guy closed the distance instantly and struck him with a punch that landed right across William's ribs. William spat the blood out from his mouth, but the man didn't stop there he delivered another punch to William's chest, and the force behind it slammed William against the wall.
William collapsed to the ground, adrenaline flooding his body. His vision blurred, the world dimmed around him, and within moments, he completely blacked out.