Xu An leaned in, puzzled, and asked, "What does this mean? Do we have to wait until the transition between day and night for the door to open?"

Shen Jingqi nodded and said, "It's very possible. But we don't know exactly when that transition occurs, and even if we did, it's hard to judge time in this dark building."

The two of them fell into thought, and the atmosphere around them grew more oppressive. Just then, a strange sound echoed, like the low growl of some creature or the howling wind through a narrow passage. Shen Jingqi and Xu An exchanged glances, their eyes filled with fear.

"What is that sound?" Xu An asked nervously, instinctively moving closer to Shen Jingqi.

Shen Jingqi perked up his ears, listened carefully, and said, "I don't know, it sounds a bit frightening. Let's be careful." As he spoke, he picked up a wooden stick from the ground, gripping it tightly in his hand, and looked around warily.

The sound grew closer, as if it were right beside them. Suddenly, a shadowy figure flashed before their eyes, moving too quickly to react. Xu An screamed in fright, and Shen Jingqi's heart skipped a beat, his hand trembling slightly as he clutched the stick.

"Don't be afraid." Shen Jingqi said, feigning calm but with a trace of tension in his voice. He cautiously moved toward the direction where the shadow had disappeared, each step taken with utmost care.

At a corner, Shen Jingqi stopped. He saw a strange set of footprints on the ground, small like those of a small animal, but with sharp claw marks. He squatted down, carefully examining the footprints, his mind filled with doubt.

"What kind of creature left these footprints?" Shen Jingqi muttered to himself.

Just then, the strange sound rang out again, even clearer this time, as if it were right above their heads. Shen Jingqi and Xu An looked up, seeing a shadow hanging upside down from the ceiling, staring at them with glowing eyes.

"Ah!" Xu An screamed again, legs buckling and almost collapsing to the ground. Although Shen Jingqi's heart raced with fear, he held it in, tightened his grip on the stick, and shouted at the shadow, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The shadow did not answer, only letting out a low growl before pouncing down from the ceiling. Shen Jingqi reacted quickly, dodging to the side and swinging the stick at the shadow. The stick struck the shadow heavily, eliciting a shriek, but it didn't back off; instead, it became more ferocious in its attack.

Shen Jingqi and Xu An fought fiercely with the shadow in the narrow passage. The shadow moved nimbly, constantly evading their attacks and looking for opportunities to counterattack. Shen Jingqi began to tire, sweat beading on his forehead, and his breathing grew rapid.

"We have to find a way to get rid of it," Shen Jingqi shouted.

Xu An, while dodging the shadow's attacks, said, "How do we get rid of it? It's too powerful."

Just when they were feeling desperate, Shen Jingqi suddenly noticed that the shadow seemed sensitive to light. He had a brainwave and said to Xu An, "Quick, see if you can find anything that gives off light."

Xu An quickly searched around and finally found an old oil lamp in a corner. He hurriedly picked up the lamp and lit it with a match. The weak flame illuminated a small area around them. The shadow, seeing the light, seemed somewhat fearful and its movements slowed.

Shen Jingqi seized the opportunity and swung the stick, striking the shadow again. This time, the stick hit the shadow accurately, causing it to tremble before turning to flee.

The two let out a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Xu An, still shaken, said, "That was really dangerous just now; we almost died."

Shen Jingqi nodded and said, "Yeah, but luckily we found a way to deal with it. Our priority now is to find a way out."

After resting for a while, they continued exploring the building. After many twists and turns, Shen Jingqi suddenly remembered that the journal seemed to mention some descriptions of the building's structure. He opened the journal again and studied it carefully.

"'In the valley, the building hides passages, filled with mechanisms, the key must be found.'" Shen Jingqi read aloud, "The key... What is the key?"

As he recalled the contents of the journal in his mind, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "I got it! The journal says there's a central hub in the building that controls all the mechanisms. If we can find that hub, maybe we can find a way out."

Hearing this, Xu An's eyes lit up with hope once more, and he said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find it."

The two began to search for the central hub in the building. They followed various passages, encountering strange mechanisms and traps, which they cleverly avoided.

While walking down a long corridor, Shen Jingqi suddenly noticed a strange mural on the wall. The mural depicted a giant disc with mysterious symbols carved on it, surrounded by some strange creatures guarding it.

"Could this be the key?" Shen Jingqi pointed to the mural.

Xu An came over, looked carefully, and said, "It looks a bit like it. But what's the connection between this mural and the central hub?"

Shen Jingqi pondered for a moment and said, "Maybe this disc is the hub that controls the mechanisms. Let's see if there's anything related to this disc around here."

They searched carefully around the mural and finally discovered a small groove in a corner, its shape very similar to a part of the disc on the mural. Shen Jingqi exclaimed excitedly, "We found it! It's here."

He took a strange stone they had found in the building out of his backpack and tried placing it in the groove. The stone fit perfectly and with a soft "click," the disc on the mural began to rotate slowly, and the surrounding walls started to move, revealing a passage leading underground.

"Great, we found the central hub," Xu An said excitedly.

The two carefully made their way down the passage, which was filled with a damp scent, and the walls glowed with an eerie green light that made one's skin crawl.

"It's so eerie here," Xu An said, clutching Shen Jingqi's sleeve, his voice trembling.

Shen Jingqi reassured him, "Don't be afraid, we're almost out."

Finally, they reached the end of the passage. At the end was a huge room filled with strange instruments and devices, with a massive control console in the center.

The control console flashed with various indicator lights and emitted a "beep beep" sound.

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