Eleven's words gave Richard some insight. This Toy Factory seemed to be designed specifically for children. A child's way of thinking differed from an adult's. People like Richard and Hopper would "stubbornly" believe that doors and passages had to look a certain way, and if they didn't see them, they didn't exist. Children, on the other hand, were much simpler; as long as an "entrance or exit" had that shape and function, it could be considered a passage.
It seems I can rely more on Eleven's ideas here, and I should also expand my own imagination, Richard thought to himself.
Hopper looked at those deep component inlets and outlets, each of which was the mouth of a cartoon relief head. Feeling uncertain, he said to Richard, "Didn't you hear earlier that there might be dangerous things inside this factory's internal pipes? This entrance only allows us to crawl forward, making it impossible to fight. Do you think we'll run into those dangers?"
Eleven stepped forward and said, "I can protect you."
If the danger inside the pipes was similar to the Killer Dolls they had encountered in the hall, she had no reason to be afraid.
Richard pondered for a moment. "It's still better to avoid conflict with the anomalies in the pipes if possible; the consequences are unpredictable. My hearing and vision are good, so if I truly sense an Anomaly approaching, I can at least warn everyone in advance."
Finally, the three decided that Richard would take the lead to scout the way, Eleven would stay in the middle to facilitate reactions in all directions and use her superpowers to attack, and Hopper would bring up the rear to protect Eleven.
"Let's go this way," Richard said, pointing to the "mouth" of a cartoon shark. A relatively loud sound of wind could be heard in this passage, indicating it was the shortest distance to the next room.
The three crawled ungracefully into the mouth of the shark relief. This passage was specifically for transporting the limbs and components of the Killer Dolls. Crawling through here in the dim light, they would occasionally touch some limb parts. Recalling that the Killer Dolls might have been transformed from humans, it always felt as if the mechanical limbs within reach were actually the severed limbs of human beings.
The more he thought about it, the more his heart raced. Although Hopper usually seemed exceptionally brave, he wasn't actually immune to fear. On the contrary, he was the most normal person in this three-person team with the most ordinary thoughts; any normal person would find this terrifying.
"Wait." As Richard was crawling forward, he suddenly told everyone to stop moving.
"What's wrong?" Eleven asked.
Richard said, "Since a moment ago, I've felt that the sound of our crawling is very unnatural."
"Is it?" Hopper was a bit nervous. He hadn't heard anything unusual. Because he was also very alert to danger, he had been listening closely to every movement, but he had only heard the sounds of the three of them moving.
Richard's flashlight illuminated the fork in the road ahead—one path went straight, and the other turned sharply to the left. While observing the road, he explained, "It sounds like there are only three of us, but in fact, I faintly heard another sound. Now that sound has stopped too. I suspect that thing is moving along with us, hiding its own movement within ours, like a cunning insect hidden in the crevices of a cake box."
It seemed the creature hidden in the dark had heard Richard's disparaging description. The thing went berserk, letting out an eerie roar and suddenly moving rapidly within the pipes. Richard and the others soon felt the conveyor belt beneath them vibrating; something large was approaching from ahead.
"Turn left!" Without hesitation, Richard led Eleven and Hopper into the left passage. After crawling about a dozen meters, Richard glimpsed a large Blue Plush Doll slamming headfirst into the wall at the fork in the pipes. It sniffed like a dog, catching their scent, and quickly discovered Richard and the others who had turned into the other corner. Opening its thick, sausage-like lips, it let out a strange howl, saliva flying everywhere as it gave chase.
Hopper saw it too. Gritting his teeth with his scalp sweating profusely, he followed closely behind Richard and Eleven, crawling rapidly.
"Watch out for the slope." Richard continued crawling forward and noticed the road conditions changing. He warned them as he adjusted his posture and slid down the pipe.
Eleven followed suit and successfully stayed behind Richard.
Hopper, however, was hindered by his stout body and found it difficult to adjust. He had to grit his teeth and slide down the slope head-first with his chest pressed against the ground to evade the pursuit of the Blue Plush Doll.
Richard didn't know how deep this slide passage was, nor did he know where it would lead. After an exhilarating "slide journey," Richard and the others finally crashed through a ventilation louver and fell into another unknown room in the factory.
Richard adjusted his posture and landed safely. He quickly turned to catch Eleven and Hopper, and after helping them up, they retreated together. The Blue Doll Monster inside the pipe was still in hot pursuit.
"Waa!" A loud bang of metal clashing rang out as a twisted Blue Plush Doll appeared at the entrance of the ventilation pipe, roaring loudly.
Eleven's eyes were sharp. Her Telekinesis expanded into an invisible giant hand that grabbed the plush doll's head, yanking it out of the pipe before spinning and throwing it violently against the wall.
The Blue Plush Doll let out a scream and rolled down from the height against the wall, blue liquid spraying from its mouth and sticking to the wall.
"The image of this doll seems to be the blue doll relief we saw in the hall. Is it the 'brand ambassador' or 'mascot' of this Toy Factory?" Richard looked at the blue doll lying powerless. Only after it retracted its hideous face could he barely recognize its identity.
Hopper's heart was racing. The life-and-death speed just now had made him think he might die a miserable death in the pipes at any moment. Hearing Richard's words, he complained with a hint of resentment, "This thing can be a 'mascot'? That's something I didn't expect. This entire Toy Factory is an Anomaly manufacturing plant. God, look at what kind of monster this is!"
Eleven watched as blue liquid gushed from the Blue Plush Doll's mouth from time to time. She frowned in confusion. "Is this thing bleeding?"
Richard noticed scars similar to bullet holes on the plush doll's body. He squinted and said, "Yes, this doll... it's still a bit different from the ones we saw in the hall. This is a creature with a real physical body. It just looks like a doll, but its interior should be a body of flesh and blood."
He heard lung sounds from the body of this plush doll, which had limbs about 1.8 meters long. This was enough to prove that it possessed organs, or at least respiratory organs.
"Die... die..." The doll forced its bloodshot eyes open. Its wandering left and right pupils focused together, revealing a glimmer of human intelligence—albeit an evil one. It struggled to crawl up from the ground. Its seemingly boneless body stood about three to four meters tall. Within its somewhat ridiculous sausage-like mouth, lamprey-like mouthparts emerged, filled with serrated teeth.
"Maybe you were once human, and I sympathize with you for turning into a monster, but you shouldn't have messed with us." Hopper cocked his shotgun. After learning that the thing before him was merely a creature with the appearance of a plush doll, most of his fear vanished. He raised his gun and fired, a shot blasting into the creature's torso.
If it's a living creature, then it can die, right?