Gou learns witchcraft in another world

Chapter 24 Discoveries Inside the Tunnel

The application for supplies went more smoothly than I had imagined.

The next morning, when Luo Qiu and the other three met again at the subway station entrance, they not only changed into safety boots made of cowhide and steel plates, but the Investigation Bureau also provided them with waterproof trousers and waxed cotton jackets.

This equipment is even sufficient to cope with the underground mining environment.

Of course, such success did not come without a price.

Before setting off, the four were forced to stand under a subway station sign. Smith carried a flashlight, Cole carried a first-aid kit, Ellis held a short-haired cat named Lucas with sharp eyes that weighed about two pounds, and Luo Qiu held rat poison. They took a picture together.

The cameraman was Lake himself.

"Yes, just stay in this position... okay."

"Luo Qiu, I've prepared all this equipment for you. I don't want to hear any more bad news now."

"Don't worry, team leader."

Luo Qiu gave a perfunctory reply. He had anticipated this would happen when he prepared his application yesterday. And if nothing unexpected happened, there would be similar events waiting for them when they came out.

This kind of activity is somewhat annoying, and in the past, he would always bargain with Lake.

However, Luo Qiu didn't say anything at this moment. Seeing that his three teammates were all ready, he waved and turned to walk into the station.

The group passed through the turnstiles, went down the stairs, crossed the platform, and arrived at the entrance of the abandoned tunnel where they had stayed the day before.

Smith turned on his flashlight and started walking forward.

After a while, Ellis put the collar on Mr. Lucas and placed it on the ground.

After landing, Mr. Lucas seemed unfazed by his surroundings and silently walked toward the area illuminated by the flashlight.

This saved everyone a lot of trouble.

Taking this opportunity, Luo Qiu also began to carefully observe his surroundings.

This tunnel had indeed been abandoned for a long time.

At first, there was litter of cardboard, plastic bottles, and other trash scattered on the ground, but after the group walked more than a hundred meters, these traces had diminished considerably. The dust on the paving stones grew thicker, and in the sewage pipe, some flocculent material had clogged up, obscuring everything.

Even on the tunnel sidewalls, patches of grayish-white salt frost had formed.

Walking another hundred meters, even the noise from the station outside gradually disappeared.

Inside the tunnel, their footsteps began to echo, and the light became even scarcer. The boundaries that the flashlights could illuminate began to become clearly visible.

However, at that moment, Smith, who was walking ahead, made a discovery.

Look here.

Luo Qiu stepped forward and looked at the area illuminated by Smith.

It was a dried, gelatinous substance, black in color, with irregular, radiating edges.

Everyone quickly recognized what it was.

"Vomit. It's been going on for quite a while, at least a week," Ellis said.

Cole frowned: "Old Nick?"

"Most likely." Luo Qiu's gaze swept up the wall, and at the edge of the flashlight beam, he saw several marks left by fingers on the wall.

Clearly, someone vomited here while leaning against the wall.

The only person who would specifically come here to vomit is old Nick. He was probably drunk but still conscious, and not wanting to contaminate his resting place with his vomit, he came here in a daze.

Further ahead, there were more than one such gelatinous substance, one of which was much fresher than this one.

Near that pool of gelatinous substance, the group made a new discovery.

A small, huddled dark figure.

The flashlight was aimed at a dead rat.

It was not large, slightly larger than an adult's fist. Its grayish-brown fur had lost its luster, its belly was shriveled, and its limbs were stiffly stretched out. Around its mouth, there were traces of white foam, which had dried into powder.

"This is the effect of the poisoned bait." Cole crouched down, poked at the powder with a stick, and confirmed his theory. "It must have been dropped by the subway company a while ago."

"It's been stepped on; it looks like old Nick's handiwork," Smith added. The flashlight shone near the rat's carcass, revealing only a series of footprints, identical to those next to the vomit.

"Old Nick's feet are size 40, so it should definitely be him," Ellis nodded.

Now everyone understood what had happened here.

Not long ago, pest control workers came here and may have sprayed pesticides here.

Later, some rats came here to forage for food and were caught in the trap.

Of course, the rat was probably still alive at that time, until old Nick, drunk, walked by and stepped on it.

This is a rather boring story.

But when this story was linked to Old Nick's tragic end, all three agents shuddered.

Is this the rats' revenge?

Unlike the other three agents, Luo Qiu was convinced that some of the rats here had become extraordinary. It wasn't impossible that these extraordinary rats, possessing unusual intelligence, might grieve for the fate of their kind or even seek revenge…

With this in mind, Luo Qiu became even more vigilant.

"Okay, note this down and let's keep going. We need to save time, otherwise we don't know if the flashlights will last long enough."

……

After resuming our journey, we drove for a few more minutes, and the tunnel ahead began to lower.

The flashlight beam shone to the end, and the downward-sloping opening appeared before us; we had reached the downhill section.

Smith aimed his flashlight at the slope, the beam extending down the slope and illuminating its uneven surface. The brick-paved slope was covered with slippery moss, and in some places there was puddles.

Here, you can already hear the clear sound of flowing water down the slope, followed by a foul stench.

Below is the main sewage road, from which most of the sewage in the southeastern part of the city flows out in a mighty torrent, giving the impression of a rushing river.

Fortunately, there has been no rain in the foggy city these past two days. Shining a flashlight down, you can still see the pedestrian area built next to the main sewage road. The road is just over half a meter wide, enough for one person to pass through.

Even so, it was difficult for anyone to step on the slope. The slope in front of them was too steep and slippery, and there were no steps. One wrong step and they could easily fall down the slope into the sewage.

No wonder the rat exterminators who came before didn't go down from here.

However, once he arrived here, Mr. Lucas had a change of heart.

Meow--

As everyone prepared to go downhill, Mr. Lucas seemed to hear something and immediately struggled to run down the slope.

After running a few steps, the leash around its neck was pulled to its limit, and the tightness made it stand up straight, barking and waving its claws.

It took Ellis a while to realize what was happening, and then she reluctantly hugged it back to her arms.

"Haha, it seems our Mr. Lucas has made a discovery. That's good news." Luo Qiu looked at Lucas and joked.

"But this also means that we have to go down from here."

Cole shrugged helplessly, then, after speaking, he took the lead in attempting to descend.

……