Since Milliped insisted, Zhang Heng couldn't find a good reason to reject him.
He knew that the subway company wouldn't let them wander around the tunnel if they didn't have their own people following them. So, Zhang Heng and Mei Nan looked at each other and agreed to Milliped's request.
After that, Milliped asked the other two inspectors to continue searching the tunnel while he took the lead and climbed down the ladder.
Their shoes squeaked as they stepped on the rusty iron bars, breaking the peace of the underground world below.
When Milliped first saw the abandoned platform, he felt the same as Cheng Sihan. Although he had worked for the subway company for 20 years and had heard some rumors, this was the first time he saw an abandoned subway line.
After landing, he turned on the flashlight in his hand and carefully looked around.
At first glance, this platform looked very similar to the platform on the subway line above, but upon closer inspection, one could still feel the difference. After all, in order to meet the increasing number of passengers and the needs of modern travel, the platform above had undergone several renovations and reconstructions.
But this platform, probably because of the sudden halt in construction, had perfectly preserved the way it was when it was first built. Many characteristics of the era could be seen.
While Milliped was looking around, Zhang Heng was also observing the footprints on the ground. Since no one had been here for a long time, a lot of dust had accumulated on the platform. For ordinary people, especially those with a certain level of mysophobia, this scene would probably make them feel uncomfortable. But for Zhang Heng, it was precisely the existence of this dust that allowed him to perfectly record Cheng Sihan and Beta's movements.
Zhang Heng could even infer their standing posture and movement speed from these footprints. Following the footprints left on the dust, Zhang Heng turned the flashlight to the tunnel entrance not far away.
"Did they go there?" Milliped noticed the footprints on the ground.
"One chased and the other fled. Yes," Zhang Heng said. "And there are no footprints nearby. So, they either left through this tunnel on another platform, or they're still in the tunnel."
"That's great. Then let's go find them." Milliped revealed a look of joy when he heard that.
However, Zhang Heng wasn't as relaxed as Milliped. Instead, he frowned slightly.
"What's wrong?" Mei Nan noticed Zhang Heng's serious expression.
In her memory, Zhang Heng was very calm most of the time, and there was almost no expression on his face. No matter how dangerous and harsh the environment he was in, he always seemed to find a solution. This was the first time she saw such an expression on Zhang Heng's face, as if he was facing a formidable enemy. "Do you feel that Loki is nearby?"
"I don't know," Zhang Heng said. "I just vaguely feel that there is something in this tunnel. As for whether it is Loki or someone else, I don't know."
Zhang Heng noticed that Milliped could not wait to enter the tunnel, so he said to Meinan, "Let's go. Your sister and β have already entered the tunnel. No matter what is inside, we have to meet it."
Milliped was the leader of the inspection team. No one was more familiar with the subway tunnels than him. That was why ordinary people might feel some fear and hesitation when they saw the dark tunnel entrance, but Milliped only felt a sense of familiarity. He stepped into it without any hesitation.
As he walked, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Is anyone there? I'm here to take you out."
However, the only response he got was an echo. Milliped was not too discouraged. After all, it had been almost 40 minutes since the two girls jumped off the platform. If the two of them kept walking down the tunnel, they would have gone quite a distance by now. Therefore, he kept calling out to them as he strode forward.
Zhang Heng and Mei Nan followed about two meters behind him.
In a situation like this, it would be best if the three of them could move without making a sound. They did not know what danger lay ahead, and exposing themselves too early was not a good choice.
However, just as it was difficult for them to stop Milliped from coming down, it was difficult for Zhang Heng to stop Milliped from shouting. After all, if this was a normal search and rescue operation, Milliped's actions would be more reasonable. On the other hand, Zhang Heng and Mei Nan, who were silent, seemed a little inexperienced.
However, Milliped didn't blame them. He didn't know where they came from, but the higher-ups had ordered them to participate in this rescue mission. At first, Milliped was a little worried that Zhang Heng and Meinan were the kind of people who liked to give orders blindly. Fortunately, the two of them were very cooperative along the way. They let him organize the work, quietly following behind them without interrupting. They even reminded him to take note of the lock and footprints on the iron gate.
So far, the rescue operation had been going smoothly, even exceeding Milliped's expectations. All they had to do was find the two girls who jumped off the platform in this tunnel, and they would be able to complete their mission. Therefore, Milliped didn't care if Zhang Heng and Mei Nan shouted for help like he did.
Mei Nan showed Zhang Heng her phone, indicating that there was no signal here. However, this also explained why Cheng Sihan didn't respond when Mei Nan sent her a message.
The three of them walked for about forty minutes before Milliped suddenly stopped and muttered, "Strange."
"What's strange?" Mei Nan asked.
She had been paying attention to her surroundings along the way. She had to admit that the tunnel gave off a rather eerie feeling. Perhaps because it had been abandoned for too long, there was no sign of life at all. The most amazing thing was that they hadn't even seen a mouse after walking for so long. Of course, considering that there was no food or water for mice to live here, it made sense that there were no mice here.
However, this wasn't annoying.
At least so far, Mei Nan hadn't seen anything particularly strange or noteworthy. It was just that the scenery along the way was a little monotonous.
"We've walked for a long time, but why haven't we seen the next platform yet?" Milliped asked, puzzled.
He was an employee of the subway company. He would patrol the line every day, so of course, he knew the distance between the platforms better than the average person. The subway was originally a public transportation tool built to facilitate travel. Except for some special lines like the airport line, generally speaking, the distance between the stations would not be too far. But now, they had been walking for a full forty minutes, and it was reasonable to say that they should have reached the next platform.
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