"Ma Biao, wake up, what's wrong?" Zhang Keying said anxiously.
"He's been poisoned!" I said, only to find that all the police officers around me, like Ma Biao, had fallen to the ground. I hadn't really reacted at the time. After all, it wasn't just one or two people who fainted, but everyone who accompanied me had collapsed. This must have been a sudden situation, but I didn't see any poisonous gas or smell any strange odor, which was strange. Zhang Keying and I, without any hesitation, quickly put on gas masks. If we had protective suits at this moment, we would have put them on, but since we didn't, there was nothing we could do.
However, after putting on the masks, we didn't feel any discomfort. I thought the poison was airborne and wouldn't penetrate the skin like pesticides. We had encountered a case before where we were almost poisoned to death by the suspect's parents, and I still had lingering fear of that case. Perhaps we were about to experience that situation again, but this time we had gas masks.
Seeing that everyone had fainted, I said, "Call for backup to save them!"
Zhang Keying picked up her phone, but shook her head and said, "I knew it, there definitely won't be any signal here!"
"Hehehe, don't worry, this one can do it!"
Using my wristband, I sent out a distress signal. In fact, I had already informed the provincial department before I came. If I sent out a distress signal, they would mobilize the entire department to coordinate with us at the crime scene. About half of the people who arrived here were from that operation. I had instructed a confidant to lead the other half. After completing the call, I said to Zhang Keying, "Based on the surface situation, they shouldn't be in any life-threatening danger. The other party must be trying to delay our time with this move!"
"So what do you want to do?" Zhang Keying asked me.
"You stay here and protect everyone, I'll continue forward!"
"No, Brother He Sheng, if you leave like this, what will I do?"
"Keying, we are on a mission now. You need to be serious, understand?"
"I don't! If you leave like this, it will be very dangerous. This place looks very unusual. What if you encounter an ambush if you keep going? You are the core of our Sin Punishment team!"
"Keying, there's no time. You're the only one who can watch them right now, but be careful yourself!"
"Brother He Sheng, don't be like this!" Zhang Keying pulled my hand hard.
"Keying, you should grow up. I am now ordering you as the Director. Remain in place. If you disobey, I can fire you directly!"
"Director... I understand."
Zhang Keying let go of my hand. I nodded at her, tightened my weapon, and headed towards a dark, eerie, and narrow passage ahead. Even though the road ahead was uncertain, righteousness was in my heart!!
I will not retreat, never!!
He Qing.
Father.
Mother.
Grandpa.
I will not let you down!
Gripping my weapon, I suddenly arrived at a laboratory filled with dense glass bottles. Many strange corpses were discarded here like trash, sealed in individual containers. Countless pipes were connected, with unknown liquids flowing through them. Many strange gases permeated from above and slowly drifted down. The speed was slow, but it reduced the visibility everywhere.
This was the first time I had witnessed such a scene. It was too bizarre. It felt as if the entire space was imprisoned by something, making me feel incredibly suffocated and unable to move freely.
Hearing strange crackling sounds around me, I realized that a pipe overhead was cracking. Just before endless danger rushed towards me, I leaped and descended into a recessed area. In a moment, I slid into a track resembling a steel pipe. My body lost control, as if struck by some impact. I could only slide along the pipe's direction towards an abyss. Perhaps I would die, but at that moment, I remained alert, ready to face any danger. My body swayed uncontrollably from side to side. Several times I grabbed onto objects that looked like iron bars, but due to some lubricant applied to them, I always missed and continued to slide down rapidly. Several times I thought I had missed the chance to save myself, but that was not the case. When I landed on some ground, I realized that it was another secret room below. However, the environment here was completely different from the laboratory I had passed through earlier.
After descending, everything seemed ancient. The walls were cracked, the surface was earthy yellow, and the structure was winding. There seemed to be passages leading in all directions. Flickering candlelight could be seen on the left and right. These were likely perpetual lamps, but I didn't think this was an ancient tomb. It was merely a secret room that had been excavated for some illegal activities.
I felt that others had not reached here, and I was the only one who had arrived at this place. There was no choice but to continue forward alone.
The gun in my hand never left my grip. My hand had almost become one with it, or rather, my soul had become one with it. My eyes were highly vigilant of the surrounding environment, constantly observing this narrow area. Sometimes I worried that a jackal or a hunting dog, or some strange person, might suddenly appear from nearby and attack me. My gun pointed up, down, left, and right, and my body moved with the direction of the gun, occasionally pressing against the wall.
The reason I often did this was that if there was cover in a certain direction, that area would be safe, allowing me to focus my attention on another direction. However, if there were traps in some places, it would be another matter.
Thinking this, I dared not approach the walls, because many of our SWAT and armed police officers had been killed by sharp spikes before. I didn't know how long I had been here, nor did I know which direction was the correct one. I only knew to maintain my sanity and continue forward. Anyway, if there was no end to the path, it meant I was on the right track.
After about an hour, I was still walking in a tunnel. There was no candlelight, but I had a flashlight. With its guidance, I found that I had emerged, but this was not the outside world. It was an underground cemetery, meaning many tombstones were buried deep underground. In front of the tombstones were many lily of the valley flowers. This plant mostly grew in cemeteries, and its petals had a dim white glow.
The visibility around here had improved considerably. Here, I didn't even need to use my flashlight. As I passed the tombstones, I don't know why, but I suddenly felt a bit dizzy...