"Senior, can we really escape?"
After hearing the truth, Erica suddenly felt nervous. Any movement around her seemed to alarm her. It was as if the flickering lights were killers lurking in the dark, and they were all here to take the lives of the seniors.
Now Erica's name is probably on those people's kill list.
"No problem. They don't know I'm here. If the Marigold Throne has locked onto me, they will send a stronger assassin to actually kill me. So our presence is probably not part of their plan." An Ming tapped his lips and thought for a moment, "You just said there was a violent vibration up there?"
Erica nodded obediently.
"I think something may have happened to them. There has been no pursuit for such a long time, they must have been overwhelmed. Now is the best time to escape."
An Ming stroked his chin and analyzed.
Those guys are not good people. If they found out that the enemy was still alive, they would have sent people to uproot the subway station. But now no one has found them, which can only mean that they have no time to care about too much. For example, what happened to their precious goods tonight? An Ming thought.
"But does this subway really have an exit? What if it's an abandoned subway and all the passages are blocked?"
Erica looked at the endless tunnel and couldn't help but think of the worst case scenario.
An Ming looked around, thought for a moment, and denied Erica's guess.
"I don't think so. First of all, the Federation will not allocate a budget to block a subway that has already been built. No matter how old it is, demolition and filling it will cost money, and those stingy guys will never do such a thankless task. Placing this border subway here will not affect them at all. Secondly, there will be someone to pick up the train at the train station tonight, and there is a well-preserved military subway so close. This is very likely their backup plan. Those people always have very careful plans, although they made a mistake today. And you see, there are signs of cleaning everywhere on this subway. I think an agent must have cleaned it in advance."
After listening to An Ming's analysis, Erica thought it was reasonable and nodded in response.
An Ming turned his head and looked around. They had already gone deep into the cave while talking about the secrets of the Marigold Throne in the past. The ground here even accumulated some sewage that had seeped down from the surface.
Over the years, the underground water has not accumulated completely indoors, and it can almost be determined that this place is connected to the subway passages in other places. The accumulated water also flows out along the passages, An Ming thought.
After crossing several mechanical ticket counting platforms, the two of them finally arrived at the platform.
The platform looked very old, with red pottery floors on the ground. Over the past hundred years, the floors had been mostly eroded by water, like a long-dead relic.
The walls of the platform on three sides were covered with Saint Rosetta church decals, with dark paint depicting the Virgin Rosetta kissing a child on the ground. In the middle of the platform were several benches, on which were placed various debris that had not yet been cleaned up, including some cargo boxes, some discarded clothes, and several newspapers with ink completely smudged. The bench seats were also rotten and worn. It looked like they had not been cleaned for a long time.
"Yes."
An Ming's steady voice seemed to express what he expected.
At the end of his sight was an old boxcar train. The train was simple, consisting of a power locomotive and several freight cars connected in sequence. The freight cars were now empty.
"The power carriage uses steam power driven by black water, and there is still more than half of the fuel. It is impossible to be something preserved from a hundred years ago. This is probably their backup equipment."
An Ming guided Erica across the platform and into the carriage.
At this moment, he suddenly hugged Erica and pushed her behind him. Erica blinked blankly, not knowing what was going on.
An Ming turned to look in the opposite direction of the platform. There stood a small figure, wearing a long, tattered cloak, standing motionless about five or six meters away from An Ming and Erica.
When did it approach?
An Ming didn't notice anyone approaching. His five senses were no longer what they used to be, so any movement should not escape his eyes and ears.
But this person was able to get so close so easily. If he had a deadly weapon in his hand, it would be too easy to take the lives of two people. But strangely, there was no movement after the person appeared there. An Ming did not trust such a mysterious person who suddenly appeared, but it seemed that he at least did not want to kill them.
If the people who were chasing them saw An Ming and Erica, they would either choose to retreat or take action immediately. They would not just stand there and wait to be discovered.
Are you waiting for me to let down my guard?
An Ming didn't say anything, just observed the cloaked man's every move.
The cloaked man didn't say anything, just stared at An Ming quietly. They just stared at each other for a few minutes, and the only sound during that time was the sound of water dripping from the ceiling hitting the floor. Snap, snap, snap, the sound kept echoing in the room.
Finally, An Ming gave up the confrontation. There was no point in continuing the stalemate. He asked.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
The cloaked man did not answer.
"You don't look like you want to hurt us. If you can promise not to do anything to us, we won't attack you either."
An Ming continued, but the cloaked man still did not respond.
An Ming was very sure that the person standing there was not a puppet or a scarecrow. He could even sense the heat source not far away from the slight vibration in the air. Although the other person's body temperature was lower than that of an ordinary person, An Ming was very sure that it was a living person.
Seeing that the cloaked man didn't respond, An Ming gradually lost his patience. He turned his head slightly and whispered to Erica.
"Erica, go to the front of the car and turn on the power. It's the only button with a faint red light in the car."
"But senior, that mysterious man is right in front of us. Will my little actions irritate him?"
Erica couldn't see in the darkness, and didn't know what she was facing. In her imagination, a creature that could sneak silently in the dark was no different from a monster.
"It should be fine. I guess he is just warning us. If we don't attack him, he won't do anything to us."
Erica felt the warmth coming from An Ming's palm, nodded, and jumped into the carriage behind him. For a long time afterwards, the only sound in the darkness was Erica's movement. She stepped on the steel train floor, making a clattering sound.
An Ming saw the cloaked man slightly turn his head towards Erica, confirming that the other party could also see in the dark.
An Ming couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He thought he might have gained some powerful special abilities, but the next second, they were all over the place.
Just as An Ming was daydreaming, the front carriage lit up. The incandescent light from the old neon lamp dispelled the darkness, and a "light zone" was drawn within a radius of five meters with the carriage as the center. The cloaked man stood right on the edge of the light.
He raised his head slightly to look at the train and platform illuminated by the front carriage, thought for a moment, then pointed at the freight train.
"What's the meaning?"
An Ming didn't understand what the other party wanted to say. Was he saying that the cargo compartment belonged to him?
The other party waited for a while, and seemed to think that since he didn't get An Ming's response, he had acquiesced. He walked towards the cargo compartment on his own, easily jumped into the roofless compartment, and then found a corner of the wall and squatted inside.
"…Senior, he seems to be saying that we should give him a ride."
Erica observed the whole process and came to this conclusion.
An Ming also felt that Erica was right, but it was still unclear whether it was a good idea to bring this mysterious man with him. At this point, the other party had already hidden in the carriage uninvited, and it would not be a good idea to throw him out. If he got too close and suddenly attacked, it would be troublesome.
It's better to have less trouble than more. An Ming decided to ignore this mysterious passenger.
He walked to the operating table of the power car, pressed the button skillfully, and pulled the push rod. The train wheels rubbed against the rusty rails, making a teeth-grinding sound, and slowly began to slide forward.
The headlights illuminated the space about ten meters ahead, but it was still pitch black ten meters away.
"The next stop is Hebir Suburban Station. We are ready to go home. Erica."
After An Ming finished speaking, the train slowly accelerated.