Chapter 29: Subway: How to Leave
Zhong Jing reached up to cradle the back of her head, using the brief moment to adjust her falling posture as much as possible.
In her mind, she also prepared herself for the impact from her back.
However, after a few seconds, the anticipated violent impact didn't arrive.
The hard, cold ground was replaced by a pair of hands catching her.
As the familiar scent of camellia wafted into her nostrils, her eyes, which had been unconsciously closed due to nervousness, looked to the side in surprise at the owner of the hands that had caught her.
“Han… Employer?”
The person who appeared in time and caught her, saving her from the impact, was none other than Han Nianling.
While surprised, Zhong Jing also quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
The appearance of an acquaintance dissipated much of the psychological gloom.
Exploring this unfamiliar subway alone, especially after the attack just now, had caused her considerable psychological stress.
The oppression brought about by being in this special underground environment was completely different from the surface environment.
The more enclosed unknown space and dim light would inevitably cause the limbic system to generate fear.
Han Nianling didn't directly respond to Zhong Jing's words.
Instead, after putting Zhong Jing down and seeing the other person's bare face, she immediately took out the spare gas mask from her waist and forcefully pressed it onto Zhong Jing's face.
Although she lowered her voice, Han Nianling's angry tone in her stern questioning was still audible: “Where's your gas mask? Are you tired of living, moving around in a contaminated area without wearing a gas mask?”
Han Nianling’s anger burned Zhong Jing inexplicably.
Even on that night, when a whole day's worth of inspection work was ruined by that male researcher, Han Nianling had maintained her composure and hadn't shown any obvious anger.
Yet now, she was furious simply because Zhong Jing wasn't wearing a gas mask.
“My mask is damaged… Don’t press so hard, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!”
Zhong Jing quickly held Han Nianling's hands.
Han Nianling pressing so hard had probably already left a comical red mark on her face.
However, although she received a scolding, Zhong Jing was still full of gratitude for Han Nianling's actions.
Zhong Jing wouldn't flatter herself into thinking that a mere mercenary like her could catch the eye of this senior researcher.
The other party was merely maintaining the team's strength to increase the chances of escaping their predicament, and she herself still possessed information that Han Nianling needed.
However, she had indeed received Han Nianling's help.
This point wouldn't change.
Even though she had been tricked by Han Nianling several times before, it couldn't erase her gratitude.
After fastening the straps of the gas mask behind her neck, Zhong Jing accepted Han Nianling's kindness.
Although the pollutants that had invaded her body could no longer be reversed, with the filtration of the gas mask, the pungent odor that had been tormenting her sense of smell finally faded considerably.
A breath of fresh air eased the faint burning pain in her respiratory tract.
“Then why didn’t you take remedial measures? The biggest source of pollution in contaminated air is the floating pollutant particles. Don’t you know the emergency method of using a wet cloth for isolation?” Han Nianling’s voice was low, her anger slightly subsided but not completely appeased by Zhong Jing’s explanation.
“But it was too late.”
Zhong Jing forced a smile, though Han Nianling couldn't see her expression change now that she had put on the gas mask: “I fainted for a while after I fell. I only regained consciousness a short while ago. During that time, the amount of polluted air I inhaled couldn't be compensated for by a wet cloth. It's merely the difference between ninety-nine percent and ninety-nine point nine percent.”
“This is the life of a mercenary. Every mission is accompanied by death. It’s not surprising to be favored by the god of death one day. Besides… maybe what I’m experiencing now is another dream or something…”
“I can’t tell, you seem to take it quite well.” After a moment of silence, Han Nianling seemed to have nothing else to say, only giving Zhong Jing a faint evaluation after regaining her composure.
“For now, let’s think about how to leave the subway. By the way, how did you find me?” Sensing that her words had cooled the atmosphere between them, Zhong Jing quickly pulled the topic back to reality. She didn't want to stay here a second longer.
Han Nianling didn't speak but walked in front of Zhong Jing, then reached around to Zhong Jing's back, lightly touched it, and then spread her hand in front of Zhong Jing.
Between Han Nianling's palms, a metal piece about the size of Zhong Jing's fingernail lay quietly.
This square metal piece looked like a small aluminum sheet.
In its center, a device resembling a light bulb was constantly flashing a faint red light.
“This is… a signal transmitter?”
Even though she had never seen such a small gadget, Zhong Jing quickly guessed its purpose.
“Correct. I tracked its signal to find you here, just as you were being caught by the Parasitic Vine.”
“Parasitic Vine?”
Zhong Jing glanced back at the ugly creature on the ground that had been shattered by bullets.
The shattered pieces of flesh were still stained with green mucus.
“It looks like an animal, but it should actually be classified as a plant. It’s a mutated individual of a carnivorous plant. However, after mutation, its prey is no longer limited to small insects. It’s particularly common in dark and damp places. You were lucky that the sharp barbs on its back hooked your nape.”
Zhong Jing wasn't particularly surprised about having a signal transmitter secretly planted on her.
On the contrary, it would have been surprising if such a shrewd Han Nianling hadn't left such a contingency.
“However…” Han Nianling hadn’t finished speaking, her gaze fixed on the faint, rhythmic red flash of the signal transmitter. Under Zhong Jing’s puzzled gaze, she said, “The situation here seems a bit different…”
“Not quite the same?”
“Although the pollution index is similar to the surface, its ability to interfere with signals is much stronger. There should be some special energy field here, and it’s highly likely to be a symbiotic field of an ether-like substance…” Han Nianling said and pointed to her ear, “Even the special band signals of the communication headsets can be completely blocked within their theoretical effective range. Your signal source, even after being amplified, is very weak and intermittent. I also spent quite some effort to find it.”
“Energy field? Ether-like?” Han Nianling’s words filled Zhong Jing’s head with question marks. Needless to say, this was definitely knowledge inaccessible to the civilian class.
“Let’s go. I can’t complete the research work here alone. Let’s go meet up with the others first. I’ve already tracked another person’s signal source.” Saying this, Han Nianling waved her hand. On her wrist, something resembling a watch was flashing red light just like the signal transmitter earlier. That should be Han Nianling’s signal tracking device.
With the subway layout map Zhong Jing had copied earlier, the two of them had a clear understanding of the entire subway station’s layout.
Coupled with the absence of monsters, the two of them quickly started moving.
The subway station they were in was one of the transfer stations where two subway lines connected.
It was more complex than an ordinary subway station.
Many places in the passages were blocked by falling rocks and debris from above, but fortunately, most areas had more than one connecting passage.
Proceeding along the passage from the hall led to the platform of another subway line.
As the two approached, the red dot on Han Nianling's wrist flashed more rapidly.
When a beam of light from a flashlight appeared in the darkness, Zhong Jing recognized the identity of the figure behind it at a glance: “Xiao Liu.”
Hearing someone call out, Xiao Liu immediately turned his flashlight.
The light clearly illuminated the two of them from the darkness.
Xiao Liu’s voice couldn’t suppress the long-suppressed excitement: “Stone! Employer Han!”
The loud shout echoed through the subway station.
Only after shouting did Xiao Liu realize that the commotion he caused could easily attract unexpected dangers.
It was clear how terrified this young mercenary had been being alone here.
However, neither of them was in the mood to reprimand Xiao Liu for his recklessness.
They had more important things to ask: “Where’s your uncle? Where are the others?”
“I thought only my good uncle and I fell… The stairs leading to the surface were buried by a nearby collapsing building. Uncle told me to stay here while he went further into the tunnel…”
Xiao Liu’s body was still trembling slightly, and his voice couldn’t hide the sob in it.
This period of waiting had almost exhausted his courage.
The passage to the surface was buried?
This news made their situation even worse.
It seemed impossible to leave the subway in a short time.
What was even more admirable was Uncle Lin’s courage.
The subway tunnels were not like the outside.
At least here, they could get some light through the cracks above.
But the subway tunnels were different; it was truly pitch-black, where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
The light from a single flashlight was extremely limited.
The courage to venture alone into that unknown area was not something ordinary people possessed.
It was clear that Uncle Lin intended to go through the subway tunnel to another subway station to find a way to the surface.
“How long has Uncle Lin been in there?”
“Probably… for a while now.”
“What about the others?”
“I don’t know, Crow and Si Ling didn’t fall…”
“Let’s hurry and catch up with Uncle Lin to meet him in time.” Interrupting Zhong Jing’s questioning, Han Nianling had already walked towards the stairs leading to the platform. After the incident at the gymnasium, Han Nianling already considered Uncle Lin the most important combat force in the team. An experienced mercenary was much more effective in the outside world than she had imagined.
Currently, gathering the dispersed forces was the crucial means to break the deadlock.