Chapter 277 Escape The entrance to Trier in the Fourth Epoch? The Iron Cross was looking for the entrance to Trier in the Fourth Epoch? This person reappeared after disappearing for several months? Hearing the trader's words, several thoughts flashed through Lumian's mind. He remembered the warning not to communicate verbally and to try not to speak, and without responding to the trader's words, he leaned forward slightly, stretched out his right hand, and tried to take the small brown leather suitcase. The hungry bear-like man did not refuse, but just laughed: "If I were Gardner Martin, I'd better pray that I never know what's in this box." What does this mean? Lumian's thoughts raced as his palm actually touched the suitcase. At this moment, his eyes focused and he found that the trader's right palm was not on the handle of the suitcase. It was suspended in the sleeve, as if pulled by an invisible force. Following the handle of the suitcase, Lumian also saw that there was no arm in the sleeve, it was empty, supported by an invisible object! No arms! His heart tightened, and he subconsciously looked up at the trader. He saw that his brown-red eyes, set off by thick beard and thick eyebrows, were as cold as a beast, filled with undisguised hatred and fear. As various thoughts came to his mind, Lumian forced himself to control his reactions. He calmly took the box without asking, observing, or reflexively defending or attacking, as if he hadn't noticed anything. The trader's mood seemed to fluctuate a bit, and his laughter became a little bit sad: "Tell Gardner Martin that it won't be long before he too goes underground!
"All the pain and suffering I've endured, he will also experience it!" Lumian just listened without saying anything. Holding the small suitcase, he turned around and left the Albert Mine with the "Giant" Simon and the "Mouse" Christo. Suddenly, behind the trader, at the other entrance, the sound of footsteps was heard again. Compared with before, it is clearer and seems to be very close. Lumian was even more certain than before that it was the sound of leather shoes walking in the silent tunnel! The next second, a figure appeared in the eyes of him, Christo and Simon. It was a naked man with a hollow neck, no head, and blood oozing from the wound. He was wearing only a pair of dark blue shorts and a pair of black leather shoes without laces. The headless monster rushed to the back of the trader in two steps, stretched out its hands, grabbed his head, and pulled it upward and backward with force. "Save me! Save me!" The trader could no longer hide his panic and fear and shouted loudly. Almost at the same time, his entire head was lifted up, revealing the blood-stained spine hanging underneath. It was very long and swayed gently, like a tail. Silently, the trader's shirt, vest, trousers and suit all lost their support and collapsed to the ground. He had no body at all, just a head and a bloody spine attached to it. "Save me! Save me!" The trader struggled hard, but was held tightly by the headless monster, as if trying to stuff him into its empty neck. Although Lumian had seen many twisted and terrifying monsters in the real Cordu Village, this was the first time he had encountered something so weird and terrifying. He turned around without hesitation, ignoring the trader's head's call for help, and rushed straight to the entrance of the secret tunnel. The "giant" Simon and the "mouse" Christo, who had been frightened by this scene for a long time, finally no longer had to try hard to control themselves. Like cyclists hearing the starting gun, they bent their backs and turned around to go into the tunnel. Lumian caught up with them in a few steps, and behind him was the shrill cry echoing in the Albert Mine: "Save me! Save me!"
"If I die, you won't be able to live!" "Help!" The three men carried carbide lamps and walked silently through the secret tunnel that was only meters high. Their hearts contracted with the screams from behind. A few minutes later, the shrill screams stopped abruptly, and the direction of the Albert Mine fell into deathly silence. Then, the tapping sound of leather shoes echoed in this secret tunnel. "Mouse" Christo was the shortest, and his posture of running away with his back bent was the most relaxed. He turned his body sideways as he moved forward, pointing frantically at his pocket with his right hand, and his face showed the fear of death. That special mouse gave a very dangerous warning? Lumian lowered his eyes and glanced at his left chest, then nodded slightly to Christo, meaning, I'm behind you, just keep running. The sounds of kicking and stomping were getting closer and closer, and Lumian and the others were on high alert. Although they had to bend their backs to travel through the secret tunnel, this only slightly reduced their escape speed. After all, they were all extraordinary people who were good at fighting and had significantly enhanced physical fitness. Time passed by minute by minute, and just when the sound of leather shoes walking was only a few meters away and Lumian felt a chill on his back, the three finally arrived at the tunnel exit and went out one after another. Seeing that the "Giant" Simon was about to flee on his own, Lumian, who had returned to the agreed area, stopped remaining silent and growled in a low voice: "Come and block the door!" As he spoke, he turned around, dropped the carbide lamp and small suitcase, and tried to push the heavy stone next to the exit. "Giant" Simon subconsciously ignored Lumian's order, but his heart was still frightened by the low shout. Along the way, he has become accustomed to obeying the other party's orders, as if that is the only guarantee for his survival. He was in a struggle. After a brief hesitation, the "giant" Simon suspected that if he ran away like this and Charles was not killed by the monster, the other party would most likely attack him and kill the "deserter"! "Mouse" Christo had a similar idea, but he thought that if he and the other two did not go to help, Charles would not waste time blocking the tunnel exit. At that time, whoever ran the slowest would become the first target of the monster's attack, "buying" enough time for the other two to escape. After weighing the characteristics and sequence of each other's paths, Christo felt that he must be the slowest runner, and there was no way he could hurt the "Giant" Simon and the "Lion" Charles in a short period of time, forcing them to slow down and be overtaken by him. He stopped running without hesitation, returned to the tunnel exit, and helped Lumian push the stone blocking the door. With the demonstration of this "mouse", the "giant" Simon also chose to obey the order and turned his body. The three of them worked together and blocked the entrance and exit of the secret tunnel in just a few seconds. The tapping sounds of footsteps then disappeared. At the same time, the "rat" Christo said in surprise and joy: "never mind!" There was no more noticeable movement in his pocket, which contained the mouse Teffy. Lumian was not happy. He picked up the calcium carbide lamp and small suitcase and said in a deep voice: "Let's go back to the first underground floor." The somewhat relaxed spirits of "Giant" Simon and "Mouse" Christos tensed up again, and they instinctively followed Lumian to climb the rock wall and turned into another secret tunnel. They did not encounter any attacks along the way, but being underground, the surroundings were either completely silent or there were occasional strange noises. No matter what the environment was, it was not a good experience for them who had just been frightened. If Lumian had not been calm and composed, "Giant" Simon and "Mouse" Christo would probably have done something extreme.
After returning to the area that corresponds to the streets and squares on the ground, "Mouse" Christo reached into his pocket to comfort Taifei and sighed deeply: "When I saw that monster, I thought we were going to die there." He and Simon had killed more than ten people, and had dealt with other extraordinary people, and even fought with them, but they had never seen a monster like the one just now, and had never experienced such an abnormal and terrifying thing. This is scarier than the horror stories they heard as children! Lumian smiled: "Didn't the boss say that? If there is no communication and the box is not opened, there won't be much risk." But seeing that, most people would not be able to remain calm! Simon the Giant and Crystal the Mouse had a new understanding of Charles' mental fortitude. "Thanks to" the fright brought by the trader and the headless monster, the two had no interest in what was in the box. They followed Lumian, hurriedly left the underground, returned to No. 11 Fountain Street, and met Gardner Martin in the study. Gardner Martin took the small suitcase, glanced at it casually, and said with a smile: "Very good, you all did a great job, I will give you some rewards later." After praising him, the leader of the Savoy Party looked at Lumian and nodded slightly. “I have a message for you. "If you want to go further in the Hunter Path, remember this sentence: "The devil is our friend, and hell is others." (Note 1) The devil is our friend, and hell is others... Lumian couldn't figure out what this sentence really meant, and Gardner Martin didn't explain. After watching the three men leave the study, Gardner Martin turned sideways and looked at the door connecting the study and the living room. The door creaked open and a man wearing a half-high silk hat, a white shirt, a yellow vest, a black suit and dark trousers walked in. He has short brown-red hair, brown-red eyes, a thick and messy beard, and relatively thick eyebrows. He looks like a male bear that has been hungry for a long time. He is exactly the trader who handed the small suitcase to Lumian and others and was dragged back by the headless monster. "Olson, how do you feel?" Gardner Martin asked. The trader known as Olson smiled and replied: "A simple background, a clear origin, smart, courageous, proactive, and decisive enough to be able to combine several unrelated people into a team in a very short period of time. Isn't this what you want? "As for loyalty, that's the last thing you need to worry about. By then, he will become loyal even if he isn't." Gardner Martin nodded slightly: "Observe him for a while and see who he comes into contact with." After discussing this topic, Gardner Martin looked at the small suitcase on the table and asked with a little curiosity: "What's in here?" "I said, you'd better pray that you never know." The trader called Olsen smiled, picked up his suitcase and left the study. After walking a few steps in the hall, he suddenly felt that his head was a little crooked, so he raised his hands, pressed his head, and straightened it with a click. Note 1: The original quote is from Montaillou (End of this chapter)