Winter Returns

Chapter 153 The Gate of the Past (Part 1) (Thanks to Alliance Leader soysauce for the donation)
"What happened?" Ruoping's voice trembled.

"I don't know!" Du Kang sounded very anxious. "It couldn't be that the power went out, could it? It suddenly went out, it was working fine just now..."

"It's probably water that got in." A faint light illuminated the surroundings as Qingyi turned on her phone's flashlight. "When the four of us pushed that iron gate just now, the flashlight was on the ground. That's probably when the accident happened."

"I'm really having a bad day." Du Kang was still not giving up, so he shook the flashlight in his hand, but there was still no response.

Apart from him, the other three people took out their phones, which, although far less powerful than the beams of a flashlight, at least allowed them to see what was happening nearby.

"Let's go back," Ruoping said first. "What's the point of going on an adventure when there's no power?"

"Isn't there a cell phone here...?"

"Can they be the same?" She raised an eyebrow. "How much battery does your phone have left? Mine only has a little over ten percent left. What if it shuts down? Do you want to go back in the dark?"

“It’s not like we can’t go on in the dark,” Du Kang retorted softly. “We can just turn around and keep going. There’s only one road, and once we get to a place with water…”

"No, we have to go back now!"

Ruoping finally showed the demeanor of a big sister.

Since she had said that, the three boys exchanged glances and unconditionally agreed.

What else can you do if you don't vote in favor?

Zhang Shutong doesn't want to conserve energy in the tunnel for the time being.

He turned around and said nothing more. Just as he took a step, a slight slapping sound came from the soles of his shoes.

This is……

The sound of water?

He frowned and immediately looked at the ground. In the dim light, he saw a stream of water winding its way to his feet. But how could there be water here?
They've been away from the stairs for seven or eight minutes, haven't they?

Zhang Shutong bent down, gently touched his fingertips, and immediately his fingertips were covered with a layer of yellow muddy water. He rubbed his fingers together and was quite certain that this was not dust from the ground, but mud.

Logically, the muddy water that had seeped into the old house shouldn't have flowed this far. He immediately thought of two possibilities:

First, the old house is located in a low-lying area, and they did not close the tunnel door when they came down. As long as the rain outside continues, it is very likely that the rainwater will flow into the house through that dilapidated wooden door and then flow into the tunnel continuously.
Secondly, this tunnel is not a truly flat road. Perhaps drainage was taken into account when it was built, and the entire road is sloping, but the slope is so gentle that it feels like walking on flat ground.

He was studying the skills of mud and water when Ruoping urged him again:

"Let's go!"

Seeing that Du Kang was still standing there fiddling with the flashlight, she tugged at him:
"Give up now, go first, I'll bring up the rear. It's getting late..."

"Wait a minute, don't pull me..."

Then came a sharp bang.

Zhang Shutong quickly shone his phone light on the two of them. In the light, Ruoping stood frozen in place, while Du Kang's hand was still in mid-air, as if he was about to grab something, and he was holding a piece of plastic in his hand.

Zhang Shutong looked down at the ground again and saw that the flashlight had fallen to the ground.

"What's going on with you two?"

"I was going to take the battery off and shake off the water, but Ruoping wasn't paying attention and suddenly pulled me," Du Kang said, not annoyed at all, but instead speaking up for Ruoping, "It's my fault, it's my fault, I didn't hold it properly."

As he spoke, he bent down to pick up the flashlight, but just as he held it in his hand, there was another soft sound, like something hitting the ground—

Battery.

The battery fell out of the open battery compartment and rolled forward along the slight slope of the tunnel.

Du Kang instinctively tried to stop it with his foot, but failed. The battery rolled faster and faster between his legs.

Seeing this, he slapped his forehead and sighed:

"I told you I was having bad luck today. It would be terrible if I lost the things I borrowed. Wait a minute, I'll be right back..."

After saying that, he turned around and ran after the battery.

Ruoping opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. Her voice also became softer, "Hey, slow down."

Qingyi comforted him, saying, "It's alright, you didn't do it on purpose. He just hadn't walked enough, let him run a few more steps..."

Before he could finish speaking, a loud bang suddenly rang out!
This time the sound was much louder than the previous two, followed by Du Kang's mournful wail. The three of them were all stunned and quickly raised their phones to check.

The group was only a few steps apart.

"what happened?"

As Zhang Shutong walked, he asked questions. He had been following at the back of the group. It was already dark around him, and in the chaos, he could hardly see anything. He walked quickly over, and his gaze passed over Ruoping and Qingyi's backs. He saw Du Kang squatting on the ground, holding his head in his hands, and gasping for breath in pain.

"We met up," Qingyi said.

"Meet up?"

As if in response to his question, Qingyi turned to the side.

Only then could Zhang Shutong see the scene in front of him clearly. They had unknowingly walked to the end of the tunnel—and behind Du Kang, a door stood quietly!

...Zhang Shutong only glanced at the door before quickly looking at Du Kang:

"You weren't bleeding, were you?"

Ruoping had already pried Du Kang's hands away:

"Where did you touch? Don't keep covering it..."

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Du Kang gasped. "Damn, how come there's another door here? I thought this air-raid shelter only had stairs, how come there's a door..."

He yelled and screamed for a long time, but you could tell from the sound that the impact was quite severe. It took him a while to recover.

"No bleeding." Ruoping checked his head over and then said irritably, "Who told you not to watch where you're going? You just kept your head down and ran!"

"I just wanted to pick up the batteries and head back as quickly as possible..."

Du Kang, supporting himself on his knees, simply leaned against the door, his face contorted in a mournful expression.
"I knew my luck was terrible today, I should have just gone to eat."

Qingyi burst out laughing. "I thought you wanted to study this door some more."

"Whatever, love is what it is," Du Kang muttered. "Did they have any concept of fire escape doors back in the last century? What's the point of leaving this thing here... sigh!"

With a creak, his body began to fall backward uncontrollably. Zhang Shutong reacted quickly and pulled him up, managing to keep Du Kang steady and avoid another close encounter with the ground.

But everyone knows the problem isn't about whether or not there's contact, but rather—

The door opened by itself!
It's impossible not to be curious, but they hadn't even had time to pay attention to the door, let alone vote on whether to open it now or come back tomorrow. Of course, all of this was based on the premise that the door could be opened. But no matter what, they never expected that the door at the end of the tunnel would open so easily just because Du Kang touched it!
For a moment, everyone fell silent, only raising their phones to examine the half-open door by the light. The inside was completely dark, and nothing seemed amiss.

"I'm going to see what's hidden behind this today!" Du Kang finally said fiercely. He pushed the door open with one hand. Zhang Shutong didn't have time to stop him. The rusty door hinges made a long creaking sound as Du Kang stepped into the room.

He immediately followed, shining his phone back and forth, one step, two steps, three steps... When Zhang Shutong had almost reached the center of the door, an indescribable shock welled up in his heart—

This looks like a room!
Zhang Shutong wasn't even sure whether to call it a room or a secret room, but what else could a room located at the end of a tunnel be called if not a secret room?
He wasn't the only one surprised; his three best friends were even more astonished.
Why is there another table?

Du Kang asked in surprise.

Zhang Shutong looked over and saw a wooden table leaning against the wall. The wooden table was about half a person's height, without even a drawer. It was just a plank and four legs, which seemed too shabby to be used for office work. But at times like this, the simpler the place, the more chilling it felt.

Zhang Shutong strode to the desk, where a dried-out candlestick sat. His pupils contracted, and in an instant, he confirmed his guess—

There are signs of human activity here!

"Why is there another bed?" Ruoping murmured.

Zhang Shutong looked back and saw another wooden bed, facing a wooden table on the other side of the room. The flashlights of two mobile phones, like fireflies in the night, illuminated both sides. Zhang Shutong rushed to the wooden bed again, and one more shocking conclusion after another appeared in his mind.

This really is a bed.

If a desk and candles indicate that someone has been there, then the bed goes a step further—

It's not just about activities, it's about long-term residence!

But who would stay in a secret underground room for long?

Or ask another question—

Where is that person now?
Zhang Shutong felt a chill run through his body.

He stared calmly at the wooden bed, which had no bedding, only a thin bed board. Zhang Shutong ran his finger across the bed board, leaving a thin layer of dust on his fingertip.

Whoever once lived here probably means they moved away a long time ago...

Is this really the case?
Move away?

And not something else?
"Shutong, you...you mean, someone might have already died here..." Ruoping's voice trembled.

Zhang Shutong wrinkled his nose. He didn't smell any rotten smell, only a faint musty smell. As he walked along, he noticed that many parts of the tunnel walls were covered with moss, indicating that even on non-rainy days, the air humidity was still very high.

It's impossible for a corpse to form in damp conditions. He was about to check the remaining two walls when Qingyi was already standing in the middle, holding her phone.

“I’ve looked in all four corners, and there’s no one else alive besides us. Of course, there’s no dead either.”

Zhang Shutong nodded, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders.

Let's make an assumption now.

If this air-raid shelter was built in the 1970s, it is now 2012. Forty years have passed in between. For some reason, someone lived here for a period of time during those forty years.

The good news is that at least they haven't found anyone yet.

The bad news is that the existence of this room itself is eerie.

He shone his flashlight again and looked around; the only furniture in the room was a bed and a table.

So what is this place used for?

The first thing that came to his mind was prison.

But what could be trapped several meters below the ground?
(End of this chapter)