The entrance to Trier in the Quaternary period
The "Iron Cross" is looking for the entrance to Trier in the Fourth Epoch
This person reappeared after being missing 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 would never know what is in this box."
What does this mean? Lumian's thoughts raced as his palm actually touched the suitcase.
Right here, he focused his eyes and found that the trader's right palm was not on the handle of the suitcase. It was hanging at the position of the sleeve, as if pulled by an invisible force.
Following the handle of the suitcase, Lumian also saw that there was no arm inside the sleeve.
Empty and supported by an invisible object, without arms, his heart tightened and he subconsciously looked up at the trader. He saw his brown-red eyes, set off by thick beard and thick eyebrows, 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 and calmly took the box.
Don't ask, don't observe, don't defend or attack reflexively, just act as if you haven't noticed anything.
The trader's mood seemed to fluctuate a little, and his laughter became a little mournful.
"Tell Gardner Martin that it won't be long before he too goes underground and experiences all the pain and suffering that I have endured."
Lumian just listened without saying anything. He picked up the small suitcase and was about to turn around and take the "giant" Simon and the "mouse" Christo out of the Albert Mine.
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 just around the corner!
Lumian was even more certain than before that it was the sound of leather shoes walking out of the silent tunnel. The next second, a figure appeared in the eyes of him, "Giant" Simon and "Mouse" Christo.
It was a naked man with a hollow neck and no head, and blood was constantly oozing from the wound.
He was wearing only dark blue shorts and a pair of black leather shoes without laces. The headless monster rushed over in two steps, reached behind the trader, stretched out his 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 his head and the bloody vertebrae connected 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 such a weird and terrifying one.
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 already been frightened by this scene, 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. Behind him, the screams echoing in the Albert Mine were: "Save me, save me, if I die, you will not live either."
"Help!" The three men, holding carbide lamps, walked silently through a secret tunnel that was only 1.23 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 moved forward while turning his body sideways.
He pointed at his pocket with his right hand, with a look of deathly fear on his face. That special mouse gave a very dangerous warning.
Lumian lowered his eyes and glanced at his left chest, then nodded slightly to "Mouse" 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 escape 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 calcium carbide lamp and small suitcase and tried to push the heavy stone next to him.
"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 fell into a struggle, and after a brief hesitation, the "Giant" Simon suspected that if he just ran away and Charles was not killed by the monster, the monster 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. Whoever ran the slowest would be 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, "Mouse" Christo felt that he must be the slowest runner, and there was no way he could hurt "Giant" Simon and "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 mouse's demonstration, the "giant" Simon also chose to obey the order and turned around.
The three of them worked together and blocked the entrance and exit of the secret tunnel in just a few seconds, and the sound of footsteps disappeared.
At the same time, "Mouse" Crystal said in surprise and joy: "It's okay."
There was no more noticeable movement in the pocket where the mouse Teffy was.
Lumian was not happy. He picked up the calcium carbide lamp and small suitcase and said in a deep voice, "Let's talk about it after we return to the first underground floor."
The "Giant" Simon and the "Mouse" Christos had relaxed a little, but they straightened up again and 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, the giant Simon and the mouse Christo would probably have done something extreme.
After the area was matched with the streets and squares on the ground, "Mouse" Christo reached into his pocket and comforted Taifei, sighing deeply: "When I saw that monster, I thought we would 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, nor had they experienced such an abnormal and terrifying thing. This was even more terrifying than the horror stories they heard when they were 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 the situation like that, most people can't remain calm.
Simon the Giant and Crystal the Mouse gain a new appreciation for Ciel's 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 good job, and I will give you some rewards later."
After the praise, the Savoy leader looked at Lumian, nodded slightly and said: "I have a message for you. If you want to go further in the Hunter Path, you must remember this sentence. 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 it.
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 patched white shirt, a yellow vest, a black suit and dark trousers walked in. He had short brown-red hair, brown eyes, a thick and messy beard, and relatively thick eyebrows. He looked like a male bear that had been hungry for a long time. He was the trader who handed the small leather suitcase to Lumian and others and was dragged back by the headless monster.
"Olson, how do you feel?" Gardner Martin asked.
The trader named Olsen smiled and replied, "A simple background, clear origins, brains, courage, action, and decisiveness, who can initially 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, even if he isn't loyal, he will become loyal."
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 curiously, "What's in it?"
"I told you, you better hope 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