Fatty desperately ran forward in the darkness of the mine tunnel, but the sounds behind him grew closer and closer. He even suspected that if he looked back now, he would see the large pursuing force.
Glancing at the increasingly narrow tunnel, Gu Mian tried to calm Fatty. "Don’t worry, we should be close."
Of course, they also had to prepare for the worst: that there was no mine car at the deepest part of the mine, or that even if there was, it couldn’t be used.
I’d be just the lucky one to face such a situation, Gu Mian thought.
"I knew I shouldn’t have ripped off Xiao En’s face," Gu Mian muttered to himself. "At least it would have scared off that crew behind us."
As he spoke, Gu Mian took out Xiao En’s face again, wondering if it could be reanimated if he stuck it back on the wall.
Fatty, his short legs pumping, hurried on. "Doctor, so now you’re thinking of him? You were sure enjoying yourself when you ripped his face off!"
"I didn’t expect this to happen," Gu Mian retorted.
The two of them strained to run forward, but they couldn’t shake the sounds from behind. Gu Mian could even hear their voices.
"Captain, another... three people... audience requests... eliminate all..."
The voices from behind were faint, so Gu Mian only caught a few words.
Gu Mian had a strong knack for association; he could piece together a few scattered words into a coherent context.
Could the forces behind us have been sent by the spectators? Are those albino patients really that keen on some excitement?
Out of breath, Fatty asked, "Doctor, what do they mean by ’three people’? There are only two of us."
Gu Mian mused aloud, "Could they mean there are only three people chasing us? If so, I think I could take them on."
"Give me a break!" Fatty, still sprinting, retorted. "Just listen to those footsteps! There are definitely more than three. And even if there were only three, would you dare face them if they all had submachine guns, Doctor?"
"No way, of course not." Hearing the sounds behind them getting closer, Gu Mian glanced at the chair leg in his hand. "We’d better keep running."
Firing guns in a mine tunnel was a risky business; one wrong move and the whole tunnel could collapse, burying everyone inside.
Presumably, the people behind wouldn’t dare to fire recklessly, but Gu Mian wasn’t going to bet on it and confront them.
But what did "three people" actually mean?
Not long after, Gu Mian understood what the people behind meant by "three people."
There are three participants in this mine tunnel, Gu Mian realized as he saw red lights approaching.
The tunnel was pitch black, making any glimmer of light strikingly noticeable.
So, when two strong beams of red light pierced the darkness ahead and shone toward them, they both immediately noticed something unusual.
Accompanying the red light was a low rumbling, as if something was slowly moving toward them on the tracks in the center of the tunnel.
Fatty, somewhat stunned, stared ahead. A massive vehicle was slowly moving along the tracks.
It resembled a freight car, with wheels half a man’s height and a large, open-top carriage that seemed to be loaded with something.
Further ahead were its bright red headlights and a slightly dented blue locomotive front.
About three meters up was the cabin window. It was shattered, with only a few shards of glass remaining around the edges. Fatty peered through the broken windshield and saw a familiar face.
"Brother Chu!" Fatty cried out, somewhat excitedly.
Chu Changge sat in the driver’s seat. He glanced over, apparently wanting to say something to the two on the ground.
But before he could speak, his gaze flickered to the area behind Gu Mian and Fatty, as if he had seen something.
Then, Chu Changge swallowed his words and said only, "Get on, quickly! There’s a ladder at the back of the car."
Hearing this, he immediately dashed toward the rear of the car. They could have tried climbing up the front, but it was too high, had no ladder, and would be very difficult. The troops behind would have caught them before they made it.
Fatty also reacted quickly, sprinting toward the rear of the car.
Meanwhile, the footsteps behind them drew closer, and their pursuers’ conversation became clearer.
"Captain, it looks like someone’s driving a mine car up ahead."
"Prepare to shoot the driver."
Gu Mian sped up. Are the troops really going to use guns? Are they willing to risk their own lives just to entertain the audience?
By this time, Fatty had almost reached the back of the car. He glanced back as he rounded a bend.
The mine car’s headlights had a much greater range underground than their searchlights.
Fatty immediately spotted a group of figures in the darkness ahead. What he saw made him gasp.
He had expected to see a squad of soldiers, but instead, he saw a bizarrely outfitted group.
There were about a dozen of them, completely covered from head to toe, their attire closely resembling the hazmat suits from sci-fi movies. Not an inch of skin was exposed, and each wore a large gas mask.
They were a terrifying sight.
They carried long guns on their backs and held crossbow-like weapons, which they were currently aiming toward the front of the mine car.
A few of them spotted Fatty and turned their crossbows toward him.
"Damn it!" Seeing this, Fatty sprinted towards the back of the car.
Gu Mian was already climbing the ladder at the back of the car. Since those in hazmat suits were focused on the front, they hadn’t seen him.
A metal ladder was welded to the back of the car. Gu Mian was climbing it, but just as he was halfway up, a painful howl came from Fatty below.
He glanced down from the ladder and saw Fatty, who had just reached them, clutching his rear in pain.
Looking closer, he saw something embedded in Fatty’s rear.
Before Gu Mian could get a good look, Chu Changge’s voice boomed from the front, "I’m speeding up—"
Gu Mian immediately shouted to Fatty, "Get up here, quick!"
Fatty, ignoring the arrow in his rear, scrambled frantically up the ladder.
Just as Fatty’s foot landed on the lowest rung, a loud roar erupted from the front of the car, and the entire vehicle lurched forward, accelerating rapidly.
Fatty, one foot not yet securely on the ladder, was so startled by the sudden acceleration that he yelped, desperately gripping the rungs with both hands.
Gu Mian climbed amidst the roar of the accelerating mine car. "Hurry up! We’ll lose those guys soon."
If they were still hanging on the ladder when that happened, they could both expect a few more arrows in their rears.
Hearing this, Fatty scrambled up even faster.