Chapter 1117: A Small Favor
Zhang Heng was about to assemble a Lego motorcycle and let the old man lead the way. He searched the entire abandoned subway line, but he did not expect to see Fan Meinan’s figure again at the entrance of the tunnel.
Fan Meinan was not injured. Other than her pale face, her condition didn’t change much from before they separated.
Ma Lu was elated to see this. “Where did you run off to? I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Oh, I heard some movement from the tunnel earlier, so I went in to take a look and I accidentally wandered off,” Fan Meinan mumbled. Then, she turned to look at Zhang Heng and asked with concern.
“You’re back? Did you run into any trouble down there?”
“Yes, I did run into some trouble on the way, but it’s been taken care of now.” Zhang Heng gave a brief account of his battle with the black python. Then, he pointed at the old man behind him, “He’s Jemengard’s guide. He can take us away from this subway line. In addition, he can also find your sister from that circular subway line.”
“My sister is no longer there.” Fan Meinan shook her head.
“Hmm?” Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
“The movement I heard earlier should have come from my sister.” Fan Meinan lied, “The movement came from the tunnel at the other end. I picked up my sister’s phone chain there, so I continued chasing after her. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find her.”
“Is that so?” Zhang Heng was a little surprised. He asked the old man, “Where does the tunnel that the snakes are lead to?”
“Do you mean the tunnel on the first floor? That tunnel is about three kilometers long. It’s a dead-end, and there’s nothing at the end,” the old man answered truthfully.
“Is that so?” Zhang Heng thought about it and inserted the Infinite Building Block into the Lego motorcycle. “Let’s go take a look.”
The two spent about 15 minutes searching the tunnel where the snakes were, but unfortunately, they couldn’t find Cheng Sihan. When they returned, they met up with Fan Meinan and Ma Lu and walked into the infinite loop tunnel.
The old man took out an old-fashioned kerosene lamp from the waterproof cloth. However, the fuel inside was not kerosene but something like dried cow dung. He lit the kerosene lamp and held it in front of his face. Then, he reminded the three people beside him, “Don’t leave the range of the light later. As long as the light hits the place, it will not fall into a cycle. If your companion is in this tunnel, we should be able to meet her on the way.”
The old man made a solemn promise to Zhang Heng. Nonetheless, the four walked to the platform they had just entered, but they still could not see Cheng Sihan.
“Is there any other place to hide people here?” Zhang Heng asked the dumbfounded old man.
“There are quite a lot of places to hide people. After all, more than half of the subway line has been built, but this is the only part of the road that will cause people to fall into a cycle.” The old man did not seem to have expected such an outcome. He had promised Zhang Heng that finding the latter’s companions would not be a problem, but he did not expect him to go back on his word. He sorted out his emotions before replying.
Fan Meinan, who had been silent the whole way, also spoke up, “Actually, we don’t have to worry too much about her. Since my sister isn’t trapped in this tunnel, she shouldn’t be in any danger. She just left without saying goodbye to us. If you’ve known her for a long time, you’ll know that she’s always been like this. She does things her own way and rarely cares about other people’s feelings.”
“Then, do you have any way to contact her? I’m afraid we won’t be able to find out where Loki is. In that case, we only have Beta left,” Zhang Heng said, “If your sister really left in a hurry, it’s most likely because she’s chasing Beta. We need her to lead us to Beta.”
“I’ll try to contact her later, but we’ve been through a lot today, and I’m a little tired. Why don’t we call it a day? I’ll contact you if there’s any news,” Fan Meinan said, “Thank you. To be honest, I didn’t expect you to come looking for me, and you’re even willing to find a way to cure my rare disease. Most people would avoid hearing Loki’s name. After all, most people might not agree with his style of doing things, but they definitely don’t want to make things difficult for him.”
“He provoked me first,” Zhang Heng said, “I’ve been targeted by him ever since he sent you to find me. No matter what I do, it won’t change his attitude toward me, so naturally, I don’t have to worry about his attitude.”
After a pause, Zhang Heng added, “Since you’re tired, go back and rest. You don’t have to worry too much. Loki isn’t the only one who can cure your illness. I’ve already posted a reward on the forum. There might be news soon.”
“Are you really going to trade 200,000 points or a B-grade item for my life?” Fan Meinan asked after a moment of silence.
“That’s a fair price,” Zhang Heng said calmly.
“I’m not talking about who loses and who gains…” Fan Meinan opened her mouth. “To be honest, I don’t think my life is worth that many points.”
“You’re right.” Zhang Heng nodded. “So you’d better think about how you’re going to pay me back after you’re rescued.”
“…”
After that, Zhang Heng turned to Ma Lu. “Master Ma.”
“Yes, what is it?” Even now, Ma Lu still couldn’t believe that he had really escaped. When he saw the iron ladder going up, he almost cried out in excitement. Then, he was immersed in the joy of finally being able to return home.
A few hours ago, he would never have imagined what he would experience on this trip. In fact, even now, he still felt like he was dreaming, whether it was the endless tunnel (Ma Lu deliberately looked at the time and realized that it was indeed much shorter when he returned than when he went in), or the crazy snake swarm, the sperm whale on the second floor of the station made him feel incredibly magical.
Not to mention Zhang Heng’s magic trick of using blocks to make real objects, enough to turn his worldview upside down. It was not until Zhang Heng called his name that he was able to recall reality from his memories.
“Can I trouble you to do me a favor?” Zhang Heng asked.
“Of course.” Ma Lu agreed without hesitation. He knew very well that if it were not for Zhang Heng, he would not have been able to return to the ground and see his wife and children again, so he had already made up his mind, no matter what Zhang Heng wanted him to do, no matter how difficult it was, he would not refuse.
In the end, he heard Zhang Heng continue, “Very good. I’ll have to Trouble Master Ma to forget what happened down there then.”
“What?”