Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 714: Was it once the road where trains roared?
The urban management staff are more ferocious than tigers, but the night watchmen are more ferocious than the urban management staff.

Xie Mi, who felt sympathetic, urged everyone to run quickly, not to be caught by the night watchman, otherwise, the wind fairy in Rostine City would be a lesson for everyone. Although Leticia did not comment, and thought that the night watchman was nothing to worry about, as long as she was given a dagger, she could kill the entire city of Rostine... But Metien, who couldn't bear to see his friends so frightened, persuaded her kindly. Afterwards, everyone, led by Sister Livia, left Ritter Street and went to an alley called Map Street.

The reason why this ordinary alley got such a strange name is said to be that the famous cartographer Marcel Jutta in the Middle Ages started from here when he drew a complex map covering the entire old city of Lund. That epic map is still preserved in the Geological Museum of Lundweitin Assek District, providing precious reference materials for the huge projects such as urban expansion, suburban migration, demolition of ancient city walls and subway excavation in later generations. The name of Map Street has also been passed down with the map. It has always stood here since the Middle Ages, highlighting the ancient history of the Seven Stars Pan District from the side.

Of course, for Sister Livia, who had lived in the Seven Stars District since she was a child, this sense of heaviness linked to history was not so obvious. It was not that she did not know the history of Map Street. On the contrary, it was precisely because she was familiar with this history that she regarded it as an extremely ordinary alley among the countless intricate alleys in the Seven Stars District, and there was nothing surprising about it.

It is well known that in the Seven Stars Area, and even in the entire city of Lunwitin, history is the least valuable thing. Before Marcel Jutta completed his epic map, Old Lun had demolished thirteen sections of ancient city walls handed down from the Wollmuth Dynasty, and almost half of the thirteen thousand ancient sites in Kenkville Green on the outskirts of the city had been excavated.

Therefore, although the little girl would sometimes marvel at an ancient stone gate or a half-wall with ancient traces left by her, she did not distract herself and passed by them as she had done in the past thousands of ordinary days and nights, without any nostalgia. Perhaps one day when she left the city of Lunweiting and wandered alone, she would suddenly recall the days when she hurriedly passed through an alley in the Qixingpan District, and thus develop a complex nostalgia and distant recollection, which is exactly the emotion that every Lunweiting person will experience, and it is also the present that this ancient city is experiencing.

But at least not now.

Olvera pushed Rolena's wheelchair and followed Sister Livia closely. She could vaguely hear the voices of the city management law enforcement officers coming from Ritter Street behind her. She asked nervously, "Sister Livia, where are we going to escape to? Will we be able to make it in time?"

"Do not worry."

The nun, who was in good physical condition, smiled and breathed slowly and evenly, appearing to be in a state of ease. "Urban management enforcement areas are usually limited to a few nearby streets. We can avoid the eyes and ears of the night watchmen if we run to... Zolante Street. However, considering that Miss Lorena's movements seem to be inconvenient, we can go through the underground passage. If we use the underground passage, we will never be discovered by the night watchmen, so you can rest assured."

When she said "Miss Lorena's movements seem to be inconvenient", her tone became a little vague, probably because she didn't want to stimulate the self-esteem of someone involved. Princess Haiqi, who was sitting in a wheelchair, was silent for a while. She really wanted to tell her that my wheelchair can go around the Seven Stars in half an hour at full speed. Not to mention the city management, you may not be able to catch up with the magic chariot of the Night Watch. But unfortunately, she didn't have the opportunity to defend herself because Sister Livia suddenly stopped.

This is a remote corner of Map Street. In front of me is an old house that has been abandoned for a long time but has not been demolished for some reason. The small courtyard has been occupied by the greenery of the natural era because no one has taken care of it. Short trees and weeds grow wantonly, and vines climb the mottled walls and damaged eaves like snakes. The narrow alley causes these plants to grow in a dark environment. The dense green seems to be soaked in the dark muddy water underground, appearing deep and mysterious, like the ruins of ancient desolate times.

"Please follow me, everyone. Be careful not to get your clothes caught by vines and branches." Sister Livia warned, and then walked into the gloomy old house first. The others followed carefully, passing through the long courtyard that looked like a tropical jungle, and came to the only empty room that was still intact. There was nothing here, only scattered bricks and rubble and cracked floors. But the nun walked to the corner and moved a few broken bricks without any hesitation. After cleaning up the dust and gravel, a tightly closed trap door magically appeared in front of everyone.

After opening the trapdoor, there was a staircase leading to the underground, and there was a faint light of fire in the passage. If there was no one to lead the way, who would have thought that there would be such a secret underground passage hidden in this place? And looking at the fresh footprints on the stairs, it was clear that someone had been using it.

"Under Lunweiting, there is still Lunweiting." After seeing this scene, Metian finally understood what his brother meant by this sentence.

Sister Livia signaled with her eyes that Metien and Shemi should go first, followed by Leticia, then Olvera carefully pushed Rorona's wheelchair down the stairs, and finally she herself. Before leaving, she did not forget to restore the traces near the trapdoor and cover its existence again. In fact, there was no need to do so, as the bricks and rubble that were peeling off the walls and ceiling every moment would cover it up.

There was a long passage under the stairs, but it was a little narrow and could only accommodate one person. Sister Livia took down the lantern prepared for travelers from the wall. Perhaps because she saw that Olvera was particularly afraid of the dark, she handed it to Rorona, who held it in her wheelchair to illuminate the passage. After that, they moved forward. Although the underground light was dim and the air was turbid, the nun kept telling them the origin and story of this passage, so it didn't seem boring.

After walking for about ten minutes, they came out of an exit that was half a person's height. In front of them was still a passage, but unlike ordinary passages, this passage was wider and taller, about thirty meters on each side, and the ceiling was more than ten meters high. In addition, there was an open platform, a brass sign hanging in the air with an iron chain, and an oak bench with a half-rotten handrail against the wall. In the middle of the two platforms was a sunken section tunnel, laid with long-rotten sleepers and rails that smelled of rust, and it curved to the end of the dark world, a tunnel even farther away.

"This is--"

When the guests saw this scene, their eyes widened in shock.

Sister Livia's calm voice came from the side: "This is the North Lolde subway station platform. It was completed and opened to traffic in 1812, and then abandoned in 1839 due to insufficient passenger flow and high operating costs."

"And it's just one of the 41 abandoned subway platforms in Renwiting."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)