American homeless people, surviving in the city

Chapter 135 Trapped Underground

After silencing the people in the basement with a powerful roar, stopping their frantic wailing, the voice breathed a sigh of relief. Lin Qi could tell it was a hoarse male voice, sounding somewhat immature, suggesting the speaker wasn't very old.

After shouting that, the voice suddenly became much weaker, and then it sighed softly: "Sigh, everyone calm down. Didn't this gentleman say that he can only save us after he leaves here alive?"

"Are you really going to act recklessly here? Do you really think these two can break our chains with their bare hands?"

Perhaps it was that shout that calmed everyone down; upon hearing this, they were speechless and said nothing.

Only the black woman covered her face with one hand and sobbed softly, still muttering curses like "devil, monster," but she stopped howling madly.

After successfully calming the crowd in the basement, the voice raised slightly and called out to Lin Qi, "Sir, I'm sorry everyone offended you just now. Please understand that everyone's mental state is not very stable."

"However, could you please let me say a few more words? I have some information that might help you escape from here and deal with this cult."

In fact, Lin Qi had already stopped when he heard the young man speak logically.

Upon hearing the young man's voice calling him, he turned around without hesitation: "Really? You still have clues?"

"Yes, sir."

Only then did Lin Qi realize that the voice that had helped him quell the crowd behind him came from a pale-faced young man. His clothes were also tattered, and his thick blond hair was stained with blood and grime.

But unlike the others in the basement, his eyes were still clear and bright, not empty and lifeless.

Noticing Lin Qi's gaze, the young man smiled sheepishly: "When you first came in, I think I fainted from blood loss and just woke up. I happened to overhear the latter part of your conversation."

"...Do you know that the people who kidnapped you are a cult?" Lin Qi suddenly noticed that the young man's first sentence mentioned "cult".

This was the first time he and Chen Kelei had ever heard anyone mention the word "cult"!

The young man was taken aback, then nodded matter-of-factly: "Of course, I've been brought here, how could I not know who arrested me?"

"When they are on duty here, they wear a strange robe. They go to a room deep in the basement at a fixed time every day. Moreover, they collect our blood, not to sell it for money, but to perform their rituals."

"Even just the time I spent in the basement was enough to show that these kidnappers are followers of some unknown and evil cult. Everyone knows this, but perhaps their minds are no longer quite right, which is why they didn't mention it in their rambling just now."

"And, even putting aside everything else..."

He used his free hand, unchained, to pry open his lips, revealing a horrifying dark red cavity inside: "Would a legitimate human trafficker go to the trouble of pulling out all the teeth of the people they capture?"

The young man gave a bitter laugh.

Seeing the horrific scene the young man described, Lynch completely understood his thoughts. He felt a pang of sympathy, his teeth aching, and he grimaced, saying nothing more. He instead asked, "What do you know about the 'clues' you mentioned?"

The young man spoke without hesitation: "I know the situation is urgent, so I'll get straight to the point. It's about the car keys you're looking for..."

"I don't know where the car keys are now, but I noticed that the person responsible for driving this group of cult members was a brown-skinned woman. She wasn't very tall, but she was quite muscular and should be easy to spot in a crowd."

"If you can find her, or find her place in this cabin, you might be able to find the car keys."

Finally hearing such clear and useful information, Lin Qi was somewhat moved. He nodded repeatedly, "I understand, is there anything else?"

The young man pondered for a few seconds, then looked troubled and hesitated before speaking, "I do know some information, but I'd like to ask you a question first."

"Sir, after you escape this place, how do you plan to find someone to rescue us?"

How to save someone?

Lin Qi was slightly taken aback when he heard the question.

He knew there were problems with the Seattle Police Department, so for a moment he couldn't think of any way to rescue these people.

But he didn't know how much these people actually knew, so he simply said, "Call the police. The police will come to rescue you."

"If we simply call the police, I don't think it will be effective."

The young man retorted seriously, then, fearing Lin Qi might be confused, quickly explained, "Actually, I've seen police officers come here more than once—of course, they weren't in uniform. But because of my previous... profession, I'm very familiar with the faces of many police officers, especially some high-ranking officers."

"Although the light here is very dim, I'm absolutely certain I didn't mistake those officers' faces!"

"Therefore, I think... if you want to solve the problem by calling the police, you'd better prepare more materials."

The young man explained cautiously, afraid that Lin Qi wouldn't believe him. Little did he know that while Lin Qi was somewhat agitated, he was already used to it.

Sure enough, witnesses here also saw the cult and the police colluding with each other.

However, although Lin Qi was used to this kind of thing, the situation the young man described did indeed present a serious problem.

Even though Chen Kelei is in the police station, he's just a newly recruited junior officer and has little influence over police actions. If the police station doesn't want to handle the case, they have various ways to refuse to file it.

Therefore, just as Lynch had thought, after much deliberation, Lynch looked at the young man and asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

The young man seemed to have considered this question as well, and decisively asked, "Did you bring your phone? Take more photos here; they can serve as evidence."

Lin Qi shook his head: "As I just said, we both escaped here. We were in a car accident, and we don't know where our phones went in the accident."

The young man's expression darkened, and he took a deep breath: "Hiss...this is going to be difficult. And, to be honest, I don't think you'll find the keys to that SUV outside easily. I think the keys are most likely on that woman's person."

"If that's the case, you won't be able to contact the outside world, and it will be difficult to escape by car. The cultists are still searching for you all over the place... Even if you're not in chains, it will probably be very difficult for you to escape from here."

Lynch frowned; he knew the young man was telling the truth. But what was done was done, and he had no better options.

He could only say in a deep voice, "Then we have no choice but to go and look for it. Otherwise, we can't just wait here to die."

"

After a moment of silence, the young man suddenly spoke up: "Wait, since neither of us can escape now..."

"If we look at it from a different angle, I might have another way."