Gou learns witchcraft in another world

Chapter 25 Discovery of the Main Sewage Channel

The difficulty of a slope is probably enough to frighten those who are not physically active, while those with exceptional skills will find it easy.

Cole wasn't that skilled; although his years as an agent required him to travel around, the amount of physical activity he did wasn't too strenuous.

Even so, Cole still showed his experience in the face of this challenge.

Once he reached the slope, he began to mimic rock climbing movements, facing the slope, bending over, and searching for indentations step by step. After finding a step, he would first test it with the tip of his boot, making sure it was firmly in place before moving his back foot.

Smith also helped by shining the light on his feet, which saved Cole a lot of effort in figuring things out one by one.

Moving slowly like this, finally, four minutes later, Cole's toes touched the passageway next to the main sewage road.

After standing up straight, Cole looked around and then waved into the light from Smith's lamp.

It's a sign that everything is safe.

Having received this response, Ellis began to prepare.

However, he wasn't going to use Cole's method, since Mr. Lucas was still on him, so Ellis simply used the slide method, bringing his legs together and letting his own weight carry him down.

This method is much faster than the former, but it also has its problems; Ellis's speed increases as he gets closer to the bottom of the slope.

Ellis even tried to stop the brakes with his hands, but touching the slippery moss had no effect.

Fortunately, Cole below was already prepared, and he caught his partner as Ellis came down.

It was a close call, but no real danger.

Having witnessed the former's demonstration, Smith dared not take the risk. He slung the flashlight around his waist and slowly made his way down. This time, nothing went wrong.

Finally, when it was Luo Qiu's turn, he was the most relaxed. He also used rock climbing, but he moved very quickly, and in less than two minutes, he rejoined the three.

……

The main sewage road was in a worse state than they had anticipated.

The ceiling is an egg-shaped brick arch, blackened by years of sewage. The path underfoot is slippery, covered with a layer of sticky black substance that makes a squelching sound when stepped on.

The smell here, that fermented, putrid odor, has accumulated over the years and become almost tangible.

Shining a flashlight around, you can see many hairy gnats flying in the air.

Upon arriving here, everyone wore masks, but still reduced their conversations, fearing that they might accidentally inhale something unpleasant.

Fortunately, the group had communicated before coming down.

Next, the main force in searching for the rat's nest was Mr. Lucas, a cat who had lived in the Bureau of Investigation for several years and was almost dubbed the "Rat-Catching Inspector".

Moreover, Lucas did seem somewhat restless after arriving here. His pupils were wide open, and he was staring intently at certain areas in the darkness.

At this point, after everyone had made preparations, Mr. Lucas was finally put back on the ground.

Shaking his legs and body, he seemed to be expressing his dissatisfaction with the environment.

But soon, under everyone's watchful eyes, Mr. Lucas walked toward the main sewage road.

Meow--

Without Mr. Lucas's prompting, everyone would follow.

On the slippery surface, these specially requested boots proved effective, firmly gripping the ground with almost every step.

Under these circumstances, the group walked very quickly. In less than a minute, they had followed Mr. Lucas for thirty meters.

Finally, Mr. Lucas stopped in front of an unremarkable side wall. His eyes were bright and alert, as if he were expecting something.

Smith's flashlight beam then fell on it.

It was indeed an ordinary wall, covered with a black, viscous substance, and seemed no different from its surroundings.

But the joints between the bricks here are not like that.

When the light shines on it, the light is swallowed up, revealing gaps of varying sizes.

Moreover, there are more than a dozen such gaps around here.

"Senior." Smith spoke for the first time since coming down, the moment he saw the gaps.

Even without his prompting, Luo Qiu understood the situation; these gaps were clearly passages the rats had left for themselves. Moreover, after activating his clarity technique, even the smallest details were more visible to him. He quickly identified the gap with the most claw marks.

Luo Qiu wasted no time. After making a discovery, he took something out of his canvas backpack.

It was a dark green tin can, not much larger than a cigarette box, cylindrical, with a short, thick fuse at the top, coated with red moisture-proof paint.

The canister is printed with white warning words: "Poisonous gas, danger, do not stay in confined spaces".

These are stockpiles that the Bureau of Investigation transferred from the military warehouse. They were originally smoke grenades used for trench disinfection, but were later proven to be equally effective in controlling rats.

"The smoke from this stuff can suffocate rats," Luo Qiu whispered. "Light the plug and drop it into the crack. Within three minutes, the smoke will fill the gap. We'll fill every crack here, then step back ten meters and wait for it to work its magic."

Everyone nodded, each took a few, and then marked out the gaps themselves.

With everything prepared, Luo Qiu struck a match after giving the hand signal.

With a hiss, a small flame ignited, a little brighter than usual. Some biogas in the main sewage road also aided the combustion.

The firewood burned even faster this time. After lighting two smoke bombs, the first match burned out, so Luo Qiu had to light another one.

One minute later, the group retreated as planned, walking back ten meters.

Then, when the light shone on the spot again, smoke began to seep out from the gaps.

It wasn't in wisps, but in thick, yellow clumps of smoke.

The space in the crevice was too small, so much smoke squeezed out from the wall, swirling and expanding, quickly covering the surrounding walkway. Then, carried by the surrounding wind, it drifted into the distance.

Luo Qiu and his three companions were located downwind. As the smoke drifted over, they immediately smelled a pungent odor that they couldn't escape even through their masks.

This was the first mistake they made in this operation. They were only thinking that this was a route they had traveled before and were familiar with, but they hadn't considered the influence of the wind direction.

Fortunately, the impact on them was only a minor ripple effect.

The smoke was aimed at the rats in the crevices, who were suffering a hundred times more damage than the smoke itself.

Just half a minute after the smoke began to dissipate, Luo Qiu and his group heard the rats scurrying about. Even from more than ten meters away, the sounds were still clearly audible.

Squeak - squeak -

It seemed as if they were calling out to their companions, or perhaps they were anxiously discussing something.

However, as time went on, these sounds began to become impatient, accompanied by scratching sounds and all sorts of other noises.

After a few more minutes, the sounds of the rats began to subside, as if they had exhausted themselves.

Smith's flashlight beam remained fixed on the area shrouded in thick yellow smoke, ever since the rats began to squeak.

Unfortunately, the beams of light were blocked by the rolling wall of fog, preventing them from seeing what was happening.

……