Journey to another world in the subway

Chapter 25 Snooping
Here the streets were widened, forming a square-like place, part of which was fenced off from the road and turned into a park.

Dense, gnarled tree trunks drag the canopy up to the height of a five-story building that looms over the park's rear.

Most likely the stealth heroes come to these parks to find firewood to heat and light the entire subway.

Strange shadows flickered among the tree trunks, and somewhere in the distance a faint fire flickered.

If it wasn't for its yellowish color, Su Mengfan would have regarded it as a bonfire flame.

The building itself looked dangerous: it gave the impression of a battlefield that had seen brutal and bloody encounters on more than one occasion.

Its upper floors have collapsed, with black bullet holes in many places.

Only two of the walls remained intact, and the dark night sky could be seen through the empty windows.

The buildings are divided on the other side of the square, and a wide boulevard divides the street.

Above him, the first tall buildings of Novy Arbat loomed out of the darkness like watchtowers.

Judging by the map, the entrance to the Arbat station should be located nearby, somewhere to his left.

Su Mengfan looked at the dark park again.

The Commander was right: no one wants to go too far into this maze when trying to find the entrance to the subway inside it.

The longer Su Mengfan stared at the black bushes near the foundations of the destroyed structure, the larger it seemed to him were the most mysterious figures that had followed him before and were now moving at the base of the giant tree.

A strong gust of wind shook the heavy branches, and the canopy creaked under the pull of the wind.

There was some sort of long wail on the wind from afar.

The bush itself is calm, but not because it's dead.

Its silence is similar to that of Su Mengfan's mysterious follower, and it seems that it is also waiting for something.

Su Mengfan was possessed by a feeling that if he stopped here to inspect the deepest part of the park, he would not escape punishment.

He'd better hold on to his machine gun, look around to see if the monsters were coming, and move on.

But only a few seconds later he stopped again, as he was crossing the boulevard in front of the beginning of Kalinin Street.

Such a scene appeared here, so that Su Mengfan really couldn't force himself to move forward.

He was standing at the "+" intersection of the main roads along which vehicles must have traveled at one time.

Hubs are built in unique ways.

Part of the asphalted road extends into the tunnel and then to the ground.

On the right, the boulevard stretches into the distance.

It was impossible to make out them from a row of black trees, huge as those he had walked before.

The large asphalt-paved square appeared on the left - many tangled paths, and the bushes appeared again behind.

Now that he can see the distance, Su Mengfan wonders if the terrible sun is about to rise?

The road was littered with the deformed, burned-out skeletons of cars.

There's nothing else here: For more than 20 years, monsters have managed to control everything they can.

Gasoline in fuel tanks, batteries and generators, car headlights and traffic signals and dismantled leather seats - you can also find these things at the VDNKh station, in any big market in the metro It will be all right.

The tar had been turned over, and there were craters and wide cracks everywhere.

Grass and limp twigs protruded, bent under their apparently seeded orbs.

The Dark Canyon of New Arbat appeared directly in front of Su Mengfan.

On one side, for some unknown reason, unspoiled houses had formed, laid out like an open book, while on the other side were collapsed tall buildings, about twenty stories high.

The road leading to the Great Library and the Kremlin remained behind Su Mengfan.

Standing in the middle of this magnificent civilized cemetery, he feels like an archaeologist unraveling the veil of an ancient city.

Remnants of its past power and beauty drive those who have seen him to experience the awe-inspiring chill even centuries later.

He tried to imagine how the people living in these huge buildings lived:
They moved in cars that still glistened with fresh paint and creaked softly along the flat road, warmed by the rubber of the wheels.

They get off the subway just to get from one part of this endless city to another faster.

This is impossible.

What are they thinking about every day?
What are they bothering about?
Is it just something that can annoy those who are trying to prolong it for at least a day, provided they don't have to worry about their lives and fight for their lives all the time?

Now the clouds finally cleared and there was a yellowish moon streaked with strange patterns.

The light through the cloud hole filled the dead city, amplifying its vast darkness a hundredfold.

Houses and trees that until now seemed only flat, empty outlines have grown again.

Su Mengfan stayed there unable to move, he looked around fascinatedly, trying to restrain the chill that had already occupied him.

Only now did he begin to understand the anguish he heard in the voices of the old men recalling the past, the old men who had returned imaginatively to the cities they had once lived in.

Only now did he begin to realize how far a man had come from his previous achievements and attainments.

Like a bird that flies proudly, is suddenly mortally wounded, and lands on the ground to hide in a crevice, where it is now hidden and slowly dying.

He thought back to the Commander's argument with Tyne he had overheard.

Can a man survive, and even if he can, is he still the same man who has conquered the world and is confidently ruling it?
Now, when Su Mengfan is able to analyze the height from which human beings have fallen off the cliff, his confidence in a bright future has disappeared forever.

The straight and broad Kalinin Avenue receded from him, gradually diminishing until it disappeared into the distant darkness.

Now Su Mengfan stands on the road completely alone, only the ghosts and shadows of the past surround him.

He tried to imagine how many people walked the sidewalks day and night, how many cars drove past the same place where he was standing now at breakneck speed, and how comfortably and warmly the empty and dark windows of the home used to burn now.

Where has it all disappeared now?
The world looks more deserted and lifeless, it just changes masters.

After thinking for a while, he turned around and walked towards the big library.

They were standing quietly only about 100 meters away from him, just like him, in the middle of the road.

There were no fewer than five monsters, and although they hadn't tried to get his attention yet, they didn't want to hide in the alley anymore.

Su Mengfan didn't understand how they could quietly catch up to him so quickly and silently.

The figures were crystal clear in the moonlight: muscular, with well-developed hind limbs, and perhaps even taller than previously perceived.

Although Su Mengfan couldn't see their eyes from such a distance, he knew that they were waiting for the opportunity, checking him, and sniffing the moist air to sense his scent.

The smell of gunpowder must have been familiar to them, even though it was close to him.

But the beast still didn't decide to attack, watching Su Mengfan from a distance, looking for signs of uncertainty or weakness in his actions.

Or maybe they were just a boundary to drive him to his own territory, and they didn't want to do him any harm?

How could he know how the monsters that violated the laws of evolution would behave?
Su Mengfan tried to control himself, turned around quickly, and continued to remain deliberately indifferent, looking sideways at a distance of ten steps around.

At first the monsters stayed there, but then his worst fears began to be awakened.

They fell to the ground, and slowly plodded towards him.

But when they were only 100 meters away from him, they stopped quickly.

Although he would get used to his strange escort, Su Mengfan was afraid that it would run out of his sight, so he was ready with a machine gun in his hand.

They walked together like this, along the empty street, covered with moonlight.

A person remained vigilant, with blood gushing from the wound, and stopped every half a minute to look behind him, while five or six strange monsters followed him calmly behind him.

But it seemed to him that the distance they kept was shrinking.

Also, the monsters had been together before, and now they were spreading apart, as if trying to outflank him.

Su Mengfan had never dealt with a pack of hunting predators before, but for some reason, he was sure those monsters were preparing to attack.

It's time to act.

He turned sharply and aimed his machine gun at a dark figure.

Their behavior has really changed.This time they waited until he was far away before stopping to wait.

They continued to approach him at an almost imperceptible speed, gradually forming a semi-surrounding circle.

He had to try to scare them away before they closed the distance enough to strike.

Su Mengfan raised the barrel and shot towards the sky.

The click sounded from the wall of the tall building and echoed to the other end of the street.

Empty clips clanged on the asphalt.

Then there was a deafening roar full of fury, and the beasts charged forward.

They can cover the distance of tens of meters between them and Su Mengfan in a few seconds, but he is also ready.

As soon as the beast closest to Su Mengfan appeared in sight, he took a shot and started running towards the house.

Judging by the screams from the monster, Su Mengfan already knew that he had shot it.

It was impossible to guess whether this action delayed the approach of the rest of the beasts, or irritated them on the contrary.

Then a new cry was heard, not the terrible howl of the beast that preyed on him, but another piercing shriek that made his blood freeze.

It approached him from above, and Su Mengfan understood that a new participant had joined the game.

　Thanks to the book friend "Delusion of Happiness" for pointing out the wrong word order in the text, which has been revised.

　　Thanks to the book friend "Yanyu Longxuan" for the recommendation ticket and long-term support for this work.

　　Fanlu is very grateful to all book friends for their support.I hope you will discuss and share your views on the plot.

　　


(End of this chapter)