Chapter 35: Garbage Chute
Kang Maixiu has very good intuition.
It was a trait of his that he's always had.
There was once a time when he and Xiang Tingfeng were children and they would venture out on their own. Xiang Tingfeng was a large child and would be the one to volunteer to climb trees to spot the area. Unlike Kang Maixiu, Xiang Tingfeng was good at memorizing and navigating directions.
Directions are one of the only places where his intuition lacked.
But Xiang Tingfeng was and still is, very clumsy. It was Kang Maixiu's job to inform Xiang Tingfeng which branches would be able to hold his weight, and which he should stray clear from. It was a strange companionship, yet they had very good teamwork. Xiang Tingfeng was willing to do dirty work, and Kang Maixiu was willing to advise him in any way.
It was at these times that Kang Maixiu's mind was contently in overdrive. He was a young man who was getting an education so he could support his family, his mind was already stressed enough. And yet, life decided to set another obstacle up for him.
"There's nothing inside this one either..." Xiang Tingfeng said. The collapsed door underneath him blasted a wave of dust, the inside of the room only revealed grey walls. It was the same with the others. They had left a long line of busted doors trailing behind them all of them were the same concrete walls and empty rooms.
Yin Ming tsked in annoyance, "Then there's nothing we can do about it. Let's just move on."
He walked in front of Kang Maixiu and Xiang TIngfeng, Kang Maixiu followed him with his icy gaze trailing over his back.
He didn't trust the man, nor did he really trust anyone here. But his gut told him that Yin Ming wasn't the best person to trust with their lives. He would let him take the lead, but wouldn't ever trust him as a comrade.
Although that man seemed very emotionally distant, he had a short temper which he wouldn't have guessed he had by just looking at him. He relied on his own concussions and didn't pay at all attention to them. All of them were trying to make it out of here alive, and yet the man is barely thinking about the rest of them.
He would think this, but there wasn't much that he could complain about. Because he saw himself in the same way, these people were here to assist him and Xiang Tingfeng in leaving. It was selfish, but he thought that it had the most probability out of everything. The only people that he would care about would be Xiang Tingfeng, himself, and maybe even...
A glimpse of someone passed through his mind, flowing brown hair and a shining white smile. It was that Yang Lan girl, she had been on his mind for a while.
He didn't like the thought of someone invading his thoughts like this. It annoyed him. Especially when he barely knew the woman.
"Maixiu, what are you thinking about?" Xiang Tingfeng leaned close to whisper to him. "You keep glaring at Yin Meng's back."
Kang Maixiu gently shook his head and focused on reality, "Sorry." He said to his friend "I was lost in thought."
Xiang Tingfeng gave him a small grin, "It's fine. I was just wondering what's bothering you."
Kang Maixiu paused, his eyebrows narrowed in thought. "Hey, Xiang Tingfeng."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Do you remember that one time, when we were young and we saw that one lady outside of the school?"
Xiang Tingfeng's eyes deepened and he suddenly became serious, "You mean?"
He forced his legs to move forward, the heavy atmosphere made his feet feel like stones. He clenched his palms as if he was preparing to quickly use his hands. "Yeah, I'm getting that same feeling right now."
A worried look crossed Xiang Tingfeng's face. He looked back to where they came from, back to the main room, and then looked towards Yin Ming in front of them. "I see what you mean, but--"
"It's just a hunch. I'm not accusing him of anything, just watch out. He's giving off a weird feeling, and I don't like it. " His long eyelashes cast a shadow over his cheeks. His sharp gaze made contact with Yin Ming's.
"Why are you guys so behind? Hurry up, I think I can see the end." His own cold voice called out to them. He continued to make eye contact with Kang Maixiu, his dark blue eyes stared into his own ice blue ones.
This man, Kang Maixiu had to remind himself, but the two of them have an alliance. One of which was formed by Yin Meng burning his own finger, one of which was currently gone. Just like he wanted to know, injuries from the dream house don't transfer to their real bodies.
"Y-yeah! We're coming!" Xiang Tingfeng hurried to walk to Yin Ming's side, Kang Maixiu slowly followed after him.
"You can see an end?" Kang Maixiu asked him. He squinted his eyes to try and make it out of the darkness.
Yin Ming gave him a side glance, "Yeah, look." With the flashlight pointing forwards, he walked a couple of paces faster. It wasn't long until it came into view.
"It's just...a garbage chute?" Xiang Tingfeng questioned.
They saw a metal panel, with a small handle. It looked to be a chute meant for disposables.
"It really is a dead end." Kang Maixiu said. He walked closer to the chute and pulled on the handle. It opened with ease. "Who would put this in such an awkward spot? Seems inconvenient." Without a care, he put his head inside and looked down.
"Maixiu, wait! That might be dangerous!" Xiang Tingfeng called after him.
"It's fine." He stuck his arm back towards Yin Ming. "Give me a flashlight so I can see." Yin Ming looked down at him but complied. He took a spare flashlight out of his bag to give to him.
"I think I can see the bottom." Kang Maixiu said, his voice echoed through the chamber and entered back into his own ears. "It's not that far of a drop. It's safe."
"Maixiu, you're not thinking of going down there right?"
"Of course not, the place looks like a dirty shit-hole. I'm good just staying up here." He turned to look at Yin Ming. "There's no chance Xiang Tingfeng's going to fit so it's up to you."
Yin Ming frowned but accepted anyway. "Alright, I'll go. You two wait here."
Xiang Tinfeng moved to stop him by placing a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, are you sure about this? You don't know what could be down there."
Yin Meng pushed his arm away, "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."
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