They paused for a moment in the air shaft and listened to the sound. A chilly breeze brushed against Wenjie. “That's a ventilation system.” He pointed to the right before turning left.
It was so dark, that he couldn't see anything except the faint cone of light emanating from the display of his smartwatch. He carefully felt his way to the next junction. It was brighter there. This was due to the grille in the center. Light from the corridor below fell through the grid into the air shaft.
Wenjie looked down. The laser net ran through the entire area. They had to continue through the ventiduct. Once again, he heard the sound of the ventilation system. It blocked their way in the right direction. They were forced to take a detour.
Three bends further on, the same game again.
“This is a labyrinth Do you still have the map in your head?” whispered Xiao Dao.
“We can't get through the air shafts.”
“Damn.”
Wenjie heard a muffled noise behind him. “What are you doing back there?”
“Checking for cavities and loose panels. We need access to the rooms.” There was a soft cracking sound. Then Xiao Dao whispered: “Hey Crow, can you see where we are? You have a map of the facility. We have to find the control room or we won't get anywhere.”
There was no reply, only a steady noise.
Wenjie glanced over his shoulder. He raised his hand with his smartwatch to see something. Xiao Dao tapped his fingers on the smartwatch display.
“Crap. I get no signal.” Then his eyes suddenly brightened. “Hey, do you think we can take advantage of this?”
Wenjie thought about it. “Maybe.”
Together they searched for loose slabs and other grids leading downwards. At regular intervals, Xiao Dao tried to reach Crow via the smartwatch. Without success. The connection remained cut. They were on their own.
The further they advanced, the further away they got from their destination. Under all the grids they discovered, they saw the laser net. It seemed to stretch across the entire plain.
Wenjie crawled on. Only the sound of his movements echoed between the walls and was echoed by the noises Xiao Dao made. He couldn't estimate how long they had been wandering around in the labyrinth, when he noticed a metal ring at the bottom of the air shaft in front of him.
He gently pressed against it. The floor gave way. A gap appeared just in front of his knees.
“What's going on?” whispered Xiao Dao.
Wenjie pushed the flap open. Then he held onto the edge on the opposite side of the opening with both hands. Below the trapdoor, he saw a desk standing in the dark. About two meters to the northwest, a silver beam of light fell on a carpet.
Wenjie bent down carefully. His gaze wandered over the carpet to the window. The spotlights in the garden did not cover this room. The ray of light on the carpet came from the moon, which had already reached a high position.
He continued to look around. The room was spacious, but apart from the desk and an office chair, it only contained several shelves full of books and files. The southwest wall was adorned with a picture showing a district of Hong Kong. Diagonally opposite the desk was a door.
“It's safe.” Slowly, he pulled his legs over the opening and lowered himself down. His feet landed on the desk. Wenjie held his breath for a moment. Everything remained quiet. There didn't seem to be any security mechanisms or cameras in here, unless his eyes deceived him.
Xiao Dao followed him downstairs.
Wenjie crept towards the door. He skillfully avoided the spot where the moonlight shone. The door was locked. It was silent on the other side. He tried again to reach Xu Zhengqing via the smartwatch. It didn't work.
That didn't just give him ideas. As he turned to the shelves, he saw Xiao Dao examining the desk out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't just picking the locks on the drawers and rummaging around. He scribbled something on paper with a pen, which he then made disappear into his jacket pocket.
“When we're back outside, distract Xu and the others. Then the office on the other side will get mail.” Xiao Dao grinned.
Wenjie understood what he was up to. It might be weeks before anyone entered this room. Unless Xu Zhengqing had lied. The employees of the company, where their getaway car was parked, on the other hand, would see the news tomorrow.
He turned back to the shelves. At one point, there was a folder a little further forward. Wenjie pushed it back a little. A soft click could be heard. But nothing happened. He pressed harder against it. It clicked. Hmm. His gaze wandered over the spines and folders. There was a book on the shelf on the other side of the desk that wasn't lined up.
“Push that book over there in, until all the books line up.”
Xiao Dao frowned. His gaze wandered from Wenjie to the bookshelf and back.
Wenjie pulled out the folder again and nodded to him.
Xiao Dao hurried over to the other shelf. At the same time, they pushed the book and folder to the back. Wenjie heard the click again. The middle shelf behind the desk swung open with a creak.
Wenjie let go of the back of the folder. The secret passageway remained open. Behind it was a dark room with a screen, several computers and a pile of cards. “Dao Dao.”
Xiao Dao hurried into the room to join him. Wenjie used the light from the smartwatch to make out something on the maps. Most of them were city or country maps. But a few of them were construction plans. Together, they searched through all the plans they could find.
“There...” Xiao Dao spread one of the plans over the keyboard on the table. “That's it. The ventilation shafts are marked there.”
It took them a while to find their way around the plan. But eventually they managed to work out where they were in the building.
“This room is our ticket.” Xiao Dao suddenly pointed up to the ceiling. Then he placed a finger on the spot where the secret room was.
Wenjie looked at the plan thoughtfully. Then he saw it too, the places where the ventilators were installed. They were so cleverly placed, that they formed a closed circle. The only way to get into the inner area was via the access to the ventilation shaft in the secret room.
to be continued ...
