The staircase was originally covered by a piece of iron sheet of four or five square meters. If Qin Xueban hadn't kicked the iron sheet away, it wouldn't have been exposed. The handrail of the staircase was made entirely of iron, with a layer of blue paint on the surface, but most of the paint had fallen off, and the exposed parts were rusted. The staircase extended diagonally downward into a dark space.
Normally, no one uses this rostrum, and only during the school sports meeting will the leaders stand on it to give speeches. Mingqiao has not been in this school for a long time, and he always thought that the rostrum was built solid, but he didn't expect that there was something else going on here.
"Let's go down and take a look when we get here." Mingqiao looked at the dark cave entrance for a few times and said, "Qin Xue, don't come down. I'm afraid there may be other dangers. Go back and tell Deng Ya and the others about the situation here. Tell them to be careful not to touch the acid water in the playground and to find a cool place to sit so as not to get sunstroke. We will go back once we find any clues. Don't worry too much."
Qin Xue's face was full of reluctance, but Mingqiao kept insisting, so he couldn't waste any more time. He just told them to be careful and call for help if anything happened.
Mingqiao and Shixin went down the stairs one after another.
The dark environment instantly surrounded the two of them. Mingqiao habitually reached back and held Shi Xin's arm in his hand.
There is a circular corridor down the stairs. It is extremely narrow and even one person has to lean slightly to the side to pass through. The walls on both sides of the corridor are made of rough bricks that are very uncomfortable to touch.
"Mr. Ming, what do you think is in here?" As soon as Shi Xin spoke, the whole space was filled with echoes. He could only lower his voice: "I guess there must be a door."
"Why?" Mingqiao also asked in a low voice.
Shi Xin said: "We searched for a long time and only found such a strange place. Usually at this time, there will be a hint of the next decryption clue. In the escape room game, the clue is always in the next room."
"That makes sense." Ming Qiao nodded: "It seems that you have rich experience in games."
"That's right." Shi Xin said proudly.
"I almost forgot to ask, why are you and Qin Xue getting on bad terms?" Ming Qiao asked in confusion, "You two don't have any grudges against each other, why are you arguing?"
"I just don't like him." Shi Xin said, "This little brat acts like he's so great every day."
"That's it?" Mingqiao was a little unconvinced: "You also know he is small, just give way."
"Teacher Ming, you are blackmailing me morally. Why should I give in to him just because he is younger?" Shi Xin said angrily, "To you, he is your student and I am not, so you are closer to him, is that right?"
"I won't be partial to him just because he is my student." Ming Qiao said helplessly: "Then you should be magnanimous and don't argue with him, okay?"
"Just barely."
As soon as Shi Xin finished speaking, he felt a smooth and dry surface that was different from the wall tiles on the other side of Mingqiao.
"It's the door, you guessed it right." Mingqiao used a little strength and pushed it in. The heavy wooden door slowly opened inwards, and the hinges on the door creaked. For a moment, all kinds of noisy sounds and a strong musty smell came to their faces, and the two of them frowned uncomfortably.
Shi Xin covered his mouth and nose with his hands and walked in with Ming Qiao: "Something must have rotted in there."
Mingqiao hummed, fumbled on the wall near the door for a while, and finally found a pull rope. He pulled the rope down, and the light on the roof came on.
The room is about 10 square meters. There is a pair of tables and chairs and a bed on the left side of the wall, and a metal cabinet on the right side. There are two small windows the size of a fist on the wall opposite the door. They cannot be opened, and you can't see what's outside from the inside. The whole room is simply decorated, without any extra decorations or furnishings.
As soon as they stepped in, the door closed and locked automatically. Ming Qiao and Shi Xin just looked back briefly.
They are so familiar with this routine that they don't make a fuss about it anymore.
The two of them searched separately for everything they could find, including but not limited to notes, keys, and the like.
The most eye-catching and most useful cabinet may be the cabinet against the wall. This cabinet is about two meters high and consists of two main parts: a long cabinet and four small cabinets separated from each other.
Mingqiao first tried to pull the door of the small cabinet on the top layer. The door was probably rusted and had a very small range of movement. After several attempts, he was finally able to pull it open completely.
But the things inside are really unbearable to look at.
"What did you find?" Shi Xin asked as he walked over.
"...Underpants." Mingqiao pulled the corner of his mouth and closed the cabinet again: "They are all covered with mushrooms."
Shi Xin stopped him in time: "Don't turn it off, in case there is something else."
"Then you come." Mingqiao made way for him and made a gesture of invitation to Shi Xin.
Shi Xin rolled up his sleeves nonchalantly, reached into the cabinet and turned it upside down.
But there is indeed only a pair of mushroom-shaped underwear.
"Nothing, right?" Ming Qiao looked at him with amusement: "Who is so perverted as to hide something in their underwear?"
"Really." Shi Xin turned the underwear upside down and shook it, and immediately a key fell out of it: "I said I felt a hard thing just now."
"You pick it up." Mingqiao waved his hand in disdain: "And by the way, check whose key it is."
"No way, Mr. Ming, you have mysophobia?" Shi Xin smiled as he squatted down and picked up the key. "I didn't notice you had this problem in the restaurant. You didn't even frown when you fell into the rice bucket. Why are you so uncomfortable now that I asked you to turn up your underwear?"
Ming Qiao also laughed, "In fact, I also frowned when I fell into the rice bucket, but you didn't see it."
"I just said it casually." Shi Xin pushed Ming Qiao away from the table and said, "This table is covered with dust. Don't get your pants dirty."
Mingqiao moved aside and watched Shi Xin's actions.
"It looks like the key to open this lock." Shi Xin inserted the key into the lock on the table drawer and turned it for a long time but found that it couldn't be opened.
"Like this." Ming Qiao stood by, holding Shi Xin's hand, pushing and pulling the drawer back and forth, turning the key, "The things here are old, it's normal that the locks don't work well."
Mingqiao's technique was correct. Moving the lock back and forth probably rubbed off the rust, and the lock opened in just a few moves.
Shi Xin stood frozen in place, not knowing whether to stand or continue squatting.
Mingqiao was too close just now, and Shi Xin could smell the fresh scent of lemon detergent on him, but mixed in with it was a stronger woody scent. Even someone like him who knew nothing about perfume could feel that calm and restrained scent.
Shi Xin's throat tightened a little, and he looked up at Ming Qiao: "Teacher Ming, do you usually wear perfume?"
"Can you smell it?" Mingqiao was a little surprised: "I haven't sprayed it for many days. I also took a shower and washed clothes in the cafeteria. There should be no smell."
"Really?" Shi Xin laughed awkwardly, probably because the marinade had absorbed the flavor. He opened the drawer and looked at the things inside: "An old cell phone and charger, a wrench and a flat-head screwdriver."
"Can the phone be turned on?" Mingqiao asked.
"There's no password to turn it on." Shi Xin tried to press the power button, but there was no response after waiting for a long time: "I guess it's out of power."
"Try plugging in the charger." Mingqiao said.
Shi Xin pulled out the charger and plugged it into the power source, then turned around and found Ming Qiao tinkering with the cabinet again.
"This cabinet is also stuck." Mingqiao squinted one eye and looked into the crack: "That's right, give me that screwdriver."
Shi Xin put away his phone and handed Mingqiao what he wanted, while he continued to look through things on the desk.
Mingqiao used a flat-head screwdriver to lift up the things in the cabinet, and the iron piece that was originally stuck in the lock moved, and the cabinet door was easily opened.
There are a lot of things on this floor, all miscellaneous items, such as electrical wires, Band-Aids, cup lids, instant noodle forks, and even a pink ocean ball.
Adhering to the principle of not missing any details, Mingqiao took out each item and looked at it. Only after making sure that there was nothing unusual did he go to the next cabinet.
The two cabinets on the bottom floor were easily opened, and there was nothing inside except a thick hemp rope. The cabinet next to it was locked, and you had to find the key to open it.
"Did you find anything?" Mingqiao asked.
"No." Shi Xin pushed the moved table back: "I even checked the gap, but there is nothing."
"Where's the bed?" Mingqiao said again: "Don't just look under the table, look under the bed too."
"Then can you help me lift the bed?" Shi Xin pulled out the head of the bed: "No matter what, I don't want to lie on the ground to look for something."
"Okay." Mingqiao rolled up his shirt sleeves one by one and placed his hands at the foot of the bed. "Let's work together."
Shi Xin looked at the Ming Bridge opposite and couldn't help feeling a little distracted.
He rarely sees both elegance and strength in a man, but Mingqiao can perfectly blend these two qualities and show them. In the past two days, Mingqiao's wisdom and calmness deeply attracted him, and Shi Xin felt very lucky to be able to "escape" with such a person.
But he knew clearly that he shouldn't think about these things now, so he immediately withdrew his unrealistic thoughts and cooperated with Mingqiao to lift the bed away from its original position.
The dust under the bed was stirred up, and within seconds the entire air in the room became turbid.
Shi Xin choked twice, and at first glance he saw a shiny object.
It's the key.
"Found it." Shi Xin picked up the key, casually wiped the dust off on his clothes, turned around and handed it to Ming Qiao: "Try to see if it's this one."
Mingqiao took the key, inserted it into the lock of the cabinet, and turned it gently. With a crisp click, the cabinet door was opened smoothly.
But the contents inside made them dumbfounded.
——This is a large meat grinder. There are two pipes at the top, one pouring water down, and the other pouring some dead rats, flies, etc. down. The meat grinder in the middle is working non-stop. They can see blood and flesh flying everywhere through the transparent operating window, and various red, white and yellow liquids are mixed together. The whole meat grinder works very quietly, and it is impossible to hear it if you don't listen carefully. There is a pipe at the bottom, and no one knows where it leads to.
Mingqiao almost vomited again when he saw this scene.
No wonder I smelled a foul odor as soon as I entered the door, it turns out it came from here.
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