This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!-Chapter 180 - Unable to Connect

Chapter 180: Chapter 180 Unable to Connect

Chapter 180: Chapter 180 Unable to Connect

Passengers clambered out of the windows one after another; although everyone was somewhat concerned about the situation outside, staying in the wrecked subway clearly felt less safe.

Despite the subway collision, there were quite a few survivors. The platform really didn’t have much space left for people to stand; some passengers were even impatiently rushing toward the stairs to the upper level.

Chen Ke ignored them, and Diana let the passengers go ahead while she stayed in the subway. Her left arm was not convenient, so Chen Ke wrapped his arm around her waist, letting her curl her left arm across her chest, and then lifted her out entirely.

“Damn it, open the door! Open the door!” came the sound of passengers banging on the gate at the stairwell.

Chen Ke put Diana on the ground and looked toward the source of the noise.

“What’s going on?” someone asked towards the top of the stairs.

“The door’s locked, we can’t get out. Can’t hear anything from outside either,” said someone who had already run to the stairwell, while turning back down.

Chen Ke frowned, fearing it wasn’t just locked, but that there was simply no one up there…

Diana straightened her clothes and, before she’d had a chance to figure out what was going on upstairs, saw the subway car that was no longer recognizable.

The subway was highly corroded, rusted to the point of falling apart, and from the structure of the platform and the messy conditions around, it didn’t seem like Opportunity City.

She took a deep breath but quickly choked and started looking around as if she had sensed something.

“What’s the matter?” Chen Ke saw her reaction and tried to sniff the air as well, but didn’t pick up any strange smells.

“Chen Ke… I think we really ran into trouble… Brace yourself for it,” Diana said, looking at Chen Ke with unease in her eyes.

As an agent of the Spiritual Ability Administration, Diana certainly knew more than anyone Chen Ke had met these past few days; she was the one who understood the current situation best.

“Let’s gather everyone first, and then see what we can do,” Chen Ke suggested.

Diana nodded, hugged her left arm, and walked to other parts of the platform to observe, looking for any possible solutions.

Chen Ke coughed twice, clapped his hands, and said, “Hey, survivors, it’s best if we sit down near the staircase first, calm our nerves, and see how many of us are left.”

Hearing Chen Ke’s words, some passengers willingly walked toward the stairs, while others looked utterly confused.

A white man stepped forward, sneering, “Since when did it become your turn to give orders, Asian?”

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Chen Ke furrowed his brow, and only then did the white man seem to remember that Chen Ke was holding a gun.

“We better not turn on each other at a time like this. It was him who reminded us to run towards the back; otherwise, I’d be dead already,” a black man stepped up beside Chen Ke.

“I don’t trust that Asian. He wouldn’t even help people, now he comes out playing hero,” the white man who had earlier suggested Chen Ke help remove people trapped under the debris interjected.

“Listen, nobody wants to play hero here. If you think those people have a chance of surviving, and you believe you can pull them out and safely get them to a hospital, go ahead. My actions are based on my judgment, not the whim of someone else who wants things done this way or that. If saving a few people makes you feel better, the subway wreckage is right over there,” Chen Ke retorted.

The white man didn’t say anything and moved to the back of the crowd.

“Our current situation is beyond my understanding. In the interest of everyone’s safety, it’s best we gather together, check our numbers, and then see what we can do together,” Diana also moved beside Chen Ke.

“She’s from the Administration Bureau, I heard her say it,” someone discussed within the crowd.

Everyone reluctantly started moving their feet, making their way to the area near the stairs. Women and children sat on the steps, while men stood on either side.

Chen Ke sighed. It seemed that Asians were even less welcome than black people in the Western world.

“What’s your name, big guy?” Chen Ke looked at the black man.

He must have been about 1.9 meters tall, very robust, with a tidy buzz cut, a cleanly shaven beard, dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, carrying a military green backpack. He appeared to be just over thirty years old.

“My name is Sam Wilson, you can call me Sam. Retired United Federation cavalry,” Sam introduced himself, his posture and expression carrying the pride and efficiency of a soldier.

“Fantastic, a soldier—this is a great help given the current situation!” Diana said.

“We need to count how many survivors there are and then see how we can get the door open to get to the surface,” Chen Ke suggested.

Sam nodded in agreement with Chen Ke’s point. The environment below was chilling, and it was uncertain if other subways were still in operation. If there were, it was quite possible they might crash into this station while passing through, spelling disaster for everyone.

“So, let’s count and then see who among the crowd has special skills that might be of help,” Sam said.

With Sam’s assistance and everyone’s cooperation, Chen Ke and Diana counted the survivors—there were a total of forty-nine, with twenty-six men, seventeen women, and six children under the age of ten.

There were definitely many more in the carriages who hadn’t died yet, but considering the current situation, saving them would mean waiting to die. Not to mention, given the survivors’ conditions then, it might not be possible to save them at all. After all, without cutting equipment, it was tough to extract people from the warped subway carriages, so they had no choice but to ignore them for the time being.

Most passengers had suffered injuries to some extent, mainly from being thrown against barriers and walls due to the huge force of inertia during the collision. Those with slightly more serious injuries also lost some mobility.

A little girl’s arm was swollen from an impact, and it pained her terribly to straighten it. She sat in a corner, clutching her arm and wearing her backpack, looking like she had been out alone. Diana took off the sling from her own left arm and fitted it on the little girl, continuously comforting her.

“What do we do now? The doors are locked above, and we can’t get out below. Hasn’t the Administration Bureau responded yet?” an old man with white hair asked.

“The situation is more complex than we imagined. Take a look at that subway,” Chen Ke reminded them.

At his words, everyone looked towards the wreckage of the subway, but they failed to grasp the critical point and could not see anything unusual. After experiencing danger and fear, most people are prone to missing the details and key points.

Even though the subway was completely different from when they had boarded, to the others, it simply connected “collision” and “wreckage” in their minds, without realizing that the subway had been replaced.

“Have you not realized yet?” Chen Ke asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Wait a second… wait a second… this can’t be possible…” Sam, who was nearby, also only now noticed the signs.

The subway had changed in the pitch-dark environment. Chen Ke was the first to notice it, then followed by Diana, who, after getting off the train, suddenly sensed something was off. Finally, it was Sam, who realized the subway was different than before only after Chen Ke’s hint.

One was an assassin, one a special agent, and one a soldier.

Only these three types of people could maintain different levels of keen observation abilities amidst danger.

“Look at this… This train is not the one we boarded…” Sam said.

Only then did everyone come to a sudden realization, though there were still some who were clueless, probably because they couldn’t remember what the subway looked like when they had boarded.

“What’s going on… Why would this happen…?”

“I just want to go home… I just want to go home…”

…

Some of the people who had survived the prior danger were already at the limit of their willpower, starting to show signs of despair.

“As long as we work together, we can always get through difficulties. We’re in luck; we’ve got an agent from the Administration Bureau here,” Chen Ke said.

He moved next to Diana to discuss strategies, while Sam started asking some of the more able-bodied passengers to see if anyone had professional skills that could help.

Diana unzipped her jacket halfway, tucked her left arm in, and pulled Chen Ke aside.

“I’ve had no signal on my cellphone, so I can’t contact the outside. I can’t even connect to the Administration Bureau’s encrypted communication channels. I suspect the situation is pretty bad…” she whispered.

“How bad do you think it is up there?” Chen Ke asked.

“No… You don’t understand what I mean. The Administration Bureau’s encrypted channels can’t possibly be unreachable. But now, I can’t connect to them…” Diana shook her head.

Chen Ke looked at Diana without a word, knowing what she was implying, and it was also his own concern.

Perhaps the world above was no longer theirs.