Chapter 60: The Theater (4)
The three of them crawled along the passage on the right for a while before another fork appeared ahead—one path went straight, the other turned left.
Whenever there wasn’t a ventilation opening, the duct was pitch-black. In such a narrow and dim environment, it was easy to lose track of distance and time. Fortunately, thanks to her past training, Everly had a strong sense of direction.
Stopping at the fork, she took out her phone and opened the emergency evacuation map she had photographed earlier. Comparing it with the route they had crawled so far, she estimated that the left passage should lead to the auditorium.
The auditorium was the core of the entire theater. It connected the front waiting hall with the stage and backstage areas at the rear. Aside from the waiting hall, it was also the area with the largest number of audience members. Earlier, while in the restroom, Everly and the others had vaguely heard gunshots and screams coming from the auditorium—but what exactly had happened there, the three of them still did not know.
Both Everly and Old John felt it was necessary to enter the auditorium to assess the situation and gather more information about the masked individuals. So upon reaching the fork, they temporarily changed course and crawled into the left passage first.
Perhaps because the auditorium occupied a large area, the ventilation duct widened abruptly after they entered this passage. What had previously only allowed a single person to pass now expanded enough for two people to crawl side by side.
The passage was not long, but it sloped upward. The surface was smooth and steep, making it somewhat slippery to climb. Everly had to roll up her sleeves and pant legs, pressing her bare skin directly against the stainless steel duct to gain enough friction to inch her way upward.
After crawling three or four meters like this, they finally reached the end of the duct. Ahead, warm yellow light filtered through stainless steel grates, sliced into narrow strips.
Everly slowed her movements, creeping forward soundlessly. She edged up to the grating and peeked outside.