Chapter Fifteen: The Eye of Dunlun

As soon as they stepped onto the platform, everyone immediately felt a chilly wind sweeping through, making it seem several degrees colder than above.

“Why does it feel colder here?” Camille raised her left hand to touch the sculpted bicep of her right arm, her gesture graceful.

Everyone nodded in agreement with Camille’s observation.

“Let’s keep moving. Perhaps it’s just because the platform is so open and the air circulates quickly,” Lily said, patting Sandro’s shoulder to signal him to go on.

Sandro promptly raised his flashlight and moved forward.

Due to the effects of the temporal erosion, the platform appeared just as aged and dust-laden as the station above. The benches and vending machines that once stood along the platform were now rusted or broken beyond use.

The steel structure overhead seemed intact, but the boards that once displayed train schedules had vanished without a trace.

“Where have all the trains gone?” Sandro wondered aloud as he advanced along the platform.

Although their view was limited to twenty-four meters, they could just make out the positions of two or three nearby platforms—none of which had any trains.

Lily shook her head, indicating she didn’t know, and Aiden did the same.

“Hm?” Lily suddenly halted, for her senses had picked up something of “high value” nearby.

Almost instinctively, she turned to look in that direction.

Her movement drew the gaze of Aiden and the others, but all they saw was an abandoned vending machine and a few ruined public seats. This left them puzzled—what had Lily noticed?

Lily wasn’t really looking at the vending machine itself, but rather at some spot about fifty meters away in that direction. Of course, while she could vaguely sense its presence, she couldn’t pierce the ceaseless, swirling mist, so she couldn’t tell what exactly that “high value” item was.

Seeing everyone glance her way, she smiled and waved them on, signaling it wasn’t important and they should keep moving. She didn’t want to waste time; perhaps she’d check it out next time they came here.

Sandro continued moving ahead, while Dunn, who brought up the rear, wore a thoughtful expression. Sandro and Camille, lacking the necessary context, assumed Lily had merely been curious about the vending machine.

At the end of the platform, Sandro took a quick look around, then jumped down to the edge of the tracks.

Camille followed, landing with a muffled thud, but didn’t pause. She turned to Stevenson, offering her hand.

“Come.”

“No... no need, I can manage,” Stevenson replied, his voice a little shaky.

“Don’t dawdle,” Camille said curtly.

From behind, Dunn gave Stevenson a discreet push, bringing him to the edge. Camille grabbed his hand, gave a sharp tug, and then, with a sweep of her arms, caught him in a princess carry as he tumbled down.

Sandro clapped in admiration, though his hands failed to meet directly and made no sound. Lily couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“This mist is really annoying,” Camille grumbled, looking towards where she ought to have glimpsed Dunlin Eye and Big Ben. But with visibility at only twenty-four meters, all she could see were the tracks and part of the platform.

“I quite agree,” Lily replied as she joined them on the tracks. Though she’d been to Waterloo Station before and taken the train to Dunlin, this was her first time actually standing on the rails. She wondered how beautiful the scene would be without the mist.

She glanced down at the rails beside her.

As one of the first nations in the world to possess a railway system, the British Empire had always taken great pride in building, repairing, maintaining, and innovating its railways. Even after nearly two centuries, the rails at Waterloo were still as dark and lustrous as ever—a striking contrast to the weathered, decaying platforms. This further convinced Dunn and Lily that the temporal erosion must have its limits.

“Let’s go,” Aiden and Dunn said in unison.

Dunn continued, “I thought I was going to suffocate—the atmosphere has been so tense, and I didn’t dare speak for fear of distracting everyone. Lily, why did you suddenly look over at that vending machine? Did you notice something?”

Lily covered her face in exasperation, remembering too late that Dunn was an incorrigible chatterbox.

She didn’t answer, but instead pulled her backpack to her front, took out a bottle of water, drank a few sips, and grabbed a pack of compressed biscuits, munching on two pieces. Aiden followed her example, replenishing his energy and hydration.

Seeing this, Dunn hurried to open his own bag, snacking as he asked around if anyone had a different flavor of biscuit—he couldn’t bear to eat the same kind for three days straight and hoped someone would trade.

Once they’d finished their quick meal, Lily turned to Aiden to discuss formation. Aiden thought a spindle formation would suffice—suitable for exploratory advances.

The group adjusted their order once again. Sandro remained at the front, his quick reflexes and sharp vision crucial for alerting the others to danger. Behind him, Lily and Stevenson took their places, followed by Dunn, Aiden, and Camille at the rear.

“Let’s move out,” Lily said, patting Sandro’s shoulder.

With their positions set, they advanced steadily along the tracks, disappearing deeper into the mist.

After about twenty minutes, the group came to an abrupt halt.

Ahead, a major accident had occurred on the railway crossing the Thames—the famous Dunlin Eye had, for reasons unknown, crashed onto the street and rolled all the way to the tracks near Waterloo’s route to Embankment Station. The massive Ferris wheel had smashed through the fence and concrete barriers, and half its frame was now wedged across the rails.

This sight reminded Lily of something Camille had said at the gym: last time she’d come to “screen” here, she’d predicted the Dunlin Eye would collapse in another eight or nine years.

“Wait...” Lily felt as if she’d grasped onto something important.

The others were stunned, sharing much the same expression, except for Dunn, who looked positively excited. He felt sure he was witnessing history—the destruction of the Dunlin Eye. He decided then and there to write a book about it when he got back.