Chapter Sixteen: Return to Waterloo Station

Sanzhu was the first to regain his composure. He stepped forward, attempting to assess the state of the railway ahead, and said uncertainly, "It should be fine. We can cross the Eye of Dunlun directly and squeeze through the gap on the far right."

Dunn was immediately eager to go forward for a closer look.

"Let’s not," Stephenson said, his nerves frayed as he surveyed the scene. "What if one of those cable cars from the Ferris wheel suddenly falls? Why don’t we take the Waterloo Bridge over by the Southbank Theatre instead?" He wanted to turn back and cross the Thames by another route.

Dunn was still itching to investigate, but Aiden held him back.

Lily pressed her lips together, struggling inwardly. On one side was the urgent search-and-rescue mission for John’s squad; on the other, the safety of the orphanage children she was leading. The choice wasn’t easy.

If she chose to turn back, the distance wasn’t the only issue: the muffled sound from the station might have been caused by someone, or perhaps by an object weakened by the erosion of time collapsing. If it was the latter, it would be nothing to worry about. If it was the former, they risked encountering strangers, which went against their principle of avoiding contact whenever possible.

Gritting her teeth, Lily made her decision. She spoke immediately, "Aiden, Dunn, Stephenson, stay here for now. Ensure your own safety and try to check the railway ahead—see if it’s safe to cross. Camille, come with me back to the station. I need your help to look for something."

Dunn instantly understood what Lily was planning; she must have noticed something when she glanced at the vending machine.

Aiden seemed to realize this too. He rummaged through his backpack and produced an object wrapped in layers of cloth, then handed it to Lily.

She hesitated for a couple of seconds before taking it, feeling its weight in her hand.

Once she had stowed it safely, Lily turned to Camille. "Let’s go back. Try not to make any loud noises."

After Camille responded, Lily began retracing her steps along the railway, sharing a few tips with Camille about moving quietly.

Of course, her skill was part of her talent. Lily thought to herself, if she had a set of all-black clothing, she could probably make a decent thief.

Returning to the edge of the station platform, Lily took a quick sprint and used a single hand to propel herself over the iron gate at the platform stairs, which was nearly as tall as she was. From the other side, she easily unlocked the latch, allowing Camille to climb up without much effort.

Camille didn’t even question Lily’s agility; to her, Lily was simply supposed to be this capable—her admiration was almost blind.

Lily knew she had to first confirm whether the high-value item was still where she’d sensed it earlier. If it was gone, it would give her another clue: someone else must be in the station.

So she moved silently and quickly to the spot where she’d last sensed the item, pacing within a small area to try and pick up the signal again.

When she reached the area marked with a blue line for Carriage 4, near the middle of the platform, the sensation returned. Lily breathed a slight sigh of relief and looked toward the direction of the platform.

She could only see twenty-four meters ahead, but it was clear the item was about fifty meters away. That meant she’d have to cross several platforms to reach it.

"It looks like we’ll need to move back to the platform near the waiting hall," Lily said, pointing to where she sensed the item.

"Is it on one of those platforms? Could we just go around the tracks and get down from there?" Camille thought the route around the tracks would be faster.

Lily didn’t reject Camille’s suggestion—in fact, she was correct—but Lily had other plans, so she replied patiently, "We could, but I want to check along the way for anything useful or any traces. You heard that muffled sound just now—I want to gather as much information as possible within reason."

"Always so thorough," Camille accepted Lily’s explanation easily, and praised her.

Lily took a shallow breath and composed herself, heading up the stairs toward the waiting hall at a brisk, silent pace.

Camille, being more of a "strength type," couldn’t control her movements as well as Lily, and inevitably made a few noises on the steps. She looked apologetically at Lily.

Lily gave her a reassuring glance and continued climbing quickly.

Since they were outside, Camille’s small noises were negligible, and Lily didn’t mind.

Returning to the waiting hall, Lily didn’t go immediately toward the platform where she sensed the item; instead, she moved a few meters in the direction they’d come from, carefully observing the surroundings for any signs that might have been left by people.

As she looked around, Lily’s brows furrowed involuntarily.

"What’s wrong, Lily?" Camille asked quietly, noticing Lily’s expression.

"The thick ash caused by the time erosion phenomenon—if John’s 'screen patrol' came through here, why is there not a single trace left behind?"

"No footprints, no handprints, nothing from fingers touching surfaces—there’s only the tracks we made just now."

She paused, then continued, "This suggests two possibilities: either John’s team never came through here, or the time erosion phenomenon started after his squad disappeared."

"And the situation at the Eye of Dunlun just now gave me another suspicion."

"What is it?" Camille opted not to tax her brain further; Lily’s analysis was already making her dizzy.

"This bizarre time erosion is as if the ‘walls’ themselves have begun to let time flow, in a manner we can’t understand, chasing the decade’s difference between inside and outside," Lily said calmly, though her hand clutching the flashlight tightened unconsciously.

Camille, though not adept at deduction, understood perfectly after Lily spelled it out so plainly. A cold sweat broke out on her back.

If, when John and his team set out a week ago, Waterloo Station wasn’t like this… Camille didn’t dare think any further.

Lily’s expression grew more grave than ever. Without further delay, she strode quickly toward the spot where she sensed the high-value item.