After Lin Tian and the three others entered the passage, footsteps sounded again outside the basement, and then two people appeared in the basement.

"Brother Zhao, we still came in." A male student said with a satisfied smile.

"Brother Zhao, He Xiaofei is just a woman, always hesitating and overthinking. This is just a basement, not Hell. I, Zhao Weitao, go in whenever I want. When do I need her permission? It’s truly laughable." The other voice was Zhao Weitao’s, full of mockery towards He Xiaofei.

"In front of Brother Zhao, you can just call me Xiao Zhao. I’ve always supported Brother Zhao’s actions. It’s just a broken basement, nothing to be afraid of." The other male student was also surnamed Zhao, but he was much more humble in front of Zhao Weitao.

Xiao Zhao flattered with a sentence, then started to inspect the surroundings. Soon he discovered the spider web passage: "Brother Zhao, look, there’s another entrance here!"

The two approached the entrance to the passage, opened the slightly ajar door, and shone flashlights inside. They saw that the passage was filled with spider webs, and their gazes trembled.

"How long has it been since anyone came here?" Xiao Zhao couldn’t help but lower his voice, as if afraid loud noises would scare out some strange things.

Zhao Weitao steadied himself, regaining calm, and snorted: "Hmph, this place requires huge amounts of school funding for maintenance every year, but it hasn’t produced any benefits. So the maintenance funds decrease year by year. With insufficient funds, they can only spruce up the exterior, who cares about the interior?"

"Perhaps everyone has long forgotten there’s a basement here, naturally resulting in years of neglect." Zhao Weitao scoffed.

"But I heard that a company used to sponsor maintenance funds here." Xiao Zhao was a bit puzzled.

Zhao Weitao surveyed the inside and outside of the passage, showing a sarcastic expression: "Look how old this place has become; what’s the point of sponsoring? So long ago, the school leadership has changed many times, maybe the company has already gone bankrupt."

"Even if not bankrupt, if a company sees no profit, they’ll find an excuse to stop sponsoring. People aren’t foolish; part of the invested money goes into some people’s pockets, with only a small portion used for maintenance. Of course, no company wants to sustain leeches." Zhao Weitao said contemptuously.

Xiao Zhao immediately showed deep agreement, then asked softly: "So should we go inside?"

"Of course we go in." Zhao Weitao said without hesitation. He knew if he didn’t dare enter after speaking so much, he’d have no face to show.

Under his decision, the two approached the spider web passage.

Meanwhile, the four Lin Tian had already reached the deep parts of the passage, not knowing how many turns they made. Lin Tian estimated that the distance they walked had exceeded the building’s range.

"It’s quite strange, like a labyrinth." Xiao Manxuan looked around curiously.

As soon as she spoke, three forked paths appeared ahead, each looking identical, leaving them uncertain which direction to choose.

"We’ve walked so far, we should have left the building’s area, but these passages still seem endless." Wu Xiuluo said curiously.

"I know what’s going on." Ning Wenbin suddenly spoke.

Lin Tian and the others couldn’t help but look at him. Successfully attracting Wu Xiuluo’s gaze, this guy was rather pleased inside, though he maintained a serious expression.

"Brother Lin Tian, you forgot I’m studying architectural design. Since our school’s founding, I’ve seen all preserved design blueprints, including those of the old buildings." Ning Wenbin said slightly pridefully.

"Then what’s really going on here?" Xiao Manxuan pursued.

"Actually, this place existed long before the school’s construction. These old buildings were built before the school, and later when the school was constructed, it was included. Initially, it was provided for prestigious teachers to live in, but certainly, each building’s basement existed independently at first."

"The passages we’re walking were dug later, likely during turbulent times to avoid disasters by connecting all basements, hence there are so many passages now, each leading to an old building’s basement." Ning Wenbin explained eloquently, detailing the old building’s renovation history.

Though normally unreliable, this guy showed quite a bit of knowledge when discussing architectural history.

Lin Tian patted his shoulder, praising: "Brother, you have the potential to become an architecture master."

"Heh, too kind, too kind." Ning Wenbin chuckled, though outwardly modest, his face couldn’t hide his pride, and deservedly so.

Having skills and pride is justified, being prideful without ability is simply arrogant.

"Which passage should we take?" Wu Xiuluo’s expression remained unchanged, she simply asked plainly.

"Uh, let me think..." Ning Wenbin scratched his head, seemingly recalling the blueprints he saw while also assessing the environment, then his eyes lit up: "Right, we should be at this location..."

He squatted to the ground, picked up a stone and quickly sketched a rough diagram. Though crude, Lin Tian could vaguely make out the previous entrance and their current positions.

"The left passage should lead to the construction site, the middle goes to the western old building, the right goes to the building behind, and there may be more forked paths in the middle." Ning Wenbin gestured to explain the directions at the fork: "As for which way to go, it’s up to you."

Actually, Lin Tian didn’t have a definite destination. His aim was to explore the underground thoroughly; Wu Xiuluo also didn’t know, so they all looked at Lin Tian, clearly making him the leader.

"Let’s go..." Lin Tian raised his hand to point a direction, suddenly, a faint voice reached him.

"Young man, come..."

The same voice, tone, and unexpected appearance shook Lin Tian. He looked at Xiao Manxuan and the others, finding their expressions unchanged, evidently having not heard any sound, even Wu Xiuluo didn’t hear it.

"Lin Tian, what’s wrong?" The three saw him suddenly frozen, very curious, Wu Xiuluo’s eyes sparkled momentarily, looking at Lin Tian with inquiry.

"Nothing, let’s go down this path." Lin Tian played it cool, pointing to the passage on the left, as the voice came from there.

Ning Wenbin was stunned, exclaimed: "Brother Lin Tian, are you sure about this route? Going further leads to the construction site, they’re working above; isn’t there some danger? If it collapses, we’ll be buried alive!"

Lin Tian recalled the driver’s warning last night about the site’s basement collapse causing frequent ground subsidence trapping vehicles; the four of them entering might indeed get buried alive.