The wheel turned with a series of deep, groaning protests. Each quarter-turn sent a shower of rust flakes and concrete dust to the floor. The sound was monstrously loud in the oppressive silence of P-4, but Leo knew the chaos from the Shriekers above would cover them. He put his back into it, his muscles straining, until the final locking pin retracted with a heavy, satisfying THUNK.
He pulled the hatch open. The wave of air that washed over them was thick and heavy, a cocktail of ozone, mildew, and the coppery tang of old blood that was now much stronger. It was the smell of a place that had never been meant for human habitation.
Beyond the hatch lay not a room, but a narrow, caged catwalk suspended over a chasm of darkness. The sub-basement wasn't a floor; it was a void. Massive, arm-thick electrical conduits, wrapped in faded primary colors, snaked through the darkness like colossal intestines, disappearing into the depths below. The only light came from a few bare, wire-caged bulbs casting a weak, yellow-orange glow, creating more shadows than they dispelled. The air hummed with the raw, untamed power of the city's grid.
"This is the breaker room?" Evelyn asked, her voice a nervous whisper.
"This is the access tunnel to the breaker room," Leo corrected, peering into the gloom. The catwalk extended about fifty feet before turning a corner into darkness. "Stay close. Don't touch any of the conduits."
They stepped through the hatch onto the groaning metal mesh of the catwalk. It swayed slightly under their combined weight. Leo pulled the heavy hatch shut behind them, the sound of it locking into place sealing them in. Now, there was no retreat.
Their frictionless shoes, a lifesaver in the garage, were a terrifying liability here. The grated metal offered slightly more purchase than smooth concrete, but every step was a careful, deliberate balancing act over a pit of unknown depth.
They moved slowly along the catwalk, the hum of the power lines a constant, vibrating presence in their bones. The air grew warmer, stickier. As they rounded the first corner, they saw it. The breaker room wasn't a room at all, but a massive control panel built directly into the far concrete wall of the chasm, about a hundred feet away. It was a wall of switches, levers, and gauges, reachable only by this single, precarious catwalk.
But something was wrong.
The catwalk between them and the control panel was… different. It was coated in a thick, semi-translucent, amber-colored substance. It looked like hardened resin or sap, dripping from the ceiling and conduits above, covering the metal mesh in a smooth, organic-looking layer. It was as if the building itself had bled onto the walkway.
Leo held up a hand, stopping them. He didn't need a System notification to know this was a trap. The amber substance was too uniform, too deliberate.
He looked up. The source of the substance was immediately obvious. Clinging to the massive conduits directly above the coated section of catwalk were several… things. They looked like fleshy, oversized barnacles, the size of dinner plates, with a dark, pulsating orifice at their center. They were perfectly still, looking more like a part of the industrial decay than living creatures.
[Lvl 3 Conduit Leech]
[Traits: Stationary, Ambush Predator, Thermal Sense, Electrical Discharge.]
"Leeches," Leo breathed. "They sense body heat. When we walk under them, they'll drop."
Evelyn's eyes widened. "And then what? They electrocute us?"
"Probably," Leo said grimly. The name Conduit Leech was brutally descriptive. "And that amber stuff on the floor... I bet it's sticky. Once you step on it, you can't get off."
It was another perfect predator for this environment. A trap designed to catch prey in a kill zone. They were stuck, fifty feet from their goal, with an impassable stretch of monster-infested territory in between.
Evelyn looked around frantically. "Is there another way?"
Leo scanned the area. There was no other catwalk. No other path. His eyes drifted to the massive, colorful conduits snaking through the chasm. The red one, probably a primary power line, passed right over the Leech-infested area, running parallel to the catwalk about ten feet away. It was thick, round, and looked impossibly slick.
"No," Leo said, a new, terrible idea forming. "There's no other way. So we have to make one."
He looked at Evelyn. "How good is your balance?"
Before she could answer, he was already at work. He reached into his inventory and pulled out one of the Large Skitterer Carapaces he'd harvested. It was curved, smooth, and incredibly durable. He placed it on the catwalk in front of him.
Then, he activated his new favorite skill. [Improvise Tool].
He didn't need a weapon. He needed a bridge. He imagined a grappling hook, something to anchor them.
[Improvise Tool (Lvl 1)] activated. Analyzing available materials: (1) Skitterer Carapace, (1) Roll of Heavy-Duty Trash Bags, (x4) Skitterer Forearm Claws... Creating: 'Claw-Head Grapple Hook'.]
His mana flowed, and the items in his mind began to assemble. He tore the trash bags into long strips, braiding them with System-guided precision into a surprisingly strong, thin rope. At the end, he took one of the sharp forearm claws and lashed it to the rope, the knots glowing with a faint blue energy as they were magically reinforced. It wasn't pretty, but it was strong.
He held the finished grapple. Now for the hard part. He swung the claw-hook a few times to build momentum, then hurled it with all his might. He wasn't aiming for the catwalk on the other side. He was aiming for a metal support bracket holding the giant red conduit in place, just past the Leech zone.
The claw sailed through the air and hooked onto the bracket with a loud CLANG!
The Leeches on the ceiling stirred, their central orifices dilating slightly in response to the sound, but without a heat signature to target, they settled back into stillness.
Leo pulled on the rope, testing the anchor. It held firm. He tied his end securely to the railing of their section of the catwalk. He now had a makeshift rope bridge spanning the gap, running parallel to the catwalk.
"You want us to tightrope walk across that?" Evelyn asked, her voice incredulous.
"No," Leo said, patting the large, curved piece of carapace at his feet. "We're going to surf."
He placed the carapace so it was hanging over the edge of the catwalk, directly underneath the red conduit. He sat down on the chitin shield, wrapping his legs around it. It was like sitting in a small, sharp sled.
"Get on behind me," he said. "Hold on tight. And whatever you do, don't let go."
Evelyn hesitated for only a second before her pragmatism won out. She clambered onto the back of the makeshift sled, her arms wrapping around Leo's waist in a death grip.
"Ready?" Leo asked.
"No!" she yelped.
He took that as a yes. He grabbed the braided rope he had strung across, using it as a guide and a handhold. With a deep breath, he pushed off.
The Skitterer carapace slid off the catwalk and onto the slick, rounded surface of the red power conduit with a smooth hiss. For a moment, they hung in the balance, then gravity took over. Their sled began to slide forward along the conduit, picking up speed.
They were grinding along a live, high-voltage power line on a piece of a dead monster. It was the most insane thing either of them had ever done.
The Conduit Leeches below them stirred. They sensed the heat of two human bodies passing directly overhead. One by one, they detached from their perches and dropped. But they didn't land on Leo and Evelyn. They landed on the empty, amber-coated catwalk directly below them, their primary trap now useless. They writhed on the sticky surface, unable to move, their thermal senses going haywire.
One Leech, dropping late, managed to slap onto the back of their carapace sled. It immediately discharged its electrical load.
BZZZZZZT!
A massive arc of blue electricity coursed through the Skitterer carapace. The chitin, being non-conductive, channeled the energy perfectly around them. The monster's own armor was the perfect insulator. Leo felt a tingle of static electricity, but they were unharmed. The Leech, having spent its charge, fell away, landing among its trapped brethren.
They reached the other side in a terrifying, exhilarating rush, their sled scraping off the conduit and crashing onto the safe, uncoated section of catwalk in front of the breaker panel.
They had made it.
Leo stumbled off the sled, his legs shaking with adrenaline. He looked back at the writhing, trapped Leeches. They had beaten another perfect predator.
[XP GAINED: +300 XP for bypassing a hazardous zone using improvised equipment.]
No level up, but a nice bonus. He was getting close.
He turned his attention to the wall of switches and levers. It was a dizzying array of controls, most of them unlabeled or covered in faded, technical jargon.
"Okay, Evelyn," he said, his breath still ragged. "You're the risk analyst. You got us this far. Now, which one of these things opens the door?"