It was a long trek through the tunnel, which seemed to get narrower in some places, almost narrow enough to barely accommodate a single person. And the more they trekked, the deeper it seemed they were going into the caves, but the chamber eventually opened up, and the sound of rushing water could be heard in the distance, along with a warm, damp breeze that smelled thick like human waste, refuse, and filth.
Soft loamy ground would eventually become hard, turning into concrete coated in a thick coating of algae, and moss, which only served to exacerbate the thick stench of refuse.
If they carried the flashlights they had looted from the corpses of the security personnel, the light would reveal a wide channel filled with choppy, brownish green water that seemed to be flowing in one direction, and several metal bridges spanning the chasm. The group had happened upon a drainage channel of some kind, and upstream a faint light could be seen roughly a hundred meters ahead. The air that blew in was thick, acrid smelling, and almost difficult to breathe, as it was hard on the lungs and seemed to settle deep in the chest, like an unhealthy smoke.
There was only one way out, and that was upstream, along the concrete channel where the sights and sounds of Niihama City greeted them.
The trio would likely emerge along a drainage channel, that was lined with trash, waste, and the smell of excrement, and chemicals. Buildings towered all around them, while streetlights bathed the area in an orange glow.
The distant sound of police sirens could be made out, but the trio had more or less slipped the perimeter of the Ten-Shi Zaibatsu Dig site, and into the crowded streets of Niihama City, where a sea of people filled the walkways, coming, going, and going about their business as far as the eye could see.
Cars honked their horns as they moved through the streets, people lazily moving out of their way, Market stalls lined the streets as well, their tarps fluttering in the wind, and neon signs hummed idly, as the smells of curries, seared seafood, and rice filled the streets, subtly overpowered by the refuse channel they were in.