The first hundred meters passed without contact.
That did not make anyone feel safer.
The corridor beyond the old cellar descended at a shallow angle, its floor uneven from centuries of water damage and neglect. Electric cables ran along one wall behind the team, feeding the lights installed near the entrance, but their reach ended quickly. Beyond that boundary, every soldier relied on helmet lamps, rifle lights, and the portable floodlights carried by the engineers. The beams cut narrow paths through the darkness, revealing damp stone, rusted brackets, and old markings carved by people who had once believed these tunnels could protect them.
