The disposal corridor reeked. Water seeping from rusted pipes pooled on the floor, where moss had grown, and the stench of rotting moss clung to the air. Klaus hadn't brought a lamp. Only a faint orange glow reached from a cracked oil pan at the end of the passage. Klaus walked slowly through the corridor, his gaze fixed upward at the ceiling. The southern edge of the Lower District Schattenwerk—more precisely, part of the old transport route leading to the waste disposal facility Aschengrube. It wasn't used anymore. Cracks ran across the walls in places, and sections of the ceiling had already collapsed. In short, no one came here. That was Klaus's objective. (The Nachtschlund checkpoint can't be breached head-on.) He spread a mental map. Two patrol priests were permanently stationed at the Nachtschlund passage entrance connecting the Lower District to the Deeper Layer Grundstille. The official route was unusable. So he needed to find another way. Somewhere in the disposal route