The Black Bell Flooded Tunnels Guide: Valves, Hiding and the Vent Escape

The flooded lower tunnels are Chapter Two's big set piece in The Black Bell: you drop in through a hatch, turn four pipe valves to drain the water while a sound-hunting creature patrols the corridors, then follow the glowing white chevrons to a floor vent and crawl out through the air ducts into the attic. Here is the whole route, step by step.

Quick route

1. Open the lower gate using the wheel and lever found nearby — you need both.
2. Go through the floor hatch marked LEAVE THE PEARL and ride the chute down.
3. Turn all four valves (Valves: 0/4 to 4/4), hiding in lockers when the creature gets close.
4. Follow the white chevrons to the floor vent and crawl through the ducts.
5. Push the grille open at the "Push harder" prompt to pop out into the attic.

Getting in: the gate, the wheel and the LEAVE THE PEARL hatch

The entrance sits at the bottom of Chapter Two's descent. Arthur tells you there is "a gate ahead that should take you further down" and that a wheel and a lever are somewhere nearby — you need both to open it, so search the surrounding rooms before moving on. If the gate itself is holding you up, our wheel and lever puzzle guide covers it in detail.

Once the gate is open, look just beyond it for the floor hatch marked LEAVE THE PEARL. Opening it drops you down a long circular chute straight into the green, flooded lower tunnels.

Draining the water: the four valves

The moment you land, the objective changes to DRAIN THE WATER with a Valves: 0/4 counter, and Arthur lays out the plan: "You're in the lower tunnels. The drainage system should still work. Find the valves and get the water out."

Four large pipe valves are spread across the flooded corridors. The Valves counter is your progress tracker — every valve you find and turn ticks it up, and the section ends at 4/4, when the water drains. The search itself is the challenge: you're working through flooded corridors while a creature that hunts by sound patrols them, so stay quiet and lean on the lockers below. For help tracking down each valve, see our four valves puzzle guide.

The creature: stay quiet and use the lockers

A pale, lanky humanoid creature patrols the flooded tunnels and hunts by sound. Arthur's warning as you start turning valves: stay quiet, and if it sees you, don't try to outrun it — find somewhere to hide.

Your hiding spots are the metal lockers placed throughout the tunnels. Duck inside, wait for the creature to pass, and step back out with the E – LEAVE LOCKER prompt once it moves on. From inside a locker you still get a narrow view of the corridor, which makes it easier to judge when the path to your next valve is clear. More on its behavior in our monster guide.

Getting out: chevrons, the floor vent and the attic

Turning the fourth valve (Valves: 4/4) drains the water, and glowing white chevrons light up along the floor to mark the escape route — you're free to leave at that point. Expect to crouch for part of the run to the exit.

Follow the chevrons to a floor vent and into a stretch of air ducts. At the end sits a grille with a "Push harder" prompt — keep at it and the grate pops open into an attic. Fair warning: the creature shrieks directly into the camera inside the duct just before the grate gives way. It's the section's parting jump scare, and the exit opens immediately after.

That wraps up the flooded tunnels — the chapter 2 walkthrough carries you through the rest of the chapter.