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"That's why I love traveling through time. I don't want to die in my bed."
Sora echoed.
After sliding a long way on the snow, he arrived at the tunnel marked by Sambo.
The monsters wandering around the outskirts of the city could only see the blue tail flame of Kong's nozzle and the white shadow that flew almost as fast as him, only occasionally falling behind, but then immediately turning into an afterimage and returning to his side. Even the battle music played by the system could not catch up with him - it faded out almost instantly.
After a nozzle recoiled and braked suddenly, he found Sambo's smuggling passage under a collapsed house where a large number of Iron Guard mecha wreckage were buried.
This guy also hid some canned supplies in his secret base. It can be seen that he often comes and goes here. However, he can come and go freely in the outskirts of the deserted area where only monsters are alive. His personal strength may be much stronger than Kong guessed.
"I've already entered the passage, Sambo, is there anything else you want to remind me of?"
Because Sangbo was not admitted into the public frequency, Kong had to use the terminal to communicate with Sangbo - a very clear distinction.
"Ah, ah? You've reached the entrance? As expected of you, Your Excellency. As for the precautions... you will come out from the landfill near Panyan Town along the way. The smell may be a bit pungent, but you have a helmet... Don't worry, it's just the smell. I won't choose a smuggling route that would bury me in garbage."
"...I won't ask you about the conditions of the smuggling channels in other directions, but remember, if you have too much fun, I will hang you up and whip you for the sake of 'pleasure' itself."
"How dare I make fun of you? Panyan Town is the center of underground economic activities. Although it is in a very bad state, this place is also the headquarters of the Underworld Fire. We can reunite immediately after we go down."
Through the screen, Kong Du seemed to see the blue-haired man rubbing his hands together. "But... well, I hope I can disappear for a while when I go to find their leader. You know, many people are interested in my business. It's a bit difficult to walk through the downtown area without any hesitation..."
"Okay."
It seems that Kong let him off the hook.
Then he looked at Paimon, who was frowning because of the faint smell of rotten fish coming from the tunnel, and grabbed one of her legs maliciously, and before she put on the helmet that Estelle had customized for her, he jumped -
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
……
The application area of the lower zone is far beyond the initial imagination of the space.
There was so much space near the landfill that it gave Kong the illusion that he was not underground but in a mountain range. Looking up, this place was already quite close to the surface, but it was still five or six hundred meters away from the huge marrow crystals that served as fluorescent lamps, which was enough to fit a skyscraper.
The rock walls that should have collapsed in multiple sections were reinforced with a large number of steel plates, and the supporting function of the pipeline itself also showed to the sky that seven hundred years ago, the building materials and the effort used by the builders to create this great feat were indeed worthy of praise from interstellar civilization.
This is not a gift from the Amber King, but the result of mankind's great perseverance.
Of course, if it weren't for the pile of garbage and slag like a mountain of landfill when he jumped out of the pipe... Kong could still think more freely.
"I'm already at the garbage dump in Rock Town. I'll be there soon."
"Huh? So fast?? Did you just dig a hole in the ground and jump in through it? We just entered the town."
Shiluwa was frightened by Kong's terrifying mobility. She thought it would take at least an hour to find Kong, or they would find some anchor to summon Kong - but in the end, he arrived earlier after circling the surface.
"Aren't you worried that you might get robbed on the road?"
It must be said that after spending some time with Heita, Kong also began to speak without restraint. It might be because he was too relaxed and too indulgent.
"Let's choose a place to meet up. I'll ask the locals for directions."
"Sergei asked you to report his name and the name of the Earth Fire, which can save a lot of trouble. This underground human settlement doesn't look peaceful, so be careful... Shiluva, can you stop sniffling near me?"
After entering the town, Eula was already covered in fragrant sweat - the slightly bitter scent made Shiluwa cautiously ask her if she had sprayed too much perfume, which made her roll her eyes.
"...Let me taste it later." Kong made a prpr sound in the frequency band in a very random manner, which was even weirder than the inhalation sound made by Shiluwa.
"...Get out of here too. Damn it, I must hold a grudge against you all! All of you!"
199. Dark Lord Hook
"It smells so bad! Well, Sambo really has bad intentions, he just wants to disgust us!"
Paimon, who often stayed close to Eula, could clearly imagine how good she smelled now, but the cruel reality was that the helmet's filtering system could only weaken the terrible smell from the outside world - forcing her to flash in the air several times in a row and then somersault over the garbage mountains to escape the stench.
"It's hard to say, but this might really be the closest route to Panyan Town. I can already see the green dot of Eula."
Leaving Paimon complaining, Sora stood on top of the pile of abandoned mechas… Even though it was a pile of abandoned mechas, most of them were only shells, and all the usable and recyclable parts had been taken out. The hollow electronic eyes of those beetle-like mechas were "staring" at the two of them lifelessly, as if accusing them of something, and the weak feeling under his feet made Sora dare not stay any longer.
Judging from the fact that the garbage dump was unattended, the distribution of work here should be on the verge of collapse. Combined with the previous disassembly of the integrated transport vehicle to use as a cart, as well as the garbage disposal situation, Kong already had a general understanding of the economic level of the underground. He took out a coin that looked like an iron bean and started to toss it for fun.
He had asked Bronya for some Winterfell shields before, and also understood the basic purchasing power of these common currencies between the upper and lower classes.
After getting away from that chaotic place, he took off his helmet, trying to lower the vigilance of any locals he met - the upper level has its own guidelines, and the lower level should also have its own rules, and one must quickly adjust one's mentality and position.
Soon his seemingly "fish lips" posture attracted prying eyes.
With a cute, delicate face and neatly groomed golden hair, he doesn't look like the type of guy who would hang around a garbage dump. He's quite frail, but once your eyes fall on his strange clothes... the locals, who have seen too many monsters underground, lie in wait, hoping that some idiot will come up and test his worth.
"...Wow, there are some guys with bad intentions surrounding us."
Paimeng, who was habitually observing his surroundings, whispered to the air.
"It's okay. I lured them here on purpose."
Kong thumbed up the coin, his face indescribably relaxed. "If the official aboveground world is Kburg and Silvermane Iron Guard, then the official underground world is 'Dihuo'. However, our intelligence sources cannot be limited to the official ones, and we must also take into account the civilian ones. Whether someone comes to touch me, or is curious about an outsider like me and wants to talk to me, it is a meaningful contact."
Kong needs a guide... For him who has a map, the guide's guiding role is minimal. Regardless of whether the guide is "beaten" or "bribed" to lead the way, it is a shortcut to integrate into the local community.
"There should be more than just Dihuo gangs in the underground. I'm really looking forward to an idiot coming to bump into me and help me find out more."
"…If we get scammed, our rendezvous time will be delayed…"
"The reunion is a foregone conclusion... but our partner was attacked by residents of Panyan Town underground - how embarrassing for Dihuo. I am still the one who is right. No matter how you think about it, it will give me a little advantage at the negotiation table with Dihuo."
"...When it comes to having a dirty mind, you are the one."
Paimon couldn't help but give Sora a thumbs up.
"Hey, we're old friends, but you keep praising me. I'll be embarrassed."
……
But it was not quite the same as Sora had planned… The first person to come to him was not a thug, nor a scavenger from the garbage dump, but a little kid.
"I'm talking to you, the upper class. How can you walk around in such a dangerous place like a fool? And you're playing with money. Don't you know that wealth should not be exposed?"
Sora wasn't surprised that the kid could tell that he was an outsider right away. Instead, he was surprised that he didn't ask others to do something while he was talking to him.
Although it was not uncommon for the "lower zone" gangs of each world and each hive to have children serve as spies and pickpockets, the kid in front of him, despite his rude words, was sincerely warning Sora for his own good, which made him a little confused.
Could it be that I had overestimated Panyan Town?
"...Just right, little guy. I need a guide to take me to find the people of the Earth Fire. Do you know where they are active?"
"You? Looking for Earth Fire?"
The brown-haired kid, who looked no more than eight years old and whose clothes were covered with patches, stood with his hands on his hips in a mature manner: "Why should I take you to find the underground fire? You look like an earthbound person who knows nothing... If I don't know why you came to the underground and how you got down, who would dare to take you there!"
"Oh, you really do know someone from Dihuo?"
"...I don't know him. Damn it, I was just worried that you might get robbed, so I kindly reminded you, but you actually tried to trick me!"
He looked aggrieved at first, and then said viciously: "I don't care about you——"
It’s okay...it’s not some sinister and cunning old man pretending to be a little kid here.
Looking at the other person's red eyes, Kong thought that if he could be tricked like this, then he could only admit defeat, so he half-knelt down and showed a relatively kind smile:
"Little brother, what's your name?"
"I won't tell you. I hate people who tell lies!"
"I haven't lied yet, tell me."
As he spoke, Sora pulled out an energy bar and smiled more ingratiatingly at the child, making him look like a kidnapper.
"...I was given this by Julian the Thousand Faces...? Really? You wouldn't put drugs in this thing, would you?"
"Just thank you for reminding me. If you're worried about problems, you can keep it and eat it when you get home."
"Well."
It was unknown whether he accepted Kong's oblique apology or had another mission, but he secretly glanced behind him. However, in the dark, the figure Kong saw was not the adult who was "controlling" him, but another equally short shadow.
"You said you were afraid that I would be robbed, but aren't you afraid of being spotted by people with your small body wandering around outside?" Kong asked curiously.
"First, I don't have anything valuable on me. Second, I'm a member of the Mole Gang. They won't do anything stupid."
The child quickly put the energy bar into his trouser pocket without any hesitation.
"So the point is that you don't have anything valuable on you..."
Paimon complained sharply.
"No, the main point is that Boss Hook is protecting me. You are obviously smaller than me, so how can you speak more venomously than me?"
"What's there to compare? We don't have to go to find Dihuo. We want to meet the leader of your mole gang and discuss a big deal with him. Can you introduce him?"
Paimon once again served as Sora's mouthpiece - it seemed that this was a rare opportunity for her to gain the intellectual advantage in the conversation, and she had to perform well.
"As for Boss Hook, of course... ahem, that depends on whether she's happy with it or not - I'm going to go and report it!"
"Okay, go and come back soon, I'll wait for you here."
After he turned the corner, Paimon saw the person he was meeting:
"...Sora, that kid's so-called report is to find another kid, is that reliable?"
"To allow these kids to run around everywhere, either the law enforcement work of the underground fire is pretty good, or the lower-class residents have tacitly agreed not to touch the children."
Sora looked at Julian, who was running back happily, not paying any attention to controlling his voice, and telling another child that a "sucker" had come upstairs, and rubbed his chin:
"Of course, there is also a more outrageous possibility, which is that the other child who is protecting him is better at fighting than adults—"
"Oh no?"
While Paimon was puzzled, Julian had already reported back.
"Well, Boss Hook said it's okay, but we have to go to a more secluded place. There are too many people here."
Too many people, too many eyes...
Sora glanced calmly at those corners that had quietly disappeared from sight.
Was it the intimidation of Hook, the intimidation of the Mole Party, or was there someone or something else nearby that drove them away?
There are also many things that cannot be understood just by looking at the data displayed by the system... At the moment when Kong handed over the energy bar, several green dots suddenly appeared on the map. These children were not so innocent but they had good intentions, which made Kong relax a lot.
"Let's go. Move to a more lively place. I'm curious how you dare to move around in such a remote and dirty part of the town—"
"Of course it's because there's money to be made here - Boss Hook said that although some popping candies are past their expiration date, they don't actually affect the taste or make you sick, and they're actually very nutritious!"