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"Oh! Kong, over here!" Shiluva was the first to push open the door and greet them, seeming even more anxious than Eula.
"Boss, I've got the person here."
"Hello, traveler. Now everyone is here. Thank you for your hard work. Xier, you should also come to the meeting."
The old man, who had the same gray hair as Sergei but looked more energetic and had a somewhat Slavic appearance, knocked on the table, causing the Earth and Fire cadres who were talking to lower their voices. He did not introduce himself immediately, but reminded Kong of his power here.
In the room, Eula and Sergei had already formed a circle. With more than a dozen people sitting in front of a clean wooden table, the space seemed a bit cramped.
"Do you need me to accompany you?"
Xier, who was about to turn around and continue patrolling, immediately stopped.
The internal structure of the Dihuo is relatively simple. It can also be said that compared with the Iron Guard, it lacks some distinction between superiors and subordinates. It is more humane and there is no need to assign tasks in the form of orders.
"Well, this matter is of great importance. The guests from heaven have brought us a smuggling channel that is not restricted by the furnace core. We may need to send you out for escort."
"No problem. I'm listening."
After Xier expressed her attitude of being available at any time, she leaned against the door, deliberately blocking the only connection with the outside world. This room had no windows, so there was no need to worry about being sniped. If anyone wanted to get in, they would have to get past her first.
After completing the security preparations, she turned her attention to the two unfamiliar faces.
There were still many decorative elements on Shiluwa's body that she was familiar with. Except that her face was a little whiter than the underground man, the overall look was not particularly unusual. Although it was also very strange, the other guy standing in front of the fan blowing hard in his face was more eye-catching... She was wearing a tights, long boots, shoulder armor and leather armor. At first glance, she was an alien female warrior. There was not a single Beloberg element on her equipment.
It looked like she was about to die of the heat - Xier suddenly felt a little gloating, you deserve the heat, you are actually wearing a full set of leather armor when moving underground - except for the two pieces of flesh exposed at the root of your thighs to dissipate heat, it is estimated that her insides have already started to steam like a sauna.
Finally, Eula, who had dissipated 70% of the heat, turned around and looked at Kong with a resentful look in her eyes, as if saying - "If I didn't want to cater to your possessiveness, I wouldn't be dressed so tightly to come out to fight."
Then when she saw that the cadre who brought Kong in was actually a beautiful girl, her expression became extremely wonderful for a moment.
Running into three beautiful girls who could participate in a Teyvat-level talent show in one day was not something that could be explained by luck. It was more like Sora was actively hunting them with his target locked on.
"...Which old lover of yours is this? Don't try to fool her - there's something wrong with the way she looks at her!" In her private chat, her voice simulated the sound of grinding teeth because of her mental fluctuations.
"Good eyesight - this is Xi'er, she is the counterpart of someone I met when I was a captain, but she seems to dislike me. Don't worry, I promise not to take the initiative to have anything to do with her!"
Kong hurriedly bowed to Eula and promised in the private channel that he would reward her well when he returned for his rest. Only then did Eula snort twice and refrain from touching him.
"You have nothing to do with her? Ha, this is the funniest joke I've heard this year. I'm afraid she'll force herself on you - don't you want to lick her? Today I'll let you lick her to your heart's content."
After saying those harsh words, Eula crossed her legs and lay down on the sofa - the guerrilla knight was good at charging, but the continuous and drastic changes in the environment inevitably made her a little tired.
"Okay, can we not take a shower?"
"...No! Why are you so dirty??"
After all, Sora was the worst, and Eula was embarrassed.
After privately comforting his female companion, Kong finally had time to observe the situation of the people in the room.
They are all good players, but not all of them are destiny walkers. Currently, only the power flowing in Xier is more obvious.
"I heard that you played with the children underground for a while... Mr. Traveler, you should also know that our children are not in a good situation now. Frankly speaking, we really need to expand the smuggling channel. I won't be polite with you, and I won't be hypocritical. Here is the list of goods we can provide, and our demand list. You can browse what you like and what you can provide..."
Oleg was a man of great courage, but he also had the nerve to admit that they needed help.
"We can also introduce people to work there, but they are still underground residents, protected by the underground fire. If you want to sign a labor contract, please consider it carefully—"
"We need more than just special products like earth marrow and ordinary labor, Mr. Oleg."
Faced with the other party's honesty, Kong did not hide anything: "We need your support and troops to overthrow the current Great Guardian Cocolia. The smuggling channel is prepared for this purpose."
201. Don't do this, Eula, I'm scared...
"..."
When Kong said he wanted to overthrow the Great Guardian's rule, the whole room fell silent.
The silence lasted for nearly half a minute before the thin-faced Oleg spoke slowly, but his tone was very steady, as if he was not shocked:
"…This day has finally come. But…I didn't expect that the one leading the resistance would be a group of visitors from the sky."
"No, the one leading the rebellion is Bronya Rand, the deputy of the Grand Guardian. She agrees with the action of sealing the star core and has fallen out with her mother. Our goal is simpler. After resolving Beloberg's mess, we can restore orbital operation and leave this planet."
Sora crossed his arms. "To put it bluntly, the lives of the people in this world have nothing to do with us. But because we are trapped on this planet, we must seal the core of the planet, prevent the disaster, and continue our journey. The Cocolia regime prevents us from getting close to the source of the disaster, so we have to plan to get that woman out of power. Gathering the necessary forces to force her to leave is one of the simplest ways."
Seeing that Oleg was silent again, as if he was digesting the information he brought, Sora added, "We can work alone, but the remaining problem is that the people of Beloberg are likely to misunderstand us, and the rift between the city builders and the residents may widen... All of these will have a bad impact on the reputation of the Nameless Guest."
"That's an easy statement to accept, Mr. Sora."
Oleg nodded. "We can clear more channels for supplies, but I'm afraid the soldiers can't just go to the surface. First, the situation underground is so bad that we don't have enough manpower to maintain order. Second, once the personnel involved in the garrison battle are recognized as having connections with the lower districts, our source of core supplies will likely be shut down by the other side... That's the lifeline of hundreds of thousands of people."
He then asked Kong seriously, "Can the smuggling channels you provided replace the throughput of the core channel? Are the material reserves sufficient? How long can the transaction last? These are what I am more concerned about."
It seemed that deep in Oleg's consciousness, Kokolia was no longer worthy of being the great guardian. He did not even question the legitimacy and rationality of the Beloberg civil war.
"As for supplies, we can currently provide enough food and clothing through a garrison of about 2000 people, competing for ground reserves, automatic farms, and factories. What is relatively scarce is energy, and weapons are also limited. However, I am not the one to discuss these detailed data with you. It is more appropriate to communicate with the locals of Beloberg."
After thinking about it, Sora decided to push Bronya forward - this was her fate and her responsibility, and even if he protected her now, he would only harm her.
"As for the risk of the core channel being shut down... Bronya said she would go to the lower levels to investigate, recruit soldiers, and negotiate specific trade matters. We are just responsible for delivering the message. Here, we, a group of outsiders, can only provide an opportunity for you to reconcile with each other. The specific way to deal with it depends on how you locals negotiate."
Even if she wasn't prepared, she had no choice but to go for it:
"Now the leader girl has raised the banner of rebellion and is against Kburg, and has received a lot of support - including our support. Although her manpower is not particularly abundant, fortunately they can come and go freely. Kburg currently does not have the spare energy to hunt down her and Jeppard's troops... I think if the order in the underground cannot be improved, can we borrow the troops on the ground to help you temporarily?"
"...No." Oleg immediately refused:
"The conflict between the aboveground and underground has lasted for more than a decade. I can't imagine how much of a stir the large-scale 'invasion' of the Silver Mane Iron Guards would cause in the lower levels."
"If they only come to help clean up the rift, and the maintenance of order is still the responsibility of you, the people of the Earth Fire, will the underground residents be more accepting?"
Kong used one move after another, which made Oleg a little dazed.
"The smuggling routes also require the help of these Iron Guards. You can't avoid them. Moreover, I can testify that the Iron Guards on the ground are fighting for the entire Beloberg. They just don't know the current situation underground. They never backed down in the face of the Rift. Although Cocolia's guidance was problematic, the soldiers did nothing wrong."
"...I need some time to think about it...Why don't we send a small group of people up first, Xier."
"Boss."
"Take a patrol team to investigate on the ground and confirm whether what he said is true. Sorry, Mr. Kong, as long as it is proven that what you said is true, we can let people in."
Oleg seemed to be persuaded. "Since the Great Guardian's agent is also coming to inspect the underground, we have barely established a basic equal relationship. However, whether to introduce the Iron Guards and whether we should land on the ground in the future still needs adjustment. Xier, I need to know how long it will take for the City Builders to free up their hands to encircle and suppress the girl's opposition. You should pay special attention to it."
"Yes, Boss. Is there anything else you want me to pay attention to?"
"Pay attention to whether these guests of the sky are really as open as he says - the rest is up to you."
"Understood." Xier then turned her gaze to Kong again. This time, her aggressiveness was much lessened, probably because Kong's previous remarks were sincere enough and he respected Beloberg's "sovereignty" very much, and he respected both the upper and lower levels at the same time.
Although his tone hinted at "reluctance to meddle in other people's business", the fact that he was willing to deliver the message and appear here showed that he was not such a cold-hearted person... He might not have had so many dirty thoughts when he gave candies to the children just now.
"Today's meeting was actually an accident... We were kind of forced into it. I'm not sure if Cocolia has the ability to manipulate the Rift, but it feels like several of the Rift's attacks were instigated by her... You also have to be vigilant. The enemy isn't just humans, there are also those monsters."
"Manipulating the Rift...it sounds more and more magical."
Oleg looked like he had a headache.
However, it has been decided to send a team to the upper level for "exchange". What kind of monster Cocolia is or what conspiracy he has is not the most important issue at the moment.
He once again stared into the air, this time with a bit more of a "don't be too arrogant" look in his eyes than before, as if he was looking at someone his own age.
"The rest is up to the agent girl to come down and discuss with us... But regarding the role that the nameless guests play among us..."
"...The train can provide a small group of elite troops... But I have helped connect them to this extent, so I still hope you don't take the importance of the nameless guest too seriously-"
Sora chose to say the ugly thing last.
He has separate tasks to perform, and the system's weekly and daily releases do not follow superficial rules.
"Yes, Dihuo will not easily owe favors to others. Wumingke has helped us a lot, and Dihuo will remember this friendship."
Oleg looked at Lao Xie beside him. Although the latter was reluctant, he still nodded to Kong, implying that he would repay Kong.
"In addition to favors, we can also trade and hire... If you have something you like, just tell us. Although the underground is generally barren, the minerals are rich enough, and there are still some mecha production lines... I believe that people who travel in the sky will always need some replacement parts and metals."
"Well, maybe we can talk business afterwards."
In fact, the moment he saw the Bear Mecha, Kong had a sense of déjà vu - the security guards that Topal brought to the Black Tower Space Station wore equipment that had many similarities with the mechas here... Some of Beloberg's autonomous equipment was full of corporate elements.
Then send a copy of the information to Topa and Ester respectively and ask them. If the standard parts are universal or just optimized, the pressure on the opposition's weapons may be alleviated.
Sora said noncommittally, "We can find the passage to the upper level after we have rested. I can mark it for you in advance, but the location of the camp cannot be exposed for the time being. Please understand."
"Okay, I'll take people to survey the smuggling channel first. When you guys get together, we can go and see what the ground has become now."
There was actually some anticipation in Xier's tone.
She grew up underground and had very vague memories of the ground, which was almost like a new world to her.
"Our work for today ends here. It's time to go back and wake up the children. Oleg, I will be back this afternoon or evening to take a look around underground. When the other nameless guests take over our activities here, please take care of them."
"Of course, no problem. The rooms at the Goethe Hotel are always reserved for you."
After saying that, Sora raised his chin towards Sylva in the dazed gaze, indicating that it was time to leave. However, Eula got up early without Sora's instructions.
There was no chance for Shiluva to interrupt throughout the whole process, as if Kong understood the relationship between the upper and lower levels better than she did. Eula was not surprised at all that Kong could dominate the conversation, as she had become numb to similar scenes after seeing them so many times.
Xier's bodyguard work came to an end, but she still walked out of the room with Kong and the others.
"...Aren't you going to care about that 'isotope in another world'?" When Eula saw that Seele was still "monitoring" them, she thought that Kong had secretly used his power again.
"Although I do care, I'm not close to her... Eula, I know my bad nature, so it's good to keep a little distance from her at this time."
Sora gave a less certain answer to some of Eula's questions.
"When I was in Hyperion, I felt very sorry for Seele... but people are shaped by the environment they live in. Seele's personality here is actually completely different from what I knew. Since we are both different people, there is no need to try to find the 'feeling' I had in the past with her..."
"You're not like that with Himeko and Bronya."
"Himeko, it's because we have to get along for a long time. As for Bronya, I helped her. After she got over this hurdle in her heart, she can leave with peace of mind. There is a very important point here. I think they are all good children. They are all working hard for the people around them. That's why I want to give them some advice. You should think of it as me experiencing this for the first time and feeling a little nostalgic."
Sora sighed, "If they become villains due to the influence of the environment... things won't be so simple."
After all, Eula is not Sora, and cannot understand the emotions brought about by the long journey... Although he is always rational, no one can always make the best thinking.
She chose not to delve into other people's problems, but instead focused on herself:
"…If I had an identical being from another world, would you treat her the same way?"
"Don't make assumptions about this. If you can stay with me forever, then people who look like you will just be similar strangers."
"It seems that if I separate from you, you will also look for a replacement for me..."
Although it sounded like she was about to die, Eula's eyes became more gentle.