Chapter 823: Return Underground |
Pro To pointed out the passage leading underground. The Players had expected something like a hidden-base door with a mechanism — but instead it was a... "looter's tunnel" buried in the snow.
Clearly dug by hand. The tunnel's shape was bizarre, and it was extremely well-hidden. Without a guide, even if the trio had reached this area, they'd likely have spent considerable time searching.
Seeing the single-person-wide opening, Cheng Shi smiled and stepped back in sync with Zhang Jizu.
The message was obvious: they'd take the rear — no scouting for them.
Ai Si's face darkened. Somehow she'd been conscripted as point again. But her reaction wasn't too intense — she'd grown used to these two priest-teammates' rhythm. Whenever the unknown loomed, you'd never walk behind them.
Luckily, Ai Si had realistic self-awareness about her role. She'd been living by her opening declaration: know when to advance, know when to retreat.
Now was the time to advance.
So the War Supervisor raised her great sword, preparing to "renovate" the narrow passage — but Cheng Shi caught her arm, halting a very War-like impulse.
"Too obvious. The marks would give us away. I still don't know where those two mutts impersonating me are. Just go in as is. If you'd be so kind, Lady War Supervisor, to lead the way."
"?"
Pro To shuddered.
Cheng Shi paused, turned to Zhang Jizu with a meaningful smile.
"I'd say putting the guide in the middle is the steadiest approach. That way we prevent him from triggering traps or pulling something sneaky up front, while also cutting off his retreat. Zhang-lao, I refuse to believe you didn't think of that. So what's the real reason you want this scavenger out front?
You're protecting the War Supervisor?
When did you two get so close?"
At this, Zhang Jizu's squint tightened. He was about to respond — but Ai Si rolled her eyes, put away her sword, and jumped into the hole without a word.
Cheng Shi shrugged — the gesture clearly saying 'See? She doesn't need it.' Then he pushed Pro To in after her.
Zhang Jizu brought up the rear. He scanned the area with narrowed eyes, swiftly erased all traces of their presence, and left behind a simple teleportation array before following them down.
The passage was long, winding through the underground before connecting to the wall of a thick underground pipe.
This was clearly not a standard route. The half-meter-thick pipe wall was riddled with corrosion and tool marks — someone had spent serious time carving through it. The four squeezed in single-file and emerged into the underground pipe network, confirming it was identical to where they'd first arrived.
No observation equipment. No experimental space. Just endless branching pipes and countless junctions.
Realizing Pro To's description didn't match, Cheng Shi's face turned dark. But before he could speak, Pro To was already baffled.
"How is this possible?! They specifically said it was here!"
"You've never been down here?" Zhang Jizu frowned.
"No — I didn't dare. If Well Si caught me, he'd exile me to the Devout Land."
"Heh — but isn't your whole dream to pass through the Devout Land and push open the Theater door?
If everyone just loiters at the perimeter, how will any of you ever become gods?" Cheng Shi scoffed.
Pro To shook his head, face ashen. "I don't know about the others, but I don't want to become a god. I fell down here by accident. My only wish is to leave this place — to escape this fire-pit of god-chasers."
His words rang with extraordinary sincerity — even without the Master of Deception, no one would have doubted him.
But Cheng Shi sensed something behind the words. He arched a brow. "So your condition is — you want us to take you out of here? Free you from this frozen abyss?"
"Yes... is that possible, my lord?" Pro To's eyes brimmed with hope, though his body shrank.
Ai Si shook her head with a weak smile. "That wish is probably—"
"Of course it's possible." Cheng Shi cut her off, gave her a look, and turned to Pro To with a dazzling smile.
"As long as what you've told us is correct and we find traces of that experiment here, I can personally guarantee that when we leave, we'll take you with us.
But only if you haven't lied."
"I haven't! I really haven't! Let me look — it has to be here! It must be here!" The excited scavenger launched himself into a frenzied search.
Watching the harmless scavenger throw himself into it, Ai Si rolled her eyes. "You just love deceiving people, don't you, surname Cheng? Sometimes honesty could achieve the same result. Why insist on lying?"
Cheng Shi shot her a strange look.
"You know perfectly well I'm His follower. I express devotion to my Benefactor at every moment. Is that wrong?
Besides, War Supervisor — you seem trigger-happy with that sword, but at the end of the day, the only person you've killed is Ber To. I even suspect you stabbed him not to fulfill War's will, but to put a man too ashamed to live out of his misery.
You're so kind and so restrained... Your Benefactor..."
He trailed off.
'Actually — don't even say it. War is way more "restrained" than His followers.'
"Forget it. Let's just speed up. All I want to know is what secret these pipes are hiding, and whether it can get us through the Devout Land."
The three split up to search the pipes. To mark their path, Zhang Jizu produced countless firefly lamps — magical lights the size of buttons that stuck to the pipe walls with a press, illuminating a small area. Using this method to "draw" a map, they swept the vicinity clean in short order.
Soon, they found something.
Pro To pressed a lamp too hard against one section of wall, punched straight through, and tumbled into a hidden chamber. The three Players rushed over. Seeing the darkened room — unmistakably styled like a Tower of Logic laboratory — they finally exhaled.
'At least it wasn't a dead end.'
This was clearly a secret archive room. But most of the documents had been burned for warmth. Even the bookshelves had been chopped up and tossed into the brazier as firewood. In place of the shelves stood a patchwork War Machine Pawn, crudely assembled.
But "assembled" was generous. When Cheng Shi saw that the critical joints were held together with wooden pegs, his face went pitch-black.
Good news: Pro To hadn't lied.
Bad news: Well Si had been bluffing.
His plan was nowhere near its "final stage." It was barely past the concept phase. This was just a big toy to con someone with...
And he'd actually succeeded.
'Ye Nuoli must be a real fool not to come verify this himself.'
The lead was dead again. The impenetrable fog remained a wall before them.
With nothing better to do, Cheng Shi salvaged whatever scraps of paper remained in the brazier, trying to piece something together — anything to understand what had happened here and recover some loss.
While puzzling fragments together, he asked casually: "Zhang-lao, can you fix war machines?"
Zhang Jizu hadn't spoken yet when Ai Si beat him to it with a laugh.
The War Supervisor cast a loaded glance at Cheng Shi, a hint of mockery in her eyes.
"That's rich — asking a Truth follower if he can fix war machines?
Even if Zhang Chosen isn't part of the Mechanical Engineering Department, just based on Truth followers' innate talents, making this big toy move shouldn't be too hard.
Right, Zhang Chosen?"
"..."
'Truth?'
'What Truth?'
'Who's a Truth follower?'
Cheng Shi blinked, staring blankly at Mi Laozhang.
Zhang Jizu went rigid. His eyes squeezed into the thinnest of slits.
'This is bad. This trial — it's aimed at me.'
...
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