Chapter 174: Unparalleled |
The elevators in the Rune Mining Area were different from those found elsewhere.
Instead of a single shaft plunging straight to the bottom, they were arranged in a staggered, sequential pattern. After all, the Rune Mining Area was constantly being dug deeper and deeper, so it was impossible to extend a single elevator line while active mining was underway. Consequently, a single shaft generally serviced a few dozen layers before passengers had to switch tracks to access another shaft.
Of course, the elevators were not available to just anyone. Unlike the cargo trains, the lifting capacity of these elevators was strictly limited, so only the actual controllers of each layer were permitted to use them. This inherently meant that the area surrounding an elevator shaft was invariably the safest location on any given layer.
Conversely, if even the elevator platform had fallen, it meant the entire layer was essentially... well, the outcome was entirely predictable.
"Clang, clang, clang."
Standing inside the cramped elevator cage, Levi stared down into the bottomless pit of the mine. Even though searchlights illuminated the surroundings as bright as day, the lower reaches of the shaft still felt completely swallowed by a pitch-black abyss. It was as though a dense, suffocating shadow was blocking the top of the pit, refusing to let even the most brilliant light pierce through.
Looking out into the tunnels branching off on either side, Levi spotted a fair number of people. Most were miners, standing there with vacant, hollow expressions, looking no different from the living dead. Some clung to one another, weeping bitterly, while others stretched their hands out toward Levi in utter desperation, silently begging for something.
It was a veritable living hell.
Yet, this was still considered the better part of the situation. At the very least, there were still living people here.
As far as the eye could see, not a single human soul remained. Only the mechanical drone of the elevator echoed through the deathly silence of the mine, drawing out the zombies that had been lured by the noise. Just like creatures straight out of a horror film or a game, they let out low, animalistic growls and threw themselves against the elevator structure, scratching and pounding furiously at the source of the sound.
Driven by primal instincts, having completely lost all semblance of human consciousness, they lunged blindly toward the noise. Levi even watched as several zombies climbed right over the guardrails, tumbling into the open air and rapidly shrinking into tiny specks before vanishing into the deep darkness below.
Seriously, just how deep is this place?
Levi silently checked his watch. Counting the time spent transitioning between tracks, he had been descending for over half an hour now. Why did it feel like he hadn't even reached the halfway point?
With nothing better to do, he decided to pass the time with a bit of mental math. Given that the elevator traveled at a speed of thirty-five meters per minute, and assuming the total depth of the Rune Mining Area was three thousand meters, then...
"..."
Was this the sheer scale of a three-thousand-meter depth?
Three thousand meters was, in fact, an incredibly massive distance.
What a joke. This was the first time in his life he had ever ridden an elevator for this long. Of course, unlike modern elevators, the machinery of this steam era was exceptionally slow, not to mention the automated track-switching maneuvers that periodically halted vertical progress to move horizontally to adjacent shafts instead of heading straight down.
"..."
Levi glanced at his surroundings. If he couldn't hold it anymore and took care of business right here, nobody would see him, right?
"Roar—!"
Suddenly, a chorus of frenzied shrieks echoed from above. Levi looked up just in time to see several zombies flailing their limbs as they plummeted down the shaft, falling straight toward him!
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
In the blink of an eye, the zombies slammed onto the roof of the elevator cage like heavy stones. The sudden impact proved too much for the overburdened machinery. The elevator let out a sharp, metallic shriek as its brackets and cables snapped under the strain. It broke free from its tracks and entered a free fall down the vertical shaft, soon vanishing entirely into the dark abyss.
"Boom—"
A long moment passed before a heavy, muffled crash echoed from the very bottom of the pit.
"Phew... Good thing I was a step ahead."
Levi poked his head out, glanced down into the darkness, and then pulled back. The moment those zombies had started falling, he realized things were about to take a turn for the worse. He immediately utilized Shape Shift, switching positions with the Puppet Bird that had been scouting nearby, instantly teleporting himself safely onto the landing platform of the layer.
As for the Puppet Bird, it could easily fly back on its own through the gaps above the elevator shaft.
Levi straightened his coat and walked toward the entrance of the elevator platform. The area was splattered with blood, yet there wasn't a single corpse in sight.
Only the metal iron gates blocking the shaft were covered in bloody handprints of varying sizes. Even without seeing the bodies, those frantic marks made it entirely too easy to imagine the absolute despair and helplessness of the residents when they were cornered by the zombies, instinctively trying to flee down the elevator shaft.
Levi averted his gaze from the bloody prints, reached out, and picked up the receiver of a nearby wall-mounted communicator. Very quickly, Sister Elizabeth's voice came through from the other end.
"Mr. Levi? Are you alright? I just heard that the elevator suffered a major malfunction?"
"I'm fine. A pack of the undead fell from above and smashed the elevator. I managed to get out before it plunged down."
"Thank goodness. Which layer are you on right now?"
"The sixty-fifth layer." Levi glanced at the number engraved on the stone wall nearby and answered casually.
"Are there any survivors?"
"It's completely overrun."
"I see..." Hearing Levi's response, Sister Elizabeth's tone grew noticeably despondent. "It seems the extent of the devastation is even worse than we feared... What do you plan to do now? Do you want to come back?"
"No." Levi shook his head. "I'll keep moving forward. Since I've already come this far, I can't leave empty-handed."
"Please make sure to stay in touch. Report any new findings immediately."
"Understood."
With that, Levi hung up the receiver and turned his attention back to the path ahead. At that moment, low, guttural moans echoed once again from the depths of the gloomy tunnel. Under the dim lamplight, silhouettes could be seen swaying back and forth as they emerged from the shadows.
As expected, they had heard the commotion and were heading his way.
Levi stared at the approaching zombies and raised an eyebrow. Ordinarily, he might have chosen to slip away. Firing a gun in a confined mine shaft like this would only draw an endless horde of monsters. But right now... who could blame him when he had just pulled such a magnificent item from his chest?
Levi extended his right hand and reached into the void.
In the next instant, a pitch-black Coffin materialized out of thin air and slammed heavily onto the ground. With a harsh creak, the lid swung open, and a beautiful puppet stepped out from within.
It possessed the appearance of a stunning young woman with long black hair and dark eyes, draped in an elegant, ornate black lace cloak. However, as the cloak shifted, one could catch glimpses of spherical ball-joints beneath the black fabric of its cuffs, along with distinct seams along its fingers—indeed, this was a puppet.
The Reaper Doll, looking every bit like a manifestation of death, slowly stepped out from its wooden container. It reached beneath its cloak and drew a massive, gleaming Scythe.
"Come on, let's see what you can do..."
Levi leaned back against the stone wall, stretching his hands and loosening his fingers. "W, S, A, D for movement, Spacebar to jump and evade, Left-Click for light attacks, Right-Click for heavy attacks, Shift to sprint, Ctrl to crouch, Q, E, R for skills... Alright, let's go!"
The moment Levi issued the command, the Reaper Doll raised its head, gripping its massive Scythe as its dark eyes locked onto the advancing horde of zombies. Then, it leaped forward, trailing a cold gleam of steel as it charged straight into the fray!
This was the golden-tier equipment Levi had obtained from his recent treasure chest—a true, humanoid combat puppet! To be fair, Levi had always wanted one, but he previously had no convenient way to store it. Unlike his mechanical dog or bird puppets, it couldn't fold down into a portable size. Now, however, the system allowed him to store it safely within his inventory space just like his equipment, ready to be summoned whenever needed.
As for how effective this thing was in a fight, it was time to find out!
"Die!"
As it turned out, this was incredibly fun... or rather, incredibly effective.
Levi was now completely immersed in a real-life game of Mine Shaft Dynasty Warriors. Controlling his combat puppet, he swung the massive Scythe, executing various high-damage skills to obliterate the enemies rushing at him. The zombies were no different from the mindless fodder in a hack-and-slash game, mowed down ruthlessly by the Reaper Doll's sweeping strikes like wheat before a blade, clearing entire paths with a single swing.
"Light, light, light, heavy... Light, light, light, heavy..."
Leaning against the wall, Levi was so engrossed that he could hardly pull himself away. From the perspective of his system interface, this really wasn't any different from playing a video game. Ever since arriving in this world, he hadn't had the chance to play any games, and his hands had been itching for action for a long time. At this point, forget a high-octane action game—even if someone gave him Tetris, he could probably play it for a whole day!
The only pity was that this wasn't an actual video game. Defeating the zombies didn't drop health packs, weapons, or experience points. But who cared? It was a total blast!
From that point on, progress became much simpler. Levi controlled the Reaper Doll to slaughter a path forward. Whenever he reached the gate leading down to the next layer, he would use Shape Shift to instantly exchange places with an object thrown by the puppet, then repeat the process on the floor below. With the Reaper Doll handling the vanguard, Levi didn't have to worry about being overwhelmed or blocked by the zombie horde.
While it was certainly slower than riding the elevator, it was undeniably a lot more entertaining.
As a side note, the situation grew visibly worse the further down he went. On the upper layers, one could still find partially devoured corpses, but the deeper he descended, the denser the concentration of active zombies became. Of course, to Levi, it made no difference. Aside from their massive numbers, they were still just ordinary zombies. If the Imperial Army were willing to commit enough resources, they could easily wipe them out.
The real issue was the lack of immunity to the infectious virus. From that perspective, using a puppet that was completely immune to infection was a massive advantage.
And so, Levi continued to fight his way down, completely losing track of time, until...
"This must be the place."
Looking at the train tracks ahead, Levi's expression grew serious. Blocking his path was a mangled, heavily damaged transport train. The metallic sides of the carriages were marred by massive claw marks, and several shredded corpses lay scattered across the ground. Judging by their uniforms, this was undoubtedly the reconnaissance squad that had been dispatched here earlier. Unfortunately, it was clear they had been completely wiped out.
The eighty-first layer...
Levi verified his coordinates, then narrowed his eyes as he studied the massive claw marks torn into the metal train cars. This didn't look like the work of any ordinary beast. Could it be some kind of mutated monstrosity?
With one hand directing the Reaper Doll, Levi gripped the Persuader tightly in his other hand, cautiously scanning his surroundings.
The tunnels on the lower layers were significantly wider than he had anticipated, spacious enough for three people to walk abreast, with heavy structural reinforcements lining the walls. Right now, there was nothing to be seen except for pools of blood and severed limbs. But just because it couldn't be seen didn't mean it wasn't there.
The Reaper Doll tightened its grip on the Scythe, stepping forward with slow, deliberate strides into the silence of the tunnel.
"Click, click, click..."
The faint sound of its mechanical joints moving was barely audible, yet it rang out with eerie clarity within the dead silence of the passage. Just as the Reaper Doll reached the bend of a crossroad...
"Boom!"
A massive claw tore through the ceiling, lunging straight down toward the Reaper Doll with terrifying speed!