Chapter 37: Underground Operations

In the glass room of "Glass Dream" and Anudesia.

Amidst the lush, vine-covered floral parlor, the gentle scratching sound of violin strings being drawn echoed. However, after only a few beats, the music stopped abruptly, only to start over again.

Hirthia closed her eyes, one hand gently supporting the neck of the violin while the other held the bow, drawing it slowly as she searched for the pitch.

Not far away, Anudesia was brewing herbal tea, slowly pouring boiling water into a cup, and then sitting quietly to listen.

The young girl was not learning quickly; her technique was quite clumsy, and she frequently stopped in the middle, taking a long time to find the correct hand position before beginning again.

However, what was heartening was that she did not show the slightest bit of impatience or agitation. Like a tranquil orchid, she earnestly and carefully familiarized herself with the instrument in her hands.

Thus, until the noon break ended, the young girl slowly opened her light blue eyes and gently lowered the violin and bow.

Anudesia gently clapped her hands, looking at the young girl with a smile.

"Very good, Dantalion. You've improved a lot compared to yesterday."

"Thank you." The girl carefully placed the violin back into its case and closed it.

Ever since she agreed to "Bootes"'s request, she had been setting aside time at noon and after work every day to practice. This violin belonged to "Anudesia," who reportedly used to play for guests when she first arrived at Glass Dream, though she rarely did so nowadays.

After putting the violin back in its place, Hirthia bid farewell to Anudesia, lifted her black-and-white hem, walked through the vine-wrapped parlor, and headed to her afternoon workplace.

And so, until the simulated sky inside the shop slowly shifted and the rosy clouds painted the air, she finished her work, then returned to "Anudesia" to resume her practice.

Days passed, and gradually, under Anudesia's guidance, Hirthia grew familiar with how to play the violin, reaching a point where she could begin learning her first piece.

"Then let's go with 'Canon in D'." Anudesia thought for a moment and chose a classic piece for Hirthia.

Having chosen the piece, Anudesia handed the sheet music to Hirthia, telling her to become familiar with it and memorize it over the next few days.

"That's it for today. Get some rest when you get back, see you tomorrow."

Leaving "Glass Dream," Hirthia went to the employee floor upstairs to change into her own clothes, and then headed towards home.

While waiting in the vertical elevator, the girl remembered something, took out her personal terminal from her pocket, and began browsing. During this past week, she had been almost entirely immersed in practicing the violin, rarely even checking the class group chat.

"Milly's second-round results are out."

"Did she pass?"

"Passed. I saw the published list from Slayb Academy."

"That was fast."

"Every school is different, depends on the schedule. If you get admission invitations from multiple academies, you can actually pick and choose."

Afterwards, Hirthia opened her history logs and discovered that quite a few classmates had begun participating in second-round interviews, while some had even received lists of those who passed.

Once you pass the second round, the rest is basically just following the procedure: receiving the official invitation letter and then reporting for enrollment.

"Aerin Academy's list is out too," someone suddenly said in the group.

"Let me take a look."

With a mixture of anticipation, Hirthia opened the public announcement list, her eyes scanning down until she finally found her name.

Fortunately, a stone in her heart finally dropped.

However, when she saw the date for the second-round interview, she found herself in a dilemma. It happened to fall on the exact same day as "Iris Garden Academy." If she went to the second-round interview for Iris Garden Academy in the First Northern District, she definitely wouldn't be able to go to Aerin Academy.

A difficult choice indeed. The girl looked at the date displayed on her personal terminal and made calculations in her mind.

She had an extremely high chance of passing Aerin Academy's second round, having prepared for it for a long time, whereas she knew nothing about Iris Garden Academy. Yet, to give up such a wonderful opportunity simply because of a scheduling conflict would be far too regrettable and would also辜负 others' kind intentions.

No matter what, she would start preparing first. Perhaps there might still be a slim chance for her to squeeze both in, such as going to Iris Garden Academy in the morning and Aerin Academy in the afternoon.

Lost in thought on her way home, the girl did not pay much attention to her surroundings until she reached her residential area and noticed that the atmosphere today felt somewhat off.

Many people were gathered in the spacious hallway, discussing something, while loud loudspeaker announcements echoed from afar.

"Attention all Federation residents, starting today, the D390 Industrial Zone and the adjacent F31 Residential Zone are under complete lockdown. No one is allowed to enter, exit, or approach!"

Hirthia felt a slight sense of puzzlement, and then she noticed a temporary notice posted on the corridor wall beside her.

"Notice Regarding the Lockdown and Prohibition of Entry and Exit in the F31 Residential Zone"

The gist of it was that residents should not enter the area, and were advised not even to approach it. Even if friends or family members were inside, they should not attempt to cross the blockade, as doing so would violate Federation law, and so on. Below was the official stamp of the Carillon municipal government, accompanied by the emblems of multiple departments. It was clear that the local government attached extraordinary importance to the matter, with police cars parked along the perimeter of the lockdown zone and white-uniformed police officers constantly patrolling.

Curious about what had happened, Hirthia opened the local forum. Many people online were discussing the matter, suggesting it was a follow-up operation to the out-of-control rampage last time. Rumor had it that something serious had been uncovered, but the information was kept under extremely strict wraps.

Things are getting more and more serious, Hirthia thought as she closed the screen and continued walking toward her home.

Although she had been an eyewitness, at the time she had thought it was merely an accident. She had not expected it to be just the tip of the iceberg, and now, growing ever more intense, an even larger iceberg beneath the surface was slowly colliding with them.

D390 Industrial Zone, Basement Level 69.

This was the very bottom area of the city. The air was humid and hot, traversed by massive dark-red steel pipes. From afar came the heavy thudding sound of industrial forging machines, striking at a regular frequency, their huge echoes vibrating within the pipelines.

Not a single figure could be seen in the harsh industrial environment, save for solitary orange LED lights casting a glow over the steel-jungle setting.

Walking on the steel grating coated with dark-red anti-rust paint, the sound of metal tapping echoed underfoot. Three individuals wearing deep-blue goggles walked in. They wore uniforms with yellow bodies and black borders—not official Federation personnel, but members of a private agency cooperating with them.

"How is the situation, Luther?" Yang Che kept his unlocked electromagnetic rifle raised at the front for vigilance, while the two behind him—one holding a special scanner for searching, and the other carrying a heavy firepower case—scanned their surroundings.

"It should be right around here."

Luther looked at the "Wind-Seeking Eight Mountains Compass" in his hand. By constantly adjusting the frequency and changing exploration modes, the compass face presented different data, striving to represent the surrounding situation from multiple dimensions.

"The Eight Mountains Compass in my hand is suffering heavy interference, something I've never encountered before. The target might have mastered some special method." Luther frowned deeply.

"They definitely couldn't handle it through conventional means, which is why the Carillon municipal government hired us. Otherwise, how could they bear to spend the money?" Yang Che shook his head, long accustomed to the troubles encountered in this line of work.

When the Federation government approached them with a task, they had to be mentally prepared to face all sorts of trouble, because if the matter were simple, they wouldn't spend the money to hire outsiders in the first place.

"The target is a very cunning individual. According to current intelligence, he should have been lurking in this milk factory previously, using the factory's instruments and equipment to manufacture a batch of potions."

"Adding this potion to milk produces a certain addictiveness, thereby greatly boosting sales."

"Didn't the Federation's testing department notice him doing this?" Luther asked, puzzled.

"That depends on which level of department we're talking about. If this milk factory's products were only sold locally and not shipped to other cities, only local agencies would inspect them. Carillon isn't a major city, and testing departments are relatively easy to fool—or perhaps no fooling was needed at all; just sharing a bit of profit might make those inspectors turn a blind eye." Pascal, trailing behind, answered his doubt. A veteran like him was long used to such things.

"If it were merely somewhat addictive, it wouldn't have blown up to this extent today. But whether this guy is lucky or utterly depraved, he discovered something new."

"Word has it that as long as you drank that stuff, your spiritual consciousness would be strengthened, making it much easier to succeed during advancement."

"This..." Luther was also startled.

"If that actually succeeded, it would be at least a Tier 3 special elixir, with a single dose selling for several hundred thousand Federation dollars and up."

"Too bad his invention wasn't anything proper. Although spiritual consciousness was strengthened, the side effects were even scarier: mental derangement, memory loss, turning people into lunatics."

"Still, as a researcher, he wasn't surprised; early experimental prototypes always have plenty of flaws, as long as they are continuously improved."

"So, he found a lot of people to experiment on, first seducing and coaxing them, then disguising the substance as high-tier elixirs smuggled from prosperous star sectors. That way, not only could he collect huge sums of money, but he also made his targets drop their guard."

"Every year, there are people who fail their advancement or run into trouble practicing transcendent sequences. If the local government hadn't suddenly grown alert this time, who knows how long it would have taken to discover the anomaly."

"Who knows? Maybe the local government suddenly grew a conscience and did their job for once." Yang Che shook his head. As a core member of the agency, he frequently dealt with government officials and held no high hopes for their character; managing to complete the most basic duties was already a rare virtue.

"All right, break's over, let's get back to work. Hopefully, we're the ones who reel in this big fish."

The brief rest ended, and the three continued to traverse the underground industrial zone blanketed in hazy white mist. Aside from their own footsteps, the only sound was the occasional roar of steam.

The heat emitted by these factory equipments was absorbed by the water flowing through the pipes and then vaporized. Part of it was used for power generation, while the remaining waste heat was pumped to the surface for circulating heat dissipation.

An hour later, the three arrived at a dead end. Before them stood a sealed steel wall, with "Do Not Approach" spray-painted on it.

Luther looked at the scanner in his hand. "Though it's sealed, according to the Eight Mountains Compass, it's actually hollow behind here."

"Is this Basement Level 70? Any lower and we'd break past the city limits of Carillon."

"Who knows? Many underground cities have surface levels that aren't entirely reliable. Some unregistered households, outlaws, and even fugitives gather in these areas. Who's to say there isn't a gray zone seventy floors beneath Carillon?"

"Should we go in?"

"Old Pa, get ready to blow it open. I'll file a report upstairs, and Luther, keep watch," Yang Che decided decisively.

"Got it."

With their tasks divided, the trio immediately went into action.

Soon, an explosion echoed underground, blowing a large hole in the sealed steel wall.

The three climbed up through the hole, hauled themselves inside, and observed the situation within.

"The good news is that this isn't a gray zone, meaning there are no criminals blocking our way," Luther said, sweeping his light across the pitch-black subterranean space.

"The bad news is that the rock walls here are damp. There might be an underground river below, and the target could use it to escape." Pascal spoke up.

"If we let him slip away like this, two-thirds of our commission goes down the drain." Yang Che slightly adjusted the goggles on the bridge of his nose, then used the auxiliary AI to continuously analyze the environment below, searching for traces left by anyone passing through.

"Tch, figures nothing good ever happens."

Luther spat, tucked the Eight Mountains Compass at his waist, and jumped down. Several glowing orbs scattered from his hand, descending with him to illuminate the surrounding environment like flare bullets.

Pitch-black rock walls, damp moss, and rugged slopes flashed past their vision before a black shadow suddenly darted out from a corner, lunging straight at the glowing orbs.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three consecutive gunshots flashed blue trails through the darkness, shattering the unknown leaping creature directly into chunks of flesh.

Behind them, Yang Che kept his electromagnetic rifle gripped tight, aiming downward to cover Luther, firing continuously until the latter landed safely on the ground.

Seeing no more dark shadows darting out, Pascal also jumped down, carrying his black-and-red heavy firepower case. Sturdily built and wearing heavy bulletproof lining, he looked like a gray rhinoceros.

When he landed, a splash of water kicked up, and he even crushed a few fragile stones underfoot.

Finally, Yang Che jumped down. Just as the three thought the creatures along the path had been cleared out, another black shadow suddenly lunged fiercely out, hurtling straight toward Yang Che in mid-air. At that moment, his electromagnetic rifle was slung across his back, and there was no time to draw it.

However, the operative was already well-accustomed to such emergencies. In a fraction of a second, he drew the hilt of the sword at his waist. With a hum, a brilliant yellow lightsaber abruptly flared in the darkness.

"Mingliu Slash-Light" [Rare Brilliant-Gold Grade], a rushing-flow type lightsaber possessing "Searing Lightning" and "Penetrating-Magic" special effects. It could be instantly charged with Psionic Sequence mana, boasting massive lethality but also massive consumption; a standard Tier 5 transcendent could continuously use it for 1 minute.

Its blade was entwined with what looked like countless brilliant yellow electric sparks. When it slashed toward the black creature, it emitted a sound like dense firecrackers exploding, cutting the target directly in half while a burnt smell permeated the underground space.

Seconds later, Yang Che landed on the ground, the lightsaber in his hand already extinguished and stowed away. By then, chunks of roasted, shattered flesh were raining down from the air, sending wisps of white smoke drifting through the atmosphere.