Although she was a witness herself, she had thought it was just an accident at the ti, she did not expect it was just the tip of the iceberg. Now, things were escalating, and a larger iceberg beneath the water was slowly coming into collision.
D390 Industrial Zone, 69 floors underground.
This was the lowest region of the city, where the air was damp and hot. Massive dark red steel pipes crisscrossed back and forth, the heavy sound of machinery forging echoed in the distance, continually striking at a fixed frequency, with the large reverberations billowing through the pipes.
In the harsh industrial environnt where no human figures could be seen, only lonely orange LED lights illuminated this steel jungle.
Stepping on the dark red anti-rust painted steel grating emitted a tallic clanking sound. Three individuals wearing deep blue goggles entered the area. They were clad in uniforms with a yellow base and black trim, not official mbers of the Federation, but belonging to a private firm that collaborated with it.
"What's the situation, Lude?" Yang Che, holding an unlocked electromagnetic rifle, was on alert at the front, while the two behind him operated a special scanner to search the surroundings, and another carried a heavy firepower box, scanning the area.
"It should be nearby."
Lude, looking at the 'Eight Mountains Plate' in his hands, adjusted frequencies and employed various search thods, the surface of the plate displaying different data in order to depict the situation surrounding them from multiple dinsions.
"My Eight Mountains Plate is facing a lot of interference, sothing I haven't encountered before. The other side might have so special ans," Lude frowned.
"The Federal Governnt wouldn't hire us through usual ans if they could have handled it with Payin City Governnt. Otherwise, why would they be willing to spend the money?" Yang Che shook his head, accustod to troubles encountered during work.
When the Federal Governnt ca knocking with a job, one needed to be ntally prepared to face all manner of troubles, for if the matter were simple, they wouldn't spend the money to seek them out.
"The one we're after is a cunning individual. According to current intelligence, he was likely lurking in this milk factory, using the factory's equipnt to produce a batch of drugs."
"Adding this drug to milk induces a level of addiction, greatly increasing sales."
"Didn't the Federal detection departnt notice this?" Lude asked, puzzled.
"It depends on which level of the departnt we're talking about. If the milk factory's products are only sold locally and not shipped to other cities, then only the local authorities would check. And since Payin City isn't a big city, the detection departnt can be more easily fooled. No, perhaps there's no need to fool them at all; if the share of the profits is right, those people might just turn a blind eye," Pascal, the experienced one, answered his query, well acquainted with such practices.
"If it were just mildly addictive, it wouldn't have escalated to this point, but this guy, whether out of luck or sheer madness, has discovered sothing new."
"They say that drinking it enhances one's ntal consciousness, making it easier to succeed when advancing through the stages."
"This..." Lude was also startled.
"If successful, it would be at least a T3-level special spiritual dicine, retailing for hundreds of thousands of Federation Coins each."
"Too bad what he's co up with isn't anything legitimate. Although it does enhance ntal consciousness, the side effects are frightening, causing ntal breakdowns, mory loss, and madness."
"But it wasn't surprising for him as a researcher. The initial experintal products are bound to have many issues; it's only a matter of constant improvent."
"That's why he found many people to test his invention, first luring and coaxing, and then disguising it as high-rank spiritual dicine smuggled from the bustling Star Domain, fooling them into not only paying a large sum but also lowering their guard."
"Every year, there are those who fail in their advancent, experience problems with the Transcendent Sequence. If it weren't for the local governnt suddenly becoming vigilant this ti, it might have taken a long ti to detect any abnormalities."
"That I don't know, perhaps the local governnt suddenly acted conscientiously this ti," Yang Che shook his head. As an important mber of this office who frequently dealt with those governnt officials, he harbored little hope for their integrity. If they managed to complete the most basic aspects of their job, they were already rare.
"Alright, break ti is over, let's get back to work, and hopefully, this ti we'll catch the big fish."
The brief rest ca to an end, and the three continued their way through the industrial zone shrouded in a hazy white mist. Other than their own footsteps, the only other sound was the occasional roar of steam.
The heat emitted by these factory machines was absorbed by water flowing through the pipes, then turning to steam, partially used for generating electricity, with the remaining waste heat being pumped to the surface for heat dissipation.
An hour later, the three of them arrived at a dead end, facing a sealed steel wall with 'Do Not Approach' spray-painted on it.
Lude looked at the scanner in his hand, "Although it's sealed, according to the Eight Mountains Plate, there's actually empty space behind it."
"This is the 70th floor underground, right? Going further down would breach Payin City's district."
"Who knows, the official number of floors in many underground cities isn't reliable. So people without legal status, criminals, and even fugitives, all converge in these areas. Maybe Payin City's 70th underground level also has a grey area."
"Shall we go in?"
"Old Pascal is preparing to blow it up, I'll send a report up, and Lude will stand guard," Yang Che decided.
"Alright."
With their tasks divided, they imdiately sprang into action.
Soon, an explosion sounded from beneath, and a large hole was blasted through the sealed steel wall.
The three climbed up to the hole, flipped inside, and observed the situation within.
"The good news is that this isn't a grey area, which ans there aren't any criminals obstructing us," Lude used a flashlight to probe the pitch-black depths.
"The bad news is the walls are moist, there might be an underground river below, and the target could escape using the subterranean stream," Pascal spoke.
"If he gets away just like that, we're going to lose two-thirds of our commission," Yang Che adjusted the goggles on his nose and continued to use the auxiliary AI to analyze the environnt below, searching for traces of soone having passed through before.
"Tch, just as I thought, nothing good ever cos easy."
Lude spat out, clipped the Eight Mountains Plate to his waist, and then jumped down. A handful of sparkling points cascaded from his hands as he descended, illuminating the surroundings like flares.
Dark rocky walls, moist moss plants, and rugged slopes passed by in their field of vision, until suddenly a shadow burst from a corner and pounced towards the shining lights.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots in succession, and blue streaks flashed through the darkness, obliterating the unidentified creature into chunks of flesh.
Yang Che, from behind, continued to grip his electromagnetic rifle tightly, aiming it downward to cover Lude, firing continuously until the other was safely on the ground.
Seeing no more shadows erge, Pascal also jumped down with his black and red heavy firepower case in hand. His bulky figure, clad in thick bulletproof lining, resembled a grey rhinoceros.
When he landed, a splash of water erupted, and he even crushed several fragile stones.
Only then did Yang Che jump down, just as they thought they had cleared all the creatures along their path, another shadow suddenly dashed out, aiming straight for Yang Che in mid-air. His electromagnetic rifle was slung on his back, leaving him no ti to draw it.
However, this operator was well-versed in such ergencies, and instantly drew the hilt of his sword from his waist, with a humming sound, a bright yellow light saber flared up in the darkness.
'Bright Flow Slash Light' [Radiant Gold Level], a surge-type light saber, with 'Incandescent Electricity' and 'Magic Power Piercing' effects. It can be instantly charged with Spirit Particle Sequence magic power, offering enormous destructive power, but also consuming a lot. A standard Sequence 5 Transcendent could use it continuously for one minute.
The blade was like countless bright yellow electric flas entwined, and as it swung towards the black creature, it emitted a succession of crackling electric sparks, slicing the adversary apart and filling the underground space with a burnt stench.
Seconds later, Yang Che landed, with the light saber already extinguished and stowed away in his hand, while chunks of charred flesh began to fall from the air, and wisps of white smoke rose in the atmosphere.
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