Chapter 282

Chapter 282: Kind People in the Sewers

After turning a few corners, Shi Jin arrived at a sparsely populated alley.

Even though this area was still part of the inner city, there were not many people passing through at this hour.

In her recent communication with Nia, she had mentioned her need for a sewer planning map.

However, time was tight, and the only map Shi Jin had was a two-year-old printout of the inner city.

Fortunately, she had a good sense of direction. Before jumping into the sewer, she confirmed her current position and then put on her gas mask, entering the sewer area under the cover of night.

The inner city was a massive urban area, with thousands of streets dividing it into a dense grid.

Shi Jin did not expect to find much tonight. She planned to use her abilities and sense of direction to explore the area near the Wager Chemical Factory, intending to investigate further once the new map arrived.

To her surprise, she did find someone who shouldn’t be there.

Shi Jin moved cautiously through the sewer. The gas mask made each breath more laborious while also restricting her vision.

As she considered whether to explore for one hour or two, she heard a rustling sound coming from a pipe ahead.

Shi Jin quickly approached the source, pressed her body against the wall, and reached for her pistol at her waist.

Peeking around the corner, she locked eyes with another pair of eyes.

Though she quickly assessed from the height that the other person was not her target, Shi Jin still cautiously pulled out her electric shock gun.

Without revealing her abilities, she aimed the electric shock gun at the adolescent in front of her, who was about her height:

“Don’t move!”

“Who would have thought I’d run into someone here?”

A voice filled with shock and skepticism replied; it sounded like a young man.

The shadow in the darkness slowly raised his hands.

“Come with me for a bit.”

“What’s the deal, officer? You can’t just grab someone like that.”

As Shi Jin stepped forward, the figure backed up a step.

Shi Jin knew she wasn’t a real law enforcement officer, but she still thought it necessary to have a serious conversation with the young man in front of her.

“What’s your name? What are you doing here?”

“I’m Ah Hui, just exploring.”

The boy pointed upwards, indicating that he had climbed down from a manhole cover above.

A dim light filtered through the hole in the manhole cover, casting a glow on the boy’s head—it really did seem to be a deep shade of gray.

Thinking about her own job, Shi Jin decided to give this reckless young man a verbal warning:

“Some areas of the sewer contain toxic gas; don’t just come down here recklessly, or you could get lost or poisoned.”

The boy quickly nodded:

“Don’t worry, officer; this is the only time. I’ll leave right away.”

“That’s more like it. By the way, have you encountered any strange people in the sewers?”

“Like what?”

“For example, are there people living here?”

The young man seemed to fall into deep thought, while Shi Jin kept her gun trained on him with unwavering vigilance.

“Yes, I remember there is someone over there.”

They stood at an intersection in the sewer. The boy pointed to a dark hole that seemed bottomless.

“I heard someone lived there, which is why I came down to explore.”

“Alright, I’ll handle this matter. You should leave this dangerous place quickly.”

Shi Jin basically ruled out the boy as a suspect. She stepped forward, passed him, and turned into the sewer tunnel.

After walking a dozen steps, she sensed no sounds behind her—no rustling or splashing noises.

Turning back, she saw nothing behind her, as if everything that had just happened was a mere figment of her imagination.

“What the hell…?”

Beneath her gas mask, Shi Jin muttered to herself. Though this situation was strange, it wasn’t much for someone like her with exploration experience.

No matter how scary, could anything be worse than a big-legged tree?

Shi Jin convinced herself that the boy simply ran off and regretted not stunning him to take him away from this dangerous area.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she chose to continue forward.

—

“You’re saying there are others in the sewer?”

Upon hearing Lin Qingliu’s question, El nodded vigorously.

“That person wore a gas mask and spoke vaguely; I couldn’t tell if they were male or female. But based on their questions, I felt they were targeting Luke.”

Lin Qingliu crossed his arms and rested his chin in thought.

It seemed like a reasonable development.

Luke was such a big person; it was impossible for him to disappear without causing a stir.

In fact, it had surprised Lin Qingliu that Luke hadn’t made any big news in over a month.

After all, living as an unregistered resident in the inner city was not much easier than surviving in the dense forest.

“How did you respond?”

He was more curious about how El handled the unexpected situation than about Luke’s questions.

“I pointed out the direction.”

El smiled shyly.

“Wrong way.”

Lin Qingliu became interested.

“Why did you do that?”

El thought for a moment and said,

“I felt that Luke being discovered ahead of time could change the plan. Even if he isn’t connected to the plan, it’s best if he reveals himself later; otherwise, my adoption certificate will be wasted.”

“Very insightful. So what do you plan to do next?”

Hearing this question, El’s expression grew serious.

“Doctor, I plan to descend later to complete the underground exploration task you assigned to me.”

Seeing El’s determination, Lin Qingliu gently applauded.

“Good luck.”

“If all goes well, I’ll return here after the exploration, but of course, to your underground space.”

“No problem; I’ll be waiting for you.”

After confirming their plans, El took a deep breath, similar to a diver about to plunge into water.

Then his body transformed into a shadow, silently sinking into the ground.

The perspective during a Dimensional Shift was quite peculiar.

El understood its principles only after extensive practice.

It felt as if the rules of the real world had been flipped; when he submerged into the earth, the structures in a small area unfolded before him, while any hollow spaces that should allow light to pass obstructed his view.

More importantly, he felt an unusual repelling force deep underground, which made him want to retreat involuntarily.

But that was only in an unconscious state. Now that El had a clear goal, he chose to delve deeper despite his lingering discomfort.

He remembered the first time he met Lin Qingliu when the other man treated him to beef.

And now, he was about to explore the origin of that beef.