Chapter 147: Entering

The elevator descended for about a hundred meters before its doors slid open, revealing a hall finished in a strictly formal style that radiated a strong bureaucratic atmosphere.

David surveyed his surroundings. Among the people moving in and out of the hall, quite a few armored warriors dressed in exoskeleton armor could be seen.

This made the arrival of David and Furness blend in somewhat, though David's Tier 2 fine-grade spear still drew numerous glances.

From those gazes, David caught glimmers of greed and envy. Presumably, because this remained a designated safe zone established by the government, no one stepped forward to cause trouble.

"David, here is the dossier on Armored Warrior Graham, along with the map of the underground network that the government has already explored. However, it's best to only trust the routes marked in green on this map; those are the main arteries, and the rest are prone to unexpected variables!" Furness sent several files over to David via the data link of his exoskeleton armor.

Checking the intelligence file on Armored Warrior Graham, David saw that Graham was currently located at Section C-117. He looked up the coordinates on the underground network map and found the spot labeled as Shelter C-117.

From the intelligence provided, David could deduce that although the government had not completely purged the underground network, its intelligence tentacles were woven tightly through every corner of it.

Otherwise, an armored warrior who had fled into the underground network would not have his exact location pinpointed so rapidly.

Perhaps if this warrior named Graham had not killed government personnel, he wouldn't have drawn such intense government attention.

"David, stay right behind me and make sure you don't lose me. If we somehow get separated, just use the map to retrace your steps back here!" Furness cautioned repeatedly.

"Understood!" David replied with a smile.

Before moving on, Furness lifted his helmet's faceplate and swept his gaze across several nearby armored warriors who clearly harbored ulterior motives.

The targeted warriors immediately lowered their gaze, instantly extinguishing any lingering thoughts of coveting the Tier 2 fine-grade weapon.

Furness gave a soft grunt, then took the lead, with David following closely behind.

Emerging from the hall led them into a tunnel ten meters high and twenty meters wide, its ceiling lined with numerous lamps that illuminated the entire passageway.

"David, in the underground network, strength is the ultimate law. Still, very few warriors dare to provoke us; we enjoy our teacher's patronage within the government faction, and under his deterrent shadow, hardly anyone dares to target us. Even so, we cannot afford to lower our guard. There is no law to speak of down here in the underground network," Furness explained as soon as they left the hall.

David nodded. He had already witnessed how mere exposure of Furness's face was enough to make those warriors back down.

"Next, we'll need to run using our exoskeleton armor. You can't drive a hover-car down here!" Furness added with a smile.

David had never tried running long distances in exoskeleton armor before. Following closely behind Furness, he discovered that once the armor entered a running mode, it shifted into an automatic assistance pattern, allowing him to sprint without feeling any physical exhaustion.

It made sense, considering the exoskeleton armor was powered by krypton crystals, rendering energy depletion a non-issue.

"David, don't move too fast in the underground network. Be prepared for combat at any moment. Warriors often team up to set up ambushes here. Trust no one down here—don't even trust other government warriors!" Furness continued his instructions.

"Is there really no order at all in the underground network?" David asked, puzzled.

He found it hard to imagine that such a place existed beneath Naan City—a place where even armored warriors had to tread carefully. Ordinary people simply wouldn't be able to survive here at all.

"There are some shelters scattered throughout the underground network, and those shelters all have the backing of major organizations. Combat is strictly forbidden inside them. Of course, government personnel like us, who are here to apprehend fugitives, can state our identities and have the shelter expel the criminal. Normally, no shelter would dare to cross the four major factions!" Furness answered with a smile.

"There are three warriors approaching around the bend ahead!" David's ears twitched. His hearing was far sharper than that of an ordinary person, especially in this underground environment devoid of ambient noise interference, allowing him to perceive sounds from much greater distances.

"Stay on high alert!" Furness glanced ahead. He couldn't see anything yet, but knowing David wouldn't make blind claims, he spoke in a low voice.

Because the path curved ahead, the scanning sensors on their exoskeleton armor could not yet detect what lay beyond the bend.

A dozen seconds later, Furness also caught the sounds ahead, causing him to turn and look at David with inner astonishment.

David's hearing was vastly superior to his own—an advantage that allowed them to detect enemies preemptively in the underground network.

Three armored warriors, each carrying a case, rounded the corner and spotted Furness and David. Both sides maintained a defensive posture without making a move.

Passing each other by, the two parties parted ways. David clearly sensed the surging energy emanating from the cases the others were carrying.

"Those are rogue miners. Since we both carry Tier 2 fine-grade weapons, they didn't dare to act rashly!" Furness said softly to David after the three warriors had disappeared.

"Rogue miners?" David blinked in surprise.

"You didn't think every warrior coming down here is on a mission or hunting people, did you?" Furness asked with a smile before continuing without waiting for a reply. "The four major factions in Naan City issue plenty of tasks, but warriors who haven't aligned with any of them can't accept those missions. Unwilling to work as mercenaries for others, they have to find their own ways to earn cultivation resources. Consequently, abandoned or depleted mining zones in the underground network have become their targets."

"Do these warriors actually use exoskeleton armor for mining?" David asked in astonishment.

Exoskeleton armor—such a high-end, sophisticated piece of equipment—was one of the Federation's most brilliant inventions. If these warriors were using it to dig for ore, David would feel a deep sense of waste.

"Ha, you have quite an imagination! Generally speaking, very few warriors use exoskeleton armor for actual mining. They purchase slaves first, and then have the slaves operate mining machinery at designated locations while they themselves provide protection and collect the harvest at the end!" Furness explained with a smile.

"Doesn't the Federation ban slavery?" David grew even more astonished.

His school textbooks had taught him from primary school onward that the Interstellar Federation was an egalitarian society free of slavery. Yet Furness was telling him that slavery existed here, and quite openly at that.

"Deep within the underground network live a vast number of ordinary people. Some were driven here by harsh circumstances, while others are fugitives who sought refuge in various shelters upon entering the underground. Those driven by poverty have it slightly better; since their surface identities remain legal, they can find some decent jobs down here.

"Fugitives are a different story, especially those who entered Naan City as tourists or invitees and refused to leave. Nearly all of them were lured or tricked into the underground network, becoming the primary source of slaves.

"These people all thought Naan City was a paradise safe from the Zerg threat, but how many knew that Naan City intentionally preserved this underground network just to keep its warriors sharp?" Furness elaborated.

Guided by the map, the two ran continuously without running into trouble. This was likely due to the intimidating presence of the Tier 2 fine-grade spear in David's hand; lacking absolute certainty of victory, fighting a warrior armed with a Tier-2 weapon carried a catastrophic level of risk.

Exoskeleton armor could protect the body from being easily penetrated by Tier-1 weapons in a short skirmish, but against a Tier-2 weapon, those defenses became completely useless.

As they penetrated deeper, David began to perceive strange energy fluctuations unique to the underground network. These fluctuations dampened the scanning range of their exoskeleton armor, and combined with the numerous sharp corners, rendered their sensors virtually useless.

This was the characteristic energy interference of a krypton crystal deposit, disrupting all ambient wave signals, including electronic communications.

It made David ponder further. This was just one krypton crystal mine; on the legendary War Planets where such deposits were everywhere, what kind of environment must those places be?

"David, pay attention. Shelter C-117 is just ahead!" Furness warned out loud.

David looked ahead and saw an energy barrier blocking the corridor.