Chapter 431: 431. Chapter 431 Arrival

431. Chapter 431 Arrival

The tunnel leading to Hope City is labyrinthine.

As we walked, two or three junctions would appear ahead; after walking further, several more junctions came into view; at the end, there were yet more junctions, like nested dolls.

The entire underground resembled a huge labyrinth; even with a Grandmaster's spiritual power, the countless stone barriers prevented it from reaching far.

According to Chu Feng's introduction, among the hundreds or thousands of passages, only one leads to Hope City; the others are either dead ends or lead to extremely dangerous places inhabited by terrifying creatures, such that even a Supreme could perish upon encountering them.

This greatly reduces the chance of the enemy following the vine to find the melon.

But this also means that the people of Hope City basically cannot go out; even they, if they forget the routes, could become trapped inside.

Jiang Cheng nodded silently.

Everything has two sides; perfection is impossible.

Moreover, most of the people inside the city are ordinary or not strong; going to the surface may not be the right thing.

Finally, after several people turned left into a passage and walked a distance, light came from the passage's exit.

"It's the Big Chief! The Big Chief is back!"

"And the Chief, they've returned together!"

Excited voices rang from the tunnel's end; several figures entered the passage and sprinted toward us.

"Xinlian, are you alright?" Besides caring for the elderly woman and Chu Feng, a man also looked at Shen Xinlian with concern.

She shook her head.

Only Qin Lao seemed to receive no concern.

"Cough cough."

Seeing Jiang Cheng look over, Qin Lao coughed once to hide his embarrassment.

One reason is the Big Chief's status.

On the other hand, everyone present is without exception a Grandmaster, and the weakest among them is Level Five! After all, to guard the passage and repel invaders, insufficient strength wouldn't do.

"Who are these people?"

Finally, several people noticed the presence of Jiang Cheng and his group.

"This is Junior Brother Jiang Cheng; we came out this time to fetch him. Though he's under twenty, he's already a First-level Force Master, and moreover, a Level 10 Alchemist," Chu Feng said with a smile.

"I see."

In their gazes toward Jiang Cheng, there was added respect.

"Has anything happened while we were away?"

"Chief, rest assured; everything has been fine during your absence."

"Then that's good; thank you for your hard work."

Chu Feng smiled, turned to look at Jiang Cheng, and said, "Junior Brother Jiang, keep going forward; ahead is our Hope City."

Jiang Cheng, hearing that, walked toward the passage's exit.

The further we went, the brighter the light at the passage's exit became; the light was soft, giving a warm feeling.

Finally, he saw what it was.

A huge glowing sphere hung in the air, as large as several houses!

"What is that?" Jiang Cheng couldn't help exclaiming.

"An artificial sun." Chu Feng gazed at the glowing sphere, a nostalgic look on his face: "In the homeland of our Yan people, on the ancestral star, the star that nurtures all things is called the sun by people, and the growth of all things cannot be separated from sunlight."

Living in the underground world is relatively safe, but such days also wear down people's will. To remind everyone, we came from the surface, so we specially crafted an artificial star and named it the sun.

"I see."

Jiang Cheng, hearing this, couldn't help but feel reverent.

He also felt an indescribable sensation.

"Sun," these two words—no one had said them to him in a long time.

"Of course, on a spiritual and practical level, having an artificial star is much more convenient; at least, one won't contract all sorts of strange illnesses."

Chu Feng laughed: "Wait a few more hours, and when night comes, the sun will set and the moon will rise."

Jiang Cheng nodded.

After completely walking out of the cave mouth, seeing this sight, he was utterly shocked.

He had thought he was standing on the ground.

Actually, not.

The passage's entrance is on a cliff, with an excellent view.

Looking down, the entire Hope City lay before his eyes.

There were no towering skyscrapers as imagined; buildings were mostly two or three stories high, except for a few skyscrapers in the central area, which were still only about five or six stories.

The whole city radiates four main roads from this center, with some cars driving on them and many pedestrians beside them.

The technological level certainly can't match that of the Inner City District, but it's far better than the Outer City District, especially in aesthetics.

"The city is roughly divided into four parts: residential district, commercial district, agricultural district, and industrial district," Chu Feng's voice sounded.

"The residential district, as the name suggests, is where people live; it started with fewer than fifty thousand inhabitants, and after years of reproduction, it has exceeded one hundred thousand."

"The commercial district is where goods are traded; people exchange food, handicrafts, or purchase services here, and many also work here for wages."

"The agricultural district is responsible for growing food; our indoor planting technology is already very mature, self-sufficiency is no problem, but if the population continues to grow at this rate, the future is uncertain."

Chu Feng, having said this, felt both happy and worried.

After all, people are the most important; without them, everything is empty talk.

"The industrial district here is underdeveloped; we can only produce daily necessities to meet everyone's daily needs. Besides, there are some assembly lines, such as for making cars, but you also saw here that the distance from south to north is just this long; for us, it's only a few steps' walk, and even an ordinary person wouldn't need more than ten or so minutes."

Jiang Cheng nodded.

This way, it seems everyone has something to do, can earn wages, and naturally can also go to the commercial street to spend.

It must be said, this place is still very much like a small utopia; ordinary people living here may have a much better life than ordinary people in the Outer City District.

"Leader, what is that central area?"

"That place should be the most important here, and also your future workplace." Chu Feng smiled, "It is called Hope Higher Education Academy, the only higher education institution here, specially responsible for training Force Warriors and Spiritual Thought Masters."

"Hope University?"

"Hahaha, you can think that way." Chu Feng couldn't help but laugh.

(End of chapter)