Chapter 39

In Boulder Town, most houses are dilapidated, walls peeling. Xing looks into the distance; many roofs have even collapsed, exposing rusted building materials inside. Here, sunlight never reaches year-round; the only light comes from the hanging lamps visible everywhere and the piles of yellow ore stacked like mountains along the streets.

Compared to the relaxed sunshine on the faces of the upper‑zone people, everyone here has a gloom on their face, the mark of long toil and travel. Miners seen everywhere on streets and alleys have bloodshot eyes, gaunt faces, and in their silence reveals an indescribable fatigue.

Hehe, isn't this just a copy of Zu An in another world? Look at their expressions...

As if confirming his own thought, Xi Er Ke's face showed a smile, and he said confidently: 'Even if the people here don't rebel today or tomorrow, they will surely rebel the day after! As long as someone stands up and shouts, they can spark a war between the lower zone and the upper city!'

They're not like you; they don't have 'Jin Ke Si'. Jin Ke Si wore an indifferent expression, "Even if war breaks out, they'd have no chance of winning, right?"

Force is certainly important, but what matters most are those golden ores… If I'm not mistaken, that is the 【Earth Marrow】 on which the upper zone relies for survival; cutting off this energy supply is tantamount to cutting the upper zone's lifeline.

If Zu An also had such a good thing, I wouldn't have to worry.

He said while looking up at Zu An's 'sky'—a vast iron wall shrouded in black smoke, woven from countless densely packed pipes and conduits, with indicator lights of various sizes embedded in it, like stars illuminating Zu An's night sky.

This is the watershed between Skin City and Zu An. Over countless years, few Zu An people have ever seen the real sky.

If the supply of Earth Marrow is cut off, winter will sweep the entire upper zone; then… the upper zone's Iron Guard will be exhausted dealing with the lower zone's war while also fending off winter's invasion, inevitably leading to chaos—what could even the Great Guardian change?

Maybe they could summon the Star God's protection? Jin Ke Si blinked mischievously.

... Hehe.

As if hearing an amusing joke, Xi Er Ke's mouth curled into a faint smile.

If the Star God's power is truly as they say… then perhaps Ke Li Po has never once turned his gaze toward this tiny group of humans from the very beginning. If any divine power were manifested, how could a cold snap and a star core crisis erupt?

Outside the clinic, San Yue Qi was about to play hide-and-seek with a few kids; these kids called themselves the 【Mole Rat Gang】, their leader a cute girl with twin-tails and a thick woolen hat, Hu Ke. Since the kids knew a lot about underground intel, Xing and San Yue Qi played with them for a while before coaxing out Dan Heng's whereabouts.

Dan Heng was taken to the fighting club by Sang Bo, and since he was unfamiliar with the place, San Yue Qi could only ask Hu Ke to show the way.

"Fighting... I didn't realize the underground liked such rough entertainment." Along the way San Yue Qi felt deeply moved, though she could also understand: this underground is pitch black, the townsfolk spend every day mining and nothing else, so they indeed need some stimulation.

"Mm-hmm, it's fun!" Hu Ke laughed as she ran.

"Have you participated too?! This club is totally unethical!" San Yue Qi widened her eyes in surprise, indignant, gritted her teeth and said: "... No, my sense of justice is about to call the police."

"... San Yue, let's just take a look first and then talk."

The three quickly arrived at the fighting arena's entrance; just as they stopped, the announcer's loud, ringing voice from inside passed through the doors and reached Xing's ears.

"——Brothers and sisters! This match will be the most exciting, most thrilling, most shocking showdown of the day!"

"Unsmiling, extraordinarily talented super‑rookie——【Leng Mian Xiao Qing Long】! Recommended by the handsome guy in deep blue!"

"His opponent is——emotionless, flammable and explosive robot squad! Praise Shi Wa Luo, big shot!"

Leng Mian Xiao Qing Long?

San Yue Qi and Xing stared at each other.

The two rushed in, only to see Dan Heng alone in the eight‑sided cage, wearing a paralyzed face, coldly staring at the two fist‑shaped robots before him.

Since no other player wanted to face the robot squad, the match had to be fought by Leng Mian Xiao Qing Long alone… wait! Two spectators rushed into the eight‑sided cage, seemingly intending to fight alongside Leng Mian Xiao Qing Long!

Exactly, those two players are San Yue Qi and Xing, who just rushed in.

Oh~ this feeling is really nostalgic.

Having returned from Mo Mang Gong to Mei Luo Bi De Bao, Lai Ou Si Li watched, his blood boiling, as this primitive fighting stirred memories of his days years ago inside the fortress, when he dominated the underground fighting arena.

Thinking back, when Lai Ou Si Li came to Mei Luo Bi De Bao to serve his sentence he was also a nobody, and it was precisely by winning one fight after another that he established his current standing.

Fighting in the eight‑sided cage is both what he does best and what he enjoys most.

Lai Ou Si Li instantly felt an urge to fight, craving a brawl.

"No way, Duke—if you personally join the fight, my infirmary will be overrun again."

As if seeing through the Duke's thoughts, Xi Ge Wen handed Lai Ou Si Li a cup of steaming red tea, saying, "If the Duke truly wants to show his prowess, you could have Sir Wei Lai Te prepare a few autonomous mechanisms for you."

"Autonomous mechanisms… I've taken down who knows how many. Forget it, nurse chief, no need to trouble yourself." Lai Ou Si Li gazed enviously at the light screen, "Machines from another world… sigh, if I could also step onto the field and try, that'd be great—if possible, I'd take on ten by myself."

In the light screen, a few machines are naturally no match for the three, but when they are defeated, the little robots actually all self‑destruct, accompanied by a deafening 'Boom!'—the whole venue seems to undergo a minor quake, enveloping the entire eight‑sided cage in a haze of smoke.

As the smoke cleared, the shield‑equipped train trio stood unharmed inside the cage.

... Lai Ou Si Li suddenly began to feel relieved that he couldn't personally step into the fight.

"This… this is lower‑zone fighting, huh?" He stared, dumbstruck, a bitter smile spreading across his face, unable to hold his teacup steady.

If you can't win, you self‑destruct—this is worse than constantly cheating! The sneaky autonomous mechanisms are utterly unethical; fighting in another world… really this wild?