Chapter 53: Heavenly Father and Savior

“Through this pipe, past a gap with seven bars, you’ll reach the Lower Nest.”

Sewage flowed through the pipe like a river—murky, stinking, thick as swamp mud, occasionally bubbling up.

A makeshift ferry, cobbled together from scrap iron and synthetic wood, drifted atop the sewage.

The boatman, clad in tattered black robes, used a pole to push the vessel while introducing Zhou Yun and Leina to the Lower Nest.

Departing from the garbage mountain in District Thirteen, entering the Nest’s chaotic pipe network through an outflow vent in the Nest’s outskirts,

then traveling downstream by boat along the pipes, one could reach the Lower Nest region.

After Leina said in Chinese, “Doraemon, please help Emperor Yebi,” Zhou Yun reluctantly believed her.

He thought this was exactly the kind of thing the Emperor would do.

So Zhou Yun entrusted Old One-Eye to find him a safe route to the Lower Nest—of course, all expenses were covered by Leina.

Before reaching the Lower Nest, Zhou Yun still used body clay to slightly alter his physique and face, transforming into the form of the Lion King.

As for Leina, she had rarely revealed her identity, so she only made minor adjustments with body clay.

The old boatman cast a glance at Zhou Yun and Leina, seated beside him.

Neither showed obvious mutations—why would two perfectly normal people travel from the Lower Nest to the Bottom Nest?

Sensing the old boatman’s gaze, Zhou Yun cleared his throat and said:

“My younger sister has two eyes and a pair of gills growing beneath her belly.”

“And two mouths on the palms of her hands.”

As he spoke, Zhou Yun elbowed Leina beside him.

Leina blushed crimson and nodded shamefully.

She raised her hands, revealing two mouths molded from body clay on the palms of both hands.

Holy hell—two eyes and gills on her belly, two mouths on her palms.

Even among the mutants of the Bottom Nest, that was abstract.

The old boatman looked deeply shaken, then glanced again at Zhou Yun,

seemingly curious about what kind of mutation he had.

Zhou Yun smiled mysteriously and held up two fingers: “I’ve got two.”

The old boatman’s eyes flickered with confusion, then shifted to an expression only men understood.

He gave Zhou Yun a thumbs-up: “That’s a benign mutation.”

“Old man, tell us what happens after entering the Bottom Nest.”

Zhou Yun leaned back on the boat, looking at the old boatman.

“The Bottom Nest is nothing like the Lower Nest—it’s far more chaotic and lawless. Aside from a few settlements, everything’s dangerous.”

The old boatman shook his head.

“But the Bottom Nest has improved slightly compared to a few years ago.”

“Mainly because two factions nearly wiped out the entire Bottom Nest.”

“One is the Filth Blood Cult, made of cultists and mutants; the other is a sect that worships the Four-Armed Emperor.”

Four-Armed Emperor

Zhou Yun and Leina exchanged glances.

Clearly, the Gene Thieves here no longer even pretended—they were openly spreading contamination.

But what was visible on the surface was likely only the outermost fringe of the Gene Thieves’ influence.

The more severely mutated, more alien-core variants probably still lurked deeper within the Bottom Nest.

As for the Filth Blood Cult, it sounded like something Mong and Marqit might’ve created. Wonder if it’s those two brothers.

If so, this would make things much easier.

That’s also why Zhou Yun had donned this face again—to facilitate a meeting with Mong and his brother.

“The first settlement after entering the Bottom Nest is where the followers of the Four-Armed Emperor gather.”

Great—so the first one was the Gene Thieves’ territory.

“Those folks are actually quite decent. Their settlement is almost as orderly as the Lower Nest.”

The old boatman grinned.

“The people there speak kindly, and they’re all good-natured. If you plan to settle down, you could live there.”

“But don’t bother believing their faith—why would mutants worship the Emperor?”

As he spoke, the old boatman poked the pipe with his pole, turning the boat to halt beside a broken barrier.

This was a breached barrier, but seven iron bars, thick as a wrist, had been cleanly severed by some sharp weapon, revealing a path beyond.

Zhou Yun and Leina disembarked, nodded to the old boatman, then passed through the broken barrier and entered the passage leading to the Bottom Nest.

Holy hell—where the fuck did they bring me?

Is this even the Bottom Nest?

Zhou Yun stared numbly at the settlement ahead.

This settlement had been built within the abandoned pipe system deep in the Nest.

Dense networks of wiring hung between the suspended, disused pipes, each strand dangling bulbs emitting pale yellow-white light, illuminating the neatly arranged streets below.

The Nest authorities had long cut off power to the Bottom Nest—yet these glowing bulbs proved the residents generated their own electricity.

Houses constructed from scrap iron and synthetic wood clung to the pipes; some had even converted wide pipes directly into dwellings.

These homes appeared meticulously planned, all aligned in orderly rows along both sides of the road, leaving a narrow pathway between them.

On the walls of these houses, portraits hung in perfect alignment.

They were images of the Emperor, painted in a soiled-looking purple pigment on coarse yellow fiber paper.

But what sent a chill down Zhou Yun’s spine was:

The Emperor in the portraits had four long, muscular arms, spread out like spider legs on either side of his body, as if ready to embrace something.

If not for the surrounding environment, this settlement looked even more orderly than the Lower Nest.

What was even more unsettling:

Every resident here wore a genuine smile on their lips, their eyes radiating nearly boundless vitality.

At first glance, they seemed happier, more content than even the Upper Nest’s inhabitants.

Soon after Zhou Yun and Leina entered the settlement, they noticed the residents worked tirelessly, seemingly without fatigue.

Poverty, chaos, suffering, and darkness were the very definition of the Bottom Nest.

Yet the first settlement Zhou Yun encountered after entering the Bottom Nest was filled with order, happiness, and diligence.

Zhou Yun cautiously scanned his surroundings.

The residents, upon seeing Zhou Yun and Leina, simply offered the same gentle smiles,

as if welcoming them.

But being watched by so many people with identical expressions made the back of his neck prickle.

Zhou Yun silently slipped on his Superman gloves.

Suddenly, a slender woman in a purple robe approached with a gentle smile, blocking their path.

She bowed slightly to the two, striving to appear warm.

“Friends, could you spare a few minutes?”

“Allow me to introduce to you our Heavenly Father and Savior—the Merciful Four-Armed Divine Emperor.”

Stuck, feeling awful

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

(End of Chapter)