Chapter 253: Charlotte (Fourth update, bonus for Alliance Leader 'Su Xiao Chan~')

The fire in the furnace in the center of the open space gradually extinguished, the large machines nearby stopped operating, and the steam gradually dissipated.

Su Xiao didn't know the function of these machines, but destroying this place might have benefits for subsequent actions.

With the sharpness of 【Checking Zhan Long Shan】, destroying these machines was completely fine. Soon, the steel machines in the open space were severely damaged.

Looking around at the situation, Su Xiao found an elevator in the corner of the open space. The elevator looked old, simple in structure, with only a metal frame, hung by a steel wire rope, somewhat similar to an elevator.

Apart from this elevator, there were no other routes in the open space. Su Xiao entered the elevator, with Xiang Bubu and the Little Emperor following closely.

There was a wrench in the elevator. Su Xiao pulled it hard, and with a *ka-ba* sound, the elevator vibrated first, the sound of the mechanism operating came from around, and a few seconds later, the elevator rose slowly.

*Creak, creak... *

The sound of metal friction was very difficult. Although the elevator could barely be used, Su Xiao felt that this thing would fall apart at any time. Xiang Bubu was so scared that it leaned tightly against his leg.

As the elevator rose, the surrounding scene changed, from black stone walls to metal texture.

*Crash! *

The elevator suddenly sank downward. Su Xiao focused downward to keep his figure stable.

A few seconds later, the elevator returned to normal and continued to rise slowly.

Below was bottomless. If the elevator had a malfunction at this time, it would be very troublesome.

Fortunately, although this elevator didn't look very good, it

A few minutes later, the elevator stopped after ascending about a hundred meters. This was undoubtedly good news; Su Xiao was closer to the surface.

Outside the elevator was something like a large factory. The factory looked quite old and covered a large area. Inside, it was divided into individual compartments, forming many corridors that were complex and intricate.

Entering the large factory, what caught the eye was a row of test tubes several meters high. Inside the tubes, strange and bizarre animals were soaking; most were dangerous species, and occasionally, humans could be seen.

These dangerous species or humans had strange appearances; some dangerous species had two heads, while others had a dozen arms.

These extra body tissues had traces of being stitched on, and some were simply connected with metal, where rivets could even be seen.

These dangerous species had no signs of life and soaked quietly in the solution.

"Which direction should we go next?"

Su Xiao walked into the factory; at this moment, he needed the little emperor to lead the way.

"Probably that direction."

The little emperor pointed to the right.

"Probably?"

"My intuition disappeared once we got here."

Su Xiao stared intensely at the little emperor, who retreated several steps.

"I'm not lying this time."

"..."

After hesitating for a moment, Su Xiao walked in the direction the little emperor pointed; there was no other choice now.

After moving through the factory for a while, Su Xiao suddenly heard footsteps coming from afar, but he did not perceive any living creatures approaching. The footsteps grew closer and closer.

Su Xiao scanned his surroundings quickly. There were many compartments partitioned by iron plates nearby. After choosing one at random, Su Xiao pushed the door open and entered.

In fact, it wasn't just the little emperor's intuition that had disappeared; once they reached this point, Su Xiao's perception had also significantly weakened. Something was suppressing his perception, shrinking his range to less than two meters.

Inside the compartment was a small laboratory, filled with a large amount of equipment and test tubes. This must have been a place where alchemists worked.

Just as he entered the compartment, Su Xiao's pupils constricted, and he gripped Checking Zhan Long Shan tightly, preparing for battle.

Inside the compartment was a strange cave-dweller. The reason it was strange was that this cave-dweller wore a yellowed white coat, one arm was made of metal, and it was holding a test tube, debugging something at the workbench.

The two sides locked eyes. The cave-dweller looked at Su Xiao with pleasant surprise, neither attacking nor shouting.

"A human from the surface?"

The strange cave-dweller actually spoke human language, though the tone was a bit odd.

"Yes."

Su Xiao stopped his forward charge. He did not know the other party's background, and there were unknown enemies approaching outside the compartment. It would be disastrous if this cave-dweller suddenly shouted.

The current situation was unexpected; the cave-dweller was looking at him with a face full of joy.

"Human... finally, a human has come here. That's great."

The strange cave-dweller put down the test tube in its hand and looked Su Xiao and the others up and down.

The footsteps outside were getting closer, and the strange cave-dweller's expression changed.

"Shh, don't make a sound."

Su Xiao was stunned; the other party seemed very afraid of the creatures outside discovering them.

"Those outside are the patrol troops. You are no match for them, believe me."

The strange cave-dweller ran toward the door. Su Xiao stepped back a few paces; the other party's background was unknown, so he had to be cautious.

The strange cave-dweller closed the compartment door tightly, very afraid that Su Xiao and the others would be discovered.

The footsteps outside gradually faded away, and the strange cave-dweller let out a long sigh of relief.

"Human... a human from the surface, hahaha, that's great. I finally have a chance to get out, finally able to leave this hellhole. It's been six hundred years; I've been trapped in this hellhole for exactly six hundred and thirty-one years, five months, and seven days."

As the strange cave-dweller spoke, it began to weep bitterly.

"Honorable humans, greetings. My name is Xia Luoke, created by a damned alchemist to help him complete his nonsensical research."

The strange cave-dweller, Xia Luoke, had a very enthusiastic attitude, as if meeting Su Xiao and the others was a great stroke of luck. However, those rolling eyes indicated that this guy's intelligence was not low and that it had ulterior motives.

"Honorable humans, may I be so bold as to ask where you entered this place? Was it from the direction of the Ancestral Hall or the Alchemist's Gate?"

Xia Luoke's eyes were full of anticipation.

Su Xiao pondered to himself. This cave-dweller named Xia Luoke must be desperate to leave. The other party's origin was already obvious; it was an alchemical creature.

If Xia Luoke's words were true, it had existed for hundreds of years. The lifespan of a cave-dweller was only thirty years; there was no other possibility than it being transformed into an alchemical creature.

One of Xia Luoke's arms was made of metal, and the luster of metal could be faintly seen inside its collar.

An alchemical creature longing to leave, having lived here for hundreds of years, must know this place like the back of its hand. A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face; the little emperor might no longer be important.

"We came from the direction of the Ancestral Hall."

"Tu ba ba, pa a te... (Unknown language)"

Xia Luoke cursed a few times in the cave-dweller language, and the flame of hope in its eyes extinguished.

"Isn't there an emergency exit here? Why don't you leave through that?"

Su Xiao sheathed Checking Zhan Long Shan. Xia Luoke's strength was not high; he could finish it off with his bare hands within a minute.

"The emergency exit can only be used by the royal family. An alchemical creature like me... is discarded after being used. Damn the alchemists, damn the royal family who deserve to die."

Xia Luoke's metal arm clenched, making a clicking sound.

"Xia Luoke, come here."

Su Xiao beckoned Xia Luoke to a corner. Although the other party's purpose could not be fully confirmed, the claim about wanting to leave was highly credible. As for its personality, it looked cunning to the extreme.

Compared to the little emperor, who often played small tricks but was actually a bit stupid, Su Xiao preferred to cooperate with Xia Luoke.

Arriving at the corner, Su Xiao whispered to Xia Luoke:

"My name is Bai Ye, and my goal is also to leave this place. Let's cooperate to get out."

Xia Luoke rubbed its chin with its hand, glanced at Su Xiao, and whispered back:

"Then our goals are the same. But that big hole at the Ancestral Hall is at least several hundred meters high. Getting in was easy and didn't trigger any mechanisms, but getting out is very difficult. There are over a hundred types of mechanisms; even if you could fly, it wouldn't work."

Speaking of this, Xia Luoke sighed.

"I've been trapped here for hundreds of years. I know how wonderful the outside world is. Can you understand this kind of pain?"

Su Xiao patted Xia Luoke on the shoulder.

"What a tragic experience. What did you mean when you said only the royal family can use the emergency exit?"

"That? The door to the emergency exit was originally ordered by the royal family to be built by alchemists. That door can check the bloodline of the person opening it through a special method. That door is actually a type of mindless alchemical creature. Its main materials include refined gold, Karma-sen circuits, Bayacina elements..."

Xia Luoke rambled on. This guy's alchemy level was not low, having been trapped here for hundreds of years.

"Stop, I don't understand. In short, people of the royal family can open that door?"

"Yes, but also no. The royal bloodline activates the door, and I know the method to open it afterward, but what's the use of that?"

Su Xiao was secretly delighted, but his expression remained calm. Xia Luoke was much more reliable than the little emperor.

"That little brat, did you see him?"

"Who is he?"

"A direct descendant of the royal family."

Xia Luoke was stunned, its eyes widened, and a look of ecstasy appeared on its face, but the hatred in its eyes was undisguised.

"Friend, I will definitely be your most reliable partner. Let's get out together."

Xia Luoke was trembling with excitement.

"Good, let's get out together."

Su Xiao and Xia Luoke turned their heads to look at the little emperor, who instinctively retreated a few steps.

Updated early, hehehe. However, the title of this chapter is wrong. Everyone, please forgive me; modifying titles is very troublesome.