Chapter 260: Night God

Li Cheng wasn't worried about the mechanical dog charging at them.

The LQ-84i Blade Wolf, from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, is an AI-equipped quadrupedal autonomous weapon capable of communication, thought, and executing orders; it can even speak and tell bad jokes, and it understands threats.

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After a brief silence, Blade Wolf spoke in a mixed electronic voice: "You aren't infected, so why have you come to the Lower Nest?"

Li Cheng replied righteously, "Who says I'm not infected? I'm currently carrying Ebola, HIV, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, meningitis, feline distemper, Chikungunya fever, Marburg hemorrhagic fever, and feline distemper."

Good heavens, what kind of innate Gu-raising holy body is this? To survive so many diseases and still be jumping around lively—have these illnesses reached a dynamic equilibrium inside you? And why did you mention feline distemper twice? Are you hinting at something?!

Hong Mao, the young hero currently being held hostage, wore an odd expression.

The red flashing light atop LQ-84i Blade Wolf's head blinked twice. "Symptoms of Ebola virus infection include rashes, bruising, and bleeding."

"You do not have Ebola, so that statement is a pun: confusing the semantics of malfunction symptoms with conventional illnesses to produce a non-sequitur effect."

"Amusement level: Grade 2."

The joke was already cold to begin with, but after Blade Wolf's serious explanation, it became even colder; however, Gray Rain's eyes suddenly lit up.

As a future robot far surpassing Earth's technological level, her usual combat style relied on durability and brute-force hammering, which truly lacked any prestige and failed to reflect her status.

This Blade Wolf looked quite advanced, and it even understood jokes.

Gray Rain immediately twisted her head 180 degrees and asked Hong Mao, "Is this dog for sale?"

The latter, with a stiff face, said, "Not for sale!"

Gray Rain remained unwilling to give up. "I'll pay! Three hundred, five hundred, a thousand?"

"Not selling, not selling!"

After this interruption, the sword-drawn, bow-taut atmosphere of the scene eased slightly; Li Cheng voluntarily lowered his rusty machete and spoke calmly, "Rest assured, we aren't here to shout about fighting and killing, but to help."

"Take me to see your leader; I have urgent matters to discuss."

Sleeping bags were placed within the underground tunnel; clearly, Blade Wolf and Hong Mao were sentries assigned by the infected faction to perform perimeter security duties, which meant the infected retained a certain degree of social order.

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The red light on Blade Wolf's head flashed three times; after a moment of silence, it nodded. "Follow me."

It agreed so smoothly? I thought it would take more effort.

Li Cheng raised an eyebrow, exchanged a glance with Gray Rain, put Hong Mao down, and followed behind Blade Wolf, advancing deeper into the tunnel.

The further inward they went, the more obvious the signs of life became.

There began to appear an agricultural zone composed of potted crops, an industrial zone made up of handicraft workshops, and a residential area partitioned by plywood boards.

Li Cheng even saw a kindergarten—a group of malfunction-symptom patient children, their bodies covered in purple-black substance, singing nursery rhymes in the somewhat narrow tunnel.

Seeing two "strange figures" appear, wearing full-coverage protective suits with air tanks strapped to their backs, the malfunction-symptom patient children stopped singing and looked at them with curious eyes.

"Awooo."

Li Cheng raised both hands, made a fierce expression, and scared the bunch of little brats away, while his mind raced with thoughts.

From the living conditions of this group of infected, it was clear that patients already suffering from malfunction symptoms need not worry about reinfection, so none of the patients used protective gear.

Secondly, the life expectancy of underground infected was much longer than that of surface infected.

A polar bear toy (suspected to be the armored polar bear from The Golden Compass), with most of its body covered in purple-black substance, could still move normally and was forging an iron pot beside a smelting furnace.

Blade Wolf did not wish for the two outsiders to have much contact with the local residents; keeping all four legs on the ground, it ran quickly, leading Li Cheng and Gray Rain through seven twists and eight turns within the intricate tunnel system.

They arrived at the core area of the tunnel system—a vast and spacious underground factory.

The entire factory stood about fifty meters high, housing gantry cranes, industrial robotic arms, and automated assembly lines; however, all machinery was currently halted.

Deep within the factory, over a hundred thick, long cables hung down from the ceiling like blood vessels, connecting to a massive object wrapped in heavy plastic sheeting.

Gray Rain asked curiously, "What is this?"

"First, I don't know; second, don't ask what you shouldn't."

Hong Mao stopped before a Chinese-style gate and reached out to tug the lion-head door knocker on it.

The bronze lion-head ornament opened its eyes, glanced at Hong Mao, and said, "Come in; the leader is already waiting for you."

Creak—

As the Chinese-style gate slowly opened, Li Cheng couldn't help but widen his eyes and let out a low exclamation, "Ho."

If the city hall of the surface Toy City could be described as 'immortals lining up in great numbers,' then the underground infected faction could be called an all-star lineup.

A group of toys, from left to right, included Hello Kitty, a Barbie doll, Sulley from Monsters, Inc., Star Dinosaur, Super Wings, a Kamen Rider, and a Pili puppet...

This group of toys was gathered around a round table holding a meeting; at the innermost seat sat an ordinary-looking high school student with human features.

He had brown hair, wore a brown Japanese school uniform with a red tie, and possessed a cold gaze; he was unmistakably Light Yagami, the protagonist of the manga Death Note.

"... Let's end the meeting here for now; Sulley (the name of the blue monster from Monsters, Inc.), submit the monthly electricity usage report for the hydroponic agricultural zone to me before today ends."

Light Yagami, whose chest was covered in purple-black substance, had known long ago that Li Cheng and the other would come; he tapped the table, signaling the others to leave.

He himself spread his hands and smiled, saying, "Welcome to the Displaced Toy Island; which one of you two is Master Pi Fu?"

The term 'Displaced Toy Island' comes from a children's book where all strange and unaccepted toys are exiled to an island.

Using it here serves as a form of self-mockery.

"That would be me."

Li Cheng said in a light tone, "So, who found this place before me? Joker or Gouchen?"

This dialogue might seem somewhat baffling and narratively jumpy, but in reality, it follows a rigorous logic.

First, when Joker initially planned the terrorist attack, he only released photos of the players without mentioning their IDs.

Yet Light Yagami knew the name "Master Pi Fu"; there are several possibilities.

One: He has intelligence exchanges with the surface city hall, learning the specific IDs of other transcendentals by interrogating captured players at the city hall; of course, he might also have planted an inside man within the city hall.

Two: He used the Shinigami Eyes ability from the original Death Note manga, sacrificing half his remaining lifespan to forcibly see the names of ordinary people.

Three: Before Li Cheng, other players had already arrived and informed Light Yagami of partial information.

First, eliminate the second possibility; moreover, it's highly unlikely that Light Yagami possesses the Death Note—if he did, he would have already used it to slaughter everyone, why would he be hiding underground?

The ability of the Shinigami Eyes cannot possibly bypass the system's restrictions to read a player's true name.

As for the first and third possibilities, they can coexist, but the third is more likely—that another player arrived earlier and reached an agreement with the infected faction. That's why the opponent is so calm and composed.

Judging from the fact that this group of toys has already been in session for a while, that player must have arrived at least one or two hours earlier and may already have left.

Hui Yu listened beside him, utterly confused, but Light Yagami nodded; Li Cheng's reaction proved he wasn't a fool—negotiating with a smart person is much simpler.

"I'm afraid I must keep it confidential."

Light Yagami smiled: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend; on the matter of striking down City Hall, we are aligned."

"I can provide you with weapons, intelligence, and logistics to help you eliminate Eugene, who is allied with City Hall, and in return, you need only do me a small favor."