Chapter 117 The Riddler (Thirteen)

Looking up, there was a vast expanse of white mist; looking down, there was nothing at all. At five thousand feet in the air, dense foliage covered the cave entrance. Following the sweet, faint fragrance, I found the flattened, withered flowers.

A red, wet pipe runs through the entire cave. A little further away, it breaks open, and water gushes out, forming a mist that creates a ghostly rainbow.

This is what is commonly referred to as the sewer. The pipe in front should be connected to some part above, which could be a public toilet, a bathhouse, or a fountain.

The workers who came to repair the place left behind a few newspapers and a few stools. The newspapers were pasted up and fell apart, but the stools were still intact.

A fairly complete groundwater system was in place, and the turbine units could be heard clattering away. A rope was tied to a spur gear that had been overturned, as if it had been accidentally knocked off by something passing by.

If we go a little further in, we'll need to light a lamp to proceed.

White followed cautiously at the very back, a shadow falling over his forehead, his face bearing the standard expression of sullenness. The current scene made him think of bad things; if he went any further in, he might encounter the real devil.

Are these people really that desperate to get to the bottom of this?

“Let’s not go any further,” White finally couldn’t hold back, raising his high triangular eyebrows and squeezing out the words through clenched teeth, “There’s nothing here except for the pipes. If Erenshere were still alive, I’d be willing to believe he would be hiding here.”

After White had been rambling on for a long time, everything suddenly became unusually quiet.

There were sounds like knocking, sounds like tapping on a window, and sounds like a dog's whimper.

White started talking again, this time in a voice as soft as a whisper: "I recognized it, it's that old dog from the tobacco shop. How did the sound get here? Oh, this place is actually quite close to the ground, isn't it?"

"Hey, you're talking a lot today, three times more than usual," Billis said casually. "Are you afraid of the dark?"

This was the first time White had ever wanted to punch someone.

Because what they said hit the nail on the head!

He stood in front of the water pipe for a while, and a flying insect climbed up it, swatting and rolling around. It slid down as soon as it climbed up a little. White thought that his life in the league was like that insect, with no hope of ever getting ahead.

A minute later, he seemed to have perked up again. Billy offered him a cigarette and asked if he wanted one. He said no. Billy remarked with some emotion, "Oh, he doesn't smoke or drink. He's a good man."

White was taken aback, initially thinking it was sarcasm, until Billy put his arm around his shoulder.

“All three women walk faster than you, hey, but I like to follow behind them too, and I can keep my eyes on one spot without being noticed.”

Billy assumed White knew what he was talking about, but White didn't. He simply hummed twice. If we're talking about being outgoing, he knew one person: Irencel.

With one hand on White's shoulder as if afraid he would run away, Billy said to himself, "Life in the Fortress is so boring, like a big cage. Shouldn't young people go out of here and find an enviable queen?"

White was thinking to himself, "The person you're talking about can't be me. I'm not like those vulgar people."

Billie, however, kept pestering White, talking non-stop about women.

Perhaps due to his solitary nature, White found it very uncomfortable; if this continued, he would waste his entire day's energy on vulgar jokes.

So, in what appeared to be a narrow passage, White suggested that they go ahead and scout ahead in order to get rid of Beris.

The road ahead is more like a snake winding through mountains and valleys. Because few people travel on it, no one can point out its direction. Sometimes it intersects and winds with secluded paths, sometimes it brushes past cliffs, sometimes it almost disappears completely, and sometimes it suddenly reappears a mile away.

The surrounding terrain was rugged and uneven, making it seem impossible to get out. A small amount of water slowly flowed into the ditch, and after passing a slope, one had to stop more than ten times before climbing up another slope, just like a camel's hump in the desert.

Suddenly, the road forks again. Going to the left leads to the sewers, while going to the right might lead to being swallowed up by strange and bizarre rumors.

White knew where that road led.

"This place is narrow and dark; if we go any further, we might..."

Before White could finish speaking, Mia drew her glowing bow and said, "Now you can see."

Everyone agreed to go from the right side.

White anticipated that he wouldn't be able to handle these people, but he didn't expect something magical to appear the next second.

First, there are dead plants, then a furnace resembling a sacrificial animal appears, with two holes drilled in it. The dead plants completely cover the exposed parts of the building. The building itself looks unusually smooth, so it can't be stone, but rather a building material that humans have never seen before, which is closer to crystal. The lower half of the building is translucent, while the upper half is black.

The agents remembered clearly that this was the second time they had seen this material; the first time was in Hyperion.

The stove itself is a door that can be lifted from the bottom up, branching out to both sides, like cutting open a bean pod with a wood-chopping knife.

"Look what we've found!"

Below the building is a brightly lit passageway.

"Ancient architecture is hidden beneath the walls!"

Billis led the way and jumped down, followed closely by Lisa. White was the last to go down, and after he did, the stove was shut off again.

The unprecedented sculptural art makes the illuminated passageway shine, with its sides adorned with carvings of rare birds and animals that would impress even the most renowned architects.

The exact number of years it has existed is impossible to verify in history. The Alliance simply discovered this place and happened to build its headquarters directly above it.

Many of the carvings on the walls have been destroyed. Some of the original art was meant to prove that other creatures lived here, some kind of dark-loving, tentacle-like creature.

Have Ehrencher and Mr. Richie discovered this place before? It couldn't be the first time the agents have found it, because it's written on the wall.

I was here!

"Is it Irenshere or Richie who has a perverse sense of humor?"

“Remember? Richie helped David dig a tunnel.”

"That's right, it's him."

White followed silently at the very back.

When the alliance was first created, the architects claimed that there were no problems with the walls, at most minor issues like infrequent rain and occasional strong winds.

Unexpectedly, years later, someone discovered the secret passage hidden right under the Alliance's nose, and that person was Irenshere.

As a result, the security of the Alliance headquarters was questioned, and the intelligence team sent agents everywhere to search for original information about the Barrier, thus revealing a shocking inside story.

The intelligence team, in conjunction with multiple departments, revised the report overnight, pointing out that the barrier was originally part of the land, but was later occupied by a certain species and forcibly detached from the ground.

After the Great Reboot, the species living in the Barrier went into hiding for some unknown reason. The reincarnated beings discovered this place and claimed it for themselves.

In that report, the intelligence group also recommended setting up a separate headquarters because there were too many uncertainties surrounding the barrier, and the original population could return at any time.

However, for every supporter, there is an opponent. Opponents argue that the stronghold is the most suitable location for the Alliance, and there is no need to look for another site. In view of the uncertainty of security factors, the Alliance can cooperate with the interim government to build satellites, lock onto dangerous targets, and increase the carpet search of the other world.

Just like the original Non-Reincarnated Persons Protection Act, the Sky City project went through many twists and turns before finally being approved by the parliament.

Some people are eyeing the Sky City project and are deeply dissatisfied with the construction of the barriers.

Then a series of strange events occurred, and the original report on the wall, along with two documents stolen by Irenschel, disappeared, and Irenschel naturally became a target.

Only death can draw attention.

White was convinced of the meaning of this statement: Erenshere wanted to use Agent Richie's death to expose the true nature of the Barrier.

The Castle in the Sky, meaning an ancient city-state, is a place where gods exist and lightning strikes, where tyrants exist and rebellion occurs, and where lies exist and truth exists.

Both Ehrenshere and White were people who upheld the truth, so why did White go to this point?

Because humans are creatures inclined towards self-interest, they have the instinct to both move forward and regress.

“Hey, you guys, turn around and look at me,” White said grimly. “If you’re really going to be exploring and digging for treasure here, then I know something that you’ll definitely be interested in.”