After March 7th had thoroughly beaten Liuge and wiped the nonexistent sweat from her brow, she finally looked over at Oleg.
Stelle walked over and poked Liuge, who was lying on the ground.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. March 7th's fists were basically a massage."
Liuge said indifferently.
But the next moment, a small foot kicked him in the butt, sending him pitching forward and sprawling face-first on the ground.
"Hehehe~"
Only then did March 7th raise her head in satisfaction as she looked at Liuge.
"Just wait, I'll still dare to do it next time!"
Liuge smiled as he looked at March 7th's smug expression.
"Liuge, what's been going on with you these past few days? We couldn't even get in touch with you."
After the horseplay ended, March 7th and the others entered the mine together, preparing to investigate the cause of the robot riot.
As they walked, Dan Heng was clearly interested in Liuge's suddenly much bulkier physique.
"How should I put it? Something unexpected happened, but my body got a lot stronger."
"Yeah, I can tell."
March 7th sized Liuge up from beside him and even squeezed his arm with her little hand.
"Hard and thick. Not bad."
The instant March 7th said that, everyone present turned to look at her.
The sudden silence left March 7th at a loss.
"Um... did I say something wrong? Liuge's muscles really are hard. Look, his arm is so thick!"
"No, March. Have you considered how ambiguous what you just said was?"
Liuge had known March 7th's little brain did not work very fast, but he had not expected it to stop working altogether.
Had she still not realized it?
"Huh?"
March 7th looked completely baffled, her expression adorably blank.
Liuge rubbed his brow and walked ahead with Dan Heng.
Behind them, Stelle and Bronya leaned close to March 7th and quietly explained it to her.
As for Seele, she silently watched them. At that moment, she was also wondering what exactly had been wrong with March 7th's words.
That was right—Seele had not caught the ambiguity either!
When You've Got Trouble, Burn Paper; When You Don't, Burn Incense!
After entering the mine, Liuge saw that Dan Heng did not seem inclined to talk, so he took out his terminal on his own.
The moment he opened it, a string of messages from March 7th bombarded him, leaving him a little dazed.
He skimmed through them. They were mostly asking where he had been and whatnot.
In short, they were messages of concern, along with a mention that he was wanted.
What surprised Liuge was that Herta had actually sent him a message.
Herta: Hey, are you dead? If not, say something.
Your Gege: Yeah, I'm dead. If you've got trouble, burn paper; if not, burn incense!
Herta: Tch. Looks like you're still alive.
Your Gege: Seems like it would've been better if I were dead.
Then Herta saw Liuge's avatar go dark, along with Herta's expression.
Of course, it was impossible to tell what expression a puppet had anyway.
Herta: Fine. I need something from you.
Your Gege: What?
Herta: I made a device that can simulate the development of the universe and observe events from the past.
Your Gege: The Simulated Universe, right? I'm not joining.
Liuge's mouth twitched as he read Herta's messages.
Good lord, now that he and Herta had become familiar, she no longer looked for Stelle and came straight to him instead.
Herta: Keep yapping, and I'll permanently lock you out of that game.
Your Gege: Go ahead. I've already achieved my goal anyway.
Herta: Tch, what a heartless man.
Your Gege: Don't make it sound so intimate. I'm not interested in your puppet body.
Herta: Then I'll make you a soft puppet specially for you, a one-to-one replica!
Your Gege: ...Is testing really worth going that far?
Liuge stared at the terminal with the expression of an old man on the subway looking at a phone.
"Liuge, what's wrong?"
At that moment, Stelle came over and asked.
"Herta just sent me a message."
"Oh, about testing the Simulated Universe?"
Stelle understood immediately.
"No, she asked you too? Then why is she still looking for me?"
"I told her that if you didn't participate, neither would I."
Good lord, you stabbed me in the back!
Liuge stared at Stelle in astonishment.
That was the Simulated Universe, for crying out loud. Even Aha had gone in personally to play around, and it glitched out with bugs from time to time.
So you meant we share hardship, but you get to enjoy the blessings alone?
Herta: It's because that Stellaron Core said if you didn't participate, she wouldn't either.
At that moment, Herta's reply confirmed Stelle's words.
Your Gege: Beg me.
Herta: I'm begging you.
Your Gege: ...I'll go take a look once I'm done here.
Helplessly, Liuge agreed. It was absolutely not because of the one-to-one Herta puppet. Absolutely not.
Suddenly, March 7th ran ahead of Liuge and Dan Heng and pointed toward the depths in the distance.
"Liuge, Dan Heng. Did you see that?"
"See what?"
Liuge and Dan Heng exchanged a glance, confused.
"Just now, a white-haired little girl ran over there."
March 7th pointed toward that spot in the distance.
Hearing that, Seele looked into the distance, her brows knitting slightly.
"That's the exit leading to Rivet Town."
After hearing Seele's words, Liuge roughly understood what was going on.
If he had guessed correctly, it was probably Clara searching for relief supplies.
"Rivet Town?"
Land Duck frowned. The name sounded somewhat familiar, but she was certain she had never known of such a place when she had been in the Overworld.
"Hmph, of course you people from the Overworld don't know where that is."
Seele glanced at Land Duck. Though her words conveyed dissatisfaction, there was a trace of disappointment in her eyes as she looked at Land Duck.
But that disappointment was quickly hidden away.
"You..."
Land Duck was angry at Seele's words, but she had no strength to refute them.
"Rivet Town was where the people of the Underworld used to live. But ten years ago, because the Crack Realm spread and Crack Realm creatures multiplied, it became an area no one could continue living in."
"There's also a road from Rivet Town to that place, but it's basically been sealed off."
Liuge, March 7th, and the others silently nodded as they listened to Seele.
Then Liuge thought for a moment and looked at Seele.
"Seele, there should also be an exit in the mine leading to the Mechanical Settlement, right?"
"Why?"
Seele found it strange that this newcomer was asking that.
"I want to go over there first and check the situation."
Liuge's words immediately drew March 7th's objection.
Last time, something had happened on their side because they had split up. Who knew if something might happen again if they separated this time?
"Why?"
Seele ignored March 7th's objection and merely looked at Liuge.
That surprised Liuge somewhat.
Wasn't Seele in the original story bad at handling this kind of communication? She usually just got things done by fighting.
Yet now she was getting to the bottom of it. Could this count as a subtle change?
"Didn't a mechanical riot happen before? I think the problem should be over there, so I want to take a look in advance."
"Fine!"
Seele nodded, then pointed toward an exit deeper inside that was opposite the direction of Rivet Town.
"That's the exit to the Mechanical Settlement."
"Thanks!"
Liuge thanked her and prepared to head that way.
But just then, Dan Heng suddenly spoke.
"Wait, Liuge! I'll go with you."
"Okay!"
March 7th watched the two men's backs from behind but did not say anything else.
If Liuge had been going alone, she truly would have been worried. But with Dan Heng accompanying him, nothing should happen.
"Alright, let's get going too!"
"Okay!"
After splitting into two groups, Liuge's group quickly reached the Mechanical Settlement.
Amid the vast white snow lay a series of crude tents, and outside them gathered groups of drifters.
When those people saw two strangers, Liuge and Dan Heng, appear, their eyes were filled with vigilance.
Before you continue