Upon hearing the voices gradually growing noisier,
Su Wen looked around.
Before him, he saw a group of ragged, exhausted people bustling through narrow steam pipes.
Like the veins of a city, these pipes intertwined in a complex network, sustaining the entire underground shelter.
Above them, rusted iron sheets were occasionally washed by steam, letting out hissing sounds as though recounting the hardships of time.
Some people gathered in small groups, quietly discussing the gains and dangers of their explorations on the surface;
Others worked alone in silence, sorting through supplies brought back from the surface, their eyes glinting with both yearning and fear for the unknown world.
Though life was difficult,
They had long adapted to this way of surviving amid darkness and danger. Every face was filled with optimism and unyielding resolve.
Among the crowd, Su Wen even noticed some unusual people, completely different from the little girl who hated Lorenz Riel.
They were people who looked forward to the bright future that would come once the academy fully took over this place.
They sat together in a corner, their eyes shining with longing for freedom and light, murmuring about how Lorenz Riel could lead them away from this abandoned frontier.
However,
These fantasies seemed so pale and powerless before cruel reality.
But at that moment,
A sudden explosion shattered the noise and commotion.
A steam pipe abruptly burst, and scalding steam instantly filled the entire space! It even frightened the group gathered in the corner into scattering in panic.
The person in charge shouted anxiously:
"Quick!
Get the Crystal Artisan here to fix it!
If these pipes keep breaking down, without crystal mining, every one of us will starve to death here."
Upon hearing this, many people immediately sprang into action.
"Forget it. You useless bunch, I'll