Three People

Tap... tap... tap...

The sound of footsteps echoed slowly through the silent, gloomy sewer, long and low.

A pale yellow light looked extremely dim in the pitch-black surroundings.

It barely illuminated several meters of the passage, adding another layer of oppression to the lifeless space.

"Ugh~ It stinks so badly! How much longer until we get there?"

A clear female voice suddenly rang out, overflowing with disgust!

"Stop complaining. We'll be there soon. The Flame Marsh Lizards must be here. Once we kill them, we can get back up!"

A steady, deep voice followed close behind, then came a crisp collision!

Smack!

From the shadows, one could vaguely make out a tall figure raising his hand and giving another person's back a hard slap!

"Wah... Why did it have to be me who came down here with you two? After walking around here all day, I feel like I've been marinated!"

Huo Lian rubbed her back and spoke with some indignation.

Another somewhat youthful male voice came from beside them, filled with apology.

"I'm really sorry, Sister Huo Lian... This was my first mission, and something like this happened. I actually let those five Flame Marsh Lizards get away."

"I... I wasn't complaining about you! Hmph!"

Huo Lian seemed to panic slightly when she heard Sun Lei, but unable to let go of her pride, she folded her arms and gave a delicate snort before falling silent.

Meanwhile, Luo Wei, the team captain, seemed especially calm. He laughed heartily as he patted Sun Lei on the shoulder.

Smack—!

"Hahaha... Don't take it to heart, Sun Lei!"

"You've only been with the City Guard for a week, and your first group mission was a two-meter-class random World Gate!"

"It's understandable that there'd be some mistakes, hahaha..."

Sun Lei staggered from the slap, rubbing his shoulder as he sucked in a pained breath.

"Ow, ow, ow... Captain Luo, did you do that on purpose?"

"Hahaha..."

Luo Wei laughed as he hooked an arm around Sun Lei. The smile vanished from his face in an instant, and he glared at Sun Lei.

"What do you think? I had to apply for ages just to get a single day off..."

A deep murderous aura instantly turned Sun Lei's face pale. He trembled as he watched Luo Wei glare at him and mutter continuously.

"Last night, I finally settled things with Xiao Ya. I was going to take her out today. Guess what she said?"

"Really? I'm so happy~ I want Daddy to take me to the amusement park~!!"

"She really is... so adorable! How could there be such an adorable daughter in this world?! Don't you agree?"

"Now, do you know how I felt when I received the notice telling me to return to the team today?"

As he spoke, the expression on Luo Wei's face suddenly twisted. He looked as though he might start killing someone at any moment!

"That disappointed look on Xiao Ya's face—how are you going to make up for it?!"

"Eek—!!! I'm truly sorry, Captain Luo!!! I was wrong! Your expression is terrifying! Don't come any closer!!!"

Sun Lei desperately shook his head, trying to get away from Luo Wei's tightening arms as strange cries escaped his mouth!

Unfortunately, as a Bronze Rank, there was no way he could resist Luo Wei, who was Silver Rank.

Fortunately, Luo Wei was only trying to scare Sun Lei. Huo Lian kicked him from the side, and he conveniently released Sun Lei's neck.

Huo Lian's disgusted voice rang out again, echoing through the sewer.

"Hey, hey! If you want to go crazy over being a daughter-obsessed fool, go home and do it! The City Guard finally has a new recruit, so don't scare him away again!"

Luo Wei merely waved his hand, completely unconcerned, and said disdainfully:

"Hmph! Those guys act like every mission is an execution. The moment they see a monster, they're so frightened they retreat."

"They're nothing but second-generation rich kids here to polish their resumes. If they die, we're the ones who suffer. We might as well kick them out directly."

"Sun Lei is different..."

Smack!

Luo Wei gave Sun Lei another slap on the back, then burst into laughter without a care for Sun Lei's twisted expression.

"You're the only person this year who passed the assessment. You're carrying on your father's legacy, too. I like your chances, kid!!!"

"Yes..."

Sun Lei gave an awkward smile as he rubbed the aching spot on his back, his face twitching repeatedly.

"Hahaha..."

Luo Wei looked at Sun Lei's appearance and paid no attention to it, continuing to laugh heartily.

He pointed toward a ladder that had appeared in the distance.

"Let's go. We should be there once we climb that ladder."

"Flame Marsh Lizards like heat, and they also like damp places. This is the most suitable place for them."

Huo Lian raised a hand and fanned herself, her expression unpleasant.

"Speaking of which, isn't it a little hot in here? And the smell is getting stronger, too."

Sun Lei nodded as well. While removing the scarf around his neck, he said:

"Yeah. The earlier part of the route was still cold, but now I'm sweating..."

"Heh heh! Of course it is!"

Luo Wei folded one arm across his chest and raised the other, pointing upward.

"You two, do you know what's up there?"

"Eh? Although I live in the western part of the city, I still know that! There's a large market up there, right?"

Sun Lei looked puzzled as he continued asking Luo Wei:

"What does the place above have to do with it being hot down here?"

"Idiot!"

Huo Lian shook her head and tapped Sun Lei on the head, speaking irritably.

"Obviously, the market can't have anything to do with the temperature down here! There must be something underground, right?"

"Uh... That hurt, Sister Huo Lian."

Sun Lei spoke awkwardly, but inwardly he muttered:

Are all the people in the City Guard violent maniacs? If I'd known this, I wouldn't have listened to Dad. Becoming an adventurer would've been fine, too.

Sun Lei rubbed his head and asked again, puzzled:

"So why is the temperature so high here?"

Luo Wei smiled at Sun Lei, grabbed the ladder, and climbed up first, speaking as he went:

"That's naturally because the underground around here contains the Mana Circuits of the City Defense Array!"

Huo Lian jerked her head toward Sun Lei, indicating that he should go up first. She was wearing a skirt today and could easily expose herself.

Sun Lei obediently nodded and followed Luo Wei up the ladder.

Luo Wei continued explaining:

"Mithril has excellent Magic Power conductivity, but it generates far too much heat."

"The key problem is that there isn't much of it, and the Mithril used to construct the defense array is extremely thin."

"If you aren't careful, it'll burn through, so it has to be kept cooled at all times."

"The wastewater from cooling those Mana Circuits is discharged directly into the sewers."

Luo Wei climbed out of the shaft, cautiously looked around, then turned and reached a hand toward Sun Lei.

"I see. So that's why it's so hot here?"

Sun Lei grabbed Luo Wei's hand, a look of realization appearing on his face.

Luo Wei nodded, then reached down and pulled Huo Lian up as he continued:

"That's right. But this also makes it easy for the Magic Power remaining in the wastewater to cause monsters to form in the sewers."

"Slimes easily appear in sewers. Although Slimes purify some of the wastewater, they can block the sewers if you aren't careful."

"Also, the ordinary animals living in the sewers are affected by the Magic Power, causing them to become highly aggressive."

"So, the Adventurer's Guild generally has permanent missions to clean out the sewers."

Huo Lian patted the dirt from her hands and pointed at Sun Lei with her index finger.

"This is common knowledge among Awakened Ones! These missions are dirty, tiring, and usually only early-stage adventurers will take them. The pay is low, too."

"Eh?! Is that so? I had no idea..."

Sun Lei looked at Huo Lian in surprise.

"Of course it is. Didn't you pay attention in class when you were at school?"

"If these Flame Marsh Lizards weren't so troublesome, we wouldn't have come to the sewers to do this filthy work!"

"At least the City Guard is an official organization. We're not like those undisciplined adventurers."

"Ahaha, I always felt sleepy the moment class started..."

"Honestly... I don't even know how you passed the test..."