The notorious madman John H. Arthur

We're almost there!

As the speedboat entered a wide, calm underground body of water and its speed gradually decreased, the cheerful voice of Nightless Sky Fire Apricot rang out.

She turned the bow of the boat around, moving slightly towards Ailan Rainbowlight's side and rear, and slowed the boat down again.

The two ships, which were originally one in front of the other, were now sailing almost side by side.

Seeing the actions of the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, Ailan Rainbowlight also gradually reduced the speed of his ship.

Although the speed has decreased, the noise from the engine and water flow has also been reduced considerably.

Ailan Rainbowlight's shouts clearly drowned out the background noise and came through.

"Your Excellency Huo Ming... have we arrived?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot gestured with one hand. "Right above this area is roughly the boundary between W3 and W2 districts... Where is the hideout of 'Omia Bosen' that you mentioned?"

"It's roughly in the center of W2 District. There used to be a piece of land there that 'Supreme Evolution' bought, but they went bankrupt before they could invest in anything and only an Outpost remained," Ailan recalled. "I'm not entirely sure of the exact coordinates, but it's inside the Zhefeng Snow Mountain."

"Oh—I know, that place is near the Mining District of Divine Power Group and Truth Company, and there are pipelines running through it," Nightless Sky Fire Apricot thought for a moment, seemingly having constructed Map and planned the route. "There's a backwater bay up ahead; let's moor the boat there."

As she spoke, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot turned the boat around and slowly steered it toward a shallow, concave shore.

The landscape here looks more like a natural cave, and there are even many stone pillars formed by sedimentary minerals.

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot precisely stopped the boat between two stone pillars, then turned off the engine and took out a bundle of rope from the storage box under the driver's seat.

"Arthur, Xiao Qin —help me moor the boat."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot threw the bundle of hemp rope toward the stern of the boat, and Qin Siyu reached out and caught it.

"No problem—I'm super good at tying things up!"

"These ships that dock are like horses going into the stable, or people in certain situations; they all need to be tied up and secured with ropes."

As Qin Siyu spoke, she cheerfully wrapped the hemp rope twice around the railing on the side of the boat, tied a slipknot to tighten it, and then tied it to a rock to secure it.

Lin Yu glanced at Qin Siyu, but ultimately decided not to ask what "people in certain situations" meant.

Meanwhile, Ailan, seeing what Nightless Sky Fire Apricot and Qin Siyu did, followed suit, taking out a rope from the storage box and, together with Stiller, tethering the boat to another stone pillar near the shore.

As for why Old Zheng didn't participate, it wasn't because Zheng Jianshen wasn't good at tying knots or anything like that...

It was simply because Old Zheng was seasick; he was leaning against the side of the boat, trying to stay calm and not throw up.

Although Old Zheng was very active in the "Mist Island Realm" during his lifetime, it is well known that although there are many sea areas in the Mist Island Realm, taking a boat is a relatively uncommon mode of transportation.

At the same time...

Although Ailan Rainbowlight was indeed a very good boatman, not at all like someone who had only sailed in the club's closed waters, she even kept a close eye on Nightless Sky Fire Apricot the whole way.

No matter the waterfall with a large drop, the sharp bends with continuous turns, or the upstream sections of the river... Ailan Rainbowlight was not stumped by these complex water conditions.

However... no matter how skilled a boatman is, it's impossible to maintain a very stable and constant speed while passing through the aforementioned waters.

Even though Old Zheng doesn't actually get seasick much, it's hard for him not to feel dizzy from the turbulence.

Moreover, the damp and stuffy air underground will exacerbate this reaction.

Rather than saying...

Although Old Zheng was the only one who showed discomfort, his reaction was normal.

The remaining two are both Native of the Wasteland, their Alchemical Prosthetic and both passionate about "adventure"; one is a former special forces soldier from the Security Department who is actually Artificial Humans; and the other is a female Thief from the Prison Mountain Realm who is a master of light-footed martial arts, capable of scaling walls and rooftops every day...

And Lin Yu.

Those guys who don't get seasick are the abnormal ones.

After the boat was moored, Old Zheng was the last to slowly wade ashore with the help of Stiller.

"Wow... that's really shaky..."

Lin Yu looked at Old Zheng and sighed.

"It's hard to imagine that you were once a 'Tier 3' expert... Your ability development is too extreme, isn't it? Didn't you improve your physical abilities at all?"

Old Zheng, supporting himself against the stone pillar, slowly straightened up. "Actually, there is some... but they are all 'external' [Item], you can't take them with you when you die—didn't I just wipe everything out when I died?"

"Oh, by the way, boss, that hospital gown you're wearing was actually one of my [Item] from when I was alive."

Lin Yu sighed again.

"We still have to crawl through pipes later, are you sure you can handle it...? If not, I'll just put you away for now and let you out when we get there."

"Or you could become the form of a brain, and I could carry you around."

Old Zheng thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, boss..."

He glanced at Ailan Rainbowlight over there. "Isn't there still this 'Adventurer'... You suddenly put me away, it's hard to explain to her... It's best not to reveal too much information to her now. Although this woman isn't very cunning, her stance is what it is, it's better to keep some distance from her."

"I'll try a little longer."

As Old Zheng spoke, he took a few deep breaths, and his complexion looked slightly better.

Stiller, who was standing nearby, chimed in.

"Or... I can carry you on my back."

"Anyway, when I was in the Security Department, I would sometimes carry lazy Noble. Back then, my full set of equipment weighed about the same as yours... My modifications include endurance components, and with the 'Emotional Core' for power, carrying you all the way shouldn't be a problem."

Upon hearing this, Old Zheng quickly waved his hand in refusal.

"I can really walk—don't worry about me!"

To prove that what he said was true, Old Zheng walked around the stone pillar twice.

"I'm just seasick, don't make it sound like I'm injured."

Meanwhile, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot spoke up, "Alright, we should go. Although most of our journey is inside the pipes, the last leg of our journey will definitely be on the surface of W District."

"There won't be any boats available for us then... so we need to hurry—otherwise, it'll be freezing cold in W District at midnight this time of year."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot spoke, Ailan Rainbowlight asked with some curiosity.

"But where is the pipe you mentioned?"

"I don't see the entrance."

Pointing to the thick rock wall in front of her, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot said, "According to my senses... the pipe is behind this."

As he spoke, Ailan Rainbowlight clearly showed a puzzled expression.

Because the rock face is a single, continuous wall, there is absolutely no part that a person could enter.

But...

Before Ailan could ask his question again...

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot reached into her abdomen and pulled out a handheld alchemical cutting machine.

"Buzz--!"

Before anyone could react, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot cut a passage in the rock wall large enough for one person to pass through.

"Crack!"

The stone cut off by the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot fell onto the wet ground and shattered into several large pieces, revealing several parallel metal pipes and the smooth, flat rock face that had been carved out.

"Although the pipeline is in the back, the 'entrance' is actually quite far away... So, instead of taking a long detour, why not just create an 'entrance and exit' directly? Well, that will make it much easier for me to walk around in the future."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot clapped her hands, put the cutting machine away again, and stepped into the gravel pit.

"Truly... the style of the Great Wilderness."

Ailan Rainbowlight murmured in amazement, then followed Nightless Sky Fire Apricot across the breach in the rock wall.

Once inside the pipeline tunnel, the situation becomes much simpler.

The smooth ground even has dedicated Maintenance Tunnel made of metal plates, making it feel like taking a stroll on a park trail.

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot led the way from the front, followed by Qin Siyu, Old Zheng, and Stiller.

Lin Yu was positioned at the very back of the group, sharing the rear with Ailan Rainbowlight.

And this position...

Actually, it was also designed by Lin Yu.

He deliberately slowed his pace and gradually increased the distance between himself and Stiller by about five or six meters, psychologically creating a situation where he and Ailan Rainbowlight were relatively "alone".

And from this position...

Sure enough, they hadn't gone far when Ailan Rainbowlight couldn't contain herself and took the initiative to talk to Lin Yu.

"To be honest... I never noticed before that the Truth Company had someone like you in the Great Wilderness."

"From the people Nightless Sky Huo Ming brought with him this time, I can tell you must be some kind of 'second-in-command'... The other three are all subtly showing you as their leader."

"I always thought that Nightless Sky Huo Ming's most trusted right-hand woman was that girl from the Dongming Family..."

Lin Yu added, "Dongming Shuliu... she is indeed Your Excellency Huo Ming's most capable and trusted assistant."

Ailan Rainbowlight nodded. "Yes, it's her..."

"But now it seems you're just as impressive... It's unbelievable that I've never heard of you before."

Lin Yu tilted his head. "Maybe you've heard of me?"

Ailan Rainbowlight shook his head. "No, because of Nightless Sky Huo Ming, I only remember Dongming Shuliu —well, not really, I only remembered his name after you mentioned it."

"But I'm not actually one of Nightless Sky Huo Ming's subordinates... I've just had some recent collaborations with her," Lin Yu said. "I'm not even really a member of the 'Great Wilderness Development Department'... although I have indeed been quite active in the Great Wilderness."

"So, you may have actually heard of me— Supervisor Arthur."

Upon hearing Lin Yu's account, Ailan Rainbowlight paused slightly in her tracks.

"This is unbelievable... You're right, I really have seen your name before!"

Her tone carried a hint of surprise.

"You're the madman from Truth Company who proposed restarting the 'Fear' project!"