More Outrageous Things Were Still to Come!

Grasping the rope tightly and kicking open the cover, Mang Ke finally landed on the ground. She quickly pulled out her terminal, turned on the flashlight, and scanned her surroundings. After inhaling the stuffy, polluted air, she said with some surprise:

"Much better than I expected."

"Because Paling is rainy, there are two drainage systems. One is for domestic sewage, and the other is here, specifically for drainage. You should be glad that the weather has been good these past few days. If it rained, this road would be impassable." Feng Xue shrugged, used the iron rod placed against the corner of the wall to push the rope onto the cover, then secured the cover before taking a step.

Mang Ke took two power cores off his waist, carefully held them in his arms, and then said:

"It's precisely because the weather has been good these past few days that we were attacked at this time. If it had been pouring rain, the Gold Knight definitely wouldn't have been able to catch up with our mechs!"

"It can't keep up with the Heavenly Court's propulsion system." Feng Xue curled her lip dismissively, then glanced at the corner ahead, pondered for a moment, and waited until Mang Ke seemed about to ask a question before saying:

"Usually, we can just use this passage to escape from the dorm. There's a small alley at the top, and outside there are Storage Box, internet cafes, and a food street. We usually put our spare clothes in the Storage Box, change at the internet cafe, and then go crazy with the games. But now Ideal Country has definitely sealed off the area around it, so we'll have to go a bit further."

"I'll listen to you." At this point, Mang Ke had no other choice, but after thinking for a moment, she still spoke up:

"Approximately how far is it?"

"I'd conservatively estimate three kilometers? Actually, if possible, I should walk further, but I've never been further. Getting lost in a place like this would be fatal, not to mention the possibility of rain..."

As Feng Xue muttered something, she dodged a dead rat. Hearing this, Mang Ke relaxed a little, but to ease the pressure of the dark underground space, she couldn't help but continue the conversation with Feng Xue.

Where do we go next?

"I don't know, but even Ideal Country couldn't possibly bring all its troops to blockade the capital of Palin. With only a few hundred troops stationed in the capital, plus the Silver Knight mech force, blocking one district would be the limit. As long as communication isn't activated, we shouldn't be discovered immediately. After that, it's all down to luck. Ugh, I shouldn't have been so impulsive! It's all because of the occupational hazard I developed back in the Bailin Country!"

"What kind of occupational hazard?" Mang Ke was a little sensitive to the word "occupation," but since Feng Xue had already brought it up, it probably wasn't a big deal. Feng Xue didn't hide anything and answered frankly:

"I worked at the Mecha Factory for two years. The senior technician said I was skilled, so he introduced me to a shady job."

"What kind of shady business?" Mang Ke a typical academic technician, and she had the curiosity of a rich young lady about low-level thugs when it came to this kind of unorthodox approach.

Feng Xue, however, spoke as if it were no big deal:

"Actually, it can't be considered illegal work. In the Bailin Country, the control over mechs isn't very strict because of the difficulty of piloting them. Also, I don't know if you understand Electromagnetic Muscle Bundle, but basically, like fighter jet engines, they need to be scrapped after a few uses. So there are quite a few 'ghouls' there..."

"Ghoul?" Mang Ke unexpectedly, a term that sounded more like something Bailang would use suddenly popped out.

Despite her doubts, Feng Xue spared no effort in refining her character.

"Not the kind of undead creatures like Bailang, but a metaphor. Simply put, it's about scavenging scrap, abandoned, or even stolen or robbed parts from the battlefield or other places. Many mecha factories have a business of receiving these 'scrap metals.' The shady work I'm talking about is dismantling those things and finding usable parts... Some teams even hire people like me to go 'scavenging' with them, since it's much easier to dismantle valuable parts on-site than to steal the entire mecha home..."

"This poses a significant safety hazard. The durability issues with Electromagnetic Muscle Bundle aren't without reason. Even if it looks fine on the surface, it could suddenly malfunction..." Mang Ke frowned, criticizing this approach from a technician's perspective. Feng Xue, however, explained nonchalantly:

"It's not like they're refurbishing and reselling them. Besides, it's not just the muscle bundles that are being sold, but also the Onboard Computer, power pipes, master-slave system components, and so on. The buyers of these things are all sorts of underground casinos... Well, there aren't any here in Palin, but in Bailin Country, there's a sport called 'Iron Armor Steel Fist,' which is a fighting game where people use their own assembled mechs. The sudden failure of the muscle bundles is also part of the gambling."

"What a barbaric gamble!" Although Mang Ke had heard of the "barbarity" of the Bailin Country long ago, hearing about this kind of gambling made him realize that his stereotypes might not be wrong after all.

"Never mind how barbaric it is, at least this thing is quite profitable. If I hadn't done this before, you and your Power Reactor would be 'spoofed' by now."

Feng Xue objected to Mang Ke's statement, but Mang Ke did not argue; instead, he changed the subject.

"So, what's your situation? Why are you working odd jobs at such a young age?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Mang Ke, a woman with a science and engineering background, realized that the topic was inappropriate. Would any normal family let their child go out to work at the age of eight?

However, Feng Xue appeared quite calm, speaking in a tone as if she were discussing where to eat that day:

"I've never seen what my parents look like in my entire life. I opened my eyes to find myself in Garbage Dump. I survived by scavenging and collecting corpses. As I grew older, I realized that living in a garbage dump all the time wasn't sustainable, so I wanted to find something to do. But the first time I went out, I ended up in prison. After finally getting out, I started struggling to make a living..."

"Your experience is truly impressive..." Listening to Feng Xue's completely truthful resume, Mang Ke felt that it was no wonder that such a person had survived and was destined for success. At the same time, she was also considering whether, if they were lucky enough to survive this time, she should take her graduate students to a Mecha Factory to experience life there.

"I'd rather not have such a rich life, but fate always makes me fight." Feng Xue spoke her true feelings, but then suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"We're here, this is it. I'll go up first. You stay away from the well opening. If I don't call you in two minutes, run inside immediately."

"Ah, oh!"

Before Mang Ke could say anything more, he saw Feng Xue nimbly grab the handle and climb up. As the manhole cover was pushed open, a strong sense of tension welled up in his heart.

However, soon after, with the shout of "No problem, come on up!", Mang Ke finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ignoring whether it was a trap or not, he fastened his waist pack and climbed up...