Preparing to Go Deeper

Night falls.

The Ninth Night.

The rustling sound continued, even more intense than last night.

It came from beneath the ground, seeping up from the soles of your feet, like countless fine threads slowly crawling on the back of Copper Plate.

Lu Yuan sat on a raised wooden board with his eyes closed.

While researching defenses, they also took precautions against the appearance of Ghoul.

By daybreak, Bolen's shouts had alerted half the position.

"It's broken!"

Lu Yuan got up from the wooden plank. The old man had already rushed to the first-floor entrance, leaning on his cane.

Kael followed behind, her face deathly pale.

"The second segment of the Conduction Network has been completely severed." Bolen's voice was urgent and deep.

"It wasn't due to natural aging; it was eroded through from the inner wall, and the entire pipe has cracked open."

Lu Yuan followed the two to the location of the Conduction Network.

The crack is not large.

It is about a hand's length long and has a longitudinal crack along the tube wall.

The copper at the edge of the crack had turned dark brown, and the inner wall was covered with a wet, grayish-green film.

It's still wriggling.

The soil color below the crack is incorrect.

Normal soil is dark brown, dry, and has a sandy feel.

However, within about half a meter directly below the crack, the soil is black and has a greasy sheen on the surface.

I stepped on it with my toe, and it dented, with a grayish-green liquid seeping out from the edges.

"The Contamination have seeped into the soil from inside the pipe." Bolen squatted down beside him, his face grim.

"The thing I spent three days fixing is ruined overnight."

Lu Yuan did not hesitate.

"Cut it off completely at both ends of the pipeline, seal the cut with copper, and discard this section of the pipeline."

Bolen opened his mouth, but in the end he just nodded.

Repairing something that can't be saved is a waste of time.

Kael took out his tools and made a cut on each side of the rift.

The Contamination section of pipe was completely cut off, wrapped in tarpaulin, and thrown into a Copper Powder bin.

The broken part was then plugged with a special cloth wrapped around a piece of copper of roughly the same size, and then Copper Powder was sprinkled on it and pressed down.

And so, the breach was temporarily sealed.

However, the rune coverage in the North Textile District is now missing a piece.

After dealing with the pipeline, Lu Yuan went to inspect the vertical shaft.

Lu Yuan stopped when he reached the cover.

Because this time there was no sound from under the cover.

The rustling sound that was everywhere last night has completely disappeared.

The Copper Powder Ring is still there.

The area of discoloration was about the same as last night and did not expand further.

The grayish-green filaments that had grown out of the gaps in the cover were still there, but they were no longer wriggling.

It looks withered.

Lu Yuan squatted beside the cover and listened for a long time.

There wasn't a sound.

He then walked to two other drainage well covers.

Equally quiet.

The discoloration of the Copper Powder Ring slowed down significantly, and no new Fungal Hyphae grew in the crevices.

All the manhole covers fell silent.

The rustling sound from beneath the ground also disappeared.

The Fungal Hyphae no longer attempt to break through from here.

This is not good news.

Just as Lu Yuan was about to speak, hurried footsteps came from afar.

They were patrolmen sent out by Boer.

A young Night Watcher came running up, breathless.

"The furthest eastern side of North Spinning District... over there at the Old Textile Workshop..."

He bent over and caught his breath.

An old drain outlet has been pushed open.

Lu Yuan's face darkened.

"A grayish-green substance poured out and covered the ground, changing the color of the foundations of three nearby buildings."

Lu Yuan's expression was grim.

The message has been reported.

Clearly, the Night Watcher had not come up with a useful solution.

No wonder the Fungal Hyphae wasn't moving.

It simply stopped pushing its forces towards the position.

Because it found an easier exit.

Moreover, the underground Pipe Network of the entire North Spinning District is as dense as a spider web, with dozens or even hundreds of drainage outlets, inspection wells, and ventilation openings.

It's impossible to seal it all off.

The only solution is still... go back to the Water Collection Chamber and cut off the flow at the source.

"We can only postpone Agnes's situation. First, we need to seal off the Pipe Network."

"Take me there." Lu Yuan picked up his Revolver.

Boer is already assembling a team.

Lu Yuan led three Night Watcher to the east side of the North Spinning District.

The Old Textile Workshop is a somewhat abandoned complex of buildings; there were very few people living here even before the war.

The house was low and made of brick, with broken windows and a roof that had mostly collapsed.

The drainage outlet is located in the northeast corner of the workshop complex.

A square opening, about half a meter in size, should have been covered with Copper Plate.

But the cover plate had broken into several pieces, scattered around.

A grayish-green substance gushed out from the inner wall of the drain and spread outwards along the ground.

The coverage area has a radius of approximately ten meters.

It's a thin layer, like a net slowly unfolding.

The surface has the distinctive gray-green veins of Fungal Hyphae, which are still slowly spreading.

At the foundation of the nearest brick house, the gaps between the bricks have been filled with a grayish-green filamentous substance.

"Try not to run into them," Lu Yuan quickly instructed.

He squatted down and looked at the inside of the drain.

It was pitch black inside, and you could hear very faint wriggling sounds.

It's still being transported out from deep within.

"Burn it up, then seal it with Copper Powder to Isolation the area, and notify Glock."

At Lu Yuan's command, Sandworm Oil was sprayed onto the spreading Fungal Hyphae.

Once the fireproofing is complete, a match is lit.

The green Fungal Hyphae began to curl at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Unfortunately, this thing doesn't seem to be very afraid of Flame.

Because even as the Sandworm Oil that had been adhering to them was almost completely depleted, these Fungal Hyphae were still not completely dead...

Lu Yuan's expression was grim, and he ordered the Night Watcher to sprinkle Copper Powder.

When the Copper Powder was poured in, the edges of the gray-green bacterial layer showed a noticeable shrinkage reaction.

Copper is still useful.

But it only slows down the damage, it cannot eliminate it.

Lu Yuan stared at the dark, gaping drain.

The Fungal Hyphae in the Pipe Network is far smarter than he thought; it's another tough battle ahead.

It was almost noon when we returned to the Alchemy Workshop.

As soon as Lu Yuan went upstairs, he heard a commotion outside.

It wasn't the sound of footsteps.

It was the sound of wheels.

Many wheels.

The heavy sound of crushing gravel on the road came from the south.

Lu Yuan walked to the window.

The convoy.

Four heavy horse-drawn wagons led the way, followed by six military wagons covered with tarpaulins.

The carriage was pulled low, and the axles creaked.

Beneath the canopy of the armored vehicle, one could see neatly arranged figures.

Next to the lead carriage, riding a horse, is Glock.

There were two other people with him.

A figure clad in full silver-white armor, with a winged emblem of Holy Light cast in the center of the breastplate.

Holy Armor Army.

The other was wearing a dark gray standard long coat, with a badge pinned to the collar that Lu Yuan had never seen before—a silver sword on a black background, with a Gear pierced through the blade.

Judging from their appearance, they should also be troops directly under the Imperial command.

The convoy stopped in front of the Alchemy Workshop.

Glock dismounted and nodded to Lu Yuan.

"They've arrived."

The commander of the Holy Armor Army dismounted first.

He was in his early thirties, with a serious expression, and each plate of his silver-white armor was engraved with tiny Holy Light Inscription.

"The Seventh Squad the Holy Armor Army, ordered to reinforce the North Spinning District Defense Zone." His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear. "Company Commander, Heinrich."

The one from the Imperial direct forces also came over.

He was a bit older, around forty, and had a faint old scar on his face.

"Imperial Iron Guard Battalion, Second Detachment." The voice was deeper than Heinrich's. "Detachment Commander, Wolf."

Iron Guard Battalion.

Lu Yuan had seen this organizational structure in the Night Watcher's internal documents.

The special operations forces directly under the Empire are not subject to the command of any local branch and only obey orders from Headquarters.

The fact that the Iron Guard Battalion was transferred here shows that Headquarters is finally taking this seriously.

Glock walked up to Lu Yuan and lowered his voice.

"Fifteen Holy Armor Army and twelve Iron Guard Battalion. Add that to our numbers, and that's enough."

He pulled a list from his pocket and handed it to him.

"Ten canisters of Mithril, five exorcism grenades, ten Holy Light Scroll, two boxes of Copper-Shell Incendiary Bomb, four thousand Silver-Plated Bullet, and a number of potions."

Lu Yuan glanced at the numbers.

This is a completely different concept from the pitiful inventory on the previous front lines.

"That's enough this time." Lu Yuan breathed a rare sigh of relief.

During the unloading, Boer watched as crates of weapons and ammunition were carried down.

"It should have been done sooner..." he muttered to himself.

Lu Yuan didn't say anything; his attention was on something else.

Glock handed over more than just a list.

There was also a copy of the day's newspaper.

The ink smells very strong, and the edges of the paper aren't even completely dry. It was reprinted.

The front page featured a eulogy framed in black.

"Deepest condolences to Baron Klein and three senior officials of the City Hall for their heroic sacrifice in the support operation..."

The wording is very carefully chosen.

"... Baron Klein was killed in action while organizing the transfer of supplies to the Outer City. His accomplices, including Leonhart, Deputy Director of the City Hall's Construction Department; Drake, Head of the Water Department; and Broom, the Outer City liaison officer, also perished in the attack."

"Bronze City will forever remember their sacrifices and contributions."

[Current Status of Bronze City: +1, 9/50]

Lu Yuan finished reading and put the newspaper down.

Baron Klein.

He was most likely among the people who frequented the Outer City's drainage facilities late at night.

Water Supplies Department Supervisor. Outer City Liaison Officer.

All of these positions are directly related to Pipe Network and drainage systems.

"In danger."

A very clean way of putting it.

Just as clean as the last announcement about "unusual underground activities".

It seems Klaus made the move.

Take advantage of the arrival of reinforcements to purge those with dirty hands.

The four corpses were pushed toward the danger, and no one could say anything.

There were further updates in the newspaper.

The City Hall issued a statement expressing its deepest condolences for the four men's deaths and announcing that the positions would be temporarily managed by the Night Watcher Branch until new appointments are made.

The Night Watcher Branch is temporarily under its management.

Klaus regained control of the Outer City's infrastructure.

The maintenance of Pipe Network, drainage systems, and copper structures—things that were originally scattered among various departments of the City Hall —have now all returned to the Night Watcher.

Glock stood to the side, clearly having also read the newspaper.

The two exchanged a glance.

"There's movement from the Tower of Erudition as well," Glock said in a low voice.

"Klaus took this opportunity to renegotiate terms with the people in the tower. The specifics are unclear, but I heard his attitude was much softer than before."

He paused.

"At least in the short term, the Tower of Erudition won't cause us any more trouble."

Lu Yuan folded the newspaper and placed it on the table.

He doesn't care about politics.

But he was very concerned about the consequences of these changes.

Control of the Pipe Network has been regained. The resistance at the Tower of Erudition has decreased.

The support has arrived.

The window is now.

Afternoon.

The second floor of the Alchemy Workshop.

Lu Yuan, Glock, Heinrich, Wolf, and Bolen were gathered around the Pipe Network sketch on the table.

"The target is the Water Collection Chamber," Lu Yuan said, pointing to the location on the sketch.

"The Fungal Hyphae spreads upwards and downwards simultaneously from here; sealing this point cuts off both directions at the same time."

His finger moved to the right side of the Water Collection Chamber.

"This passageway is crucial. Dark green vines are emerging from this direction, having already bypassed the copper frame, and the Fungal Hyphae is most likely related to these vines. The minimum requirement for this mission is to give Bolen room to maneuver."

"Of course, ideally, I'd like us to be able to penetrate deep into the Pipe Network and eradicate the source..."

"I'll Sealing Inscription on the copper frame," Bolen continued. "Half an hour."

Heinrich looked at the sketch.

How many hostile targets are in the Pipe Network?

"Unsure," Lu Yuan continued.

"Last time we went down there, the depths were disturbed and a large number of Ghoul and Face Hound poured out. This time, the Fungal Hyphae has been spreading for so many days, the numbers will only be more."

"But the width of the Pipe Network channel is limited, and the number of people rushing in is also limited. The key is speed. Go in, clear the site, seal off, evacuate—the faster the better."

Wolf, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

"The Iron Guard Battalion is responsible for suppressing the passageways, the Holy Light of the Holy Armor Army is effective against those things, and they are responsible for close-range Protective Barrier around Bolen. You Night Watcher are responsible for outer perimeter security and escape routes."

A very simple division of labor.

"There's one more thing," Lu Yuan said. "There are quite a few Mutation things in the Pipe Network, and they might have changed again now; these things might not exist outside."

Heinrich's brow twitched slightly, but he didn't press the matter.

"When to act?" Wolf asked.

"Tomorrow morning."