The Sewers

The White Eagle Federation, as a nation established upon the New Continent, completely avoided all the drawbacks of Old Continent cities in its initial design.

For instance, beneath every city and residential district lies a vast and efficient sewer system, effectively preventing the embarrassing situation of sewage flooding the streets during rainy weather, which was common in the Old Continent.

Of course, no matter how excellent a system is, it is bound to develop issues after long-term operation, necessitating manual maintenance.

In reality, the section Sean is responsible for is neither particularly intense nor difficult; had it not been for the recent string of incidents, it would never have fallen to him.

"I have to say, Sean, you really found yourself a 'great' job!"

Down in the sewer, Sulu was dressed in a full set of work gear, wearing a thick mask over his mouth. Even so, he could still feel the nauseating stench rushing toward him, leaving his face pale.

"Ugh... blergh..."

Beside him, Sean had already removed his mask and was retching violently into a gutter. "I swear... I am never taking a job like this again!"

"If you do, I'll give you a solid punch to the head!"

Sulu carried a lantern, trying his best to avoid the filth, but his tall boots inevitably became coated in large clumps of black, unidentified sludge.

There might be toxic gas accumulation in the sewers, but the previous crews had already served as pioneers for them with their own personal experiences.

Sulu shouldered his shovel and arrived at a blockage point, where piles of domestic waste had nearly completely obstructed the path, causing a large amount of sewage to overflow. "Time to work!"

No matter where one is, work must be done with one's feet firmly on the ground.

Sulu swung his shovel down hard, scooped up a large chunk of trash, and tossed it into a nearby woven bag.

"Ugh... let me puke a little longer..."

Sean leaned against the wall, his actions leaving Sulu speechless.

While working, Sulu remained fully alert, keeping a close watch on his surroundings; he was quite interested in those campus urban legends.

However, after a full day of work, aside from startling a large number of rats and cockroaches, he had gained absolutely nothing.

It seems the so-called weeping of the vengeful spirit is nothing more than a delusion... Perhaps that sanitation worker was bitten by a large rat or a snake?

Sulu felt speechless about this.

He had thought this might be a chance to come into contact with the mysterious side, but who knew he would end up as a literal dung-scooper.

Seven Gods, are You playing with me?

Facts proved that human adaptability is extremely strong; after three days of work, even Sean had gradually grown accustomed to the smell of the sewers and was swinging his shovel with vigor.

Once he started working, he was actually quite diligent, which was the reason Sulu hadn't cut ties with him yet.

"Hmm, looking at the progress, we might not need ten days; we could finish in seven or eight!"

During a break, Sulu observed the area and reached a conclusion.

"Hey, that's all thanks to you, brother. I won't forget your help!" Sean said sincerely.

He had seen for himself that Sulu had done the work of two men over the past few days.

"Mm."

Sulu responded nonchalantly; with his current strength, doing this was naturally very easy.

But for some reason, he had felt that something was off since just a moment ago.

"Indeed... something is wrong. It's too quiet!"

He thought for a moment and finally realized it.

Sewers are a favorite haunt for rats; even after being disturbed for three days, they would usually appear from time to time, giving people a fright.

But today, from the start of work until now, there had been no such "surprises"! Anything out of the ordinary definitely meant there was a problem!

"Sean, do you feel like there are fewer rats today?"

Sulu leaned forward slightly, clutching his shovel, and voiced his suspicion.

"Rats? Those damn things, it would be better if they were all dead..." Sean replied, looking depressed.

Just yesterday, a nest of rats had fallen from above and landed right on him, and one had nearly crawled into his clothes. Just thinking about that nightmare made him shiver all over.

"Alright then!"

Sulu's vigilance deepened.

Although he also hated rats—they were dirty, disgusting, and didn't provide experience points—they were still better than unknown danger. "Let's be more careful today!"

"No problem! No matter what kind of monster it is, one swing of my shovel and it'll be dead!"

Sean had rested enough; he picked up his shovel and struck a spirited pose.

Whoosh!

In that very instant, a sudden change occurred!

A black shadow the size of a basketball suddenly emerged from the darkness, two points of scarlet light stabbing straight toward Sean's lower leg!

"Oh! Holy shit! What is that?"

Sean swung his shovel with a violent strike, knocking the black shadow away.

Snap!

The dark shadow landed against the circular wall, tumbled down, and shook its body as if completely unharmed, squeaking at Sean.

"Is that... a rat?!"

Sean froze.

The dark shadow was unmistakably a rat two or three times the size of a normal one, curled up to the size of a basketball, dragging a long tail and baring sharp teeth and black claws.

Most crucially, its eyes glowed with a scarlet light.

"A mutated rat?!"

Sulu let out a long breath.

As long as he knew what the opponent was, it was easier to handle.

"So, the so-called campus urban legends are partially true!"

Sean took a deep breath and gripped his shovel like a baseball bat: "It's just a big rat..."

No sooner had he finished speaking.

Squeak! Squeak!

In the darkness, a multitude of scarlet dots suddenly appeared, accompanied by the distinct chittering of rats.

"Oh! Holy shit!"

Sean's face fell instantly: "There are so many!"

"Tsk!"

Sulu counted them; there were at least ten mutated rats in the darkness, and even he felt the urge to retreat: "This is a bit troublesome. Let's go!"

"Agreed!"

Sean nodded hurriedly and took several steps back.

But his retreat immediately triggered a chain reaction, and the mutated rats in the darkness rushed forward at once.

"Hah!"

Sean swung the shovel violently, striking a mutated rat square on and sending it flying.

But it was useless!

The rat that had been knocked away simply rolled a few times and stood back up, while even more mutated rats broke through the defensive line and reached Sean's feet.

With their sharp teeth, they would certainly be able to bite through Sean's leather boots and protective suit!

"Crane Style!"

At the critical moment, a figure lunged forward, a pickaxe appearing in his hand as he swung it with force.

Thwack!

The sharp point of the pickaxe pierced the belly of a mutated rat, nearly skewering it, before he flicked it into the air.

"Squeak!"

The mutated rat's shriek echoed through the sewer, startling the others.

"Sulu... you saved me!"

Sean finally let out a long breath, then began to curse: "That damn profiteer! If I'd known there were so many giant rats in the sewer, I wouldn't have come here even if I were dead!"

"Using a pickaxe is more effective against them!"

Sulu tossed over another pickaxe, a flash of joy in his eyes as a light screen popped up on his status panel:

[XP+10]