Monsters in the Tube Building

"Heh heh, twenty people? Only Kai, that professional, is troublesome. The other newcomers are nothing to fear."

"But we should also keep a close eye on the kid who was so close to Qiantiao, the 'Four-Armed Rakshasa,' before. If we get the chance, kill him first to prevent any accidents."

"Yes, Captain Kuntu."

"."

The moment Kai summoned the gang members to deal with the mutation incident, the Steam Brotherhood received the news and quietly ambushed the area around the Tube Building.

The humiliation of fleeing the Elephant Tavern with their tails between their legs last time had already become a laughingstock in the gang circles—a source of ridicule for "Red Hair" Kuntu. He had been too embarrassed to show his face before his peers lately.

Now that Qiantiao was no longer on Green Street, they were preparing to strike again.

Although the city was far safer than the area outside it, mutation incidents still occurred from time to time.

Old Lindun was originally an Ancient Relic. Even after so many years of clearing and excavation, Cursed Objects whose curse traits had not completely dissipated were still occasionally discovered underground.

These things were good stuff for professionals, but to ordinary people, they were nightmares like sources of radiation and could easily trigger mutations.

The air in the city was another matter. Although its Dark Spiritual Energy content was thinner than outside the city, it was still enough to cause mutations in a small number of cases;

People also ate contaminated food and drank polluted water, while Wilderness Hunters returned from hunting in areas with high mutation rates. For all sorts of reasons, nearly every district had several mutation incidents each month.

Recently, however, their frequency seemed to be quietly increasing.

Of course, the most troublesome were professionals who had lost control.

The essence of a "mutation" was that the Dark Spiritual Energy within the body went out of control, destroying a person's will and transforming the body into some grotesque giant or another special form.

After a mutation, the Dark Spiritual Energy within the human body was no longer restricted and would surge rapidly.

As a result, professional who had become monsters would be several times stronger in combat than they had been while alive, making them extremely troublesome.

The Outer City had neither City Guards nor a Public Security Office, so the gangs handled all mutation incidents within their territories.

That was also part of the daily work of the Cross Society members on Green Street.

Not long after the order to assemble was issued, Suren had already arrived at the ruined building.

More than a dozen newcomers had joined recently, replacing the gang members who had been killed in the battle at the headquarters during the previous support operation.

The assembly was highly efficient. Before long, nearly twenty people had gathered in front of the ruined building.

Suren could be considered half a veteran by now. Seeing that almost everyone assembled in front of the ruined building was a "newcomer," he was slightly surprised.

After waiting a short while, Kai counted the people and said, as briskly as ever, "All right, everyone's here. Prepare to depart."

Dealing with mutation incidents was excellent practical training. Only after hearing Sam and the other veterans talk did Suren learn that the captain planned to take the newcomers out for their first taste of real combat.

Everyone mounted their motorcycles. Kai explained the details of the operation and said, "They say many vagrants have gone missing around the Tube Building these past few days. Someone saw bodies that had been gnawed on, and someone else saw a mutated monster."

"It may be that a seal somewhere in a nearby sewer was damaged and a monster escaped. It could also be that a Cursed Object appeared. In any case, our mission is to clear all the basements near the site of the incident at the Tube Building."

"If we're lucky, we might find some ancient Cursed Objects buried underground. Even if we aren't, we should be able to obtain several Cursed Materials. Everyone will get a share of the bonus afterward."

After saying this, he waved his hand. "Let's go. Move out."

Everyone nodded. "Yes, Captain!"

As usual, Suren played the invisible man and said nothing.

Although "mutation incidents" were routine emergency operations for the gangs, that did not mean there were no casualties, especially among inexperienced newcomers.

Suren did not let his guard down in the slightest.

He observed the people in the group and checked his equipment to make sure everything was in order. Only then did he silently board the motorcycle carrying several veterans.

Aside from its three bustling entertainment districts, Green Street also had a cluster of Tube Buildings to the north. It was the "slum" among the poor districts.

That area consisted of Ancient Relic buildings from a thousand years ago. Because some dilapidated Tube Buildings there were still habitable, it had attracted large numbers of homeless people, vagrants, and thieves.

Yet it was a place even gang members were usually unwilling to set foot in. Plague, stench, filth, disorder, and mutations were the bywords of the area.

The people from Green Street arrived at the Tube Building in a grand procession. Someone was already waiting there.

"Captain Kai, you've arrived!"

The speaker was a little old man in hemp clothing, "One-Eye" Bravo. He was also the leader of the thieves in the Green Street area. Dozens of half-grown boys worked under him year-round, making money by learning various thieving techniques.

Those with good talent would also be sent to the gang and trained as professionals.

It was essentially an organization under the Cross Society that supplied personnel.

Kai nodded. He was familiar with the old man, so he skipped the pleasantries. "Old man, where did the incident happen?"

Bravo said, "Follow me."

The little old man led the group through a stretch of ruins.

A thick stench of sewage permeated the air.

Suren's gaze swept over the surroundings from time to time. He saw one sallow, emaciated face after another peering out from the crude shacks, staring at them with curiosity and timidity.

These were the residents of the Tube Buildings.

There were also children of eight or ten, dressed in rags and walking barefoot across the ruins. They followed far behind the group from Green Street, their eyes filled with envy and longing.

There were many poor people like this in the Outer City. No one knew their exact number; in any case, there were a great many of them.

Their lives were as cheap as black rye. A hundred Liso could buy a human life.

Only sewer rats should have been able to survive in such a harsh environment, but these people had stubbornly lived on.

These slum residents were also one of the most important reasons the Inner City had abandoned governing these districts.

The Cross Society occasionally sent over a batch of food.

After all, many members of the gangs had come from here.

At least Captain Kai had.

As he walked, the little old man sighed. "Ah, I don't know what's been happening lately. The monsters in the sewers seem unusually active. A few days ago, someone even said they encountered an impossibly beautiful woman in Snail Alley. Heh heh. In my opinion, it was probably some mutated monster luring people in to eat them. Sure enough, within a few days, all the vagrants in that area had disappeared."

Suren listened from behind, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Beautiful women could be found in the brothels on Green Street, but they absolutely would not appear here.

What kind of mutated monster could transform into a beautiful woman?

This was another blind spot in Suren's knowledge.

Before long, the little old man led the people from Green Street to the northernmost section of the Tube Buildings.

The smell of sewage was even stronger here, as if they were close to the outlets of some pipes.

The little old man pointed to a black Tube Building several hundred meters away and said, "Someone saw a mutated monster enter that wreck of a building before. They become more active when the nighttime fog appears."

"But be careful. There's an Underground Chamber beneath that ruined building. Its depths seem to connect to the underground pipe network, and no one knows what other monsters might be hiding there. Don't go too deep."

After hearing this, Kai waved his hand. "All right, leave the rest to us."

The next part was for the combat personnel.

He racked his gun and then called out to Suren and the others behind him, "Brothers, time to get to work!"

The little old man did not say anything else and stayed where he was.

Everyone put on their Gas Masks and night-vision goggles, then strode into the ruined building.

Suren held the shotgun issued by the gang and racked it with a click.

Compared with pistols, this spread-fire weapon was more suitable for dealing with mutated monsters. Even without Alchemical Bullets, a few more shots could blow a monster to pieces.