Chapter 50: It Has Begun
Water?
The passage dug by the monster wasn’t as unobstructed as I had thought.
After walking through the dim underground tunnel for about fifteen minutes, a small black pool appeared in the middle of the path ahead.
A broken sewer pipe on the wall was the source of the pool.
Black wastewater poured out steadily, flowing down the wall into the pool.
The pool didn’t fully flood the path but gathered in the low center.
The ground’s seepage limited the pool’s spread, leaving the sides unsubmerged and likely safe to pass.
The black wastewater, stagnant in the sewers for over a century, was already foul.
In this relatively enclosed space, its rotting stench was amplified several times over.
Compared to airborne pollutants, this odor felt more corrosive.
Each breath burned my lungs.
Pinching my nose and breathing through my mouth eased the discomfort.
I cautiously approached the pool.
The murky black water hid the depth of this small pool and any dangers within.
To find out if it was dangerous, I only needed to test it.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a palm-sized ration block.
Since I ate the security team’s energy paste last night, I had plenty left.
These ration blocks, made from mixed grains, were cheap and rough but durable and filling, popular among scavengers and mercenaries.
For me, who endured hunger often in childhood, they were precious food.
Using it for this felt a bit wasteful…
With my sterilized short knife, I cut a small wound between my index finger, letting a few drops of blood drip onto the ration.
After, I quickly wrapped the wound with a trauma patch.
In moments, the blood soaked into the ration, leaving a round, dark red stain.
After a quick check, I tossed the treated ration into the water.
The instant it sank, the pool boiled as if heated.
Bubbles surged from the depths, centered where the ration had gone under.
A rustling sound followed—millions of mutated water worms shrieking in a frenzy to claim the food.
Black, wriggling worms surfaced, their bodies revealed.
The blood’s scent didn’t just attract these knuckle-sized critters.
Amid the frenzy, a mutated water worm over half a meter long suddenly thrashed to the surface.
Its massive size stunned me—for a water worm, it was a colossus.
How long had this thing survived in the sewer pipes?
Watching the giant worm churn on the surface, I didn’t shoot.
These simple-structured mutants were incredibly resilient.
A few bullets likely wouldn’t kill it and might stir the entire pool’s worms.
In emergencies, these aquatic creatures could leap nearly a meter out of the water to attack land-based targets.
Though less effective out of water, their sheer numbers made their bites dangerous.
Since their range was confined to the pool, they posed no threat to me or Han Nianling.
In fact, their presence formed a natural barrier, making Han Nianling’s hiding spot safer.
There was no need to waste precious resources on them.
While the worms focused on the ration, I quickly passed the pool via the left side of the path.
The boiling lasted mere seconds.
The pool returned to dead silence, as if the chaos had never happened.
A single ration wasn’t enough to satisfy these creatures.
I continued groping forward through the long tunnel.
The broken sewer pipe wasn’t the only one.
Other pools formed from leaks were scattered but much smaller than the first.
In this dim, tedious exploration, the tunnel was better lit than the subway, but knowing it was carved by a monster made the oppression hard to shake.
To conserve energy and reduce claw wear, many monsters reused tunnels to avoid digging anew.
Knowing this, I felt the darkness ahead could hide a massive monster at any moment.
With only light weapons, I’d have no chance.
As I worried about the dark tunnel, a light ahead dispelled my fears.
The tunnel’s ceiling had collapsed, burying the path forward.
But it created an exit to the surface.
The light, neither dim nor blinding, spilled into the dark end.
Stepping from darkness into the illuminated area, I felt as if I’d entered another world.
This light… was it morning?
I estimated the distance from the underground to the surface: a drop of six to seven meters.
The rubble pile… seemed stable enough.
I slung my gun over my back and tested the rubble’s likelihood of collapsing.
Then I drew my short knife—not a professional climbing tool, but better than bare hands.
The near-vertical slope made climbing difficult.
Fortunately, the irregularly piled rubble offered many footholds.
It took less effort and time than I’d expected.
This was… Sector 01A?
When my gaze finally emerged above the surface, the scene froze me in place.
Barren—more utterly desolate than any part of the ruined city I’d seen.
My eyes found no trace of civilization’s remains.
The asphalt roads were torn up, replaced by weathered gravel.
Though I hadn’t seen it myself and knew little about it, my heart was certain: this was the JD Ruined City’s core, Sector 01A, the legendary Crater Zone.
Without clear guidance, my gaze drifted involuntarily to a certain direction.
There, it felt like a voice… was calling me…
Suddenly, a figure in my peripheral vision startled me, snapping my mind from the earlier haze.
The Tyrant?!
A familiar black trench coat hung loosely.
A petite figure sat on a half-broken pillar.
A massive scythe rested beside it, its blade’s cold gleam still sharp, untouched by wear.
Her gaze was fixed on the direction I had been staring at, sitting motionless.
What… what do I do?
My limbs froze, unable to move.
Cold sweat soaked my back, my scalp tingling with numbness.
I didn’t dare breathe.
The straight-line distance between us was less than twenty meters.
She didn’t seem to have noticed me.
But with the witch’s abilities, any movement could alert her.
Worse, I was stuck—neither climbing up nor retreating down.
Hanging midair was a grueling test of my stamina.
At this distance, being spotted and killed would take the witch a mere instant.
But my arms, holding my weight, were growing weak…
“Buzz buzz buzz—”
As I faced this dilemma, a strange hum suddenly rang out.
A pale blue light spread across the nearby sky.
Under the sun’s glare, the change was subtle, but for some reason, I noticed it immediately.
At the same time, the dead silence of Sector 01A was broken by roars.
Judging by the sounds, the number of monsters was fewer than during last night’s blue light pillar.
But the psychological weight they carried far surpassed the previous night.
“Hmph… has it begun?”
The Tyrant’s voice carried to my ears on the wind, her words clear but their meaning obscure.
Begun… What had begun?