My Notoriety Spreads Throughout the World-Chapter 525 - 455: Underground Space

They crawled into the slope, moving downwards through a narrow dim passage. The darkness trailing their footsteps gradually receded, and the space underground slowly expanded, with specks of pale purple phosphorescence appearing in view.

In the underground space of the circular colonnade, Xu Xiaoyou and her party rushed forward. The sound of artillery fire gradually faded away, and they temporarily escaped trouble, though the enemy would soon catch up again.

Above, Jiulong Street had already entered a state of full lockdown. War machines, long sealed away, were being continuously deployed onto the battlefield, and the situation was growing more chaotic by the moment.

Xu Xiaoyou’s eyes were somber. She indeed expected that the Grand Guild, faring poorly in the instance world, might retaliate against the Light Chasing Garden during this unauthorized visit for war, but she did not understand how they managed to pinpoint her location. The appearance of those war machines was no mere coincidence; the steel torrent’s advance was directed right at her current position.

Xu Xiaoyou spotted a twin-tailed Disciplinary Officer following the Pilot Army’s formation with her own eyes.

Could it be that they were using that Disciplinary Officer to track her real-time location?

But this violated the rules of the "New Gospel." How precisely did they convince that twin-tailed Disciplinary Officer to aid them?

Could it be that this Disciplinary Officer was somehow ’faulty’?

Previously, they were restricted to Three Tier in Pangard, but in the tournaments, the elite from those Grand Guilds were genuinely Fifth Tier, each capable of unleashing their Divine Gift, resembling untamed tigers.

Nonetheless, she wasn’t entirely unprepared.

Regardless, they needed to leave here first.

The underground network of Jiulong Street was labyrinthine, occupying quite an extensive space, like a gargantuan maze. Support pillars in the shape of dragon columns extended upward, disappearing into the darkness.

Peculiarly shaped energy plants were growing everywhere. Dark purple-black plants, resembling grass carpets, covered every inch of the ground. Vines reached up the grates and enormous metal fan blades to the ceiling. A pale purple mist rolled along the floor. Pink bud-like plants shrank and squirmed slightly as they neared, emitting a faint pink mist, its hallucinatory effect distorting the air.

"They’re contaminated," Cervantes warned.

Meanwhile, he scanned the surroundings, observing the energy plants covering almost the entire underground network, a slight frown on his brow.

The seeds of these plants came from the "Garden." They were a projection of some minor miracle, due to their capacity to produce polluted energy en masse, collectively termed as energy plants. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

These plants require no nutrients, only needing to be ’placed’ somewhere. They would then take root and grow, penetrating even reinforced concrete. The Huaxu Research Institute believed that they connected to the "Garden," like a miniature hourglass opening; however, this hourglass was outwardly directed, periodically erupting with energy in mist form from within the "Garden."

Jiulong Message holds core technology in ’communication,’ while its subsidiary ’Huaxu Energy’ monopolizes most core energy technology, delving deeply into energy plant research, making it the only mega-corporation globally capable of collecting and utilizing this polluted energy.

But, due to their hazardous characteristics, most energy plants are located at Skyline City’s lower levels, in uninhabited areas. Why were so many energy plants planted beneath Jiulong Street?

Cervantes, thinking of something, his eyes flickered. Sancho noticed the change in the young man’s expression. As he approached to inquire, the young man already masked his expression, nodding at him.

The sound of water trickled in the dark, the oppressive atmosphere looming over them. The sweet scent of the pink mist there made one hold their breath instinctively.

Proceeding forward, Xu Xiaoyou observed the dragon columns supporting the dome occasionally lighting up. Upon closer inspection, there were lines of dark purple light flowing upward along vein-like etchings.

Skyline City relied daily on enormous amounts of polluted energy transmitted through networks to every mega-building for regular production, but few knew where the impurities from this energy, once extracted and used, were ultimately discharged.

At this moment, Cervantes, heading the group, paused.

A few girls also halted, and in their field of vision, in an area shrouded by shadows, some ’Invertedman’ mechanical puppets were aimlessly wandering. These puppets had slender bodies, four legs, and two hands, with wide-brimmed hats, standing with one hand, a leg coiled in front of their chests. Unlike the Vengeful Crowd, they were riot-control models produced by Jiulong, relatively outdated.

The red paint on these Invertedmen’s exteriors was heavily chipped. They moved sluggishly, shaking and clattering as parts collided, emitting a puppet-like sound. Transparent wires connected them above, with no one knowing why they appeared here.

"If they sound the alarm, it will reach far, but I have the authority to shut them down," Cervantes said.

Saying this, Cervantes stepped forward, but the next horrifying scene made the young man freeze.

Those Invertedmen slowly turned around, their fronts dated and heavily chipped, but their sides brimming with countless squirming pink buds. Among the entangled vines, they seemed like pairs of eyes fixated on them!

"Chirp—"

A piercing cry—as sharp as a bird’s call—emanated from the Invertedmen’s mouths, instantly spreading afar.

One Invertedman stared fiercely, quivering, and suddenly burst out attacking. Its four legs lashed like scything blades, cutting through the darkness with fierce white gleams.

"Damn! What’s up with these things!" Sancho bellowed, stomping a lunging Invertedman in front of Cervantes away.

The commotion attracted two or three dozen nearby wandering Invertedmen, disturbing the wires, making them rise. Their segmented limbs flailed chaotically mid-air, eerily twisting as they lunged towards the group.

A battle was about to erupt.

Tang Xin, seeing this, didn’t hesitate, chanting to cast buffs for everyone—the dual azure and purple rings unfurling beneath the girls’ feet.

Bai Youyou’s massive hammer morphed, sweeping across, instantly blasting an Invertedman near the blue-haired girl into countless components.

The two exchanged glances, nodding, and efficiently collaborated to clear the first wave of Invertedmen.

Angelina wielded a long spear, and its intent morphed into a storm, engulfing and shredding several Invertedmen. Chichu Chun passed by her side, emerging from the shadows, smashing an Invertedman’s head, triggering Rampage Unrestrained. A wheel of crimson spun through the dark, dismantling creatures wherever it passed.

"Dispose of them as quickly as possible; they’re searching for us. We need to quickly pass through the underground passage," Xu Xiaoyou said.

The commotion here had already attracted distant attention, with swarms of drones and enemy search troops rapidly closing in on their position.

Xu Xiaoyou loaded bullets into her Rose Flower one by one. When a monster approached, she split it with her long whip in half, then lifted her rifle, picking off the twisted figures in the dark one by one. The gunfire tore through the deep shadows, illuminating the girl’s calm face.

The number of monsters shrank visibly with every passing second. Within less than half a minute, they wiped out the majority.

Cervantes and Sancho were stunned by the battle prowess the girls displayed, standing there in awe until the last Invertedman was stomped under Xu Xiaoyou’s foot, its head blasted with a shot, before they reacted.

The girls seemed entirely unworrisome, not needing their protection—instead, appearing as if they were the ones being protected.

Then, a few more Invertedmen emerged from the shadows at the corner. Xu Xiaoyou shot them down, watching the multitude of twisted creatures symbiotically linked with the energy plants surface from the water. She turned to Cervantes:

"It seems like your Disciplinary Officers have some serious internal oversight issues," she remarked.