Delving deeper into the sewer, a variety of nauseating odors hit them like a wall.
Who would have thought that beneath the usually clean and tidy streets lay a filthy, chaotic mess of sewage, slowly flowing under the glare of the lights.
Trash of all kinds floated atop the sewage, piling up into small mountains that clogged the drainage pipes.
“Why don’t those sanitation workers clean this up? It’s disgusting…”
“Kong Ling, Jingan City has five million people. Even if they clean every few days, there’s just too much to handle,” Ying Xian said, pinching her nose.
“Up ahead, it looks like there’s a deeper structure. Let’s check it out.”
Ahead was an iron door, with three large characters engraved on it: “Evacuation Shelter.”
“This should be one of Jingan City’s underground shelters. Through here, we can go further down underground. It seems ‘Di Huo’ must be deep beneath this area,” Ciyue said as she tried to push open the iron door, but it wouldn’t budge an inch.
“Sister Ciyue, I’ll do it!” Ye Liu clenched her fist and punched the iron door with all her strength, shattering it.
A cold wind wrapped in dust blew out from inside.
“Let’s go in!”
Inside was a sealed space made up of several long corridors and countless small rooms.
The floor was covered in dust, and the walls were covered with strange graffiti that drowned out some originally red characters that were barely legible.
“Ye Liu, punching so hard—is that because you’re angry about missing the appointment on time?” Xiao Si teased.
“No way! I just want to deal with that aberrant beast quickly and protect the people!” Ye Liu rolled up her sleeves.
“By the way, that’s a Kingdom-Class Aberrant Beast, right? I’ve encountered it up close before with Predecessor Ciyue. Do we really have a way to defeat it in an instant with just the few of us?” Chen Lisi voiced her concerns.
Ciyue walked in front and said, “Don’t worry. With me here, you just need to support from behind. First, let’s find the generator to power the lighting. Bai Lingluo, you have a map, right? Lead us.”
“Got it!” Bai Lingluo was equally enthusiastic.
As the old generator started running, the entire underground space lit up, banishing the darkness.
But along with the rumbling of the generator, roars from the aberrant beasts echoed from further below.
“Has that Di Huo awakened?” Lin Xing asked nervously, gripping her Magical Rod. “Should I teleport you all to a safe place?”
“If Di Huo had awakened, we’d have been notified already. It’s probably just some beasts guarding it. No need to worry—follow the guidance,” Ciyue reassured them.
They arrived at a long staircase leading further down—the source of the beastly sounds.
“I’ll go down first and confirm it’s safe, then call you down,” Ciyue said.
Just as she was about to jump down, Bai Lingluo grabbed her.
“We’re a team. If you’re going, we all go! Sister Ciyue, come down with me.”
Faced with Bai Lingluo’s determined eyes, Ciyue had no choice but to agree.
The moment their feet touched the ground, several Hunter-class Exotic Beasts leapt at them.
“Only a few Knight-Class beasts! Sister Ciyue, leave them to me!”
A flash of light cut the beasts in two.
“Looks like there are quite a few. The terrain is complicated here, so watch out for ambushes,” Ciyue analyzed.
“But we shouldn’t have disturbed the sleeping Kingdom-Class Aberrant Beast, right? Sister Ciyue, your spells are too powerful and might alert it. Let us handle these grunts,” Bai Lingluo stepped forward.
Ciyue couldn’t argue with that.
***
One by one, the eleven others jumped down as well.
“Prepare defenses!” Bai Lingluo ordered the squad.
It had to be said, Bai Lingluo had a natural talent for command. Even though Ciyue was the Team Leader, Bai Lingluo often took charge on her own, and Ciyue didn’t mind.
There were indeed many ambushes hidden in the shadows, but with the squad’s cooperation, they were all wiped out. Soon, the group arrived before an unnatural deep pit.
Ciyue took out the Exceptional Index Meter, and the anomaly reading below was as high as 170 points. Di Huo was beneath.
She could feel the pulsing of its Monster Core, like a mountain breathing. The weight of that mountain made Ciyue struggle to breathe…
“Sister Ciyue, what’s wrong? Should I teleport you back for treatment?” Lin Xing noticed Ciyue’s abnormal state.
“Nothing…” Ciyue steadied herself against the wall. “Just an occupational hazard.”
The bottomless pit led directly to the outer layer of Di Huo.
As they approached, many aberrant beasts crawled out from the depths.
“Be careful, don’t make too much noise!” Ciyue warned her teammates.
“I’ll go,” Ying Xian said.
Under the faint glow of magical flames, she moved like a black thread weaving through the beasts, silently eliminating them one by one. In an instant, many fell into the pit.
“I’m coming too!”
“Me as well!”
Ye Liu and Lin Shuqing plunged into the dark pit.
“Let’s go. I’ll protect you. Miaoke’er, you provide support from behind,” Kong Ling said to Miaoke’er, taking her hand and joining the fight.
Chen Lisi, Lin Xing, and Li Jing stayed behind; their abilities were unsuited for this kind of battle.
“Sister Ciyue, huh? Where did she go?” Lin Xing asked, puzzled. Everyone searched around. Ciyue had just been here moments ago, but now she was nowhere to be found.
“Sister Ciyue?” Bai Lingluo looked around anxiously, unable to find her, growing tense.
“You… come out!”
Ciyue activated her Mind Domain, covering a fifty-meter radius.
A Magic Domain was an S-Class Magical Girl’s unique ability, allowing the release of devastating spells within its space.
“Found you.”
Tianlang stepped out slowly from behind a small room.
White crystals immediately formed a Crystal Prison, trapping Tianlang.
“Hey, hey! This little trick won’t hold me. Are you planning to use your full power here? Want to try?” Tianlang taunted.
“What do you want? What would satisfy you…” Ciyue said helplessly.
“Let me go. Come with me.”
Ciyue dissolved the crystal prison.
“That’s more like it. I’m not ready to fight you yet, or rather—there’s no need.”
“Cut the nonsense. Where exactly do you want to take me?”
“This way.”
Above Tianlang’s head floated an Explosive Crystal. Ciyue could have killed Tianlang instantly if she wanted, but wary of her schemes, she refrained from acting rashly.
Tianlang opened a door. Behind it lay a colossal body wedged between artificial underground structures. It had a long funnel-shaped tail, piercing vertically deeper into the earth.
Di Huo’s outer skin was a translucent thin membrane, glowing with a cyan-blue light. Inside was a sea of green liquid, thick nerves growing through it. The liquid itself emitted a faint glow.
“This is Di Huo’s true form—so beautiful. Inside, it’s a green ocean. If it weren’t for that high-energy reactive liquid, I’d love to swim in there!”
Ciyue stepped closer to the membrane, carefully observing the inner structure. A blazing light shone at the center of the glowing green sea—that must be the aberrant beast’s core.
“You said high-energy reactive liquid? What’s that?”
“Want me to write out its molecular formula? Sorry, I wasn’t good at high school chemistry. I only remember lots of carbon and hydrogen, and a long string of stuff I don’t understand.”
“But I heard from professionals that its full reaction energy is equivalent to 120,000 tons of TNT. Combined with the core’s self-detonation energy, it could level all of Jingan City.”
“You… what!?”
Ciyue looked at the green sea in horror. Something seemed to be swimming inside it. She couldn’t help but think of the aquarium she once took her younger sister to.
“Anyone outside only needs to lightly trigger it, and the core will explode, causing a fierce reaction with the liquid, creating a fireball no less powerful than a nuclear blast.”
“It would instantly vaporize us all. Ciyue, aren’t you scared? I’m trembling just thinking about it,” Tianlang said casually, approaching Ciyue and squeezing her face.
“Hey, are you even listening?” Tianlang pinched her cheeks again.
“Is there any way to deal with it?”
“Oh? You’re asking me for help? I’m flattered.”
“Just tell me.”
“Swim. You can swim, right? Just dive inside and eliminate the aberrant beast’s core early. But be careful—not to use high-energy magic, or the liquid around will react immediately, causing an explosion that’ll blow you sky-high.”
“Is that all?”
“This liquid is highly toxic. Any skin contact causes immediate necrosis, then oxidation of internal organs, and finally dissolution. Exposed to it, you won’t live more than half a second.”
“A magic shield will protect me.”
“Your shield won’t hold. Want to test it? This liquid contains super-heavy atoms that can destroy your Reverse Gravity Shield.”
“I don’t understand the science. I only know that without me, everyone will die…”
“Haha, don’t worry, this is your game. I won’t interfere. So make your choice—either you run now and live by your skill, or you sacrifice yourself for the safety of your comrades.”
“So? Decide!” Tianlang laughed wildly, her face twitching beneath her mask as she spread her arms, touching Di Huo’s soft membrane.”
“Your thinking time is two minutes left. Hurry up and decide~”
[Sorry, Luo Xi.]