Gamers of the Underworld

The medium-sized Beetlemon ambled and made “Pa ta pa ta” sounds as it moved towards its destination.

A Gnome called Bond sat in the passenger’s seat, holding a map as he guided the driver.

A “Pom” sound came from his back.

The entire contingent of Beetlemons stopped, and a creature shouted, “A creature fell down!”

Bond frowned and threw the map onto the seat as he stood up and proceeded to the back of the Beetlemon.

“How did a creature fall down?”

“Didn’t he use a safety belt?”

“I don’t know, perhaps he was careless?”

Bond ignored the Winterfell intelligence officers who were whispering to each other. He opened the door of the carriage that was on the Beetlemon’s back and looked at the convoy behind. A creature had gone down to assist the victim, who was a Gnome lying motionless on the ground with unknown green symbols above his head.

It was a warrior from Eternal Kingdom.

Bond quickly descended the rope ladder, and a Gnome walked over to him and said, “Captain Bond, a warrior from Eternal Kingdom fell from the back of the Beetlemon after fainting!”

Bond nodded. He was feeling impatient. It was only the third day of the journey from Winterfell, and he had encountered no less than ten such incidents.

These incidents usually occurred at night.

They weren’t the only things that troubled him either.

When Bond passed by the Beetlemon carrying the gamers of Eternal Kingdom, a Gnome peeped out and asked, “007! How many more days before we reach our destination?”

“Shh!”

Bond gestured for the Gnome to keep quiet, frowning while he proceeded to the location of the accident.

Such questions from Eternal Kingdom’s warriors, which had been asked countless times, were bugging him. These creatures weren’t here to perform military surveillance but for a tour!

They chatted, sang, played cards, and even fought among themselves. Then, occasionally, they would shout, “How many more days before we reach our destination?”

He had never seen creatures doing such stuff. If he wasn’t sure that they were helpers from Eternal Kingdom, he would have thought they were spies sent to sabotage the mission. He had never encountered such unprofessional surveillance scouts!

Though he was full of complaints, Bond had received Dungeon Lord Nicholas’ order to protect these Gnomes and Houndhead Men under all circumstances, even if they had to sacrifice themselves!

Bond felt that Nicholas was fawning too much on Eternal Kingdom and was unhappy. However, an order was an order, and his job was to obey orders.

If he knew what these creatures were like, he wouldn’t have agreed to escort them!

Bond was indignant, but he made himself walk to the accident location.

The Gnome that had fallen to the floor had landed on his head, which was now bleeding.

The accompanying doctor examined the bleeding Gnome and shook his head.

Bond sighed. Before they reached the destination, they already had casualties, giving him mixed feelings about the mission.

“Bury him and store his belongings. We’ll bring them back when we return to Winterfell,” Bond ordered.

“No, Captain Bond, he’s not dead…” The doctor was perplexed. “He only has bruises. The pool of blood came from my menstrual period. Since I was trying to save him, I didn’t stop it. But that’s not important. This Gnome is very strange, as there’s no sign of head trauma. According to eyewitnesses, he slipped down the Beetlemon’s body and landed on his buttocks. Logically speaking, he shouldn’t have fainted…”

“Is it an illness?”

“Hmm, it’s possible. The strange thing is that every time they have slipped down and fainted, they have exhibited the same symptoms.”

The doctor pointed at the Beetlemon that was carrying the gamers. A large number of gamers were sprawled on the Beetlemon’s body as they looked over. They weren’t worried at all and looked like they were enjoying a show.

Bond felt bewildered, but he couldn’t do anything, so he let the doctor carry the fainted Gnome up the Beetlemon. They didn’t have much time and needed to make full use of tonight, when the Ogres were sound asleep, to conduct the first wave of surveillance!

When he passed by that Beetlemon again, the gamers shouted, “007! When are we arriving at the destination?”

“Shh!”

…

In a dark prison cell, the sound of snoring reverberated.

Low clicking sounds were heard as the wounded Hoodlum used a metal strip to pick a lock.

He was very familiar with this lock. Within 30 seconds, he would be able to pick the lock if he wanted.

As for his injuries, he was beaten by the bandits, but the wounds had healed with the help of Magical Potions and Mana. Now, the wounds on his body were inflicted by the prison guards.

They flogged him because he refused to get out of bed and was lazy during work.

Though he had to get up at a fixed time, Hoodlum was unable to do so as he had to eat his breakfast first, leaving him at a loss.

As for being lazy at work, Hoodlum couldn’t be blamed since he had to take his meals and go to the bathroom. Other times, his friends would shout for him to join them at their barbecue, which was too good to be missed.

Sometimes, he would get offline before it was time for the slaves to rest, so the guards would see a Human collapsing to the ground and think he was slacking!

The guards were quite restrained, so they didn’t beat Hoodlum to death. However, they flogged him until his flesh tore open. The guards found it very weird that no matter how they beat him, he wouldn’t stand up and work! It didn’t matter who flogged him!

That made the guards less furious.

The guards were badly shaken by Hoodlum’s perseverance, and even the slaves who were locked up in the cages were full of respect for him.

He was their role model, as even if he was shackled and being viciously tortured, he didn’t stop resisting. If he didn’t want to work, he wouldn’t work. If he didn’t want to get out of bed, he wouldn’t wake up. Even if he was on the verge of death, he didn’t move an inch. That was a real man!

Hoodlum didn’t know that he had become their hero by word of mouth. Instead, he was more concerned about new Plots. If there were no new Plots, he had to create one—for example, a jailbreak.

The guards in the room were asleep. Hoodlum opened his cage discreetly. He didn’t have to keep a low profile like a cat since his spine was so badly deformed that he couldn’t straighten his back.

He opened the prison door and paused to listen for sounds. A guard turned over and muttered in his dream before it was quiet again.

Hoodlum sighed in relief. It was his chance to break out of jail.

When he was about to leave, he heard a soft voice.

“Hi.”

Hoodlum looked in the direction of the voice and saw an imprisoned elder with a white beard, whose eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s. Hoodlum felt his heart tremble. This elder wasn’t as simple as he looked!

“Little lad, I’ve been watching you,” the elder said calmly as he looked at Hoodlum.

“Elder, what mission do you have for me?” Hoodlum walked silently to him and asked with anticipation.

“Mission? No, you have to understand what you want.”

“I want to become stronger! I want powerful equipment to make me invincible! I’m a Natural Fighter!” Hoodlum shouted in agitation.

The elder was dumbfounded, not expecting Hoodlum to have such ambitions. Didn’t most people want to be rich or find love?

The elder coughed a few times. “Then you have to escape from the prison. Do you have a detailed plan?” the elder asked.

“Ah?”

“Don’t be mistaken, I’m a powerful hermit skilled in combat. Due to some reasons, I stayed here voluntarily. I’ve been waiting for a promising lad like you. If you are able to escape and bring me with you, I’m willing to teach you what I know…”

Hoodlum’s eyes lit up. At this instant, a guard shouted, “What are you doing? Are you escaping from jail?”

Hoodlum was frightened. He turned his head and saw a guard getting up in a hurry.

Though he wanted to escape, his leg injuries weren’t healed. Even if he wanted to escape, he wasn’t able to, especially with his deformed spine. He wasn’t suited for combat.

The guard saw Hoodlum outside his cage and raised the alarm. The other guards in the room got up and charged at Hoodlum, beating him until he was seriously wounded.

Hoodlum got offline halfway through the beating. He was quite familiar with the experience. After being beaten, he would be treated and wouldn’t be able to move for half a day. He didn’t want to go online, look at the cage’s metal grille, and count the number of sheep.