Chapter 502 - 346: Underground Passage, Massive Rat Tide

Chapter 502: Chapter 346: Underground Passage, Massive Rat Tide

"Business about getting into the city," Wu Liangchen said flatly.

Hearing this, the burly men’s expressions shifted slightly, and they exchanged a glance.

Finally, the burly man stepped aside. "Follow me."

Wu Liangchen and Song Ling’Er walked into the "Rusted Iron" bar.

The light inside was dim, and the air was thick with the mixed stench of alcohol, cheap tobacco, and sweat.

Blaring heavy metal music thundered through the room. A few scantily clad dancers writhed on a small stage, with many grim-faced patrons sitting below.

The burly man led them through the noisy main hall to a relatively quiet private room in the back.

In the private room sat a short, stout middle-aged man in a floral shirt with a thick gold chain around his neck. He was drinking with his arms around two heavily made-up women.

The burly man stepped forward, whispered a few words in his ear, and then retreated to the side. The man then squinted, his lecherous gaze sweeping over Song Ling’Er’s body several times before he finally spoke slowly.

"Want to get into the city?"

"Name your price." Wu Liangchen wasted no time and got straight to the point.

The man laughed. "Big talk. I, Fat Snake, have been here for many years, and this is the first time I’ve met a young man like you."

As he spoke, he lazily held up five fingers.

"Fifty thousand Alliance Points!"

"Fine." Wu Liangchen couldn’t be bothered to haggle. The points he’d seized from Black Stone Town numbered in the millions, so he didn’t care about this amount. He took out a green card and tossed it over.

Fat Snake caught the card, sniffed it, and then said with a satisfied look, "Is this the smell of money? It smells so good."

"Alright, someone will be here to lead you away in a bit," Fat Snake said.

"’Me?’" Wu Liangchen sharply caught the wrongness in that sentence.

"That’s right. Didn’t you want to get into the city? Someone will lead you there soon. As for this little lady... you want to sell her to me for a taste?" Fat Snake laughed.

His words drew a burst of derisive laughter from the surrounding burly men.

Their eyes roamed shamelessly over Song Ling’Er’s body.

But Wu Liangchen didn’t look very angry. He even smiled. "So you meant fifty thousand per person?"

"Clever boy!" Fat Snake said, clapping his hands with a cigarette dangling from his lips.

But in the next instant, his arms suddenly felt light. He looked down and saw that at some unknown point, both of his hands had dropped onto the table.

"AAAAAHHHH!" The dancers beside him screamed at the sight.

The other burly men’s expressions changed drastically. Just as they were about to make a move, they heard Fat Snake shout in a hoarse voice.

"Don’t move! Nobody move!"

Hearing this, the burly men froze, and the dancer clamped a hand over her mouth, not daring to scream again.

Then, Fat Snake, his face pale, looked at Wu Liangchen with reverence and awe.

"So you’re a Lord Martial Cultivator. I was blind before. Please, forgive me!"

Hearing the title "Lord Martial Cultivator," the faces of the burly men all turned deathly pale. Even their hands, gripping their weapons, began to tremble slightly.

Their previous arrogance vanished, replaced by pure fear and apprehension.

Wu Liangchen really had no intention of killing anyone. Otherwise, there would be nothing left standing in the entire bar besides the tables and chairs.

’After all, I still need these people to get into the city.’

He couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on Fat Snake.

People like him were all the same—they only respected power, not virtue. They had to be taught a harsh lesson to learn their place.

"When do we leave?" he asked coldly.

"R-Right now! We’ll leave right now! I’ll arrange for someone immediately!" Fat Snake said hurriedly, his forehead covered in cold sweat, though it was unclear whether it was from the pain or the fear.

But now that both of his hands were gone, he couldn’t even wipe away the sweat.

’Damn it, I’ll have to spend money at the hospital for repairs again. Or maybe I should just get them replaced with mechanical hands.’

’I heard modifying hands into tentacles is the new trend in the city. They say it’s very effective for dealing with women. Maybe I should give it a try?’

Fat Snake mulled it over, not daring to entertain the slightest thought of revenge.

What a joke. Based on the power Wu Liangchen had just displayed, killing him would be easier than crushing a bedbug. How could he possibly get revenge?

As for reporting the situation to his superiors...

For someone like him, who lived a comfortable life off a secret passage into the city, that would be even stupider than seeking death.

So, after agreeing, he immediately started making arrangements.

Soon, a small, wiry man with eyes as quick and alert as a mouse’s walked in. He was the guide responsible for leading the way.

Sent off by a bowing and scraping Fat Snake, Wu Liangchen and Song Ling’Er followed the guide, named Skinny, out the back door of the bar. After a series of twists and turns, they arrived in front of a derelict pipe entrance.

Skinny handed them two simple respiratory masks and two spray cans. "This is rat repellent. There are a lot of those things down there, and they aren’t afraid of people. Spraying this will save you a lot of trouble."

Wu Liangchen took the items. He and Song Ling’Er put on the masks and then sprayed the repellent on themselves, which had a pungent chemical smell.

After they were done spraying, Skinny opened the entrance to the passage, and a rotten stench washed over them.

And that was with the masks on; the smell would have been even more overpowering otherwise.

"Let’s go. We can’t delay. Otherwise, those things will become even more active after dark."

After saying this, Skinny was the first to enter.

Wu Liangchen led Song Ling’Er and followed behind him.

The passage was pitch-black, with only the swaying beam of the headlamp on Skinny’s head visible up ahead.

Underfoot was sticky sludge and unknown liquids. The air was so foul it felt like you could wring water from it.

They walked like this for about ten minutes when suddenly, a dense SKITTERING sound came from up ahead, like thousands of claws scraping against the ground.

Skinny’s face changed. He immediately stopped and whispered urgently, "It’s a rat tide! Quick, get against the wall and don’t move!"

Although it was very dark ahead, Wu Liangchen’s vision was sharp enough to make out some shapes.

Then he saw a sight that made his scalp crawl.

In the passage not far ahead, there was a surging black mass composed entirely of rats!

These rats were enormous, almost the size of house cats. Their eyes glinted with bloodthirsty red light in the darkness, and their fangs were exposed. They seemed completely unafraid of people and were swarming madly toward them!

Even with all his experience, Wu Liangchen couldn’t help but frown at this terrifying scene.

Because all of these rats looked completely abnormal.

Although they weren’t particularly strong individually, with so many of them gathered together, even an elephant would likely be stripped to the bone in an instant.

However, as the rat tide drew near, they seemed to smell the scent of the rat repellent on Wu Liangchen and Song Ling’Er. They stopped restlessly, letting out threatening SQUEAKS, but dared not advance another step.

In the end, the rats skirted around the three of them, surging past like a black tide.

Only after they were completely out of sight did Skinny let out a long sigh of relief and wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Damn, this rat tide is getting bigger and bigger. I really don’t know what we’ll do if this repellent stops working someday!" As he spoke, a worried look crossed his face.

Wu Liangchen asked with some surprise, "Is it always like this down here?"

"Pretty much," Skinny replied, seemingly used to it, as he continued to lead the way.

"Sir, this must be your first time in Zhongjing’s ’Underside,’ right? To tell you the truth, this place is much bigger than the surface!"

"Sewer pipes, abandoned subway lines, air-raid shelters, and fortifications left over from old wars... it’s all layered on top of each other, like a spiderweb. It’s not just mutated rats, there are scarier things, too. I’ve even heard that some people live down here permanently, never having been to the surface."

Skinny lowered his voice, a hint of awe in his tone. "They say that this place, the Underside, is actually another city that can’t see the light of day. Oh, right, you absolutely must not go near those abandoned fortifications and subway stations. Those places are cursed. No one who goes in ever comes out alive. They’re strictly forbidden zones!"

"Thanks." Wu Liangchen had a good impression of Skinny, so he offered his thanks.

"Hehe!" Skinny gave a slightly embarrassed laugh and then said.

"Let’s hurry. Now that the rat tide has just passed, the other creatures won’t dare to show themselves. We should move quickly."

The rest of the journey was indeed uneventful. After about another half an hour, Skinny stopped in front of a rust-covered ladder.

"We’re here. Up there is the West Ninth District, the slums. Be careful when you get up there. It’s not a peaceful place."

"Alright." Wu Liangchen gave Skinny an extra currency card. He left, delighted.

Wu Liangchen then led Song Ling’Er up the ladder, heading straight for the city of Zhongjing.