Chapter 221
Jiang Tianming was right; the path they had taken to get here twisted and turned so much that even someone with a great sense of direction would struggle to find their way back in the dark.
Qiao Mu, who could see in the darkness, and Zuzong, who was well-adapted to living as a blind person, might manage it, but the problem was they couldn’t fly. If one of them went with Si Zhaohua, it would fall back to the original issue: how would they avoid detection by the natives?
So, as he suggested, it was better to first understand the environment and talk with the natives. If they turned out to be non-hostile, that would be even better, allowing for an easy departure.
However, everyone knew this possibility was slim. Even if the natives truly bore no ill will, they wouldn’t likely let them leave so easily. “Not of our kind, their hearts must be different.” What if they went to call for reinforcements and captured everyone inside?
Not long after, the sound of a door opening came from the entrance, and several tall figures approached. One of them said something in a gibberish language, but due to the language barrier, no one responded, and they barely dared to make a sound.
Seeing this, the speaker turned to a companion and said something else in gibberish. Then, the companion suddenly began to sing—a song lasting less than ten seconds, without lyrics, only melody.
The song didn’t sound like something a human could produce, ethereal and melodious, quite pleasant. But everyone’s focus wasn’t on appreciating the song; they were all shocked that they could understand the other’s meaning through this lyric-less sound.
“Where did you evolve?” Zheng Caige’s song sounded somewhat disdainful; she couldn’t see what survival skills these soft, flimsy creatures could have in a dangerous environment.
For once, everyone answered in unison: “We evolved our brains.”
Zheng Caige: “…”
During the conversation, both sides were subtly probing for information. Su Bei and the others learned that these people had lived in this underground world for many years, using dug-out caves as homes.
This wasn’t the only village, or rather, tribe; there were other tribes as well. Each tribe occupied a large area, with a plaza dug out in the center, surrounded by living quarters. The plazas of different tribes were interconnected, and people would visit each other’s plazas to socialize.
The entire underground world was like an ant colony—complex but orderly.
As for food, their staple was a special edible clay, with side dishes consisting of underground animals and plants.
Despite the lack of sunlight, there were plants that could grow without photosynthesis. Perhaps they weren’t technically plants, but since they weren’t meat or staples, they were called that for now. These were things not found on the surface, which fascinated the visiting group.
Since they weren’t sure if surface people could eat the clay or plants, the group was served guinea pig meat for dinner. With salt for seasoning and the underground people’s practice of cooking food, the taste was actually decent—much better than they had expected, having thought they’d go hungry for days.
Dinner was at the clan leader’s house. Knowing that highly unusual strangers had arrived, wave after wave of underground people came to the clan leader’s doorstep to gawk. Su Bei and the others felt like animals in a zoo, forced to meet many different underground humans. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see anything, so they could only distinguish people by their voices.
Using a bathroom break as an excuse, Su Bei finally got a chance to ask Wu Jin why he had tugged at him earlier. Wu Jin told him that when Cyril mentioned communicating with the underground humans, his emotions briefly spiked with excitement.
This momentary excitement made Wu Jin sense something off, so he wanted to warn Su Bei. Not just Su Bei—he had also quietly warned Jiang Tianming. Whether those two were the most reliable in his mind was debatable, but they were definitely the smartest. If there was a problem, discussing it with them was the right move.
Excitement? Hearing this, Su Bei fell into deep thought. Clearly, Cyril was very eager to interact with these people. But they were ancient people, living underground for ages. He wasn’t a historian or biologist; why would he need to chat with them?
Recalling how vague Cyril had been when explaining these people’s origins, Su Bei raised an eyebrow. Initially, he thought Cyril’s lack of clarity was due to ignorance, but now it seemed there might be more to it.
What exactly about these underground people intrigued him? Was it personal curiosity, or was it something the Black Flash organization was interested in?
If it was the former, there was little to speculate about—who knew why Cyril was fascinated by underground humans? But if it was the latter, the Black Flash organization was likely interested in only two things: longevity or Nightmare Beasts.
This was a manga world, so Su Bei leaned toward the latter. That meant he could dig into the connection between these underground people and those two keywords.
After dinner, the underground humans were accustomed to exercising to aid digestion. With little entertainment underground, like ancient people, exercise was essential. Seeing this, Huangfu Mingzhe had an idea and proposed a friendly match with the underground humans.
Aside from the Black Flash duo, he had the best physical condition. Even without using his Ability, the passive effects of [Five-Clawed Golden Dragon] were still active, so he could hold his own even if the underground humans were strong.
The reason for the match was Huangfu Mingzhe’s foresight to test their strength. Cyril had said these people were also Ability users, but their Abilities manifested externally. As Ability users, their strength shouldn’t be underestimated.
Understanding them now would help prepare for their eventual departure. Though the underground people looked down on the “fragile” Su Bei and others, they were indeed curious about these outsiders and agreed to his request.
At this point, Huangfu Mingzhe made another request. He said that in complete darkness, they couldn’t see anything, making the match unfair. He asked if there was a way for them to see, to ensure a fair competition.
This was his true goal. Since the underground people had someone who could communicate through song, perhaps they also had a way to let them see in the underground world.
Huangfu Mingzhe wasn’t wrong. After learning they needed to see with their eyes, the clan leader was surprised for a moment, then rummaged through his belongings: “We don’t have things like eyes, so I’m not sure what you need. But our ancient records say that when we first came underground, we relied on these to adapt. See if you can use them.”
He handed them something, and Su Bei felt it—it was glasses. Putting them on, light appeared in his vision! With the glasses, it was like a night-vision surveillance perspective. Though still dark overall, they could indeed see.
Seeing was believing, and it was a shock. Su Bei realized why Zuzong and Qiao Mu had been so quiet—facing creatures with such bizarre appearances, it was hard not to be silent.
The surrounding people were humanoid but had evolved significantly beyond that, with four arms and four legs covered in bumpy protrusions like tentacles, and faces eerie enough for a horror movie.
Combined with their bluish-gray skin and white hair, those in the know would call them underground humans, but others might mistake them for ancient tomb corpses!
Their location was a spacious stone cave, unlike the crude mud caves they had imagined. The nearby walls were made of stone, carved with patterns, giving an artistic feel.
Many rooms had items like spatulas, dried meat, and brooms made of stone and straw hanging outside, full of a lived-in atmosphere. Though underground, it wasn’t the primitive society Su Bei and the others had expected but more like an ancient or rural setting.
With glasses that allowed them to see, preparations for Huangfu Mingzhe’s match with the clan leader began. The match was set in the plaza, so items were cleared to avoid damage.
Such excitement was rare in the underground world. Hearing that the Mud Tribe’s clan leader was competing with outsiders, other tribes, already curious about the outsiders’ appearance, couldn’t stay put and flocked to the corridors outside the Mud Tribe’s hall, craning their necks to watch.
Zheng Caige welcomed them in, bringing stone stools for them to sit on.
As these people entered, Su Bei keenly sensed several hostile gazes. But because they were crowded together, he couldn’t pinpoint their sources.
Hostile gazes weren’t surprising. They were outsiders, looking completely different, so being distrusted was normal. In fact, the clan leader’s warm friendliness was what felt strange.
The match began, with no weapons allowed. The clan leader attacked with all four hands, while Huangfu Mingzhe dodged swiftly and landed a punch from the side.
This punch snapped the clan leader out of underestimating Huangfu Mingzhe. If such strength was considered weak, then their entire clan must be weaklings.
Both sides fought seriously, with clear strengths and weaknesses. The clan leader’s advantage was his agile limbs; a single sweep could knock most people down, but with four legs, Huangfu Mingzhe’s single leg couldn’t easily topple him.
Huangfu Mingzhe’s advantages were his strength, speed, and refined combat techniques. He had formal training, unlike the locals who fought on instinct.
Overall, Huangfu Mingzhe had the edge. Just as he was about to win, Wu Mingbai, attuned to social cues, coughed heavily as a reminder.
Fortunately, Huangfu Mingzhe caught the hint, deliberately holding back to end in a draw.
Having proven their strength, the underground people’s attitude warmed considerably. They prepared several four-person rooms and promised to take them to the cave they fell through the next day to see if they could return.
Everything seemed almost too smooth, but regardless of others’ feelings, Su Bei grew wary. He didn’t believe these people would let them leave so easily. Putting himself in their shoes, he wouldn’t let outsiders walk away. Who knew what was up there? What if they brought trouble back or let a tiger loose?
Moreover, the underground people’s reaction after learning their strength wasn’t weak was odd. Shouldn’t they feel alarmed or cautious rather than pleased?
Jiang Tianming shared his concerns. After the underground people left, he paced the room: “I feel their attitude toward us is strange. While we’re not too tired, let’s gather some intel. If possible, we should try to find the original cave ourselves. What do you think?”
The others had no objections, but before they could leave, Lan Subing suddenly noticed something: “Where are Cyril and the others?”
“Cyril and Li Xiang said they wanted to walk around and left earlier,” Qiao Mu replied. She had been the first to notice their departure and had asked about it.
The group didn’t dwell on the two, as they weren’t part of their crew. After discussion, they split into pairs or trios and left the assigned rooms to explore.
Su Bei, Si Zhaohua, and Wu Jin went together. Led by Su Bei, they headed straight to the neighboring tribe. While others aimed to find a way out, Su Bei was after clues.
Earlier, he saw Caige heading this way. They didn’t speak the underground language, so to extract information, they needed Caige. Fortunately, the clan leader hadn’t restricted their movement, so they could roam freely.
Of course, his lack of restriction wasn’t trust in them but confidence in his own people. Jiang Tianming and the others were absolute outsiders in both identity and appearance; no normal underground person would cover for them.
On the way, Su Bei curiously asked Wu Jin: “Do you think your face will still work as intended here?”
Clearly, the underground world’s aesthetics differed drastically from the surface. They had already been criticized for Lan Subing’s skin looking soft and weak, which was a positive trait on the surface.
Si Zhaohua also showed curiosity. Honestly, during the match a few days ago, seeing Wu Jin’s face had stunned him momentarily. He hadn’t expected the usually unremarkable “connected” classmate to have such a breathtakingly beautiful face, and his Ability wasn’t what they thought but the rare [Succubus].
Si Zhaohua, well-versed in knowledge, knew a bit about this Ability. Wu Jin could charm others just with his face, without using his Ability actively. But as Su Bei pointed out, with such different aesthetics, would his Ability still work?
“It should work,” Wu Jin nodded hesitantly. “My [Succubus] Ability has a passive effect… my face is considered beautiful by any species.”
Hearing this, Su Bei was relieved: “Then you’ll handle the questioning later!”
Wu Jin: “…”
Only then did he catch Su Bei’s meaning. Pursing his lips, he said reluctantly, with some difficulty: “I don’t want to… seduce them. It feels… a bit shameful.”
Su Bei gave him a complicated look. Only Wu Jin, with his high moral standards, would think this way. Su Bei wouldn’t have such qualms. But he also knew this was Wu Jin’s personal hang-up, not easily resolved with a few words. Besides, Su Bei wasn’t the type to patiently reason with others.
He looked at Si Zhaohua, signaling him to speak. But Si Zhaohua, a pampered young master, had little experience comforting others. After hesitating, he tentatively asked: “How about I give you 100,000 yuan to help us question them?”
Though it didn’t feel like proper consolation, it was the best he could think of. While he was wealthy, Si Zhaohua knew that for most people, money was the best remedy.
Su Bei: “…”
Wu Jin: “…”
To be fair, 100,000 yuan for questioning sparked Su Bei’s interest. But Wu Jin clearly wasn’t swayed. He gave a brief chuckle, but his eyes still showed reluctance.
With no other choice, Su Bei stepped in, opting for a blunt concept swap: “Your Ability is [Succubus], so using your face to question is just using your Ability’s passive effect. It’s like Huangfu Mingzhe’s Ability, [Five-Clawed Golden Dragon]. He uses the strong body it gives him to fight others—that’s his Ability’s passive effect. You wouldn’t say he’s cheating or that fighting the clan leader is shameful, right?”
“Is… that how it works?” Wu Jin’s face flashed with doubt, but seeing Su Bei’s firm expression, he wavered. He knew Su Bei was talking nonsense, yet he couldn’t refute it and found some logic in it.
Fine, he could never win against Su Bei. Wu Jin sighed, compromising: “What do you want me to ask?”
“Ask about their knowledge of the surface world,” Su Bei said, unsure where the issue lay, giving a broad scope. “Also, express some willingness to stay here long-term.”
The first question was to check if they truly knew nothing about the surface. If they were so trusting of outsiders without any knowledge, that was odd. If they had knowledge but lied earlier, that was even odder.
The second was to probe their intentions. If they were pleased when Wu Jin expressed a desire to stay, it meant they didn’t want them returning, and their promise to find the cave exit tomorrow was likely a lie. If they were displeased, it depended on why.
As for his earlier thought that these underground humans might be linked to Nightmare Beasts or longevity, Su Bei decided not to ask yet. Compared to the Black Flash organization’s schemes, he was more focused on getting out of this place.
“Aren’t you overestimating me?” Wu Jin gave a wry smile, pointing at himself. “I’m no good at questioning. I barely talk normally.”
Due to his face, he’d avoided interacting with others since childhood, let alone being a social butterfly like Su Bei or Zhao Xiaoyu. Even if revealing his face boosted his confidence, he was far from eloquent.
Su Bei had considered this and reassured him: “Si Zhaohua and I will handle the other talk. You just need to ask the key questions at the right moment.”