The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?
Chapter 71 Red Ghost

Chapter 71: Chapter 71 Red Ghost

"This water is disgusting, brothers. Let me stop it for a moment,"

No one responded, and the person continued talking to himself.

Then, Liu Zheng heard a loud bang.

"Bang!!!"

After the explosion, which sounded like an 800mm cannon blast, there was silence again.

He didn’t hear the wind, nor the sound of water anymore.

"Brothers, that was pretty good, wasn’t it? If you think so, give me a like,"

"Don’t bother with the rewards, save your money for something to eat and drink,"

The voice of the person speaking receded into the distance, until it could no longer be heard.

Minutes later, the tree cage deactivated on its own, retreating back underground.

And the French Plane Tree’s arm didn’t reach out again.

Of course, Liu Zheng wasn’t focused on that.

When he saw the scene before him, he couldn’t help but let out the loudest scream of his life.

"Fuck!"

The entire area of the sewer within sight was pitted and uneven, and the dirty river was almost completely drained.

On the ceiling, the ground, and the walls, there were all kinds of bodies.

There were Skinning Monsters, rats, giant insects, and strange creatures with two huge pincers and three compound eyes that looked like a mix between crabs and spiders.

But most of all, there were fish.

Liu Zheng glanced over and saw no less than dozens of them.

He suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and carefully searched with his eyes.

A moment later, he regretfully withdrew his gaze.

There were no giant mouth whales among these fish.

However, Liu Zheng’s mood quickly improved again.

If the quantity isn’t enough, the quality will make up for it; with so many fish, it should be worth at least half a giant mouth whale, right?

And besides, there might be fish of even higher grade than the giant mouth whale among them.

So the question was, with so many fish, how was he going to take them with him?

As he was pondering on this, a strange noise suddenly came from overhead.

Liu Zheng dodged with a swift move and drew his sword.

But soon, his tense muscles relaxed.

It turned out to be the roots of the French Plane Tree burrowing down from the ceiling.

The roots dangled in front of Liu Zheng and then grew a mouth.

"You idiotic human, why are you still here waiting to die?"

The French Plane Tree broadcast its jade-like voice.

"What’s going on?" he asked, frowning.

"The sewers are about to go berserk, if you don’t leave you’ll end up as excrement," the French Plane Tree said.

"Why are they going berserk?"

"Why? If someone stuffed a firecracker in your ass after you farted, wouldn’t you be pissed?" the French Plane Tree said with a sneer.

"Uh..."

Although its metaphor was a bit crude, Liu Zheng indeed understood.

Obviously, the Fire Mage’s parting shot must have ruptured something in the sewer.

"Hurry..."

The French Plane Tree didn’t finish its sentence when the ceiling suddenly closed, cleanly severing the roots.

The broken part of the root fell at Liu Zheng’s feet, like a segment of a dead insect.

"You can’t leave now,"

a ghostly voice said.

"Who?"

Liu Zheng looked in the direction of the voice, on alert.

"A ghost,"

A red shadow floated out of the wall.

It had no face, and its form was extremely vague.

You could only barely make out that it wore a wide-brimmed hat and an overcoat.

"All the passages leading up have been sealed; you can only stay here now,"

the Red Ghost said.

"Why tell me specifically?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"Only when a person truly understands their situation can they make the right choices,"

the Red Ghost said, slowly moving closer.

Although it could have floated, it moved with a heaviness as though weighed down by countless mountains.

"What choices?"

He didn’t back away, instead moving forward to meet it.

"To live or to die,"

the Red Ghost stopped a few steps away from him and then spoke.

Liu Zheng frowned.

He smelled the heavy scent of rust and gunpowder.

"Can you help me?"

he asked.

"Certainly."

The Red Ghost nodded.

"What will it cost me?"

"Understanding that you must give before you receive is a very good quality."

The tone of the Red Ghost seemed somewhat appreciative.

"It’s the very truth of this world."

Not to mention that Liu Zheng was an old hand who had struggled through society, even a young person naive to the ways of the world would deeply understand this point, so long as they managed to survive in this bizarre world.

"Sadly, the truth has always been in the hands of the few."

"And even if someone wishes to spread the truth, they are often stopped by the majority within that minority."

The Red Ghost’s words seemed to carry a deeper meaning.

"Let’s get back to the matter at hand, what do I need to do for you to help me leave the sewer?"

He cut in before the Red Ghost could continue.

"Quite simple, help us generate power."

The Red Ghost, unoffended, spoke bluntly.

"Huh?"

"Our usual electricity comes from hydroelectric power, and now that the water’s stopped, so has the electricity."

"Hence, we need you to help us generate power manually."

The Red Ghost explained.

"I don’t mind pedaling a generator, but doesn’t that seem a bit inefficient? I still have to deliver takeout later."

"Wait, did you just say ’manually power generation’?"

Liu Zheng suddenly realized the issue.

"Of course, how much electricity can you generate just by pedaling with your feet?"

The Red Ghost nodded.

"...Fine, how much do you need?"

He sighed, resigned.

"It depends on the situation. Follow me, the sewer is about to detoxify."

The Red Ghost pointed at the ceiling.

Liu Zheng looked up to see that white tumor-like growths were rapidly forming.

In the blink of an eye, they had grown to the size of fists, densely covering the entire ceiling.

Then, all the white tumors opened their eyes and directed their gaze at Liu Zheng.

"Close your eyes."

The Red Ghost instructed.

He did as he was told and closed his eyes.

The moment he shut his eyes, Liu Zheng saw the Red Ghost pounce towards him.

"Walk forward, and stop when I tell you to, then you can open your eyes."

The voice of the Red Ghost came from above his head.

In this situation, all Liu Zheng could do was to follow its guidance.

As he walked, he counted in his mind.

By the time he reached 653, the Red Ghost finally spoke.

"Stop."

Liu Zheng halted and then opened his eyes.

In front of him was a door resembling the safety vault of a bank.

"Turn the valve to enter."

The Red Ghost instructed.

Liu Zheng did as told, turned the valve, and with a push, entered the door.

"Click."

With the sound of a mechanism locking into place, the safety door closed automatically behind him.

It was pitch-dark inside.

"Paul, turn on the emergency light."

The Red Ghost called out.

"Alright, Teacher."

A little boy’s voice replied.

As the voice dropped, a few dim, greenish lights came on.

Although the light was not bright, Liu Zheng, thanks to his robust constitution, could barely make out the surroundings.

The space was roughly the size of a classroom, with metallic walls all around.

In the middle of the classroom were a dozen desks and chairs, each seat occupied by a child in a school uniform.

The boys wore gray suits and trousers, their heads covered with military caps, and their feet in leather shoes.

The girls were dressed in white lace dresses with colorful tulle flowers in their hair.

Their clothes appeared quite worn but were nonetheless intact.

By appearance, these children seemed to be human.

But Liu Zheng felt something was amiss.

As he drew closer, he finally understood why.

These children were all broken.

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