Chapter 303

Chapter 303

Nothing in Neo Seoul was discarded carelessly.

Resources, Mana Stones, even sewage, filth, and trash all entered the resource recovery facility and were recycled.

Except for human corpses, anything that could be recycled went into the resource recovery facility.

Naturally, the resource recovery facility lay deep underground beneath Neo Seoul.

Even if Earth had been ruined, people still did not want facilities they found repulsive to stand where they could see them.

The scale of Neo Seoul’s resource recovery facility was enormous.

That was because it used an entire underground space large enough to contain a gigantic building.

Most trash and sewage were reborn into something useful through the resource recovery facility. Even so, there was still sewage that had to be discarded.

This sewage was discharged into the underground of the slums through the sewers.

Sewage so contaminated that even recycling was impossible seeped deep beneath the slums.

Because of the terrible stench that numbed one’s sense of smell the moment it was inhaled, even the people of the slums avoided going underground if they could help it.

In the slums, there were entrances leading down into the underground sewers.

The entrances were blocked by iron bars as thick as an adult’s forearm.

Because of that, most people did not dare enter the sewers, and even if they could, they had no desire to.

Most people did not know what existed inside the sewers, nor what happened there. They had no interest either.

Even inside the sewers, people lived.

Those who could not even secure a single room in the slums had gone underground in search of a place to live.

At first, there were only a few.

But as time passed, more and more people came down.

Their stories were all different.

People who had killed someone who tormented them. People who had killed to obtain food. People who had never had a choice from the beginning.

People with all kinds of stories gathered in the sewers and grew in number.

They called themselves Crocodiles.

That was because, like crocodiles living beneath a swamp, they were fated to live their entire lives underground beneath Neo Seoul.

Jetoya, a boy with red hair and striking freckles, was also a Crocodile.

As he walked through the stinking sewer, he grumbled,

“Fuck! He tells me to bring back something useful? Is that supposed to make any damn sense?”

The sewage flowing beside him gave off a terrible stench, but he walked without showing any reaction.

He was a Crocodile born here.

He had adapted perfectly to the environment, so a smell at this level had no effect on him at all.

Not only Jetoya, but most of the children born here had severely degenerated sight and smell.

Instead, like bats, their hearing and touch had developed to an extreme degree.

Their sensitive ears did not miss even the smallest sound in the darkness.

Drip! Drip!

The sound of water drops falling from the ceiling reached him.

Exactly once every three seconds, a drop fell.

This was the branching point.

At this point, he turned into the sewer running to the right.

The sewers beneath the slums had been made in the early days of Neo Seoul. But as the Crocodiles gathered one by one and expanded them on their own, they became as complex as an ant nest.

Even the people who had first built the sewers would surely lose their way, wander, and starve to death if they came down again now.

The place was so complicated that even Jetoya, who had been born and raised here, did not know the entire Crocodile Den. But he remembered his own main area of activity with certainty.

One of the ways he found his way was through the speed of the water drops falling from the ceiling.

Strangely, there was not a single place where drops fell at exactly the same speed.

In some places, three drops fell in one second. In others, ten drops fell in one second.

Jetoya remembered all of them and used them to find his way.

Because of that, among the Crocodiles, people said he was the best at finding paths.

Jetoya’s expression was dark as he walked through the dark sewer.

That was because he had failed to secure today’s tribute.

He belonged to the Red Horn Crocodile Crew.

Crew was a generous term. In truth, it was nothing more than a group made by children around Jetoya’s age.

It had begun as orphans banding together to protect themselves, but as time passed, a hierarchy formed even within the crew.

Jetoya’s rank was close to last.

Originally, his rank had not been this low. He was not among the youngest in the crew, and he had been active since the early days of the Red Horn Crocodile Crew.

The problem had begun when Kojiya, a boy who had opposed him at every turn, Awakened.

Kojiya had Awakened as a Grade F martial type.

Grade F was not even treated properly among Awakened, but among children who had not yet fully grown, he was treated as if he were a Grade S Awakened.

In reality, there was no one in the Red Horn Crocodile Crew who could beat him in a fight.

Like that, Kojiya became the leader of the Red Horn Crocodile Crew.

The problem was that from then on, Kojiya began sending Jetoya outside.

It was to keep Jetoya, who could interfere with his dictatorship, in check.

Each time Kojiya sent him outside, he used absurd excuses.

“Something useful? Fuck! There’s no way anything like that exists in the sewers.”

The water flowing through the sewers had turned into sludge.

It was so sticky and clumped together that if one stuck a hand in and pulled it up, it followed like a vine.

Even so, Kojiya had given the order, so Jetoya had to obey.

If he returned without finding some kind of object, merciless violence would be waiting for him. So he had to find anything at all.

Even if it was something useless.

Jetoya finally arrived at his destination.

His destination was a gigantic pool where the sewage flowing out of Neo Seoul gathered first.

It was so large that it resembled a reservoir.

Of course, Jetoya had never seen an actual reservoir.

The pool was filled with sludge in a semi-solid state.

No one living in the Crocodile Den dared come here.

In terms of contamination, this place was the final boss of the Crocodile Den.

Even Awakened who entered this place would have their minds grow hazy in an instant, so much toxic air flowed from the sludge.

After taking off his clothes, Jetoya entered the sludge without the slightest hesitation.

That was Jetoya’s secret.

From birth, he had adapted perfectly to this worst possible environment.

Enough that even the poison of sludge, the very crystallization of filth, had no effect on him.

He swam through the sludge as if it were water.

He searched the bottom thoroughly, but nothing touched his hands.

In the end, he had to leave the sludge without gaining anything.

“Damn it! If I go back like this, I’m going to get beaten to hell. No choice, then.”

Being quick to resign oneself was also a virtue one needed here.

Jetoya sighed, put his clothes back on piece by piece, then headed toward the Red Horn Crocodile Crew’s base.

Because he was returning empty-handed, his steps could only be heavy. But that did not mean he could refuse to go back.

If he was driven out of the Red Horn Crocodile Crew, he would become food for other Crocodiles.

It was sad that he had to endure violence just to avoid dying, but this place had always been like that.

“Haa!”

Jetoya sighed as he almost reached the Red Horn Crocodile base.

“Kraah!”

“S-Spare me.”

From inside, he heard children screaming and begging.

‘What is this?’

Sensing something unusual, Jetoya carefully peeked inside.

‘Gasp!’

The moment he saw the situation inside, he nearly screamed.

A massacre was taking place inside the base.

Men he had never seen before in his life were killing the Red Horn Crocodile Crew members indiscriminately.

Kojiya, who had always boasted of being the leader of the Red Horn Crocodile Crew, already had his head cut off and rolling across the floor.

The men killed the children without hesitation as they talked.

“Fuck! What the hell is this smell?”

“Do you think they’ve ever washed even once in their lives? Of course they stink.”

“The stench has soaked right into their bodies. We can’t even sell them as slaves.”

“What the Spider Queen wanted was pure humans. If we brought her contaminated brats like these, she’d get angry and kill us instead.”

The ones who had invaded the Red Horn Crocodile Crew’s base and were carrying out the massacre were the Helbrin Mercenary Corps.

Those who had survived Zeon’s grasp had gathered near Neo Seoul.

Contrary to Zeon’s expectations, the place they chose as their nest was not the slums, but the underground Crocodile Den.

Among them, the easiest prey was the Red Horn Crocodile Crew’s base.

“Aaah!”

“Spare me, please! I don’t want to die like this.”

The children cried and begged, but the Helbrin Mercenary Corps killed them without blinking an eye.

“Hic!”

Jetoya, who had been secretly watching, hiccupped without realizing it.

He covered his mouth too late, but it was useless.

Even in the extreme chaos, Hassim had heard his hiccup.

“There’s a rat outside.”

The instant he heard that voice, Jetoya began running with all his might.

‘Fuck! Fuck!’

The Awakened of the Helbrin Mercenary Corps were chasing him at terrifying speed.

As expected of human hunters, they followed at frightening speed.

Jetoya realized it.

It was impossible to shake them off underground.

‘I have to go up.’

---

Knock, knock!

At the courteous knocking sound, Zeon opened the door. Then he saw an elf standing before him.

“Lady Borin?”

“I apologize for coming so late, Mr. Zeon!”

The elf who had knocked on the door was Borin.

Zeon frowned and said,

“What brings you here at this hour?”

“May I come inside and explain?”

At Borin’s words, Zeon obediently opened the door.

“Please come in.”

“Thank you.”

“Sit down first.”

“Yes!”

Borin did not refuse and sat in the seat Zeon offered.

Zeon picked up a kettle and said,

“Would you like something to drink?”

“I’m fine.”

At Borin’s refusal, Zeon poured water into his own cup.

“It must be urgent.”

“The truth is, I came shamelessly because I have a favor to ask of you, Mr. Zeon.”

“A favor?”

“Yes!”

Borin bit her lip hard.

Before coming to Zeon’s house, she had worried a great deal.

She was, in name and truth, the captain of the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit.

Her position within the North District was immense.

Although she did not reach Eli, the second-in-command, there was at least nothing in the North District that she could not do if she set her mind to it.

But even for someone like her, Zeon was a burdensome opponent.

That was because she had already been thoroughly defeated by Zeon once, and she had also seen him display terrifying divine might against the monster known as Balrog.

Zeon was like a sandstorm.

A disaster that devastated everything around it once it blew.

The fact that she had to ask such an opponent for help weighed heavily on her. But if not Zeon, there was no one else she could ask.

Zeon looked at Borin with calm eyes.

His gaze weighed on her so heavily that she wanted to turn her head away. But Borin gritted her teeth and forced herself to meet Zeon’s eyes.

After taking a sip of water, Zeon set down the cup.

“So, what is the favor?”

“Please help the North...... District.”

“The North District?”

“Yes! The North District needs your help now, Mr. Zeon.”

“Is it perhaps related to the Spider Queen?”

Zeon had been the one to recognize Romina, the elf who had been beside Eli the Spider Queen, and inform Borin.

Since Borin had come afterward, he guessed it was related to Eli.

Borin nodded and said,

“That’s right. Signs of rebellion from the Spider Queen, Lady Eli, have been detected.”

“Rebellion? That’s quite the scale. But what does that have to do with me?”

“Pardon?”

“This is something the North District should be able to resolve sufficiently on its own. I don’t understand why you would go out of your way to ask me, an outsider.”

Eli was strong.

She possessed power and ability befitting the second-in-command of the North District. But she could not compare to Serian.

That was why she had remained the second-in-command of the North District for over a hundred years. On top of that, Serian had complete control over the North District.

Even if Eli tried plotting a rebellion now, the chance of success was almost nonexistent. That was why Zeon could not understand why Borin had come to him.

Borin said,

“Lady Eli can be sufficiently checked within the North District. The problem is the outsiders she has joined hands with.”

“Outsiders?”

“Yes! She has made contact with outsiders. I want you to find them, Mr. Zeon.”