Fortunately, since nobody had anything truly valuable in the city, the preparations for departure were made promptly.

"We are supposed to go there… With an underground tunnel?" Enzo mumbled grimly, his earlier optimism gone.

After all, the mere mention of underground tunnels reminded the crew about the lab they had come across recently along with the thousands of disfigured humans in it.

"There is no need to worry. This one is human-made." Michael reassured. Understandably, the population living on Venus had a hard time traversing from one settlement to the next. The hot climate proved an even tougher environment to live in than the freezing blizzards of Neptune.

As a solution, humanity had designed many tunnels leading from one city to the next to ease transport of goods and populace.

In reality that was why nobody had spotted the unknown tunnels that the AIs had created until Michael arrived. Aside from negligence, there were simply too many tunnels all around the planet, sprouting in every direction like veins in the human body. Even if somebody had detected them, they would have probably thought it was a new expedition yet to be completely registered and left it at that.

Of course, due to the Magmorious colossal population, it was a desirable location to visit. And with Aisha's ban of escort androids happening just as Michael's crew was departing, it caused a wave of people willing to migrate to board the metro, making it jam-packed.

Thankfully Michael and his crew were fast enough to find comfortable seats, even though they were cultivators. Nobody wanted to stand for more than 24 hours, as that was the expected travel time.

'It's good that nobody suffers from claustrophobia.' Michael mused, waiting for everyone to get on board, fully expecting arguments to heat up.

"Shit, there is nowhere to sit!"

"Wait! Look there!"

Two men that had been searching for empty spots noticed a few empty seats next to the squad.

Bravely the civilians approached the crew with the promise of finding a free seat. Sadly, their enthusiasm didn't last long. Not only was there some kind of pressure the group emitted. But just taking a peek at Michael, who was seated at the very center, caused goosebumps to rise on their backs.

"Why does it feel dangerous to go there?"

"Forget it, search somewhere else. At worst we will be standing the entire way. We need some exercise anyway…"

Unwilling to risk it, they made distance between themselves and the crew. That scene repeated several times over until the metro departed.

"Quite fortunate we are! For some reason nobody wants to get close to us!" Ruby exclaimed, her tail swinging happily concealed by her cloth, as she gazed at Michael, who sat next to her.

Unsurprisingly, she had been feeling tense with so many people around her in close proximity, making her worry that somebody could look under her hood if they got too close. But her worries proved unfounded. The journey was going to be quite relaxing after all!

Michael chuckled warmly as he patted her on the head. The pressure he was emitting gradually weakened.

"Yes… We are indeed lucky."

Due to their 'fortune', nobody bothered them on the entire journey.

Eventually, as they began to near Magmorious, the metro moved upwards, coming out of underground.

"Watch closely. Not every metro has the privilege of such a view."

True to his words, the vehicle reached the very edge of a mountain, allowing for the world to come on from one side.

"..."

As if free of all tension between them, the passengers stared at the outside world. Where Magmorious, the largest city on Venus, was located. It was so colossal that even with their high altitude, they were barely scraping a part of it.

Yet what they found worthy of note wasn't the city itself but what lay close to it.

"Gods…"

"Is that the true power of nature?"

"Are we really safe being so close to it?"

There a lake calmly resided with glowing pollen rising overhead. As for the lake itself, it was by no means what humans thought of as normal, considering that it was made entirely of lava.

"This is what the outside world has to offer? I wonder what life looks like on other planets." Ruby's eyes sparkled.

While the others stared at the lake in awe, Michael stepped closer, a grimace slowly appearing on his face.

"Boss…" Richard called out to him. "Have I gone truly mad… Or is there really something living there?"

"..."

Michael didn't answer immediately, his gaze observing the edges of the lake. There were numerous military bases and turrets of all kinds located as if waiting for something to rise and challenge them over the land.

'I have been wondering where the Hreh'tar gathering spot could be…' Michael analyzed coldly.

Unlike the aliens up until now, Hreh'tar had many forms. It wouldn't be surprising if some of them were capable of living, perhaps even thriving, in the lake environment. Not to mention that next to them was the capital with half a billion potential prey.

That, coupled with the threatening pressure that Richard spoke about…

'Rogue AIs underneath, an unknown amount of aliens next to us hiding in the lava lake…' Michael's grimace deepened.

With a sigh he glanced at his team. "We better make haste… Otherwise things can turn very ugly, very fast."

Of course, Michael wasn't the only one that felt the hidden presence, everybody nodding in agreement.

As for Ruby, she observed how everybody seemed wary for some reason.

'It must be their power. It allows them to sense things that others cannot.' She thought grimly.

'Regardless of how I look at it, I am quite selfish... Wanting help from their group while I sheepishly stay on the sideline.'

Steeling her resolve, Ruby gripped Michael's hand, breaking him out of his trance.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"Yes, there is." She nodded, her grip tightening. "I am weak, and I don't want to stay weak."

Instinctively her eyes narrowed. mirroring a predator about to enter combat.

"I refuse to be a liability! So please train me, teach me cultivation so that I can fight side by side with you all!"

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