Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Going Deep Underground

These tracks reminded Yang Bo of the scene he had witnessed last time—the Mutants herding creatures.

He had a feeling that the reason these Mutants had survived until now was that the Alliance hadn’t gone all out to wipe them out; otherwise, even he could think of plenty of twisted methods to exterminate them.

Of course, it was also possible that the Mutants possessed unknown means of survival.

The Mecha moved rapidly through the tunnels of the Underworld. A major drawback of this subterranean realm was its unpredictable terrain. Passages often narrowed the deeper one went, creating a high probability of running into dead ends.

This was exactly why Yang Bo chose to follow the tracks—a path with footprints was practically guaranteed not to end in a blind alley.

As for getting lost, he wasn’t worried. He already had a few ideas on how to safely return to the surface. His main goal right now was to screw over the Justice Gang tailing him. Those guys were completely unreasonable. It was just a game, yet they insisted on policing him.

Perhaps influenced by his past life, he absolutely despised these armchair critics who loved to dictate how others should act.

"I knew something fishy was going on," Yang Bo muttered. Less than ten minutes later, he caught a faint, intermittent sound. The frequency was similar to the horn he had heard back in the Celestial Pit.

This meant someone was either herding or luring these creatures.

Yang Bo was well aware that Sound Waves could be used to attract or repel animals. Back on Earth, people often used similar methods for Hunting birds and other wildlife, or to drive away beasts.

"What kind of communication tech does this Mecha game use?" he wondered. "Why does my radar barely work down here, yet the game feed has zero lag or glitches?"

The communication technology of this world amazed him. The planet where the Mecha game took place was God knows how far from his current location, yet the video transmission was flawless. Furthermore, the Underworld heavily scrambled radar detection, but it had absolutely no effect on the comms.

Yang Bo was fast, but the Justice Gang wasn’t slow either. The fact that these guys could pilot Advanced Mechas spoke volumes about their skills. However, operating in the Underworld was tricky, and they couldn’t advance at top speed.

In contrast, the Bird Slaying Gang following further behind seemed incredibly familiar with the subterranean environment, their Mechas moving with fluid grace.

"Boss, Bird Slayer Brother is heading deeper underground. Are we following him?"

"Of course we are! What’s there to be afraid of? If we can outrun those Mutant Creatures, we can certainly outrun the Justice Gang!"

"Exactly! Let’s go. We’ve got ninety thousand viewers watching right now. We’ve already raked in nine million Game Coins, and it’s the kind we can freely cash out."

"Yeah, back in the day, the money we made from our gigs had to be laundered before we could even spend it."

Chatter filled the Bird Slaying Gang’s comms channel.

At the very front, Yang Bo relied on his Sound Wave Control to pinpoint the enemy’s general location. Following the tracks on the ground, he charged straight in that direction.

Suddenly, a dense cluster of biological signals flooded his radar. Ten seconds later, he found himself staring into a massive subterranean cavern teeming with a dense horde of Cave Lizards.

The Cave Lizards were all migrating in one direction. Simultaneously, his radar blared a piercing alarm.

"Haha!" Yang Bo laughed heartily in his room. These Cave Lizards were a goldmine for his Disguise ability!

As for the alarm, it was because the Mutants had spotted him. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed a few Hydrogen Bombs at them, then swiftly piloted his Mecha into a side tunnel.

"ROAR!"

The dozen or so Mutants were initially stunned when they saw Yang Bo’s Mecha burst in. They immediately lunged forward, but upon spotting the Hydrogen Bombs, they roared in fury. Bursting with various colors of Energy Radiance, they flashed forward in hot pursuit of Yang Bo.

But in the next second, several Advanced Mechas appeared. The Justice Gang’s radar had also detected the Mutants. Thinking they had perfectly cornered Bird Slayer Brother, they prepared to blow his Mecha to pieces.

To their surprise, they came face-to-face with a swarm of lunging Mutants. Fortunately, their Advanced Mechas had automated attack systems engaged.

Volleys of Lasers and high-energy particles instantly poured out. The Mutants had been completely blindsided by the sudden appearance of these Advanced Mechas.

RUMBLE!

At that exact moment, the Hydrogen Bombs detonated, shaking the earth and shattering the cavern.

After dropping the Hydrogen Bombs, Yang Bo had ducked into a side tunnel, immediately leaving behind two Shock Wave Bombs before sprinting away.

The ground quaked violently. Even through the remote feed, Yang Bo felt the massive shockwave destabilize his Mecha, practically blasting it down the tunnel.

Disguise +1!

Disguise +1!

Yang Bo simply closed his eyes, as he had completely lost control of his Mecha. It made sense—the shockwave of several Hydrogen Bombs detonating in a relatively sealed space was devastating.

His mind was flooded with endless notifications of Disguise +1.

By the time he managed to regain control, he realized his Mecha had plunged into a raging underground river. He fought against the immense current to stabilize it.

The Mecha’s alarms blared incessantly, indicating dangerous creatures in the water. Yang Bo hurriedly scrambled onto the riverbank.

Looking back at the turbulent water, he spotted swarms of dark shadows. Without hesitation, he tossed a Shock Wave Bomb into the river and made a run for it.

Electric Energy Control +8!

Electric Energy Control +8!

...

The rapid string of notifications left Yang Bo astounded. Was that a school of electric eels just now?

What a pity he didn’t have more bombs left, otherwise... sigh!

"Holy crap," Yang Bo cursed as he checked his map. He was roughly 1,500 meters underground. Had he really tumbled that far?

He marked the coordinates and hurried along. The Disguise +1 notifications were still popping up intermittently.

"Where am I?" Yang Bo looked at the tunnel ahead suspiciously; it looked artificially excavated.

Left or right? He glanced in both directions, wondering which way to go.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe..." he muttered. After pointing, he headed into the left tunnel.

"Worst case scenario, the Mecha gets scrapped," he thought optimistically. Things had already come to this, so what else could he do?

After walking for a bit, his radar reception grew worse and worse, filling him with a sense of uncertainty.

CLINK CLANK! CLINK CLANK!

A rhythmic striking sound drifted into his ears as the interference on his radar intensified.

"A mine?"

Soon, Yang Bo stumbled upon a spacious cavern. It was at least a thousand square meters and over twenty meters high. A sizable group of people was working inside, hammering away at chunks of rock and picking things out from the rubble.

On one side of the rock wall, there was an artificially carved tunnel entrance, from which even more rhythmic hammering could be heard.

Right at that moment, Yang Bo heard a sudden rumbling noise. He turned around and saw a surge of rushing water. The current was fierce, rapidly swelling into a massive deluge.

"Crap, did I collapse an underground reservoir or something?" he muttered, snapping to attention and scrambling for higher ground.

The torrential flood swept into the excavation site. The workers shouted in panic as they scrambled to escape, while long, dark shadows darted rapidly through the water.

"Those electric eels from earlier!" Yang Bo watched from above as the raging waters engulfed the suspected mine. Those who ran too slowly stiffened up the moment the water touched them, collapsing rigidly before being dragged under by the aquatic predators.

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