Chapter 223: Underground Rail Track
Chapter 223: Underground Rail Track
Time in the underground world synchronized with the surface.
Even though the sun and moon were impossible to see inside Blackwater City.
The Luminous Mushrooms growing on the stone pillars and walls glowed during the day and dimmed at night, creating the natural rhythm of day and night.
When all the Luminous Mushrooms slept, this bustling underground city lit up with scattered points of light.
From afar, it looked uniquely beautiful.
Gao Jing sat on the third-floor balcony of his villa, drinking and enjoying the night view of Blackwater City.
His mind was especially relaxed.
Meow~
Xiao Jiu squeezed out from under the lounge chair, nimbly jumped onto Gao Jing, and nuzzled his chin affectionately.
Gao Jing smiled slightly.
He patted the little one’s head, slowly closed his eyes, and pushed every stray thought out of his mind.
He visualized the divine mountain using the method in the Shan Yue Refining Spirit Art.
In his mind’s ocean, the towering Kunlun suddenly appeared!
The little Jiu curled up in Gao Jing’s arms sensed something. He looked at his master curiously.
He tilted his head, then silently jumped back down to the floor.
The long night had just begun.
The next morning, before the bell struck seven times, Gao Jing arrived at the Blackwater Branch of the Yuancheng Alliance.
He came very early. Kui Bao and the other teammates hadn’t shown up yet.
Gao Jing entered the main hall.
After some inquiries, he learned the wooden token he took from the dark-robed Witchcraft Scholar yesterday was called a Landlord Token. As the name suggested, it was the identity token of a property owner.
The Landlord Token was a low-level Witch Artifact. One token corresponded to one house in the Upper District.
Without the Landlord Token, even if someone sneaked past checkpoint guards and patrols into the Upper District, they couldn’t secretly enter a villa.
Because doing so would trigger the protective Totem Array inside, sounding an alarm and summoning patrol warriors.
Of course, a family might have several or even over a dozen people, including maids and servants.
So, the Landlord Token could issue duplicate child tokens and servant tokens for family members and staff to carry for entering and exiting the district and the residence.
But there was only one main Landlord Token. Losing it would be very troublesome.
This greatly ensured the security of the Upper District.
Landlord Tokens could be freely bought and sold.
However, snatching or finding someone else’s Landlord Token didn’t automatically make one the owner.
Unless the original owner didn’t lodge a complaint!
And since the original owner of the villa Gao Jing stayed in last night now resided in his Storage Space, there was no chance of him complaining.
So, in theory.
Gao Jing, holding the Landlord Token, could openly claim this valuable house as his own!
But it wasn’t entirely without cost.
Though houses in the Upper District had permanent ownership, a 5% land tax was due every year. The amount changed with the current market value. On top of that, there were fees: Totem Array maintenance, city infrastructure, security protection, garbage collection, water supply…
The list was long! Adding all these fees together was no small amount!
If a landlord couldn’t pay the fees on time, even if missing just one Copper Coin.
Their house would be immediately repossessed by the Steward Hall, the Landlord Token voided, and the place auctioned off again!
Gao Jing felt like he’d seen this trick somewhere before.
He checked: the fees for his house this year were already paid. The next payment was due at the start of next year.
Living underground was not easy at all!
Dang! Dang! Dang!
The booming toll of a bronze bell from the city’s clock tower struck seven times.
The whole city woke up fully.
At this moment, Gao Jing met up with Kui Bao and the others at the hall entrance.
Kui Bao was sharp and quick: “Let’s go!”
Led by him, Gao Jing and the other four members went into a structure next to the branch office.
They then descended along a long stairway deep underground.
Luminous Mushrooms lit up inside, so it was bright enough.
But the further down Gao Jing went, the more astonished he felt.
By the time he reached the bottom, he could hardly believe his eyes!
“This is the Underground Passageway.”
Kui Bao noticed Gao Jing’s expression and explained with a grin: “A Spirit-Powered Railcar will arrive soon. Riding it will save us a lot of time getting to Senluo Ruins City.”
Gao Jing nodded.
But inwardly, he was far less calm than he seemed.
The so-called Underground Passageway laid out before him, with its iron rails, was unmistakably an underground train track – a double-track one at that!
Many Adventurers like Kui Bao and his team were already waiting on the platform.
Compared to the underground trains of the Primary World, this Underground Passageway seemed primitive and crude.
But Gao Jing truly hadn’t expected that beneath the surface of this Great World, there already existed a primitive rail transport system.
What lay ahead opened his eyes even wider.
After about four or five minutes, a long Spirit-Powered Railcar came “chug chugging” along.
It stopped right at the platform!
Locomotive, carriages, wheels, and doors on the sides – this so-called Spirit-Powered Railcar wasn’t fundamentally different in structure from the trains Gao Jing knew. It looked much like an old green-striped train.
Except its body was dark grey, the carriage windows were barred grilles without glass, and a locomotive pulled five carriages.
What struck him most was seeing white steam belching from the locomotive!
Could it be powered by coal?
Gao Jing didn’t smell any coal dust, though.
“Quick, get on!” Kui Bao leapt onto the Spirit-Powered Railcar first, urging Gao Jing. “Don’t just stand there!”
Gao Jing snapped out of it and hurriedly followed.
Inside the carriage, it was fairly spacious, fitted with rows of seats.
But empty.
They were the first passengers to board.
Kui Bao had the team sit together. “It’ll take about ten ke-hours to reach Senluo Ruins City. Everyone rest for now. Ask me anything you don’t understand.”
The one-eyed warrior’s gaze landed on Gao Jing. His look clearly labeled Gao Jing a beginner.
And indeed, Gao Jing was a newbie Adventurer.
He never pretended to understand things he didn’t, nor liked to play the know-it-all.
Driven by intense curiosity about the railcar, Gao Jing asked Kui Bao quite a few questions.
Actually, its full name was Spiritual Energy Underground Rail Track Vehicle. The locomotive was actually a large Witch Artifact. It used Spiritual Energy to pull the attached carriages, transporting passengers or goods.
Spirit-Powered Railcars first appeared thousands of years ago. They were the most important transport linking different Abyss Cities.
The current network of Underground Passageways connected thousands of Abyss Cities!
Blackwater City’s Underground Passageway had only been excavated ten years prior, mainly linking Wu Zhi, Iron Furnace Abyssal City, and Sand Lake Abyss City.
Senluo Ruins City, where Kui Bao’s team was headed, was accidentally discovered during work on a new Iron Furnace Abyss City Underground Passageway. A major exploration mission for it was then posted in the Yuancheng Alliance.
The rewards were huge, competition fierce, with many Adventurer teams participating.
As they talked, more and more people boarded. Quickly, they packed the carriages full!
The last Adventurers to get on had to stand; no seats left.