Roadmap to the Boundless Sky-Chapter 174Book 3, : Lower City District

The car drove down the tunnel made of the same old cement everywhere. Chen Chuan and Lao Zhan talked sporadically, while Chen Chuan took some time to remember what he knew about the lower city district.

When Jibei Road’s Central City was being built, the upper city district and lower city district were built at the same time, but for some reason, the lower city district’s construction wasn’t finished. It was then abandoned at the end.

Thirty years ago, the last management and maintenance crew left the lower city district, and the place became the gathering place for gangs and people with no citizenship.

The lower city district had huge streets and a complex network of tunnels and roads. The roads led everywhere and were connected to various streets. Some even led to the upper city district. While it was impossible to accurately calculate the population here, it was highly likely that it was no lower than in the upper city district.

Since Central City’s government had given up on the lower city district, all sorts of experimental implants, forbidden medicine, and dangerous items were transported to the lower city district every day. It could be said to be the free testing grounds for the companies.

It was also the place with the most cultists and rebels. A large number of illegal secret religions and cultists gathered here. There were even mutually independent resistance groups hidden in this place along with plenty of gangs conducting illegal businesses.

The ritual materials Qi Gao had bought came from the lower city district.

A number of martial artists with bounties on their heads sometimes ran from the upper city district to hide here. In the past, the Resolution Department thought about sending the sponsored students to the lower city district to capture them, but Ni Qianqian had yelled at them so much that they had to cancel the idea.

When Wei Wusheng went into hiding in the beginning, the Resolution Department had suspected him to have run into the lower city district too. That was why the place gave Chen Chuan the impression that it was chaotic, lawless, corrupt, and crazy.

The car jolted as it ran over stones. Chen Chuan’s thoughts came to a screeching halt, and he saw that Lao Zhan had driven into another tunnel heading down.

After ten minutes or so, the space around them started to widen. The tunnel ceiling went up, and it continued increasing until it was around thirty meters tall.

Once in a while, they saw huge tube-shaped glass covers positioned against the wall. They had dark green plants giving out a fluorescent light. Some of those plants were attached to the ceiling as well, making them look like crossbeams. The plants provided the underground space with ample light.

But some of the glass tubes were already shattered, and even the pillars serving as the foundations were cracked. They had fallen on the road with some metal support frames. The plants grew outward wantonly until they occupied parts of the road. Hence, while the underground space was bright, the fluorescent light was also scattered everywhere.

The glass tubes on the ceiling didn’t escape unscathed either. Chen Chuan would even say that more of them were damaged compared to the glass tubes attached to the walls. However, it seemed like the plants had formed their own structures after being stuck to the ceiling for so long. Quite a number of vines hung down like curtains.

Lao Zhan had to drive through the small gaps between the vines. Chen Chuan even watched him go over a “bridge” formed from collapsed pillars and plants.

He checked his Realm Pass and learned that the plant was known as the Sun Vine. It was a product from Divine Botanics of the Linatrox Union. Aside from the Sun Vines, they had also worked with the Great Shun Republic to develop a large amount of cash crops and food crops.

However, it seemed like this company got into a huge conflict with the Great Shun Republic later and was chased out, which led to them not managing or maintaining their plants and facilities. In the end, they turned into dilapidated husks of their former selves.

But the plants continued growing and got used to the environment here. They even provided a cheap source of light for the main areas in the lower city district.

Chen Chuan checked the original construction plan and thought that perhaps the Great Shun Republic had been thinking about building another defense circle underground, but for some reason, they gave up on it.

When Lao Zhan saw Chen Chuan staring at the plants, he smiled. These things were everywhere in the lower city district. Anyone who first came here found them novel, but after staying for a while, they got sick of them.

The car went further down the road and occasionally took a turn. The underground tunnels led everywhere, and without anyone leading the way, it would have been impossible to tell the way.

As they went further down, Chen Chuan noticed his second self turning blurry, though the intensity varied depending on which stretch of road they traveled along.

He wondered whether it was due to experience or whether Lao Zhan knew something, because he avoided the places that brought more harm.

Just then, Lao Zhan searched around under his seat and tossed him an old Realm Pass. “By the way, use this while here. Yours stands out too much. You wouldn’t be able to receive any news from the upper city district when down here, anyway.”

Chen Chuan immediately put on the old Realm Pass, despite not being scared of standing out. After all, he wasn’t from this place, and he didn’t want to cause trouble to Lao Zhan and his friends.

Lao Zhan nodded in approval.

Suddenly, they heard the roar of engines coming from the other end of the tunnel. Judging from the sound, it was a motorcade. Lao Zhan’s expression twisted, and he immediately changed lanes to go to a corner covered with so many intertwining vines that it was hard for light to shine through. He also quickly took out an aerosol can and sprayed it around the car. Countless insects and small animals crawled away.

After a short while, they saw cars charging past them.

Chen Chuan took a look and saw some people with hair fashioned like colorful moss. It made them easy to identify.

“The Moss Gang?” he murmured.

A little more than ten seconds passed before the motorcade passed them.

Lao Zhan started the car again and went back to the original lane. “They’re from the Toxic Ants Freight Services, which works for the Moss Gang. Recently, they’ve cast their eyes on this region and want to occupy it, so they’ve been coming often to fight against Clear Road Transport.”

Chen Chuan mulled over this. Each gang had support from some company to a varying degree. GreenSource Eco-Tech should be the ones supporting the Moss Gang.

This was a joint venture company that usually stayed out of the public eye, but was really strong. While they weren’t famous in the country, their business expanded far and wide outside the Great Shun Republic.

The Resolution Department had been paying attention to this company for a long time. However, GreenSource Eco-Tech was behaving on the surface, so they weren’t on the department’s priority list.

After exiting the tunnel, the car entered a spacious area resembling a market. Most of the buildings and shacks were made of concrete blocks and simple materials. They were built all over the place, the roads were complex, and there were tons of people walking up and down the streets.

One of the widest roads had countless signboards and billboards by its sides. There were also screens above them, and through his Realm Pass, Chen Chuan could see multi-colored light sources above, sweeping back and forth like searchlights. Occasionally, crudely made advertisements would show on the screens while loud sounds and music played.

Chen Chuan could even see gas stations and hotels. Around those places were secondhand car dealers with more than a hundred old cars in their parking lots.

Several metal sentry posts were set around the market, and Chen Chuan could see armed patrol guards walking back and forth. When they saw Lao Zhan’s car, they cast it a cursory glance before looking away.

After leaving the place, Lao Zhan drove into another tunnel. Along the way, they passed by a small residential area. Half an hour later, they exited the tunnel, and Lao Zhan said, “We’re here. Clear Road Transport’s base is right ahead. Mr. Yu and Lu Ke have been staying there recently, so you can rest easy when you’re there.”

As he spoke, he pressed on the horn a few times, and someone from the other side honked back as a reply. The gunmen at the entrance immediately trained their guns skyward.

Chen Chuan looked over. A line of trucks was parked against the wall of the tunnel. There were so many of them that Chen Chuan felt as if there was no end to them. Most of them had been modified.

The whole time, people wearing safety helmets rode past them from the other end of the tunnel on motorbikes. They stopped in front of the trucks and loaded boxes and sturdy crossbody bags on the back of their motorbikes with the goods from the trucks, then left swiftly.

There were many of them, but things weren’t chaotic. The motorbikes moved in and out in an orderly fashion.

As a flag signaler gave them instructions on where to go, Lao Zhan parked his car on a spot that had been specifically emptied for him. Once they got out, a middle-aged man in cargo pants and a scraggly beard came up to them.

With a huge grin, he said, “Today is not the day we stock up on goods, Lao Zhan. What brought you here?”

He then turned to Chen Chuan. “And this is?”

“Chen Chuan. He’s Mr. Yu’s student and Lu Ke’s junior disciple. He’s here to visit Mr. Yu and Lu Ke,” Lao Zhan answered.

“Mr. Yu’s student! I see, I see.” The bearded man immediately became much friendlier and beckoned over a teenager, who was around fifteen years old. “Xiao Dan, bring Chen Chuan to Lu Ke.”

“Sure thing.”

Chen Chuan gave them a nod before excusing himself. Then, he left with Xiao Dan.

A lively young man with his hair dyed white came over on a motorbike and planted one foot on the ground. He cast a glance in the direction Chen Chuan left and asked, “That’s Mr. Yu’s student? Heh. He looks pretty handsome. Almost as handsome as I am.”

“Be honest, Lao Zhan. Who’s he?” the bearded man said.

“He’s really Mr. Yu’s student. Lu Ke gave him the address to my place. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought him here,” Lao Zhan answered.

“Doesn’t look like a simple guy,” the bearded man said with a serious look.

“He’s a martial artist, you know? I think he’s about Mr. Yu’s level.”

The white-haired man’s eyes lit up. “Doesn’t that mean that he’s about the same level as Big Sis Nan?”

Lao Zhan pondered over this before saying, “I think he’s stronger.”

The young man pouted. “No way. I won’t compare him to monsters like Old Bian, since he’s so old, but I haven’t seen many my age who can compare to Big Sis Nan. That kid might be as handsome as I am, but he’s younger than I. How could he possibly be better than Big Sis Nan?”

Lao Zhan didn’t bother arguing with him and just said to the bearded man, “Honestly, the stronger he is, the better. I think that Lu Ke asked him here to help us with our problem.”

***

Xiao Dan brought Chen Chuan to a modified RV. There were fist-sized gears at the side of the car that resembled a ring of fire from a distance. This was Fenghai’s emblem.

Fenghai was the best at manufacturing mid- to large-sized vehicles, though this RV seemed like an old model.

After thanking Xiao Dan, Chen Chuan went up and knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” A familiar voice came through the loudspeaker installed on the RV.

Chen Chuan grinned. “It’s me, Lu Ke.”

Immediately, he heard Lu Ke running over so quickly that the RV trembled. The next moment, the door was shoved open, and Lu Ke appeared in his full glory. With great delight, he cried out, “Chen Chuan!”

Chen Chuan brought his arm up, and Lu Ke jumped down, grabbed his hand, and clenched it tightly.

“We finally meet again.” His voice was filled with excitement.

“Yeah. It’s been more than a year since we last met,” Chen Chuan lamented.

Then, he noticed that there were a few more scars on Lu Ke’s face, and they looked new. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing. I fought someone. Anyway, don’t just stand here. We can talk inside.” Lu Ke dismissed the question with a wave and eagerly beckoned him into the RV.