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After the two alighted, Qiao Long led the way, entering a noisy bar; with a simple wave of his hand, the two brawny men with tattooed arms standing by the entrance stepped aside to make way.

Inside the riot of bright lights, booming sounds, decadence, and chaos, the girl hid herself beneath her hood and mask, her gaze sweeping over the venue with a hint of curiosity taking in the crowd indulging in the revelry.

But soon, Qiao Long led her through the dance floor, opened a small door at the side, and entered a chilly corridor.

With a click, the door closed behind them and the raucousness from outside was immediately muffled.

"Please follow me," he said in a gravely tone, seemingly returning to his usual self.

The corridor was unlit, save for a few guiding signs and LED lights at the base of the walls that cast colorful glows, coating both of their figures in a layer of blue and purple.

After covering a distance, Qiao Long stopped in front of a sealed steel door, swiped a card to open it, and then turned the heavy lock to enter.

Inside was a descending staircase; gripping the steel handrail, clear echoes could be heard.

Following their descent for a while, they finally reached an elevator. It looked to be privately built, quite rudimentary and cramped.

"This is a shortcut that leads to the underworld; we don\'t usually use this route, but we\'re pressed for time," Qiao Long explained while waiting.

The girl nodded slightly, unconcerned about such matters. She gave a light stomp, and her perception spread out along the ground in all directions.

Unlike others, the more confined the underground was, the stronger she actually became, because her talent was related to crystal stones. She could always condense and draw out gems from the rocks to seal and close spaces, and she could also move through them at will.

Since advancing, her talent ability that had been constrained by insufficient magic power had been liberated quite a bit. Now, even facing Qiao Long, she wasn\'t worried. Should there be an accident, she could escape easily; this was the confidence that made her willing to venture out.

It was strange when she thought about it; in shops or facing classmates, she always felt a bit uneasy, but when facing someone like Qiao Long, she felt neither psychological burden nor nervousness, Hexia pondered with a tilted head.

The two entered the elevator and then descended continuously. Two minutes later, the elevator doors opened and they stepped out.

Compared to the world above, the senses here were far less pleasant.

Pale light bulbs lit the elevator exit, which was blocked off by iron railings, and occasionally the sound of people talking could be heard.

Qiao Long walked over and then yanked the door on the side of the corridor open, silencing the noise inside abruptly.

"Grab your guns and come with me!" said Qiao Long, frowning at the grimy environment inside the room.

"Yes, Brother Long," a group of people replied, fetching their weapons from the corners and edges of tables, then hurriedly filed out.

"There\'s trouble to the south, stock up on ammunition, and call up the brothers from nearby to get the cars ready." He gave rapid orders, and his men immediately sprang into action.

Hexia walked over and asked as she watched their hurried movements, "Is this one of your gang\'s strongholds?"

"Yes, we have several strongholds like this one. The pipes leading to the upper levels are all very important," he explained briefly, then had a familiar underling find a suitable weapon.

After hearing Qiao Long\'s description, the underling looked at Hexia, who had lowered her hat brim, with a slight surprise, then went to a room on the side, rummaged through a newer box from the storage and handed it to Qiao Long.

Upon opening the box, inside was a compact and matte black and purple pistol with a square barrel and a fixed rectangular scope.

\'Ghost Shadow C-620\', though it was a model from over twenty years ago, it had good performance and was still highly regarded. It had minimal recoil, comfortable grip, simple firing, and a basic chip for assisted aiming, which made it suitable for beginners. The only drawback might be insufficient power, but for small-scale conflicts in daily life, it was enough.

"The road might be dangerous, so this is for your use. It will be much more convenient, and it won\'t expose your identity or abilities," offered Qiao Long, after assembling and calibrating the pistol for Hexia.

A gun? Though it was the interstellar era, firearms were still somewhat unfamiliar and dangerous to ordinary people. The Federation\'s gun control was still very strict; it\'s said to have learned from the chaos of the past.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then took out a pair of black and purple silk gloves from her pocket (actually from a spatial rift) and put them on, before finally taking hold of the gun.

The gloves were not hers, but rather left behind by her elder sister—a piece of fine equipment, which she had kept close ever since she gained her spatial ability.

\'Delores Weave Gloves\' [Rare Condensed Bead Level]: Special gloves woven from Zi Daisi, flexible with excellent strength, can resist common blade slashes, enhance magic control precision, and have a weakening and suppression effect on transcendent blades. They come with three effects: [Tenacity Lv.5], [Magic Suppression Lv.4], and [Magic Control Lv.3].

These were the grand prize her sister had won at a winter festival soirée at school, and were Hexia\'s most treasured family heirloom. Beyond that, the family still retained several of Temisia\'s dresses with transcendent effects, which Hexia hadn\'t been able to wear due to size differences.

Her figure hadn\'t developed as well as her sister\'s.

Although Hexia had always been financially challenged, she had held onto these items without ever selling them. Thinking about it, she realized she was actually a hidden little rich girl, but she had never acknowledged it herself.

After pocketing the pistol handed to her, Hexia followed Qiao Long out of the corridor and into the outside world.

Scattered lights hung around the spacious cavern, illuminating tents below and the disorganized figures of vendors. There were also people lying haphazardly about, and the ground was littered with garbage, which included plenty of finished meal boxes, empty beverage bottles, and discarded clothes among other waste. A faintly sour stench permeated the air, as adults and children mingled about, creating a space that was neither crowded nor empty.

There must be over three thousand people here, Hexia estimated as her gaze swept the area.

"This way is cleaner," Qiao Long led the way, with Hexia following behind. Many eyes from the residents of the Underworld turned their attention to them.

They recognized Qiao Long, the formidable enforcer of the local \'Huan\' gang, but they didn\'t know the girl following him. Given her slightly awkward and cautious way of avoiding the rubbish underfoot, she probably wasn\'t from the Underground World.

If someone else had brought an outsider down to the Underground World, they would already have been surrounded with ill intentions. But because it was Qiao Long, they feared this formidable man, and at this moment, all remained silent, merely watching the two pass by.

However, there were always one or two who were bold and liked to stir up trouble.

"Hey, Big Qiao, what kind of goods did you bring back today? Looks like a fresh one; when you\'re bored of her, let your brothers have a go," someone called out.

Hearing this, Qiao Long\'s brows furrowed. He picked up a gun from a subordinate\'s hand and pulled the trigger.

"No—"

Before the other person could beg for mercy, amid the ejected shell casings, the sliding of the gun breech, the spurt of flames, and the billowing smoke, bullets pierced through him, causing blood to spatter.

After the gunfire ceased, the disrespectful man lay on the ground, lifeless.

"Have someone clean this up; don\'t leave it rotting there," Qiao Long ordered, and a subordinate hastily agreed.

They continued walking for a while until they reached a parking area. Three underground off-road vehicles were already pulled out.

Despite their dirty exteriors coated with different types of solidified mud, the interiors were relatively clean, likely cleaned occasionally by someone.

A group of subordinates rode in the vehicles ahead and behind, while Qiao Long and Tilan took the middle one.

After driving for some time, Qiao Long finally explained his earlier actions.

"In that kind of situation, I had to act ruthlessly. Otherwise, it would send the wrong signal to the people around us, and they would swarm like starving wolves," he said.

"This is not a secure area governed by the Federation, so I ask for the young lady\'s understanding," he added, followed by a long silence.

Hexia thought back to the palpable fear and trembling of the man before his death, and to the intimidation felt by the onlookers. She wondered what would have happened if Qiao Long hadn\'t killed him.

If Qiao Long had hesitated, the surrounding people would\'ve seen an opportunity and started hollering; even Qiao Long\'s own underlings would\'ve had myriad thoughts, instantly shattering the already fragile relationship between the two.

Was this considered being well-thought-out, or was it that she had stayed in the Underground World so long that she had become accustomed to resolving issues with violence? The young girl contemplated silently.

It really was better to avoid places like this, she reasoned, though the experience had certainly been eye-opening.

The vehicles sped along, but given the harsh underground environment, with no smooth or spacious roads—or, rather, the existence of any road at all was something of a miracle.

Sitting by the window, Hexia saw many people wandering the Underground World. Without the internet and with a lack of entertainment, aside from some simple food stalls, people fought, slept, and gathered around old-fashioned equipment to listen to music and dance. The best they could seemingly do was crowd around a projected screen, watching a variety of pre-stored videos.

These videos included old classic movies, some randomly edited funny clips from the star web, and some vulgar films where the participants couldn\'t really be called attractive; they twisted their bodies mechanically like animals, a spectacle difficult for Hexia to watch.

There were no schools, no banks, no hospitals, no public administration; only some gang members maintained basic law and order. This was a part of Jade Skirt, neglected and abandoned, where people\'s lives had degraded to becoming almost animal-like.

Did the Federation need people? Yes, but what they needed were ones capable of creating profitable value. Many of these abandoned individuals were twisted by the environment of the Underworld, with unpleasant personalities, almost no sense of morality or decency, and due to the lack of education, they were hard-pressed to find jobs or progress beyond Sequence 3. To take them in would mean a hefty cost to public safety and strong opposition from local residents. This is why even though the government was aware of these people, they did not acknowledge or accept them.

The vehicle jostled its way through the rugged underground cave. The area should have had various stalagmites and columns, but they had been removed, with just a few left around the edges to prevent the ceiling from collapsing.

"What do these people rely on to survive?" Hexia suddenly asked. To live, one must obtain food and basic supplies, and the people of the Underground World wouldn\'t just freely share their food with outsiders, nor would the gangs be keen to provide for freeloaders.

"Some things are too vile and repulsive; it\'s better if the young lady doesn\'t know," Qiao Long shook his head.

"All right," Hexia agreed, feeling that she might not be strong enough just yet to face certain harsh and dark truths directly.

She sighed inwardly. Although she was young, she had inherited some memories from the previous two generations of Color Level Songstresses and had seen the vibrant and flourishing sights of the Federation\'s rise.

Yet no matter how grand the ideals and beliefs, they also slowly crumbled and decayed over time.

Human beings, or perhaps life itself, never seemed to learn from past mistakes. The words and images from history were always too light and distant, making it difficult to foster respect. Perhaps only profound and unforgettable pain can prompt life to mend its ways and etch it firmly into memory.

Hexia slowly closed and then reopened her eyes, the pale blue of her gaze flickering faintly.

For now, she wasn\'t powerful enough or capable of changing the status quo. Many thoughts had to be temporarily suppressed, waiting for a time when they could be slowly realized.