Chapter 8: Chapter Eight: Underground Town

Chapter Eight: Underground Town

Before he headed to the underground town, Valen decided to adapt to his enhanced senses.

After a while, he took the black case lying on the floor and said, "System, commence fusion."

---

System: [Affirmative. Fusion commencing.]

---

Immediately, the black case transformed into a black metallic liquid, spreading rapidly across his body.

Soon, he was clad in an obsidian suit. Unlike the Silver King Suit, this wasn’t a full-body one, but a lightweight swordsman exoskeleton designed for speed and precision.

Dark plates protected his chest, shoulders, forearms, and legs, while flexible black fibre joints connected the suit pieces together.

A deeper glance would reveal thin white energy lines underneath the suit, all connected to a dark stone embedded in the chest plate.

Valen brought the silver edge close to his waist, where a magnetic scabbard mount was installed. It securely locked the sword in place, reducing inconvenience while also allowing for instant unsheathing.

Having completed his preparations, Valen headed out of the dark alley toward the underground town.

Along the way, due to his enhanced hearing, he could hear the distant booming from the battle raging between humans and the monster army led by the day walkers.

Valen glanced around, noticing how carefree everyone looked, and he couldn’t help but sigh. With battles occurring every day, it had become a normal occurrence in the minds of everyone—including him.

Shaking his head to dispel such thoughts, Valen headed to a costume shop by the side.

"Welcome," the old man behind the counter smiled. "How may I help you, young man?"

"I need a mask. Do you have that?" Valen asked, glancing around.

"Masks, cloaks, disguises... I have them all," the old man chuckled softly, stroking his long beard. "So, what kind of mask are you searching for?"

Valen approached the counter and said, "A simple, plain mask will do."

"You heard him," the old man nodded, lightly tapping the counter.

Immediately, a robotic voice sounded:

"There are currently fifty-three masks matching the customer’s requirements. Displaying catalogue."

A blue screen abruptly popped up above the counter, displaying dozens of masks. After carefully checking through them, Valen selected a featureless mask with only holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth.

"That’ll cost you 15 credits," the old man said, dispersing the blue screen.

Valen nodded and tapped his silver watch, transferring the required credits to the shop owner by scanning his silver watch.

In no time, he received his mask and left the shop. Credits were the main currency of the world. Compared to points given by the Humanity System only after slaying monsters or achieving great merit, credits could be easily earned. His silver watch could also store credits as it was linked to his bank account.

Currently, Valen had millions of credits stored in his bank account, so he was relatively wealthy. Fifteen credits were truly nothing to him.

As his mind remained occupied with various thoughts, he finally arrived before a colossal alloy structure that served as one of White Star City’s underground access points. It was crowded with masked Evolvers and merchants with loaded trucks who wished to enter the underground town.

Rows of heavily reinforced gates stood beneath the towering structure, each large enough to allow armored transport vehicles to pass through. Above them were crimson digital screens which continuously displayed warnings and underground regulations.

By the side were armed guards clad in black exosuits, monitoring the crowd with cold gazes. Overhead flew mechanical drones, scanning every individual entering the facility.

Valen silently observed the scene while also taking his time to read the regulations displayed on the crimson digital screens. When he felt ready, he began walking toward one of the descending transit platforms.

The moment he stepped onto it, a robotic voice sounded: "Identity verification complete. Surface clearance granted."

The transit platform moved forward, crossing the heavily reinforced gates. Immediately, the thick alloy barriers slid shut behind him.

Following which, the platform began to descend, and the deeper it went, the colder the air became.

Soon, the noise of the surface gradually disappeared, replaced by the distant hum of underground machinery.

This made Valen marvel at how excellent his hearing had become. After nearly a minute of descent, lights finally flooded his vision, and a vast underground world appeared before him.

Towering neon signs illuminated crowded streets beneath an artificial ceiling. Countless masked Evolvers moved through the bustling underground district while black-market shops, weapon stores, clinics, and information brokers lined both sides of the streets.

It felt more like an entirely different city buried beneath White Star City.

"So, this is the underground town," Valen thought in amazement.

The pass required to enter the underground town was to become an Evolver or a reputable merchant.

Although he might have been able to enter the town with his sister or grandfather’s assistance, he hadn’t really seen the need for it. Now that he had come here, he couldn’t help feeling impressed.

Now that he had arrived at the Underground Town, he could access the map of the area via his silver watch.

Hence, he opened the system map and searched for the Underground Train Station. He quickly followed the lead, arriving before a vast metallic structure embedded into the underground wall.

The station entrance was wide and had several blue route signs floating above it. People moved in and out in an orderly flow, revealing just how popular the area was.

Faint vibrations snaked through the ground as distant trains arrived and departed deep within the tunnels. Valen glanced around for a while before finally stepping into the station.

Soon after, he contacted Forgotten Maple.

---

Night Star: <I’m at the Underground Train Station now. Where can we meet?>

Forgotten Maple: <Go to Platform 3 and don’t move. I’ll come find you.>

Night Star: <Alright.>

---

Valen followed the system map and soon arrived at Platform 3. The area was quite spacious, and a casual glance would reveal over a hundred people.

Still, there was a ten-man team that immediately caught his attention.

As soon as he walked into the area of Platform 3, he drew the attention of quite a few people.

He headed towards the ten-man team and said just three words: "I’m Night Star."

A slim young man wearing a black cloak and a simple black mask stepped forward while nodding. "I’m Forgotten Maple. These are our teammates for the raid this time: Night Vanguard, Shadow Circuit, Void Striker, Iron Wraith, Neon Phantom, Frost Byte, Apex Nomad, Crimson Pulse, Nova Drifter, and Abandoned Protocol. Everyone, this is Night Star."

Valen exchanged greetings with everyone before turning back to Forgotten Maple. Before they went on this venture, they would need to decide something crucial—which was how to divide the spoils.

Beast havens were like dungeons in video games, but they existed in reality.

They were the natural territories occupied by monsters. Once cleared, however, they offered immense rewards.

These havens contained numerous treasures, either crafted by the beasts themselves or brought in from the Abyss. The resources found within were incredibly diverse— ranging from ancient techniques and weapons to rare equipment and other artifacts highly sought after by humanity. In some cases, energy crystals could even be mined from deep within.

Clearing a beast haven was, without doubt, an extremely lucrative endeavor.

As though seeing through his thoughts, Forgotten Maple chuckled. "We’ll share the spoils based on how much each person contributes. The Humanity System will oversee this. How about we draft the contract and begin the mission?"