Volume 2: Empire Chapter 119: Underground Journey
Not far from the underground steam city, we came across a tunnel. A railway track extended deep into the dark tunnel, and from time to time several rail cars loaded with ore drove out from it.
A steam pipeline runs parallel to the tracks, and this is the pipeline line Luke is going to inspect today.
The road ends here.
Norton asked the team members to get out of the car and take out their belongings. Snowman A Mao carried the supply box on his back and let out a low cry.
“Mr. Luke… we are going to walk from here. You are in the middle of the team. Do not act on your own. We will protect your safety.”
Luke put on his briefcase and adjusted his glasses on his nose. He was a little uncomfortable wearing glasses for disguise.
"I understand, Captain Norton... Can we start working now? Check the lines and go back soon. I really don't like staying in such a dark place for too long."
As he spoke, Luke took out an iron rod from the trunk of the car.
He knocked on the steam pipe next to him and heard an even echo, indicating that there was no problem with this section. Then he wrote down the number on the pipe in the table book, indicating that he had checked it.
Norton winked at Harry, and Harry went into the tunnel first to explore the way.
After Luke finished making the record, he followed into the tunnel carrying an iron rod. He knocked on the pipe every time he walked a distance, and the sound echoed in the tunnel.
Unlike the caves in the underground city, which can be lit during the day, the tunnels here have extremely dim light bulbs installed on the tunnel walls at intervals. Some of the bulbs are no longer bright, while others are constantly flickering for unknown reasons.
The team lined up and moved forward along the maintenance path beside the track. No one spoke, only the sound of Luke knocking on the pipe. In some cracks in the tunnel wall, some red lights often lit up. Those were underground creatures living underground. Most of them were very timid and would not actively attack people, but there were also beasts with a strong sense of territory.
Harry, who was walking in front of the team, was a very qualified thief. He could find aggressive underground beasts in time and was familiar with their habits. He would lure out some underground beasts and kill them; for some underground beasts, he would use some potions to sprinkle at the entrance of the cave to make them stay in the cave for a while.
Along the way, you can see many underground creatures and human bones, as well as some low-level undead wandering around.
A train roared past, and the five people who were well prepared clung to the tunnel wall, enduring the vortex of airflow caused by the moving train. Rebecca pressed her hand on Luke's chest to prevent him from being knocked down on the track by the airflow, as he was unfamiliar with the environment. At the same time, she looked at the surrounding supports vigilantly to prevent landslides caused by vibrations.
As the train passed by, Rebecca brushed off the dust and gravel that fell on her body and complained, "Going so fast! Aren't you afraid that the tunnel will collapse?"
Norton lit a cigarette for himself and said, "The production task is heavy, and all lines are speeding up, especially steel production...
Have you heard? The all-metal warships produced by Raging Waves City destroyed the navy of the Rio Republic. The Prime Minister of Rio stepped down, and the new Prime Minister of Rio is actively negotiating with the Golden Shield Empire.
The Unit-01-class battleship frightened the bigwigs and oligarchs above us, and they urgently ordered a batch of all-metal battleships of the same level as the Unit-01. Those are battleships built entirely of steel, and the amount of steel used in a battleship is more than that of a war fortress!"
Rebecca said angrily: I really don’t know why the bigwigs and oligarchs at the top declared war on the Golden Shield Empire and simply don’t care about the lives of us low-level people. "
Norton said: "Who are we? Every time we come down, we don't know if we can come back alive. Those miners... are worse off than us.
Let’s go and get back to work!”
Norton has become open-minded about his current life. Since he can't change anything, he can only accept it.
Rebecca was still very angry: "I heard that the government office of Raging Waves City stipulates that factory workers only need to work ten hours a day and must have one day off a week. Working is simply a pleasure. Raging Waves City has a benevolent governor...
Mr. Luke, have you ever been to Raging Waves City and met the Governor of Meteorite?"
Luke walked forward, tapping on the pipe while reading the map and guide on his phone. When he heard Rebecca asking him a question, he answered casually, "This is not a suitable topic to talk about. You are fighting the Golden Shield Empire. I don't want to discuss sensitive information."
"I can tell from the moment I hear you've been to Raging Waves City. Tell us, we're the only ones here." Rebecca urged with great interest.
Norton, who was always cautious, also said: "Don't worry, sir, we won't talk nonsense outside."
"Well, I have been to Raging Waves City. I have also seen Governor Meteorite from a distance. He... has the same black hair as me, and is almost as handsome as me. The Raging Waves City under his rule is..."
Luke explained the things about Raging Waves to Norton and Rebecca. The two were very interested in the welfare of the workers and asked questions that interested them from time to time.
Luke answered every question and time passed quickly during the chat.
The speed of information dissemination in this world is very slow. The lower-class people mainly rely on newspapers to understand the outside world, and newspapers are the mouthpieces of the rulers. Since the Art County Alliance regards the Golden Shield Empire as its enemy, it naturally tries its best to block high-quality information related to the Golden Shield Empire.
The development speed of Raging Waves City has attracted worldwide attention, and the management system it adopts has a huge impact on the world.
However, some things cannot be localized just because you want to learn them.
Although the Ate County Union claims to be a model of the free world and considers itself a benchmark of the new system, in reality it is the capitalist oligarchs who rule the country. Reducing working hours for workers and increasing their salaries and benefits is just bleeding the oligarchs, isn't it?
Therefore, the At County Federation banned the spread of any information related to the City of Raging Waves, and the lower-class people knew very little about the City of Raging Waves.
Luke's introduction to Wrath of Waves made Norton and Rebecca fascinated and they felt that Wrath of Waves was like heaven.
Rebecca said, "I heard that the missing Sifio from Team 202 sneaked into the City of Raging Waves. If my brothers were not still young, I would want to go too."
Norton also showed another side of himself: "The Raging City that Mr. Luke described is the same as the Raging City that I learned from other channels. But as Rebecca said, our home is here, and we can't just leave whenever we want. The border is blocked very strictly, and we can't take risks easily.
Let’s not talk about this anymore. The B36 mine is ahead. Don’t cause trouble for Mr. Luke.”
The tunnel ahead began to become wider , and there were signs of human life. After walking a little further, the roar of machinery became louder and louder, and a large construction camp appeared at the end of the tunnel.
This is the B36 mine. Years of mining have dug a large cave here. Some workers use local materials to build houses and settle down here. And it is more convenient to go to the surface through the ventilation passage than to go to the underground steam city.
There are many camps like this underground in Winter City. They are regarded as part of the underground steam city and are two completely different worlds from the surface.
Several high-power searchlights illuminated the entire camp, and Luke and his party were quickly spotted by the camp guards as they walked along the track. When Luke and his party walked into the camp, the mine supervisor and several supervisors came to greet them.
The supervisor had a big belly, and his suit, which should have been very nice, was bulged out like a balloon. When we walked in, we could see that the supervisor's face was covered with centipede-like scars, which were left by the underground creatures.
After the introduction, Luke learned that the supervisor's name was Kun Deen.
"Manager Kunden, my name is Luke, and I'm the company's new steam engineer. Here are my credentials and the inspection assignment the company has assigned to me. I need to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the steam pipeline in the B36 mine."
After reading Luke's credentials and assignment, Kunden couldn't help but complain: "I have already applied to the company to send a steam engineer as soon as possible. That pipe has burst and leaked four times in a row, and each time they just sent someone to simply repair it.
You must give me a proper repair plan this time!"
Luke took back his credentials and assignment: "The company has a strict maintenance process. I am here just to inspect. I still need to wait for instructions from the company on how to repair it."
Kun Deen said helplessly: "Come with me to check out the pipeline first. It has already cost several workers their jobs. If it explodes a few more times, I will definitely not be able to complete the mining mission assigned to me by the company."
"Okay, let's go check out that pipe."
Luke led his men to follow Kunden through the camp and headed for the problematic pipeline. Along the way, Kunden kept complaining that the steam pipeline was old and the company was slow to send new workers to take over.
Luke answered perfunctorily, thinking about how to start his own secret technique.
When he received the order for the war fortress, Luke studied the war fortresses built by players and felt that he needed to build one for himself.
It not only has powerful offensive and defensive capabilities, but also makes it convenient for you to show off in your daily life.
Float is a necessary attribute.
When the Golden Shield Empire's palace flew up, it was really cool.
If the Sky Fortress wants to stay in the air for a long time and have good maneuverability, a reliable and powerful power source is the cornerstone of all performance realization.
After comparing and considering hundreds of floating fortresses built by top players, Luke decided to build a floating fortress built by a great player... "The Gods".
The floating fortress "Gods" has always maintained an excellent record in the "Last Base" competition organized by players. It has a very high cruising speed and long-term air-staying performance, and its strong instantaneous explosive power allows it to easily gain the upper hand in the confrontation.
The player who originally built the "Gods" never told anyone about the construction process of this battleship, but when the Era was about to usher in a major version update, the player who felt that the "Gods" floating fortress was about to become obsolete released a detailed "Gods" construction guide.
Other great players who are proud of their own skills have also released their own strategies for building floating fortresses.
When Luke was a player, he had no interest in this kind of "spectacle" gameplay. But his habit of collecting strategies made him collect and store all the top floating fortress strategies he could find .
The construction guide for the "Gods" floating fortress includes a method for obtaining the main engine.
…
While Luke was still studying the floating fortress of the Gods, a familiar voice sounded nearby: "Sir, sir, why are you here?"
Luke stopped and saw Mina running towards him.
She was wearing newly bought clothes, a kind of sturdy and cheap women's clothing. Her face and hair were cleaned and combed, and she was a very smart girl.
Mina ran to Luke, bowed and said, "I'm sorry, sir! I knew you were at work, so I ran back to take care of my father without permission. But I have cleaned your apartment, and I will be able to rush back before you get off work and prepare dinner for you."
Mina was a little out of breath because she ran too fast. She looked at Luke with some worry, afraid that she would be fired.
Director Kunden, who was walking in front, stopped and asked, "Mr. Luke, do you know Mina?"
"I know you, Director Kunden. Mina is my newly hired servant, responsible for taking care of my daily life while I'm working in Dongdu." After Luke explained his relationship with Mina, he turned to Mina and said, "After you finish your work, your time is your own."
Mina, who had saved her job, immediately took the briefcase off Luke's shoulder and said, "Sir, you are a steam engineer. Are you here to check the steam pipes?"
"Yes," Luke replied.
"Great!" Mina's voice was as loud as a bell. "You must replace that pipe. It burst again this morning and hurt Uncle Komi..."
Before Mina could finish, Kunden shouted, "Mina, are you a steam engineer? If not, stop talking nonsense!
That pipe doesn't need to be replaced, just a proper repair.
If you keep talking nonsense, I will kick you and your father out of the camp!"
Mina was frightened by Kunden's hideous scarred face and hid behind Luke.
Luke said to Kunden, “Mr. Supervisor, you are not a steam engineer either, so don’t jump to conclusions about repairing or replacing pipes.
The company has its own rules, and we all have to follow them and do our part within our responsibilities.”
"Yes, Mr. Luke." Kunden didn't dare to offend the steam engineer. He whispered, "The production task is too big. It will take one or two months to replace the entire pipeline. If we fail to complete the task, we will all be punished."
"Of course I understand... Mr. Supervisor. Let's go and look at the pipes!"
"plz follow me."
At this time, some workers gathered because Mina noticed Luke and his group. After they learned through the conversation that the people who came were the company's steam engineers, more and more workers gathered.
That pipeline has injured many people recently, causing panic among the people.
As a worker, you can work hard for a living. But if you get injured and lose your ability to work, how can you support your family?
Everyone hopes that the pipe can be replaced as soon as possible. It is really too old. It seems that it was installed there when the mine was just started to be mined.
