Jarilo-VI, Belobog.
By this time, Nolan and the others had arrived at the station. Not long after getting off the tram, they reached the entrance to the Underworld.
However, they found that the area was under maintenance, preparing for future train operations. If they wanted to go down, they would have to take a cable car nearby.
And they would need to wait a bit, since the cable car had just descended and would take about ten minutes to come back up.
Of course, this wasn't a big issue. Nolan, Charlotte, and Bronya were prepared to wait, but at that moment, a young man walked over from the side.
He had dark blue hair and green eyes, with a faint smile always hanging at the corner of his lips, giving off an unreliable impression.
The man greeted them enthusiastically:
"Hey there, folks, heading down to the Underworld for a visit? First time down there, unfamiliar with the place, pretty inconvenient, right? How about hiring yours truly, the best guide in the Underworld?
"Sampo Koski here knows the Underworld like the back of his hand. If I say I'm second, no one dares claim first. No one knows it better than me. You won't regret hiring me!"
The young man secretly rejoiced. He hadn't expected to run into the future Supreme Guardian. If he could get on good terms with her now, he'd have someone powerful backing him in Belobog in the future.
"Uh, no thanks. We're just going down for a casual look," Charlotte waved her hand quickly in refusal. As a reporter, her instincts told her this man wasn't very reliable.
"Hey now, you can't say that. The Underworld isn't like the surface. Without a guide, you might wander into somewhere dangerous without even realizing it."
The man named Sampo continued persuading them.
Charlotte shook her head again. She felt that even if they wandered into danger, it wouldn't matter, since Nolan was quite strong in a fight. After thinking for a moment, she turned to him:
"What do you think?"
"Me?"
Nolan looked at the information he had just obtained through Fischl and Yae Miko's affection skills:
[Level: 89]
[Sampo: A Pathstrider of the Path of Elation, a member of the faction known as the Masked Fools. Possesses considerable strength, though unable to fully display it without his "mask." Currently works as a traveling merchant. Able to move freely between the surface and underground. Friendly and quick to form bonds, humorous, fond of joking around, and somewhat greedy.]
This guy was hiding considerable strength and was even connected to the interstellar faction known as the Masked Fools. Clearly, he wasn't a simple person.
However, judging from his personality, he didn't seem like a bad person.
In that case, hiring a local guide from the Underworld didn't sound like a bad idea. Nolan turned to Bronya:
"What do you think, Bronya?"
After all, Bronya was currently their guide. Hiring someone else in front of her might be a bit impolite, so he at least needed her opinion.
"Mm, I'm not very familiar with the Underworld either. Hiring a guide sounds like a good idea."
Bronya thought for a moment and nodded.
In truth, when she was still an orphan, she had lived in an orphanage in the Underworld. Later, she was fortunate enough to be chosen as the successor to the Supreme Guardian and was brought to the Overworld for training.
If she had continued living in the Underworld, she could have taken on the role of guide herself. But now, that was no longer the case.
"Alright then. Mr. Sampo, how much do you charge?"
Seeing that Bronya had no objections, Nolan turned to the young man and asked.
"To celebrate the lifting of the blockade between the two regions, Sampo Koski here is offering a half-price deal this week for anyone heading to the Underworld for a look. It won't cost much, just 200 Winter City Shields, how about it?"
Sampo flashed a "V" sign with his fingers.
Since he wanted to make a good impression on the future Supreme Guardian, he didn't charge too much.
Winter City Shields were clearly Belobog's currency, but Nolan and Charlotte had no idea whether the price was high or low, so they looked to Bronya.
"A single meal at a restaurant costs over ten Winter City Shields. This price is reasonable."
Bronya nodded and took out two one-hundred-denomination Winter City Shields, handing them to Sampo, officially hiring him.
"Nice and straightforward, miss!"
As Sampo pocketed the money, some noise came from the cable car station. He said cheerfully:
"Perfect timing! Just finished the deal and the cable car's here. Let's go, folks!"
Nolan and the others followed Sampo. After the passengers coming up from the Underworld exited, they smoothly boarded the cable car.
Like an elevator, once enough people had gathered, the cable car slowly descended.
Before long, it reached the bottom. Nolan and the others stepped out and found themselves in a relatively open space, with many mining carts parked around.
However, this wasn't a mining site. It was likely a transfer area for goods exchanged from the Overworld.
"The nearest place from here is Boulder Town. To get there, we'll have to travel over a thousand meters, with rough terrain and dozens of confusing turns…"
Sampo described the short journey like it was some epic pilgrimage. Wasn't that a bit exaggerated?
Nolan looked at him speechlessly.
Fortunately, although Sampo liked to exaggerate, he still did a decent job. Along the way, he introduced the situation of the Underworld to them.
By the time they reached Boulder Town, they had already gained a fairly comprehensive understanding of the Underworld's situation over the years.
As expected, due to the blockade between the Overworld and Underworld, there was no independent food supply in the Underworld. They could only continuously mine Geomarrow and exchange it with the Overworld.
The Overworld, needing Geomarrow, maintained a single channel for resource exchange.
In this way, the two regions maintained a fragile balance, but their relationship had changed. What was once a united community now felt more like strangers, or even master and servant.
As a result, resentment toward the Overworld gradually built up among the Underworld's people. Fortunately, the blockade had recently been lifted, or conflict might have eventually erupted.
Even with Geomarrow exchanges, resources in the Underworld were still extremely scarce.
Many people often went hungry, and when they fell ill, there was no medicine to treat them. Life was extremely harsh. Upon entering Boulder Town, one could tell from the hostile looks directed at Bronya.
After all, she wore the uniform of the Silvermane Guards, making it hard not to attract hostility from the Underworld's residents. Fortunately, since the blockade had been lifted, it didn't escalate into violence.
"I'm sorry… I didn't know the Underworld was in such a state."
Bronya lowered her head. Everything here had shattered her previous understanding. She had believed that even with the blockade, life here would at least be similar to the Overworld, with basic necessities still available.
She had once believed that her mother's decision to transfer soldiers from the Underworld to support the frontlines was the right one, after all, the Fragmentum's encroachment had been worsening day by day.
If the soldiers couldn't hold back the Fragmentum, then all of Belobog would be doomed.
But seeing the people of the Underworld living such harsh lives, her heart wavered. Was that decision truly correct? Could there have been a better way back then?
Seeing her like this, Nolan didn't quite know how to comfort her. After all, Cocolia had indeed made a mistake. It was Charlotte, as a fellow girl, who gently consoled Bronya, allowing her to gradually calm down.
Sampo looked a bit embarrassed as he turned to Nolan and whispered:
"Hey, bro… did I talk a bit too much just now?"
"You definitely did," Nolan nodded seriously.
"Hey, that's not how this is supposed to go. I thought you'd comfort Sampo Koski here a bit," Sampo drooped his hands, looking deeply struck.
"Maybe I need to better understand the situation in the Underworld… and then personally change things here."
Bronya suddenly lifted her head and spoke firmly.
As the successor to the Supreme Guardian, even if she wasn't in that position yet, she was still a commander of the Silvermane Guards and had the ability to help this place.
"In that case, how about we go visit the boss lady?" Sampo suggested.
"Who is the boss lady?" Charlotte asked curiously.
"Oh, she's the best doctor in Boulder Town. Whenever someone falls sick, they go to her. Even Hook, the most mischievous kid in the Underworld, has to behave in front of her!"
Sampo exaggerated a bit as he spoke.
"That impressive? Well, since she's one of the few doctors in the Underworld, calling her the boss lady does make sense," Charlotte said seriously.
After all, the importance of doctors was self-evident, especially in a place as resource-starved as the Underworld.
"Exactly! She deals with so many patients every day, she must understand the suffering of the Underworld better than anyone. If you want to learn anything, you can't go wrong asking her."
Sampo nodded vigorously, completely agreeing.
"Alright then, please take us to visit this doctor."
Bronya said.
"Got it, leave it to Sampo Koski!" Sampo patted his chest confidently.
Under Sampo's lead, Nolan and the others headed toward the clinic in Boulder Town. Along the way, they ran into a little girl who called herself the leader of the "Moles." According to Sampo, this was Hook, the most troublesome kid in the Underworld.
She seemed to have appeared intending to play a prank.
But upon hearing that they were heading to the clinic, even the so-called "leader of the Moles" ran off in fright, as if that place were something terrifying.
With curiosity, Nolan and the others soon arrived at the clinic in Boulder Town. Since it was underground with no sunlight, lights illuminated everything.
This clinic was no exception, and from time to time, patients could be seen coming and going.
One of the patients was coughing violently, as if suffering from a lung condition. Since he had encountered him, Nolan casually condensed a golden Windwheel Aster. As he brushed past the patient, he quietly let the flower land on him.
Soon, visible to the naked eye, the patient's complexion improved significantly, though he himself hadn't noticed yet.
"Wow, not bad, bro. The boss lady's definitely going to like you."
Seeing this, Sampo was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected this guy to have such abilities. Someone like that definitely wouldn't lack money.
Looks like he'd found another powerful backer.
"Just lending a hand, nothing special," Nolan shook his head.
As they spoke, the group stepped into the clinic. The space was fairly large, though it could only fit a few hospital beds.
Upon entering, they saw two women standing by the window, seemingly discussing something.
Noticing someone had come in, they stopped:
"Sampo? And who are you all?"
The woman who spoke had grayish-green hair tied simply behind her.
Strands of hair fell in front of her forehead, with a few longer locks partially covering her wine-red eyes and fair cheeks, though her face was still clearly visible.
She wore a gray-green dress, with a black leather bodysuit visible beneath at the chest. The slit on the left side of the skirt revealed black heeled boots and semi-transparent black stockings tightly hugging her inner thigh.
The overall look was well-balanced, without giving off an overly seductive impression.
Nolan glanced at her information with curiosity:
[Level: 76]
[Affinity Skill Potential: Gold]
[Natasha: A Pathstrider of the Path of Abundance, one of the few highly skilled doctors in the Underworld, and also the hidden leader of the underground resistance organization "Wildfire." Gentle and approachable in personality, but also has a fearsome side.]
So she was the hidden leader of an organization. No wonder Sampo called her the boss lady, it had a deeper meaning.
Moreover, like Bronya, she resembled someone from Honkai Impact 3rd's Earth who also shared the name Natasha. Could it be that Jarilo-VI had some connection to that world?
Some kind of parallel counterpart world, perhaps.
When Nolan's gaze shifted to the other figure beside her, the thought became even stronger.
This girl had long dark purple hair flowing down her back, completely covering her pale skin. She wore a purple strapless dress resembling a coat, with a slit in the middle revealing a semi-transparent white bodysuit and very short canvas shorts.
Her legs were fair, with a ribbon tied around her right thigh like a garter. She wore asymmetrical short boots, giving her a rebellious vibe.
[Level: 86]
[Affinity Skill Potential: Gold]
[Seele: A Pathstrider of the Path of the Hunt, a core member of the underground resistance organization "Wildfire," also known as "Butterfly of Tempest." Possesses considerable strength, straightforward in personality, but also harbors a delicate and perceptive side.]
Seeing the name, Nolan was certain now, this girl indeed looked extremely similar to Seele from Honkai Impact 3rd.
Well, in a universe this vast, it wasn't impossible for people with similar appearances and names to exist.
From the information he gathered, she was also a member of Wildfire. They were probably discussing something related to the organization just now.
At this moment, the girl was looking at Nolan and the others with her purple eyes. When she saw Bronya in her Silvermane Guard uniform, her expression darkened.
"Oh, boss lady, and Miss Seele is here too. Sampo Koski here has brought some capable friends down to the Underworld to broaden their horizons. Since we passed by, we just had to stop in and pay our respects."
Sampo spoke with a playful grin.
(End of Chapter)
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