|Hannah — Citizen of the Underhive|
We walk through the dark tunnel and reach the opening where we can see a massive hole in the wall that connects to other parts of the sector. Usually, you need to use the door not too far from the wall, but it is not big enough to let a tank or car get through.
This is the deepest we can get before we enter the massive open space where the cartel and the cult can notice us.
"This is the deepest hole they made. If you walk through that tunnel, you will reach an opening where the cartel truly rules at the end of it."
"What is that opening used for?"
"Fortification and garage, my lord. That is the place they store their vehicles, heavy weapons, and stolen goods from the higher floor."
"How long is the tunnel?"
"A few hundred meters, I think."
Kael, or Lord Kael if I use the other title for him, looks at the tunnel and thinks something. After a few seconds, I see him nod his head and say.
"We will close this area."
I watch him close his eyes, and I widen my eyes when I see the ground start to rumble. I try to tell him to leave, but one of the soldiers stops me, and I look at him in shock.
"What are you waiting for?! That must be the tanks!"
"No. Just wait and watch. Let our lord use his power."
"What?"
I look at him in confusion and am about to say something. However, before I can do that, the ground underneath us starts to move. I widen my eyes as I watch the ground follow his command and start to fill the giant hole in the wall.
However, he is not done. I watch dust gather around us and condense into a boulder that floats above him. I look at him and say.
"What is that for?"
He smiles at me, which makes my heartbeat stop, and says.
"You will see. Come on. There are more holes to cover."
We follow our path back, and I watch as Kael closes the hold one by one. While walking back, Kael gathers a massive amount of dust and sand and condenses it into a single boulder, which he brings with us.
However, when we get deeper, I realize something. There is no stone or earth he can control. I look at the floating boulder and see him snap his finger. He uses the hardened dust and sand to cover the hole.
"It is not as strong, but it should be enough. Three more to go, and we will return. Let's get this over with."
It does not take long before we return to the hiding spot, where I see the soldiers watching out for the cults and the cartel. Kael walks to one of them and says.
"Is there any trouble?"
"Nothing, my lord. Everything is good. The others are full and refreshed. We are ready to move."
"Perfect. Let's move out."
We move through the tunnel and the abandoned sector until we reach the outside. We walk through the sand, and I wipe the sweat off my forehead as the sun beats on us. However, after an hour of walking, we reached a fortress in the middle of the desert. It looks beaten down, but sturdy. It is more sturdy than what the cartel has.
It is not bad and it is big enough for all of us.
"You've seen nothing yet, lass."
I look at one of the soldiers and say.
"What do you mean?"
"You will know. Just wait for a minute."
I frown at that answer. I hate their secrecy. What's with the delay? Can't they tell me directly? Urgh. Oh well. At least, I don't need to wait for long.
We enter the fortress, and I can see all kinds of weaponry that the people inside the fortress hold. Not only that, but I also saw machinery that looked brand new, something that was very different from the fortress around them.
However, what shocked me the most was when we entered an underground tunnel, where we walked for another ten minutes and reached a massive underground city. It is unlike the underhive or even the hive city.
It is clean, and I can see children and adults laughing and talking with each other in happiness. They look at us and bow toward Kael. There is no hatred or fear in their eyes. I saw how people bowed their heads to the Cartel Leader, but their eyes held nothing but fear and hatred.
However, these people look at him in admiration. The children are toward him, and he happily greets them with hugs and smiles.
The previous soldier looks at me with a smile and says,
"Unbelievable, right? As you can see, these people respect and adore him. I once liked you, you know? I was someone working at the bottom rank in the cartel before they decided to discard me for drinking a little water outside my break time. However, as I am dying in the waste, Lord Kael finds me and takes me here, to the Sanctuary. He opens his arms to anyone who is willing to accept him. He is our lord and our god. Even though he keeps telling us he is just a human."
"What if he is just a human?"
My mouth moves on its own, and I quickly close my mouth. However, instead of being angry at me, the man smiled and said,
"Maybe he is. However, you will soon think otherwise when you see what he has done to us. You will change that view very fast, just like many of us. However, you can experience that later. For now, let me welcome you to our little group. Welcome to the Sanctuary, my friend. You can discard all your burdens and let us help you carry them."
For the first time in my life, I feel as if everything will be okay. I feel I can let loose and show my vulnerable side without worrying about anyone exploiting that. For the first time in my life, I feel like I have a place I can call home.
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I wave my hand to expand the underground base away from Tertium. While expanding the tunnel, I make sure the entire tunnel does not collapse by making pillars to support the underground base.
Standing not too far away from me is Hannah, leading the new people in helping me expand the base, and Rita, leading the people feeding the workers.
"Hannah, you are working for the cartel, right? Do you know how far the second hive is from here?"
Hannah looks at me in confusion as sweat drips down her face.
"Second hive? I don't know the exact location, my lord. Sorry. However, I know that you cannot get there without an airship. I hear the ground is so toxic that you cannot get near it. Even one kilometer can make you sick."
"Really?"
"Yeah. One of the captains of the Hruk Cartel came from that place, and he needed to bribe one of the PDF to reach here."
"And why does he need to go to Tertium?"
"That is because Hive Ferrum is worse than Tertium. Ferrum has a bigger population than Tertium, and the PDF and Arbites in that hive rule with an iron fist. An iron fist that is more than happy to kill you at a slight insult. There is also the problem of food. With that many people, food is something they always need and never get enough, even the amount of corpse starch they create."
I grimace at the mention of corpse starch. I encountered that food when I found the weapon caches in the past. It is disgusting, and I don't want ever to eat it.
"Right. What I want to know is if we will hit the hive city if we expand in this direction? We don't want Hive Ferrum to know of us."
"Ah, you don't need to worry about that, My Lord. That place is thousands of kilometers away from here. We are safe."
"Perfect!"
With that, we continue to get farther away from Tertium and ensure our base has enough space for more people who will come. However, before I can reach the goal, someone runs toward me, shouting.
"My lord! My Lord!"
I turn around and say.
"What is it?"
"The Cogitator receives a broadcasting signal from the Sectors Spirum."
My [Tinker–Analysis] might not specialize in communication and computers, but it can create a computer to take data from public broadcasts as if it were data that you need to analyze. Lastly, Sectors Spirum is the upper part of the Spire, the highest sector of the Hive City. It is a place where administrators, nobles, and planetary governments stay.
Basically, it is where the seat of power of a planet is located.
"Let's go."
I walk to the Surveillance room where I can see people watching over the computers. These people are the people whom I teach how to use these computers. They know the basics, but it is good enough to reduce the load of Canto.
Speaking of Canto, why is she not telling me about this?
{I am currently busy blocking all the hacking attempts from the Mourningstar, Kael. I also know the operator will inform you.}
'I see.'
That is understandable. I walk to the computer and press the play button. The computer then plays the recorded broadcast.
"This is I, Lord Constance Margrave, Lord Ruler of the Moebian Domain."
What a pompous asshole. I don't like the tone of his voice.
"People of Tertium, it has come to my attention that crime is rising in our beloved Hive City. Because of this reason, I, Lord Constance Margrave, declare war against the criminals in the city. By the right given to the Emperor of Mankind, I shall order the PDF to move and scour the Hive to fight against the criminal scum. For this reason, all rations for the civilians shall be cut in half. That is all, Emperor Protect."
When it is done playing, I can see the others look at the computer with such hatred that if a glare can destroy things, the computer will be nothing but ashes.
I take a deep breath and look at the others.
"Gather the others. We will prepare the incoming PDF. Sooner or later, they will come after us. We will make sure we are ready to fight against the government."
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For you guys who don't know, I took a loan to pay for all the funeral expenses, and I need to pay quite a bit for the first installment. I don't have enough money to pay for rent, the electric bill, and food, alongside that monthly payment. I need your help to pay for the first few payments so I have enough savings to pay the rest without risking my family and me going starving or not paying rent.
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