Chapter 290 - Night God

Chapter 290: Chapter 267 Night GodLi Cheng wasn’t worried about the Mechanical Dog charging at him.

LQ-84i Bladewolf, from "Metal Gear Rising," is an AI-equipped quadruped autonomous weapon capable of communication, thought, and executing commands, even able to speak and crack deadpan jokes. It understands threats.

After a brief silence, Bladewolf spoke in a mixed electronic voice, "You are not infected. Why have you come to the Lower Nest?"

Li Cheng boldly replied, "Who says I’m not infected? I’m carrying Ebola, HIV, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, meningitis, feline distemper, Chikungunya fever, Marburg hemorrhagic fever, and feline distemper..."

Quite the character, what with an Innate Gu Cultivation Holy Body. With so many diseases and still hopping around, it seems like they’ve reached a dynamic balance inside you, huh? And why mention feline distemper twice; are you hinting at something?!

With a bizarre expression on his face, Rainbow Cat, who was being held hostage,

The red flashing light atop LQ-84i Bladewolf’s head lit up twice, "Symptoms of Ebola virus infection include rashes, bruises, and bleeding.

You do not have Ebola, so this statement is a pun: it confuses technical malfunctions with conventional sickness, creating a non-sequitur effect.

Degree of mirth concealed: Level 2."

The joke was already cold to begin with, but after Bladewolf’s serious explanation, it became even colder. However, Gray Rain was intrigued. S~eaʀᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

As a robot from the future far surpassing Earth’s technological level, her usual combat style is endurance and brute force smashing, which really doesn’t show any class or reveal her identity.

This Bladewolf looked quite advanced, and it even understood jokes.

Immediately, Gray Rain turned 180 degrees and asked Rainbow Cat, "Is this dog for sale?"

The latter, with a tense face, replied, "Not for sale!"

Still unwilling to give up, Gray Rain persisted, "I’ll pay! Three hundred, five hundred, a thousand?"

"Not selling, not selling!"

After this interlude, the tense atmosphere at the scene eased slightly. Li Cheng took the initiative to put down the rusty machete and spoke calmly, "Don’t worry, we’re not here to fight; we’re here to help.

Take me to your leader; there is an important matter to discuss."

Sleeping bags were placed in the underground tunnel, making it evident that Bladewolf and Rainbow Cat were sentinels assigned by the infected forces to guard the perimeter, suggesting that the infected still maintained some social order.

Bladewolf’s head lights flashed red three times, and after a moment of silence, nodded, "Follow me."

Agreeing so easily? I thought it would take more effort.

Li Cheng raised an eyebrow and gave Gray Rain a meaningful glance as he put down Rainbow Cat and followed Bladewolf deeper into the tunnel.

The deeper they went, the more signs of life became apparent.

They came across agricultural zones of potted crops, industrial zones of handicraft workshops, and residential zones made of wooden partitions.

Li Cheng even saw a kindergarten—in the cramped tunnel, a group of children covered with purplish-black material, all suffering from malfunction syndrome, were singing nursery rhymes.

When the children saw two ’strangers’ appearing in full-body protective suits with air tanks on their backs, they stopped singing and looked at them curiously.

"Owooo."

Li Cheng raised his hands and made a fierce face, scaring away the little brats, his mind racing with thoughts.

The living conditions of these infected indicate that those already suffering from malfunction syndrome don’t have to worry about further infection, so none of the patients used protective gear.

Furthermore, the expected lifespan of the infected underground is much longer than that of the infected above ground.

A toy resembling an Arctic Bear (presumably from "Golden Compass") had most of its body covered in purplish-black material but still moved normally, crafting iron pots beside a forging furnace.

Bladewolf didn’t want the two outsiders to have much contact with the locals. It ran on all fours, quickly leading Li Cheng and Gray Rain through a complex maze of tunnels.

They had arrived at the core area of the tunnel system—an expansive and empty underground factory.

The factory was about fifty meters high, equipped with gantry cranes, industrial robotic arms, and automated assembly lines. However, all the machinery was at a standstill.

At the very depths of the factory, hundreds of thick cables hung down from the ceiling like blood vessels, connecting to a massive object wrapped in heavy plastic cloth.

Gray Rain curiously asked, "What is this?"

"First, I don’t know, and second, don’t ask questions you shouldn’t," came the response.

Rainbow Cat stopped in front of a large traditional Chinese door, reaching out to tug on the lion-head knocker.

The bronze lion-head decoration opened its eyes, sizing up Rainbow Cat, "Come in, the leader has been waiting for you."

Creak—

As the Chinese door slowly opened, Li Cheng couldn’t help but widen his eyes, uttering in amazement, "Whoa."

If the City Hall above ground in Toy City was described as a gathering of celestial beings, then the underground infected’s assembly could likewise be called an all-star lineup.

A group of toys lined up from left to right, including Hello Kitty, Barbie, Blue Monster from Monster Power Company, Interstellar Dinosaur, Super Flying Hero, Masked Rider, Thunder Bag Puppet...

These toys were gathered around a round table for a meeting, and in the innermost seat, sat an Ordinary-looking high school student with a human appearance.

With brown hair, dressed in a brown Japanese school uniform and wearing a red tie, his expression was icy cold—undoubtedly it was Ye Shen Yue, the main character from the manga "Death Note."

"...Let’s end the meeting here for now, Sully, have the monthly report on the hydroponic agriculture area’s electricity usage to me by today," said Ye Shen Yue, his chest covered in a purple-black substance, already aware of the arrival of Li Cheng and his companion. He tapped on the table, signaling for others to leave.

He then spread his hands warmly, smiling, "Welcome to the Dislocated Toy Island, which one of you is Ant?"

’Dislocated Toy Island’ is a term from a children’s book, where all the weird and unaccepted toys get banished to an island.

Its use here was some sort of self-deprecation.

"It’s me."

Li Cheng spoke cheerfully, "So, who found this place before me? Joker or Gouchen?"

This dialogue seemed somewhat bewildering, with a jumpy narrative, but behind it lay a meticulous logic.

Firstly, when Joker initially planned the terrorist attack, he only revealed the photos of the players without mentioning the IDs.

Ye Shen Yue, however, knew the name "Ant", which suggests a few possibilities.

One, he had intelligence exchanges with the surface City Hall, obtained specific IDs of the Transcendents by interrogating captured players, or he might have planted a mole in City Hall.

Two, he used the Death God’s Eye ability from the original "Death Note" manga, sacrificing half of his remaining lifespan to forcibly see the names of Ordinary people.

Three, another player had arrived before Li Cheng and had already informed Ye Shen Yue with some information.

Firstly, rule out the second possibility, not to mention that Ye Shen Yue probably didn’t possess Death Note (if he did, he would have used it to wreak havoc long ago, instead of hiding underground),

and it was impossible for the Death God’s Eye to bypass the system restrictions and read the players’ real names.

Regarding the first and third possibilities, they could coexist, with the latter being more likely—another player had arrived first and negotiated terms with the infected. Hence, the other party was so composed.

Judging by the meeting that these toys had been conducting for a while, that player must have arrived at least an hour or two earlier and might have already left.

Gray Rain was utterly confused by this, while Ye Shen Yue nodded, appreciating that Li Cheng’s reaction proved he wasn’t a fool. Negotiations with a smart person were much simpler.

"Forgive me for keeping it confidential."

Ye Shen Yue smiled, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We share a common goal in striking down City Hall.

I can provide you with weapons, intelligence, logistics, to help you take down Eugene who relies on City Hall, and in return, you’ll do me a small favor."