Ashes Of Deep Sea

Chapter 349: Chapter 353: The Second Waterway

“This is a safe place, at least it has been for the past fifty years. The Frost authorities have never known that such a secret lies beneath their feet,” Nemo Wilkins walked into the deeply buried hideout and, turning around to Duncan and the others who had followed him in, said with palpable pride, “These ancient sewers crisscross each other. Most areas have been abandoned and are consequently dry and safe. There are also some side passages leading to the upper pipe system, but all the connections are secure. Even if one or two were discovered, City Hall couldn’t search the entire underground structure—they simply don’t have the manpower.”

The “tavern keeper” spoke, then moved to a nearby concrete wall and turned a valve on one of the pipes. A faint hissing sound came from afar—as a result, more gas lamps lit up, and even those that had been burning continuously shone brighter.

“In fact, it’s quite impressive that the current Frost City Hall can maintain the basic operations of the city,” he turned around, his mouth stretched into a grin on his elongated face, mocking, “What’s hidden in the sewers of half a century ago? Probably only the old craftsmen who once swore loyalty to the Frost Queen could explain clearly.”

“…Are these facilities leftovers from the Queen’s era?!” Fenna immediately guessed the truth from the other’s words, her eyes widening in surprise, “These underground waterways…how did you manage to hide them?”

Nemo shrugged his shoulders: “I didn’t experience the chaos of half a century ago, but my grandfather nagged me about it my whole life—he told me that the Frost Queen once built a vast underground structure for the entire City-State, originally to cope with land pressure and to lay the foundation for the City-State’s long-term development. These structures included underground waterways, power pipelines, electrical networks, and a complete transportation system that were ahead of the world at the time. And the ‘sewer’ you see before you is the deepest of them all—strictly speaking, it should have been named ‘Secondary Waterway’ because above it is another, the ‘Primary Waterway’ which is currently in use by Frost.

“After the big rebellion, the City-State did not fall immediately—in spite of the rebels later proclaiming that they ‘disintegrated the mad queen’s last guards in a very short time.’ In reality, the battle continued for a full seventy-two hours after the Queen’s Palace, now the city center, was captured. The loyalists in the city moved from above ground to below, fighting everywhere within the intricate subway stations and the network of power pipelines.

“As the rebels stormed the city center, proclaiming victory, newspapers were publishing news of the regime change, and the citizens were anxiously hiding in their homes. Subway stations were sealed, people lay on the ground near manholes, listening to various unsettling sounds coming from deep below.

“All this continued until the day of the execution—the rumbling of the cliff collapse shook the entire city, finally putting an end to the last resistance underground.

“After that, the Queen’s Guard blew up all the vertical shafts leading to the Secondary Waterway and shut the gates connecting it to the Primary Waterway. Coupled with subsequent minor conflicts and man-made collapses, eventually the entire Secondary Waterway was completely separated from the upper level.”

Nemo Wilkins spoke, raising his head to glance at the heavy dome above him, his gaze as if trying to penetrate through the steel, concrete, and stone layers, surveying the bustling streets above the City-State.

“In fact, the new government established by the rebels was not entirely ignorant of this sewer—they knew about the existence of Frost’s underground world. But what did that matter? They just knew it existed.

“The cliff had collapsed, the city was severely damaged, and it took Frost decades to recover its Vital Energy after the civil war, with Fyrgold becoming the city’s only remaining economic pillar. Once the premier City-State of Chill Sea, now only its past glory remains in history books, and to this day, the city still relies on the piping system left by the Queen.

“In such circumstances, who would have the capacity to search the enormous maze underneath the City-State? The cost of reopening vertical shafts and organizing the Secondary Waterway is unacceptable to the new government—and for Frost, post-war and reduced in both population and city size, having the upper ‘Primary Waterway’ is already sufficient.”

“Since it’s sufficient, they make do with it,” Fenna suddenly recalled something Morris had said not long ago and murmured subconsciously.

“Exactly, they make do with what’s sufficient. This city is already battered and can no longer afford another upheaval,” Nemo said with a smile, “Besides, for such a large city, even if there’s a bit of ‘moss’ hiding in the depths of the sewer, it’s no big deal. Heretical cults, dark creatures, night shadows, lost and out-of-control anomalies—there is plenty hidden in the gutters, each more deserving of concern from the authorities and the church than us.”

Duncan had been mostly silent, just quietly listening to the “informant’s” ramblings, when he suddenly asked, “Such a vast underground facility, and I see there’s even gas and electricity supplied here—it can’t be maintained by just you, right?”

“Of course not,” Nemo Wilkins laughed, “We do have a few hands, scattered throughout the city, even within certain departments of City Hall. Most of them are descendants of the Queen’s Guard, like myself, and others have been tested and confirmed loyal and reliable by General Tirian—though they aren’t fit for showing their faces.”

“””…Tirian said he has some ‘informants’ in Frost, he’s really modest,” Duncan couldn’t help but shake his head, “That boy actually buried such a vast network of power in Frost…”

Upon hearing Duncan’s reference to Tirian, Nemo’s face visibly tensed for a moment, but he said nothing.

While the group conversed, Morris remained keenly observing the underground world. His gaze swept across the towering dome, the abandoned pipes crisscrossing from above, and the valves and branch pipes on the nearby walls that clearly were later installations. After a while, he suddenly asked, “Do you still control the entire Second Water Path?”

“Strictly speaking, just a small part,” Nemo shook his head regretfully, “Although I would love to say that the entire underground kingdom is under our control, our manpower is limited after all, and the scale of the Second Water Path is beyond imagination—currently, only about one-fifth of the abandoned sewers are under our control. The rest are either closed off and abandoned due to collapses, covered with toxic wastewater, or eroded by dangerous forces and hard to enter.”

“Dangerous forces eroded?” Fenna immediately frowned, her occupational instincts kicking in.

“Sometimes, illegal Transcendents being chased end up in the sewers, dying down here and causing widespread contamination. But more often, it is the darkness itself that breeds monsters,” Nemo explained, “After all, this is a massive underground world. The gas we sneak from the surface vents is not enough to maintain the lighting throughout the Second Water Path. And when the light is insufficient… some areas plunge into darkness, and then, they are forever dark.”

Fenna stared, momentarily at a loss for words, feeling somewhat suffocated.

Coming from the prosperous City-State of Prand, and being a protector of the City-State’s order, she found it hard to imagine that a city would allow such things to happen—that vast underground facilities would be left in the dark for extended periods, even beginning to breed shadows, uncleanable. Was that even possible?

However, the reality before her confirmed that it was indeed possible, and the Frostfolk had been living this way for half a century, apparently without any major incidents occurring.

“One cannot rule out the occasional unlucky soul who strays underground and vanishes, or that the mortality rate of the city guards at night exceeds that of other city-states, but everyone is used to it.”

Nemo clearly noticed the astonishment on Fenna’s face; he had already deduced that those before him were “foreigners” and knew what they were marveling at.

“Clearing a few dangerous sections of the First Water Path and the subway branch lines every few years, pouring in incense and holy bone ash every now and then, increasing the bereavement pay for the fallen guards a little, and having the gatekeepers make a few extra rounds usually keeps most ordinary people living fairly well… This is actually considered a good situation.”

Speaking of this, the “bar owner” paused and turned with a smile, “Believe me, most city-states are actually not much better, and have not been through the ages.”

Duncan and the others exchanged glances, unsure what to say. After a brief and awkward silence, it was Fenna who first spoke up—she looked towards Morris and asked, “What is your assessment?”

“There are no signs of cognitive interference, thoughts and memories seem to be clear.”

Morris answered Fenna’s question, but his gaze remained fixed on Nemo Wilkins. Beneath the old scholar’s eyes, a faint silvery light was gradually fading.

Nemo blinked, a puzzled look on his face, “What are you… talking about?”

Duncan shifted his gaze, quietly observing the other man, “Mr. Nemo, congratulations, you have not been affected by cognitive interference.”

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