Chapter 419: Approaching Midnight

Chapter 419 – Approaching Midnight
Guns roared, the steam engine drove the heavy mechanical spider to rotate its body, the six-barrel machine gun spun and spat out angry tongues of fire in all directions, sweeping away the monsters that kept emerging from the fog like a harvest, while every now and then bullets flew from the fog, hitting the armor of the walking machine and the sandbags that constructed the barricade.

There were “soldiers” among the monsters, heavily armed soldiers, and even walking mechanical spiders dripping with black slime.

As the battle continues, the number of these dangerous enemies increases.

“These sons of bitches are copying us!”

A soldier wearing a breathing mask hid behind a barricade and shouted angrily while frantically pulling the trigger, the metal armor on his body was already scarred, the power pipes in the joints of the armor broke, hissing steam gushed out from the valves, and on the steam backpack behind him, the logo of the Frost City State’s elite garrisons could be seen.

“We’re not the only ones they’re copying,” the squad commander blurted out, his voice hoarse and dark behind his breathing mask – the fog in the streets was getting worse, and in order to avoid any poisonous gases that might be present in the fog, now that the missions into the warzone of the garrisons had been donning these intimidating breathing masks, “Everything living that appears in the fog is the enemy, is the enemy!”

“I just saw a group of people run past at the intersection ahead!” Another soldier suddenly shouted, “Looked like armed civilians – or sailors on a ship!”

“I saw them too, it was a blur, they were burning like, but the fire was green!”

The squad commander looked up at that, yet the next second a strange whine suddenly came from the other side of the fog, wrapped in the shrill chirp of death.

A grenade pierced through the fog, crossed the gap between the barricades, and crashed directly at the feet of the steam walker – without any time to react, the grenade exploded and shrapnel bloomed like rain.

The thin metal breastplate couldn’t stop the deadly impact at such close range, and the squad commander was blown out along with his own soldiers.

After an indeterminate amount of time, he regained a little bit of lucidity from his trance, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the steam-walker stagger and fall, its armor ripped apart, all of its power tubes spewing white mist, and the only remaining machine-gun turret splashing out the last of its shells as it toppled over.

Countless shadows emerged from the fog and surged toward the next intersection.

The squad commander squirmed slowly, clutching a grenade in his hand with the pull-tab already drawn; he couldn’t remember when he’d gotten hold of it-perhaps when he’d been blown up just now, or perhaps as a subconscious reaction as he’d lost consciousness.

He felt like he used all his strength to throw the grenade at the thick fog.

Yet he only weakly let go.

The iron-gray metal cylinder came loose from his hand and rolled down the street with a clanging sound, its fuse hissing with smoke as it rolled to the side of the road and down into a dry gutter – through the darkness, down into crevices, slipping through sloping ventilation holes, down into the age-beaten underbelly of the Frost City State and into the forgotten darkness with a bang. darkness with a roar.

“Boom!”

A muffled thud came from a very distant place overhead, and the roof of the tunnel seemed to quake slightly, spilling some sandy dust and floating soil.

“Sailor” immediately scrunched his neck, his dry face with a hint of nervousness: “This place really won’t collapse?!”

“At least it hasn’t collapsed in the past few decades,” Lawrence stepped forward, the gas lamps embedded in the walls of the corridor on both sides emitting a not-so-bright glow, illuminating the path ahead, “As a dryad, how can you be so timid? An ‘anomaly’ like you is supposed to be the thing that scares others, right?”

“I think the fact that …… is digging such a huge underground space underneath the city-state is enough to make people fearful in itself!” Anomaly 077 had tension in his tone, “What do you guys think ……”

Lawrence shrugged, “How would I know, it’s not like I dug it.”

He then no longer cared about the dry body, but looked down and said to the small mirror on his chest, “Martha, what is the situation on your side?”

“It’s very lively,” Martha’s voice came from the mirror, and the sound of explosions and artillery firing from far away seemed to be interspersed in the background, “After you guys entered the second waterway, the entire mirror world went ‘crazy’ — All the ships in and around the harbor were firing at me.”

“Is it all right?”

“I don’t get sunk that easily – but the bad thing is, the enemy doesn’t seem to sink that easily either, and they keep getting replenished from the reflections.”

Lawrence was silent for a moment, looking up into the dark, deep corridor ahead.

“How far is it from here to the deepest part?” He asked.

“It’s far, but you can take a ‘shortcut’.”

Lawrence frowned, “Shortcut?”

“Notice all that standing water on the ground? Find a signpost, then find the standing water closest to the signpost and look at the view reflected in it.”

Puzzled, Lawrence followed Martha’s instructions to a pool of standing water that fit the bill and looked down at the reflection within.

There was an intersection reflected in the reflection, and a nameplate nailed to the wall next to the intersection, where the words “Uptown Sewer Main” could be vaguely seen.

His eyes widened and he raised his head to look at his side.

On the wall beside him, the mottled plaque reads “Harbor District Sewerage”.

Martha’s voice came from the mirror: “See? The world in the mirror is discontinuous.” “…… Unbelievable …… It’s like a dream ……” Lawrence muttered, looking down again at the the puddle of stagnant water under his feet, even as one of the most experienced captains on the infinite sea, he had to admit that everything in this City of Mirrors was really beyond his imagination, but soon, he settled down, “So how do we make use of these ‘shortcuts’?”

“You’re already here,” Martha said with a smile, however, “When you’ve been stationed in front of this ‘mirror’ long enough, you’re already there.”

Lawrence froze and looked up in a panic.

Before him was an intersection, dimly flickering gas lamps set into the walls of the corridor at the intersection, and according to his nearest nameplate, the mottled lettering was vaguely legible –

Uptown Sewer Main.

Abnormality 077 looked around in shock at the sudden change in his surroundings, his eyes darting in and out of the roadside nameplates and puddled reflections, for a long time before he suddenly cried out, “Does this make sense?!”

A circle of sailors around them swept their eyes down on the dryad in unison.

Lawrence, however, did not care about the reaction of the “sailors”, he just thoughtfully looked at the dimly lit corridor in front of him, and after a long time, he frowned doubtfully and said to Martha, “We’re already in the second waterway, but what about the ‘helpers’ you mentioned before? What about the ‘helpers’ you mentioned earlier? What about those ‘Queen’s Guards’ who fought in the Second Waterway?”

The sound of distant gunfire came from the mirror, and Martha’s voice was delayed for a few seconds before it reached Lawrence’s ears, “Take the left fork in the road, follow the red signposts all the way, and when you reach the point where there’s no more road stop and wait …… They’ll show up when the time’s up, and they’ll show up. ”

Lawrence frowned, “Time?”

“…… The Queen’s Guard attack at midnight zero – midnight zero every day, they are not visible until that time.”

……

In the secret room where the underground contact station was located in the “Golden Flute” tavern, the “old ghost” lying on the bed suddenly opened his eyes.

“What time is it ……”

The old man’s eyes seemed to be in a trance, as if mumbling in his sleep, but in the dimly lit room, the only response to him was the occasional “drip” from some listening devices, and the faint sound of gunfire coming from somewhere.

The next moment, the old man’s eyes suddenly widened.

The faint sound of gunshots?
Gunshots!

The old man instantly came to his senses, the sound of the gunshot reached his ears, indistinct and blurred, as if it was separated not only by thick walls and floors, but also by decades of years and years of light – he flew out of the bed, and immediately reached out and grabbed something that was placed beside the bed.

It was a large wrench that he kept by his side even when he slept.

It was his tool, and his weapon.

“It’s on… …… It’s on… …… I can’t sleep here… …… It’s time to gather… …”

The old ghost muttered, shivering as he slipped on his shoes and put on the jacket that was sitting on the chair next to him, then lifted his head again and looked at the room he had just slept in.

This was the secret room used for liaison with the Sea Mist Fleet, and Nemo had arranged for him to rest here and watch over the equipment in the meantime.

But in the next second, the old ghost seemed to forget everything related to this room again, his eyes clouded up once more and looked quizzically at the door not far away.

“Oh! Here’s the door!”

The old ghost came to a sudden realization and a happy look appeared on his face, then he flew over to the door and pulled it open with one hand to open the iron door that led to the secret underground passage.

Opposite the door was a narrow and gloomy corridor, in which the lights flickered on and off, interspersed with hissing sounds caused by insufficient gas supply from the gas pipes.

“The gas pipeline is not quite normal …… air pressure is not enough? …… No no no, now is not the time to care about this …… “The old ghost looked at the lights in the corridor, his mouth muttered quickly, he took a step forward, but then as if he suddenly remembered something, once again turned back to look at the secret room where he had just rested.

The room was empty.

Everyone had probably gathered in the tavern on the floor.

“Raven, I’m going out, so stay home!”

The old ghost shouted to the empty room, then turned around, carrying his big wrench that never left his side, and slowly walked towards the deep, dark passage.

Toward the second waterway.

The time had come for the Queen’s Guard to strike back.

(End of chapter)