What were you doing before the end of the world? Are you going to be an assassin?

It was a winding but almost transparent road.

The sea.

Outside the stone wall is the sea!

80. Above the Ground

Connor climbed up the transparent stairs step by step. The stairs made of water were very soft and difficult to climb. Sometimes the stairs suddenly dropped a thousand feet, as if avoiding some pipes. Connor had no choice but to continue walking along the roller coaster-like stairs. This time the road became longer.

The sunlight outside gradually dimmed, and Connor looked out through the transparent stairs. The seabed underwent changes like a subtle weakening of the color of lapis lazuli, and then disappeared into a hazy darkness.

Connor could feel that the water separated by magic was like the air on land, which was thicker and almost as clear. Below was a piece of fine sand, which did not retain traces of waves like the beach. The sunlight reflected on the smooth surface allowed Connor to see clearly.

Looking back, Connor saw that part of the underground factory where he was once located extended into the sea.

Most of the several hundred meter long dark building was embedded in the land, with only a small edge floating in the water.

The stairs where Connor was standing were only in the middle of the dark building. He could see dozens of thick drainage pipes along the outer wall of the building. Under the push of magic pumps, the factory's sewage was discharged into a deep pit in the sea. Every time the magic pump operated, it was equivalent to purifying the water and separating the dry and wet parts.

The sediments accumulated over the years only filled half of the deep pit on the seabed, forming a layer of sticky silt.

Continuing to walk upward, groups of jellyfish floated over Connor's head. The white or red umbrella membranes and sky-blue-edged jellyfish blocked the sunlight above their heads, and the plankton in the dark cast phosphorescence on the road.

The stairs showed a noticeable slope, and Connor knew he was about to reach the water.

Connor had been walking for more than three hours since he left the underground factory and entered the sewer. Finally, his body sank and what appeared under his feet was no longer soft and unstable steps, but a real beach on the seaside.

"Ah! The sun!"

Connor cheered and opened his arms to embrace the sun in this world. This was the second time he saw the sun since he came to this world.

Connor's heart raced as he stepped onto land. He tested the ground with his feet, fearing that it would suddenly cave in and turn back into the dark rock of Sean.

Fortunately, it's not a dream.

He used Eagle Vision to scan the entire island from a high altitude. The island was lifted out of the water by a dead volcano. The overall outline of the island was like a monster head with its mouth wide open, hovering above the sea. The volcanic cone was the monster's eye.

Connor estimated the area of the island by splitting it into pieces. It was about two thousand square kilometers, which was about the same size as the county-level city in his hometown before the time travel.

The terrain here is rugged and irregular, arcing from the northeast to the northwest coast, and then gradually rising and bulging until it reaches the volcano.

The entire underground industrial area was originally operated with the help of volcanic energy, which is why Connor could see the lava lake on the edge of Sean City.

There were several larger islands in the distance, all connected together, pointing to a large, towering island. The island was covered with a whole building of brightly colored buildings that looked very developed. Connor didn't know what was going on there.

"Isn't this underwater staircase maintained to facilitate the maintenance of the underground water system? This way, there is no need to enter the underground space or drill into the sewer. It is really convenient..." Connor sighed. He did not find any signs of life nearby, but there were some traces of human activities in the woods.

Was there anyone on the island? No, he saw no trace of people, no houses, no isolated huts, no farmland or fishing grounds, only thick smoke rising from the volcanic cone.

That was the exhaust pipe of an underground factory. With the help of magic, they transformed the volcano into a natural barrier.

As for those "traces left by people", Connor speculated that they were probably the guards who took a break from patrolling and quietly climbed up to enjoy the sunshine and air of the citizen master.

There are many trees in the inland area from the mountains to the seashore, which is also the source of a small amount of wood for the underground factory. Most of the wood used in the factory is from underground minerals and things salvaged from volcanic lava.

Under the green dome, Connor saw a coconut tree. He used a throwing knife to knock down a coconut, smashed it, drank the coconut juice inside, and ate the coconut meat inside.

Wow! Comfortable!

This satisfaction was his protest against the food in Sean's place. Always eating mushrooms and grass, the meat of unknown monsters, and drinking water mixed with red poisonous mushroom juice, Connor decided that it was time to let the people in Sean get rid of that miserable situation.

Just now, I saw a lot of trees and a stream flowing down from a dead volcano. Judging from the area it flows through, it should be a freshwater river. With the skills of those people in Sean City in building underground cities, Connor felt that it would not be difficult to hide on the island or build a few boats to go to other islands.

"I have to bring them some to prove that I escaped from the underground factory." Connor held the throwing knife and pointed at the coconuts on the tree. He decided to only bring two or three back within his ability.

The upgrade mission issued by Prism has not yet been completed. It seems that Connor cannot complete the task by stepping foot on the land under the sun again. He also needs to bring those who are willing to come up from the underground with him.

Connor picked a few large and plump coconuts and was about to wrap them with broad leaves when he suddenly noticed something moving at high speed breaking into his [Eagle Vision] air defense zone.

The thing was so fast that before Connor looked up, it was still on the edge of his eagle vision, which was enough to scan the entire island. When he looked up, it was already in the sky directly above Connor's head.

The black shadow on the ground was particularly large, with broad wings on both sides of its slender body and a strong tail behind it.

Flying dragon!

Connor recognized it. It was the creature he had seen on the show "Valkyrie", which he had only watched a few times!

A dragon with a strong body and magical breath coming out of its mouth! With just one swing of its sharp claws, it could cut a mass-produced magic mecha in two, killing the Valkyrie in the cockpit!

No wonder there is nothing on the island, everything is built in the dark underground!

If those flying dragons see the factory on the island, won’t they use their dragon breath to wash the place clean?

Fortunately, the flying dragon ignored Connor on the ground and just flew away on its own... No, it was being chased by something!

Connor's Eagle Vision saw two more things. They were two aircraft that were similar to motorcycles but much larger than motorcycles. One could not tell which screw had been tightened on the assembly line where Connor was. Two girls called Valkyries were controlling the aircraft to chase the dragon.

"Don't play with that monster, mechas are coming!"

The Valkyrie's voice was so sharp that even Connor on the ground could hear it.

The two aircraft transformed immediately. The flying motorcycle turned into a flying Gundam. The firepower suddenly increased dramatically. Just one round of fire attack swept the flying dragon into the sea.

"Collect." The leading Valkyrie glanced towards the edge of the island and flew back to the largest and tallest island with her wingman.

81. There are always people who look up at the sky.

"Are there really flying dragons and Valkyries fighting outside? I thought they were all fake!"

In Sean City, leader Murphy's eyes widened. As a former slave in an underground factory, Murphy had also watched that very popular "reality show", but now he was told that those were real and not shows?

Would a beautiful and heroic Valkyrie really drive the magic mecha assembled on the assembly line to fight a real battle with a flying dragon, and every crash would represent real death?

"I really deserve to die..."

Not only Murphy, many residents of Sean City lowered their heads, and the grown men made creepy whimpering sounds. In the past, they also bet on the survival of the Valkyrie, and the stakes were just some insignificant supplies, but over there they were betting with their lives.

"Can crying from day to night and then from night to day bring the dead back to life?"

Connor was much calmer. He had seen too many deaths in the two memory worlds, and many people had died at his hands in the underground factory.

Murphy wiped his tears and said, "I'm sorry, I just...eh..."

Murphy sighed several times before he finally came out of his sadness. "I have a favorite Valkyrie. I would bet a piece of black bread every episode that she would come back alive. Then one day she didn't appear in the program list, and I thought she had quit the program..."

"Think about it, she didn't quit, she just died." Geller patted the leader's back with his rough big hand and said kindly.

Murphy: ...

"So, I've told you what's going on outside," Connor pointed to the coconut and map on the table, "Do you want to go out?"

"Should I continue to live underground, or get out?"

It took Connor more than three hours to climb out. He did not encounter any obstacles on his way back. He was familiar with the road and returned to Sean City in only about an hour.

We should be able to escape before night falls, before the guards redeploy.

Murphy thought for a while, then stood up and said, "We escaped from the underground factory so that we can return to the world under the sun one day."

"The road is now in front of me, and I can't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Murphy walked out of the room and gathered all the thousand people in Sean City. He announced the information Connor brought back and the decision to go to the world above. He also passed around the coconuts Connor brought back from outside, indicating that Connor had indeed found a way out.

"Of course we will follow Connor!" said Old Red. Not only him, but all the resistance fighters brought out by Connor held the same attitude.

"Let's not do that. There are scary flying dragons outside! If we leave it on the ground with no cover, we will just be fed to the dragons." However, some people who had long been accustomed to Sean City raised objections.

"Yes, yes. Although it's a little dark underground, we are safe! There are lava lakes, black grass and mushrooms. We don't have to worry about food or clothes."

"There's no need to be nervous here. I don't want to escape from the factory and then escape from the claws of a flying dragon again."

"Even if I can avoid the flying dragon, what if I'm discovered by the citizens? Isn't that a dead end? I won't go out..."

"Could that Connor be deliberately sending us to our deaths? How did he get out? Was he caught by the watchers to lure us?!"

"That's right, look at the clothes he's wearing! They're not the clothes we have here at all!"

"Leader Murphy must be confused by that new guy!"

Connor looked at the noisy crowd and said nothing. He just leaned against the stone wall and waited quietly.

No matter what others said, he was going to go up. In order to complete the task, he could just take Old Red and the others out. When everyone was arguing, Old Red had already taken people back to pack up. It was just that the others were arguing too fiercely, so no one paid attention.

"Ahem! Be quiet!"

Murphy cleared his throat and opened his arms to silence everyone's quarrel.

"Leader Murphy, tell me, are you going to betray us?" A man with a lame arm stood up and asked angrily.

"Look at my arm. I lost it during an exploration! We found nothing. There is no way out. It's all lies!"

He was wearing clothes woven from black grass fibers, with one sleeve empty.

Sean City has been established for several years, and everyone has found a suitable position here.

After years of underground life, they have become accustomed to the rules established in the city of Sean. Once these rules are broken, they have no idea how to continue living.

"I - must go see the world under the sun." Murphy said firmly. If it weren't for this idea, he would not have organized people to explore outside the city of Sean again and again.

"Oh? Really?" said the one-armed man, "Then I declare that you, Murphy, have betrayed Sean. From now on you are no longer our leader!"

"Drive them all out! Drive out all those who want to go out and die. Let them go!" Under the instigation of the one-armed man, the crowd was excited.

……

In the end, there were less than five hundred people who set out on the journey, and even among those who escaped with Connor, some wanted to stay in Sean and spend the rest of their lives.

Connor respected their ideas. Old Red had said that the Empire's discrimination against the degenerates was everywhere. Only in the underground could Sean get the equality and respect that should belong to the degenerates.

But there are always some people who live under the sun and look up at the sky.

Along the way, Murphy, Geller and others were amazed when they saw the Quiet Lake Monster frozen into an ice sculpture.

Old Red and others took the opportunity to spread the story among the team about how Connor led them to escape. This story has been told many times and will be told many times in the future.

"It's so cold..."

Murphy shivered, and Geller was not much better. The quiet lake turned into a large block of ice, constantly radiating its coldness. The clothes made of grass on the body could not resist the cold.

"Hold on, there will be a way once we enter the sewer."

Connor walked at the front of the team, holding a flaming blade high in his hand, just like when he escaped from the underground factory.

Those who wanted to go to the upper world followed Connor, holding stone spears, stone knives and stone axes, like a group of pilgrims heading to the holy land.

As expected, the underground factory that was broken into by a single man was slow to react, and the bodies of the soldiers killed by Connor were still lying there.

Despite the blood on their clothes, the pilgrims were still ecstatic.

"Let's go, there's still a long way to go."

"But we've already started, haven't we?"

82. Ten or even six years

A few hours later, the sky had completely darkened. Although it was night, there were no clouds in the sky, and the moonlight and starlight were enough to illuminate. Suddenly, a passage silently opened up on the calm sea.

Connor stuck his head out of the corridor. The air had less of the smell of the sea and more of the scent of forest and earth.

He looked around vigilantly, but still found no signs of life on the island with his eagle vision. There were only some traces of birds and small animals, so he waved back.

Behind him were Murphy, Geller, Old Ryan and others dressed as guards.

When they smelled the fresh air that was different from underground and when they saw the endless night sky and the stars, two lines of hot tears could not stop flowing.

"Hurry up, this tunnel won't last long, the guards may catch up at any time!"

Fortunately, he did not encounter any guards when he led the men out. Connor didn't know whether it was because this group of guards lost contact with the werewolf guards too quickly or because he couldn't send more people. In any case, he seized the opportunity to get out first.

Connor whispered that after Murphy and others came out, they would be the pilgrims who were willing to go to the earthly world.

More people were filled with fear of this strange above-ground world. They had only lived in the normal empire for ten or even six years, but underground, adding up the days in the factory and Sean City, they had been there for more than twenty or even thirty years.

They are familiar with everything underground and can use their own hands to create the tools and food they need in the underground world, but what about above ground?

Such a strange world appeared before them. The excitement of seeing the light of day again and the worry about the future made them feel suffocated.

When these pilgrims, some wearing looted clothes and some woven from black grass, stood on the beach and looked up at the bright stars in the night sky, even though they were labeled as degenerates and thrown into dark underground factories, their hearts, which had long been numb from the repetitive actions, began to tremble.

Everyone held their excitement in their hearts and quietly felt the free sky and free wind. Then they all looked at Connor at the same time, looking at the man who led them to see the light of day again.

"Everyone, quickly enter the forest. It's not safe here yet. Go to the island and find a suitable place to survive. Try to make as little noise as possible to avoid being discovered by the flying dragons and the Valkyrie."