Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Is This an Event Rerun?

Lloyd followed the woman, walking for over ten minutes through the sprawling sewer network.

He discovered that the deeper they went, the more ’urbanized’ the area became. Many of the original pools and holes had been converted into various types of houses. He could even see small, multi-story buildings, and the roads had been properly paved and supplied with running water and electricity.

More and more people came into view, wearing normal clothes and busy with their work. It was a completely different scene from the filthy, dilapidated, and chaotic world above ground.

Aside from the poor lighting and ventilation, this place was already a small Underground City.

It was no wonder this place had managed to escape the Sect’s control and become an isolated island within the city. The cost to govern such a complex underground network, filled with a motley crowd, would surely be astronomical.

After a few more minutes of walking, the woman led Lloyd to the perimeter of a colossal reservoir.

The area was the size of several stadiums, as vast as a lake. Hundreds of columns, each dozens of meters tall, rose from its center. It looked like it could hold the entire city’s sewage and was responsible for defending against torrential rains and floods.

But this grand piece of engineering had now been transformed into a sea of debauchery and flashing lights. Peeking through a floodgate at the bottom, Lloyd could see flashing neon lights, hear jarring, noise-like music, and make out a large crowd of things—it was hard to tell if they were human or not—writhing their bodies wildly to the music.

He couldn’t help but imagine that if he could climb to the top of the reservoir and look down, he would see a blood-red pool dyed by the lights, filled with countless twitching and writhing tentacles.

It perfectly matched the scene he had seen in the pocket watch. ’This has to be the place.’

Without hesitation, Lloyd handed the five bills to his guide.

The woman stuffed the bills into her bosom and asked:

"What do you think? Hot, right? Full of passion? Want me to introduce you to a few young, pretty girls? They’re not like me, you know. They’re young ladies from the outside, just like you."

"That won’t be necessary."

"Well then... good luck to you, generous sir."

The woman smiled, took a few steps back, and disappeared around a bend in the pipe.

Lloyd, on the other hand, took out the little kitten and told it to hide outside the gate and wait for him.

"Meow~"

The little kitten meowed twice, looking at Lloyd with a worried expression. It pawed at his uniform a couple of times with its tiny paws, as if reminding him to be careful.

Then it darted into the shadows and vanished from sight.

Only then did Lloyd adjust the mask on his face, pull on a pair of the white gloves he wore when executing Demons, and walk toward the floodgate.

As soon as he got close, two ferocious-looking brutes popped out from behind the gate, blocking his path with homemade Wolf Fang Clubs bristling with nails.

"Halt!"

One of them spoke, reaching out to search him. The other rudely grabbed for the baby-faced mask on Lloyd’s face.

Lloyd didn’t bother being polite either. He spat out a couple of Zu’an-level insults and activated [Aggressive Speech].

The two brutes instantly froze in place, their eyes wide. Threads of blood quickly appeared in the whites of their eyes, making them look even more menacing.

Lloyd walked past them, one hand gripping the Short Sword at his waist, the other holding a few matchsticks, and entered the magnificent reservoir.

A thick stench of alcohol, accompanied by a cacophonous melody that could hardly be called music, assaulted him, making his inspiration tremble slightly.

Bathed in the brilliant, multicolored lights, all sorts of people thrashed about to the noise. It couldn’t be called dancing; it was more like they were having seizures.

Judging by their attire, some were ordinary working-class people, some were fashionistas, and there was no shortage of glamorous, respectable socialites. He could even see the figures of a few Priests...

And in the dark corners, he could see a few barely clothed figures holding a "French salon."

The floor was littered with broken bottles and disgusting piles of vomit, emitting a rank, sour stench.

Yet the people here didn’t seem to mind at all. Every face was filled with a look of bliss, joy, and intoxication, as if they had sunk into an eternal paradise where they could live on by dancing carefree forever.

Lloyd walked through the reservoir for a while, pushing away several women who tried to press up against him, as he searched for clues about the book.

But in such a chaotic environment, he wouldn’t find anything with his naked eye alone.

Lloyd had no choice but to more boldly extend his inspiration and, at the same time, activate his Spiritual Vision.

His vision instantly turned to black and white, and everything became much quieter. This calmed his increasingly agitated mood.

At the same time, his inspiration brushed against something different in the air.

Lloyd quickly followed the trail his inspiration had found, crossing the entire reservoir to reach the far edge.

Many people were lying here haphazardly, as if they had drunk themselves into a stupor or danced to the point of exhaustion. They were motionless, aside from their breathing and heartbeats.

Beneath them were several drainage pipes, and the strangeness his inspiration had detected was emanating from within them.

Lloyd bent down, pushed aside the people on top, then cut open the grating and squeezed inside.

It wasn’t dirty inside, nor was it too low to navigate—he could move through by stooping. But it was pitch-black, without a single speck of light. Ahead lay only a darkness that seemed capable of devouring everything.

Lloyd considered for two seconds before choosing to deactivate his Spiritual Vision. He even closed his eyes, relying solely on the guidance of his inspiration to navigate.

’If I close my own eyes, it doesn’t matter how dark it is.’

The pipes here were just as complex, tangled like a ball of yarn. Without the guidance of his inspiration, he would have been completely lost after just a few steps.

But after a few minutes, Lloyd found his path blocked.

A thick layer of earth completely blocked the way forward. The sturdy metal pipes on his left and right felt like anvils when he hammered them with his fist.

And the final direction his inspiration pointed was to his right.

Lloyd drew his Short Sword and poured a large amount of Spiritual Power into it, causing the entire Spiritual Blade to tremble slightly and emit a humming sound.

Then he plunged the sword directly into the iron wall on his right.

Amidst a shower of sparks and the screech of cutting metal, he carved a circular hole in the pipe wall.

Lloyd jumped out, dropping just over a meter before his feet landed on a metal plate.

At the same time, his inspiration reminded him that the source of the strangeness was now very close.

Lloyd then opened his eyes and found himself in what looked like a purification basin for preliminary wastewater treatment.

Beneath his feet was a single walkway made of grated metal, stretching across the middle of the basin. On either side were pitch-black pits, like a bottomless Abyss.

’If I recall correctly, didn’t the richest man in Gotham City get his back broken in a scene just like this?’

And right in the middle of the walkway stood a museum-style display stand. On it sat a glass case, and inside lay the book Lloyd was looking for.

Under the dim surrounding light, the book emanated a faint, dark glow, giving it an air of sophistication.

’This easy? It took almost no effort at all.’

Beneath his mask, the corners of Lloyd’s mouth lifted in a slight smile. He straightened up, adjusted his clothes to look more presentable, and then strolled toward the display stand.

However, the closer he got to the book, the calmer his sense of anticipation and possessiveness became, and the slower his steps grew.

He was certain this was the book he desperately wanted, not some kind of bait or a forgery.

But the closer he got, the more he felt an instinctual sense of danger.

Yet his inspiration showed no warning signs. On the contrary, it was cheering with excitement, seeming even more eager than he was.

Lloyd glanced at his system panel, which was still active, to confirm his mind and consciousness were not being interfered with. Only then did he take the final few steps to the display stand.

He just had to reach out to touch the fragile glass cover, open it, and take the book.

But Lloyd wasn’t in a hurry. Instead, he carefully scanned his surroundings.

In the faint glow of the dim lights, he spotted the classic trio of incense, candles, and a mirror in the shadow of the display stand.

"As I thought..."

Lloyd muttered to himself, took two steps back, and activated [Twisted Realm].

As the power of [Twist] enveloped the surrounding Space, his inspiration instantly returned to normal and began to give off a faint, stinging sensation.

And the seemingly harmless display stand underwent a series of transformations before his eyes.

It was no longer museum-style, but a pile of ghastly white bones. A few skulls hung from the edges, their black, empty sockets staring intently at Lloyd.

The glass cover was still there, but it was submerged in a viscous, oily green liquid that gave off the pungent smell of strong acid.

’That must be highly toxic. If I’d reached for it rashly, I probably would have...’

And to the left and right of the bone display stand, he could also see some familiar things.

A broken cloth doll, a tangled mess of scorch marks, and a toy short sword lying on the ground.

’Is this some kind of event rerun from a past adventure?’

Lloyd smiled. With practiced ease, he struck a match and tossed it onto the tangled scorch marks.

A sharp CRACKLING sound filled the air. The scorch marks on the metal plate immediately began to change, slowly starting to squirm.

Lloyd took off his glove, bent down, and reached out to touch it.

The lines instantly transformed into black threadworms that wrapped around his fingers, trying to burrow into his body.

But they ran into Lloyd’s Spiritual Power and dissipated in an instant.

[Ding~ Madness Value +500, Skill Fragment +1]

’The same familiar process, the same familiar reward...’

It reminded Lloyd of the first time he acted as a good Samaritan and eliminated a public menace.

But times had changed. Now, when dealing with this, he no longer fell into strange hallucinations. He easily dismantled the three hidden Orbits.

Then, he heard a voice from behind him:

"Don’t move!"

It was followed by the soft click of a rifle being loaded.

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