Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 934: Foundation of the Lower Ring (Part 2)

Adam and Silvana watched the Cave Grid for a while. From their vantage point, the place looked like an anomalous zone protected by the military.

In a way, they were right. Ordinary people could only go down to the Cave Grid if they had special permission and the necessary skills to do so. Otherwise, most of the fighting and resources from the Lower Ring took place at the Cave Grid, deep in the mines.

Orel shook off the ash at the lowest pointing to the western tower.

”Thatʼs our tower by the walls. To get to the Cave Grid through the west gate you need permission from the Red Bears. Itʼs the same situation with all the other gates. The men you see on the walls are ordinary men under our command.

”Some of them are actually government agents, but few people know that. I think youʼve realized by now that the Cave Grid is the most valuable asset the Lower Ring and the Citadel have.”

Adamʼs eyes went wide in disbelief. ”W-Wait... I realize that the Cave Grid is important to the Lower Ring, but talking about the Citadel... Donʼt you think thatʼs an exaggeration?”

”Hah, not at all,” Orel shook his head. ”Adam, I mentioned iron and coal for a reason. In addition to the resources inherent to the Dead Lands, there are various metals and rare earth elements at the Cave Grid.”

With a slight glint in his eyes, Orel continued. ”The common people, the miners, work at the Cave Grid both day and night, though at the Lower Ring, it is always night. Some of the resources stay with us, and some we send to the Upper Ring. Coal and iron are only a fraction of whatʼs available at the Cave Grid.

”Copper, tin, gas, oil, flint, tons of sand, stone, gemstones, but not for jewelry but for sophisticated engineering and medical devices. Even something like uranium is pretty easy to find at the Cave Grid. Transportation is no problem either because itʼs a well-established system thatʼs been in operation for decades.”

Silvana turned around, looking at Orel with genuine curiosity.

”But... Why the Cave Grid?”

”Hmm? Where if not here?” Orel raised an eyebrow. ”Silvana, youʼre an Operator, especially from the Upper Ring. You graduated from the academy and work with the military, youʼre definitely smart. So, tell me where the Citadel gets all its resources from?”

For a moment, Orelʼs eyes grew deeper.

”After all, at the Upper Ring, there are no mines, no caves, no hills or mountains where resources could be located, right?”

Silvana gulped, to her shame only one answer came to her mind.

”From the Dead Lands...? Ghm!” she coughed bringing herself to order. ”Forgive my rudeness, but are you saying that there are more resources at the Cage Grid than can be found at the Dead Lands?”

Orel chuckled briefly, taking another puff of his cigarette.

”Well, If you put it in that perspective... The Dead Lands are huge, dozens of times larger than the Citadel and all the Bastions. However, youʼre wrong to make such a comparison.”

”Agh...?” Silvana was confused. She was nervous as she didnʼt often find herself in a situation where she knew little.

”Do you have any idea how many resources it takes to build even one kilometer of Citadel walls? How much concrete and iron does it take to build one block or an entire neighborhood? How much energy does it take to keep hundreds of thousands of homes active, warm, and with electricity?”

Orel took a deep breath, looking up.

”Sure, at the Dead Lands, there are all the resources needed, but itʼs just not profitable. Iʼd even say itʼs incredibly unprofitable and pointless.”

Silvana gulped. ”Why? Why do you say that?”

”Hah, donʼt you realize that yourself?” Orel smirked. ”When the Phantoms complete a mission, they collect resources. 90% of the time itʼs monster parts and something that contains energy, which is an alternative to energy crystals. However, no one is going to assign Phantoms to a mission and send a plane after them to bring a few tons of coal to the Citadel. It sounds ridiculous and in practice, it would be even worse.”

With a cold stare, Orel turned in her direction.

”How do you imagine it, Silvana? Are Phantoms going into a mine to dig for coal and iron? Or... The military and Harvesters do it while the Phantoms guard them? Come on, itʼs so stupid and, most importantly, ineffective.

”The Phantoms are valuable fighters, they go to the Dead Lands and risk their lives. So they should come back with the most valuable things they can carry: monster parts, energy-infused resources, and artifacts, that sort of thing.”

Orel leaned forward, watching the three trucks pull out of the northern gate belonging to the Green Dragon.

”One successful mission should pay for all the risk, time, and resources spent on the mission. After all, fuel for airplanes and trucks isnʼt free.”

Then, he turned to Silvana.

”Now do you see what Iʼm talking about, Silvana? Getting a ton of coal at the Dead Lands is a lot harder, more dangerous, and a thousand times less profitable than at the Lower Ring, and itʼs all thanks to the Cave Grid.”

After a while, Silvana nodded slightly and bowed low.

”Yes, forgive my ignorance. I donʼt know anything about the Cave Grid. Please tell me more about it.”

Adam nodded weakly. ”Yeah, Iʼm curious about it too. But to be honest, coal, iron, and other shit donʼt interest me as much.”

A sly smile showed on Orelʼs face.

”Oh, you want to know more about structure and monsters, donʼt you?” Orelʼs eyes lowered. ”Well, itʼs pretty simple. The Cave Grid is hundreds of times larger than what you see. Whatʼs more, we certainly havenʼt explored it all the way to the edges, weʼre constantly finding new caves and territories.”

Adam nodded deeply.

”I see... Just like at the Wild Lands, right?”

”Hah, something like that. There are many levels of caves, and the deeper you go down the more dangerous the monsters you encounter. Thatʼs why regular people work closer to the surface, collecting coal and iron and sending it up to the Upper Ring. So that the factories can run and the peopleʼs homes can have light and heat.”