Netherworld Retrograde

63: Chapter 29 Black Prison_2 63: Chapter 29 Black Prison_2 The Heavy Knight glanced at him and then returned to a state of stoic impassiveness.

Starfire’s expression had matured quite a bit.

Ma Da’s incident had hit him hard, but it had also made him grow a lot.

Gone was his competitive and aggressive spirit, replaced now with much more steadiness and calm.

“Brother Ye, I owe you big time for last time,” Starfire said.

“Also, congratulations on your Second Awakening.”

“Mm,” Li Yelai responded.

“I remember you guys just graduated from high school, right?

Going straight to college?”

In this era, the threshold for entering college was very high.

Like Li Yelai, who only had a high school diploma, normally you would save a few years’ wages and gain a decent amount of work experience before you could consider attempting to enter college.

Of course, those who performed exceptionally well could be directly admitted, or rich kids who wanted to add a college brand to their resume didn’t have to worry about this problem.

Thus, the value of a college student was quite high.

“Yeah, I’m already a college student,” Starfire nodded.

“My current daily task is to be on the lookout for any hidden anomalies or Kaidan within the college.

It’s just that there’s a bit of trouble recently.

A celebrity band has come to No.3 Border City.

My classmates are all very enthusiastic.

The officials are concerned there might be issues, so they have us monitor the whole event.

At least I got two free tickets out of it.”

The officials had taken some precautions for the arrival of this band.

Perhaps due to certain intelligence, the officials were a bit uneasy and dispatched many Processors to the scene.

After all, once the concert started, it would be packed with people.

Any issues that arose would be magnified infinitely.

However, this no longer had anything to do with Li Yelai.

He was heading down to the Black Prison today and wouldn’t be out until next month.

After chatting with a few people, Li Yelai went to retrieve his Crimson Long Sword and put on the official Combat Uniform prepared for him.

He wandered around the department, waiting for the rotation time.

During this period, he saw one after another senior Processor returning from outside the city.

They were all members of a team, and were likewise fully equipped.

Li Yelai even saw a Knight clad in Dragon Scale Armor, wielding a peculiar pair of swords.

That Dragon Scale Armor was really made from dragon scales…

It was said to be crafted from Spiritual Ability Equipment using materials from a troublesome Fire Dragon hunted in the Doomsday Forest, a Forbidden Zone.

These seasoned Processors were often those who left Giant City, stepped beyond the high walls, and faced Calamity in the wilderness head-on.

They contained the spread of Extraordinary Creatures and protected the communication and trade routes between the Giant Cities.

Therefore, they were also known as Ye Boshou.

Belonging to the elite among Processors!

Li Yelai knew that this title originated from ancient history before Calamity.

Although he only had a high school diploma, working at the antique store had allowed him some understanding of this history.

This title derived from the Great Wall, which Li Yelai had never seen.

The Great Wall was a defensive measure of agricultural civilization against nomadic civilization.

In most feudal dynasties, the Great Wall played a significant role.

Powerful dynasties, like the Han and Tang, used the Great Wall as a stronghold to attack foreign tribes.

Weaker dynasties, however, used it defensively.

Beyond the Central Plains, lies the world’s most expansive Grassland.

Countless Grassland Cavalries roared across the earth, becoming the most terrifying Cavalry of the era.

Xiongnu, Xianbei, Rouran, Shiwei, Turkic, Qidan, Jurchen, Mongolia…

each a formidable presence in their time.

And the Great Wall towered over that despairingly long boundary line.

It served as an early warning signal with its beacon fires, a defensive barrier with its high walls, and a base for troop garrisoning and transport.

Thus, the Great Wall became the most troublesome defense for the nomadic tribes.

Due to the existence of the Great Wall, many Northern nomadic tribes were forced to abandon their southward incursions and instead venture westward, crossing the Danube River or the Rhein River.

And the Ye Boshou were the forces that operated outside the protection of the Great Wall.

Their duty was to scout intelligence, launch surprise attacks on enemies beyond the border, and observe enemy movements.

They were the force walking on the knife’s edge.

Once discovered, they faced life and death situations.

The high walls, like a steel Great Wall protecting humanity from the assault of Calamity.

And these Processors, then, were the Ye Boshou moving outside the Wall!

For this operation to subdue the Black Prison, the Ye Boshou, who were originally outside, had also returned to Giant City.

Compared to the minor troubles within the Giant City, they faced much greater dangers outside.

These colleagues were quite friendly to Li Yelai, even suggesting that he should go out for a walk sometime, as he might get a chance to help them surround and kill a high-level extraordinary creature or something.

Li Yelai was utterly confused.

Just then, he felt someone tugging at his arm.

Turning around, he saw a small dinosaur.

It was a Doll!

This time, she had donned a dinosaur Doll suit, and amidst a group of fully armed Spiritual Ability Users, she looked quite amusing.

After pulling Li Yelai out of the training room, the Doll lifted a sign.

[I’ve prepared a little something for you (..›ᴗ‹..)]

She then handed Li Yelai a small black pouch with a gold trim.

“Snacks shouldn’t need any preparation, right?

I heard from Cheese that there’s something down below…” Li Yelai curiously asked, opening the pouch only to find a lock of long hair.

In an instant, two senior members of Ye Boshou, who had come over to see what was going on, sharply inhaled and quickly backed away.

Li Yelai immediately closed the pouch.

He understood right away; it was the Doll’s hair.

Due to its cursed nature, if someone saw her hair, it would also trigger a state of panic.

“This is…” Li Yelai was somewhat shocked.

[My hair, once severed and well-preserved, will retain its curse effect for about a fortnight, Even though it’s nothing to be proud of and quite a hassle to take care of….

(
ﾉωﾉ)]

[Other colleagues using this might be affected themselves, but you’re not afraid of me, so it’ll be perfect for defense(*´∀`*)]

[Be very careful, taboo items are dangerous, and quite a few colleagues have fallen foul because of them (;′⌒`)]

[Some taboo items are extremely intelligent and have the ability to bewitch; if something doesn’t feel right, just throw out my hair and they’ll be scared of me too!

(･ω･)ﾉ]

The Doll kept changing the words on the sign.

Between the lines, it was clear she cared.

Li Yelai was moved; this mealtime companion was too kind to him.

So, he said, “Thanks a bunch, when I come back, I’ll treat you to a big meal!

Definitely!”

[Hmm-hmm, okay, I’m looking forward to it (ﾟ▽ﾟ*)]

After seeing Li Yelai put the pouch away carefully, the Doll seemed quite happy.

After chatting for a few more moments, she bounced away.

Li Yelai then secured the pouch and picked up his weapon to head to the assembly point.

It was about time.

When Li Yelai arrived at the black elevator, he saw over a hundred fully armed Spiritual Ability Users.

Behind the crowd, Cheese was waving at him.

“Are we heading down now?” Li Yelai approached and asked; today, Cheese had switched from her usual hoodie to a combat uniform, carrying big and small packets.

“Yes, we’ve already started going down.

But the black elevator has a small capacity, so we need to make several trips,” Cheese said.

“And once we’re down, after relieving the fifth team, we will officially begin our duty.

Don’t let your guard down, but don’t be overly nervous either.”

Li Yelai nodded, looking at the small packets hanging from Cheese’s body and noticing they were the candies she carried.

To avoid another candy loss incident, Li Yelai stepped forward and took a pack.

“I’ll carry a pack, so you don’t lose anymore candy,” Li Yelai said.

Cheese did not refuse; instead, she smiled, “Hmm, this time, don’t choke me with them, and don’t cover me in them again….”

Already somewhat immune to Cheese’s saucy comments, Li Yelai just responded with a retort about her being shameless.

A few minutes later, Li Yelai, Cheese, and a few other Processors finally boarded the black elevator.

There was an observation window in the elevator, but it was pitch black.

After descending rapidly for tens of meters, suddenly, there was light.

What appeared before Li Yelai was a relatively spacious underground space with many brightly lit buildings.

And squads of Iron Guards, groups of fully armed Spiritual Ability Users, were assembling in the vast underground plaza.

“Is it really this big?” Li Yelai was astonished, having thought that Black Prison would be a pitch-black prison.

“Giant City was originally intended to be built as an Underground City.

Later on, they found it wasn’t necessary and transformed it halfway into Black Prison.

This is the first level, which houses our rest area and dining area,” a foreign Processor in the elevator explained.

“There are several more levels below, but those are not our duty to guard.

Remember, if the situation gets out of control and multiple forbidden items breach containment, we must immediately retreat outside the black elevator.”

“This is the only exit of Black Prison!”