She led Lamia and headed all the way down beneath Nest City.

The air grew thicker and thicker, laced with the smell of engine oil and mold.

Very soon, a new district appeared before the two of them.

The Pit.

This was where the Painters and the vast majority of drudges lived, buried deep in the fissures at the very lowest layer of Nest City’s colossal body. It wasn’t any carefully planned residential zone, but a huge cavity accidentally left behind between concrete mega-pillars back when the city’s foundations were first built.

Most of the Painters were refugees from other nest cities, homeless and rootless. Like moss in rock crevices, they could only use rough metal plates, recycled fragments of plastic steel, and even discarded anti-acid tarpaulins to haphazardly piece together layer upon layer of tin shacks between jagged rock caverns, barely managing to make themselves a place to roost.

Countless dim lights flickered in the gaps of the sheet‑metal shanties. The air was so stagnant it felt solid, and even breathing became much more difficult.

Contrary to what most people imagined, living underground did nothing to ward off acid rain erosion. If anything, the opposite was true—this was in fact the area most ravaged by acid rain. The acidic substances falling on the surface kept seeping downward and, under gravity’s pull, eventually all pooled here.

People could only smear that familiar anti‑corrosion coating across their shack roofs, but it was a futile effort. The paint kept flaking and dissolving under the acid water’s bite, breaking down even faster than surface buildings... so the pitted ground between the rock fissures was dotted everywhere with poisonous pools of eerily colored liquid.

Some emaciated figures were carefully guiding the seeping, murky rainwater into filthy containers. Even knowing it was toxic, this was still one of the few water sources they had... On the rough rock walls, wild, feral graffiti symbols were sprayed in lurid strokes, left behind by the gangs that squatted here.

Order didn’t count for much in this place. Violence, trade, and despair were the only norms.

Yun You shielded Lamia with deliberate care, threading step by step through the crowd until they finally reached a place deep within the Pit.

On guard, a relatively self‑contained little compound came into view before them.

It was encircled by higher, thicker concrete walls. The outer plaster was badly peeled, exposing inside a lattice of rebar just as pitted and scarred by acid, making it look abandoned. Yet, unexpectedly, a huge, tightly shut iron gate stood at its entrance.

The thing was unnaturally heavy, and there was comparatively little rust on it. It had clearly been meticulously maintained. The edges of the door seams were carefully sealed with anti‑acid rubber strips, completely out of place against the surrounding decay.

"This is it..."

Yun You glanced at the slip of paper in her hand to confirm the address was correct.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Yun You clenched her fist and pounded hard on the iron gate three times.

The knocking rang out jarringly loud in the dead‑silent courtyard, even drawing a few probing gazes from the distant shadows, though they quickly sank back into the darkness.

Yun You frowned, lifted her hand again, and struck with more force.

"Dong! Dong!"

This time, the wait was even longer.

Just as Yun You was about to assume no one was inside, a heavy rasp of metal on metal suddenly came from the other side of the gate.

Then, near the top of the door seam, a book‑sized peephole panel clicked open from within, and a face appeared with it.

It was a middle‑aged man’s face—gaunt, with jutting cheekbones. His skin had the pallor of someone long deprived of sunlight, yet carried that waxy yellow tinge unique to Pit dwellers. Wrinkles were carved in like knife marks, especially the frown lines between his brows, twisted almost into a dead knot. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

His hair was a gray, tangled mess. His face was full of irritation and wariness. His gaze swept over Yun You and Lamia like a searchlight.

"What are you banging for?!"

He said impatiently, "The hospital’s not taking any patients these days. Get moving."

With that, he started to shut the peephole.

"Wait!"

Yun You stepped forward, one hand pressing against the cold iron gate. Her voice was low, but solemn.

"Elrond Akas, I’m not here for treatment."

"I... or rather, Lamia, needs your help."