"Going into the sewers from here?"
Advancing from the terrace, Фэн Юань discovered that the fixed path led downward into the castle’s underground space. Given the environment he encountered in Город данных before, Фэн Юань was sure this was the entrance to the sewers. He lifted Xiao Ji from his head, and after running for a while, he began to smell the stench.
Though not as overwhelmingly foul as those sewers that are frequently used, the odor in this area wasn’t pleasant either.
"Be careful not to fall out."
Tightening his hold on Xiao Ji, Фэн Юань looked at the large hole ahead and spoke. Xiao Ji, nestled in Фэн Юань’s arms, glanced nervously at the pitch-black space below, as waves of stench emerged from the hole. The hole didn’t seem like it had always been there; it looked like it was blasted open by an ultimate move.
Judging by the aged appearance of the surrounding cracks, Фэн Юань suspected that this broken hole had existed for a long time. Holding Xiao Ji, he slowly descended, not daring to jump down recklessly like those adventurers. Who knew if there was a cesspool below?
Фэн Юань himself wouldn’t mind getting dirty, but if sewage splashed onto Xiao Ji, it would be troublesome, exacerbating a problem he had managed to ease.
Fortunately, Фэн Юань’s concerns didn’t materialize; below was thick grassland, perhaps sourced by the organizers. Фэн Юань could even see numerous Духовные звери from the Psychokinesis Series nearby, controlling the descent speed to prevent jumpers from getting injured.
Though the ground was damp, it wasn’t overly filthy. This place seemed long abandoned, Фэн Юань observed, cautiously holding Xiao Ji as they proceeded along the sole pathway. Xiao Ji, cradled in Фэн Юань’s arms, constantly surveyed the surroundings, feeling uneasy, but Фэн Юань’s embrace made it feel safe.
"Damn it, why is this thing showing up again!"
Ahead, a staff member couldn’t help but curse, blowing a whistle. The running crowd paused and looked towards the staff member with a lantern, who waved and shouted
"Please hold on a moment! It’ll be resolved soon!"
"What happened?"
"What’s the emergency?"
"No way, wasn’t there a contingency plan?"
The stalled contestants couldn’t help but express their anxiety and discontent to nearby strangers. Фэн Юань, puzzled, approached the staff member, who didn’t explain, but kept striking the wall with a stick. Фэн Юань then noticed the problem — this wall directly blocked the channel, cutting it off.
However, the wall appeared so intact. What on earth had happened?
"Пространство overlap? But this doesn’t quite seem like it. It’s more like a Magic Formation, strange..."
Examining the sudden wall, Фэн Юань murmured. Soon, the wall vanished in an instant, revealing the passage. The staff member breathed a sigh of relief, blowing the whistle to signal contestants to enter. Фэн Юань didn’t immediately proceed, but after the direction was given, he asked sotto voce
"What is this thing? Isn’t this a designed obstacle by you?"
Startled by Фэн Юань’s words, the staff member looked at him and shook his head, saying
"We wouldn’t use such uncontrollable items. This thing — we’re not sure what’s going on. It randomly appears in this section of the sewer, blocking the original path, which is why this part of the sewer got abandoned."
"If you’re interested in specifics, you can ask at the city hall — they have records of these."
The staff member replied wearily with a brief smile, Фэн Юань, confused, asked
"Not the archives?"
"These were supposedly classified as Tiraya City’s secrets initially. The archives don’t have the authority to preserve these records. However, it’s said that things like this shouldn’t really be kept at city hall."
Shaking his head helplessly, the staff replied, though not entirely understanding why it was like this, Фэн Юань seeing the fatigue in their demeanor didn’t probe further and ran forward.
Soon, as the staff member was about to nod off, the wall appeared again. With a sigh, they had no choice but to repeat their previous actions.
Taking many twists and turns through the sewers, Фэн Юань noticed workers stationed before barricades to prevent anyone from inadvertently damaging them. However, having experienced the Город данных racecourse, people naturally knew how to navigate this area. Some secret doors remained open due to frequent passage.
As Фэн Юань and others sprinted, Agunas, who was researching the black mist, flicked their tail while scrutinizing the data, saying
"This black mist is indeed part of some Magic Formation, or rather, it’s one of the defense mechanisms. For specifics, we might need Arnis to clarify."
The officers assisting beside Agunas, surprised by the statement, never thought the seemingly overlooked black mist would be genuinely related to Shadow Tiraya City. But just what was this, and why couldn’t even the Божественный зверьs pinpoint its exact location?
"Magic Formation? Could Shadow Tiraya City be the precursor to Tiraya City, or was the expanded part of Tiraya City in fact Shadow Tiraya City?"
An officer couldn’t help voicing their curiosity. Agunas pondered, flicking their tail, saying
"Not necessarily. Though possible, it’s not definite. Moreover, if it were true, many aspects wouldn’t make sense. Have you really seen those shadow city inscriptions?"
Regarding the deeply concealed Shadow Tiraya City, Agunas also found it troublesome. Up to now, it’s unclear which space it resides within, whether a special Subspace that even Kong Qing can’t sense exists. Agunas doesn’t know, but the present black mist is a clue.
After a while, studying the black mist, Agunas said
"It’s indeed a Magic Formation. However, the exact nature of this Magic Formation remains unclear even to Arnis. There’s a complex of seventy-seven formations, and it’s impossible to determine anything based alone on verbal description."
"Then..."
"It won’t come. Despite the apparent issue, there’s no explicit threat from Shadow Tiraya City. Besides, this shadow city was constructed by your predecessors from Tiraya City, so likely poses no threat to Tiraya City."
Agunas said to a nearby officer. At that moment, a city hall staff member recalled something, saying
"Aren’t Magic Formation and Magic Circle different?"
"Certainly, Magic Formation originated from Arnis. It targets an entire city, composed of numerous magic circles that create a semi-automatic or fully automatic defense system, similar to your current City Defense System. It’s just the origin is magic-based."
Agunas explained to the staff member, curious about why the inquiry arose. The person thought for a moment before saying
"I remember seeing a reconstruction plan from the Lofman Dynasty era in the archives, containing numerous Magic Circle-related topics covering most of Tiraya City. This document was marked as top secret but due to incomprehensible content and suspicion of complete obsolescence, it’s marked for retention in the archives."
"Top secret yet retained?"
Studying the individual curiously, Agunas didn’t grasp the situation. The person scratched their head and said sheepishly
"No, top secret was the level assigned when the document was entered into the system. Many documents retained at city hall were considered top secret back then. But as time passed, many of these documents lost their practical significance. However, original regulations dictate that top-secret records can’t leave city hall or be downgraded by later generations."
"Actually, there are many such abandoned top-secret documents in city hall. I happened to see it last time during a cleanup. You see, should we..."
Considering this, Agunas pondered momentarily before saying
"Let’s go to city hall. Perhaps this could unravel the truth about Shadow Tiraya City."

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