Susan followed the three, and the scale of the Steel Snake Nest was larger and more “profound” than she had imagined.

Walking down the long and winding underground staircase, she felt herself being swallowed bit by bit by the darkness.

However, not long after, rows of hanging gas lamps appeared, illuminating the path ahead.

Here, the reinforced concrete walls were intact, and the ventilation tunnels were perfect; there was no trace of a dirty sewer.

Aside from the mixed smell of oil, the temperature and humidity were even more pleasant than on the surface.

When she arrived at the lower hall, she was even more shocked beyond words.

It was well-organized, with various containers neatly stacked, and the contents of the goods were diverse, ranging from food, medicine, and even military equipment… it was clearly a small underground dock.

She even caught a glimpse of a batch of military industrial products strictly prohibited by the Empire—new steam power cores.

If all of them were used in weapons and equipment, their scale would already be comparable to some colonial Stationed Army.

Black Snake was not the kind of fringe underground group she had imagined.

The power they now controlled had long exceeded her imagination!

Why?

How did they do it?!

Black Snake Second-in-Command saw her shocked expression and was very satisfied, raising his chin and asking with a grin:

“Woman, do you know that we mainly do business?”

Susan was stunned for a moment, then frowned and replied:

“Smuggling. If it weren’t for the unstable situation in New Continent, you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to develop.”

Black Snake Second-in-Command scoffed:

“If the situation were stable, we naturally wouldn’t be snakes and rats, but rather… cross-border ocean shipping companies!”

“.......”

Susan was stunned and fell silent.

Black Snake Second-in-Command continued:

“Actually, our Black Snake is just a small transit station; the real big players are all along the coast.”

Susan said nothing, but her expression became even more serious.

She hadn’t expected this newly emerged gang to have such a background and origin.

“Clang!!”

Suddenly, a box covered with black cloth, whose outline resembled a cage, abruptly shook not far away.

Immediately after, low, strange growls emanated from within.

Susan frowned and couldn’t help but ask:

“What kind of goods are those?”

Second Boss slowly walked forward while replying:

“Besides transporting regular goods, we also take on some special items. For example, alchemical raw materials, and… some small animals.”

“Small animals?”

Second Boss smiled and ripped open the black cloth!

It was a black cage, and inside the cage, an eerie humanoid creature was curled up!

Its body was shriveled and twisted, its skin black; on its gaunt skeleton, veins bulged like centipedes coiled; a pair of protruding eyeballs were an eerie blood-red, staring intently at everyone; its wide mouth had fangs, its claws were hideous, and foul-smelling saliva dripped constantly onto the ground with its low growls.

It made Susan frown.

What… on earth is this Ghoul!

“Ghoul, ever heard of it?”

Second Boss licked the tip of his nose with his long tongue and introduced eerily,

“This thing, it seems to be a transformed human. Selling it to some alchemists or wealthy mages who love to research can fetch a lot of money. If it weren’t for that damned prohibition, we wouldn’t have to waste so many days of rations on this thing.”

Susan was shocked; she hadn’t expected such a thing to truly exist in this world:

“You… you even smuggle such evil and dangerous things?”

“Dangerous? No, no… for us, it’s not dangerous at all.”

Saying that, Second Boss suddenly kicked the cage, and the Ghoul actually cowered in the corner.

“This thing just looks scary; it’s no match for the power of steel. It’s only those guys who like to mess with witchcraft who need it.

“The ‘Water Ants’ on the coast have transported things far stranger and more dangerous than us.

“There was once a team that, in order to transport a statue, had three steel battleships all sink in the ocean! And the few who survived, they all went crazy.

“Woman, this world is far more dangerous and mysterious than you imagine!

“Surviving with all your might, that’s actually our true daily life!

“Some of you are just too complacent; your eyes have degenerated to the point where you can’t see the future.

“Although we are snakes and rats in the tunnels, we know better how to survive!”

Susan was silent for a long time, then asked:

“Why are you telling me this?”

Second Boss grinned:

“Because I’m very fond of you, I want to have you, be my woman!”

Susan frowned:

“You haven’t beaten me yet.”

Second Boss chuckled softly:

“Don’t worry, I will completely conquer you!”

After saying that, he led his men further into the depths of the tunnel… to the place of revelry.

Here, heads swarmed, and on the iron cage arena in the center, two people fought to the death, bathed in blood!

Every punch that landed could stir up a wave of cheers.

Second Boss strode to the arena, pulled open the iron cage, and with one punch each, knocked out the two dizzy fighters, then threw them out.

Then, he turned to Susan, who had already been unshackled, and arrogantly beckoned.

The entire venue fell silent instantly, everyone looking at Susan.

But as the latter stepped onto the arena, the entire underground erupted in cheers hotter and more explosive than ever before!!

At the same time, a wisp of spirituality quietly floated out from Susan’s shadow, attaching itself to a smooth lampshade on the arena.

At the same moment, on the second floor of the Miling Agency’s master bedroom, Li Andy, in a semi-sage state, took out his mystic mirror and sat naked against the headboard.

As his spirituality was injected, the mirror actually began live-streaming the underground arena scene several kilometers away.

Youxi, sensing the movement, opened her eyes, her cheeks still tinged with a slight blush.

She got up and moved closer, leaning against her brother’s shoulder, blinking in some surprise:

“Brother, has your ability improved again?”

“Not exactly an improvement; I’m just relaying the signal through my spirituality. This is a function I’ve only recently experimented with.”

“Then… can other lucky coin owners also monitor?”

“They can, but I don’t have much spirituality left on them, so it won’t last long.”

Youxi nodded gently, her soft body pressing a little closer.

She was just like a sweet little girlfriend who couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night and stayed up to watch a game with you.

Hmm… you ask where Sophia went?

That guy was a puddle of mud, sleeping in bed.

Despite being half-vampire, half-werewolf, she was full of weaknesses, collapsing with one hit, completely wasting her stamina and physique stats.

“Brother, don’t they sleep?”

“Smuggling usually happens at night; they probably sleep during the day.”

“Brother, do you think Miss Sheriff can beat the opponent?”

“Hard to say, let’s see how the lucky coin performs.”

“Ding~~~”

As a line of subtitles representing a bell ringing flashed across the mirror, their attention returned to the arena.

---

(Rambling: As mentioned in previous chapters, the world-view power system is primarily based on 【borrowing items】, not the traditional cultivation and drug-upgrading.

Therefore, steampunk elements might be a bit more prominent than in some similar Cthulhu-esque novels.

In the early to mid-stages, the weight of equipment and item combat power is nearly half, and it will be more stable. This also aligns better with the logic of why the dominant power in the world is technology rather than mysticism.

As for the character of Molly, her positioning from the beginning was geared towards logistics, specializing in alchemy and machinery.

I just don’t know how well you, my benefactors, will accept this.)