Below Las Vegas, a luxurious casino city, there are over 500 kilometers of tunnels, packed with all sorts of homeless people.
Las Vegas is one of the most unfriendly U.S. cities for those at the bottom of society.
The local government explicitly prohibits tourists and residents from providing food, supplies, or money to the homeless in parks. It is illegal for businesses to hire them.
This bustling metropolis is like a prison, confining them to the underground sewers, where they spend day and night with rats and cockroaches, never seeing the sun.
Of course.
Those who are pitiable must have something hateful about them.
Among those imprisoned in the underground World, many once lived in splendor, spending lavishly in Las Vegas and enjoying god-like treatment.
But they abused drugs and alcohol, gambled compulsively, and spent without restraint.
Finally.
Only these underground sewers offered them a place to stay.
Among them.
Only a very small handful of people were forced to flee into this Dark Dimension to eke out an existence due to the persecution of fate.
Victor's target was the most special existence among this small group.
He now stood at the entrance of the Las Vegas sewer, wearing a mask, his gaze darting around. The tall buildings in the distance formed a stark contrast.
This was not why he hesitated.
Even through dozens of meters and six layers of masks, a nauseating smell could still be perceived.
His stomach churned uncomfortably.
Had he not prepared by not eating for a day, he truly couldn't guarantee he could endure it.
That smell was difficult for ordinary people to tolerate, let alone a pampered young master like him.
After standing for several minutes and adapting to breathing through his mouth, Victor slowly and with difficulty stepped into the underground sewer, swallowed by the darkness.
He needed to overcome not only the inability to breathe, but light was also a major problem. Sewers would not install streetlights for him, and a simple flashlight could only illuminate about ten meters ahead; anything further was very blurry.
And the height was also quite uncomfortable.
The main pipe was fine; a 5-meter height was enough for him to stand upright. Some secondary pipes were more troublesome; his 1.88-meter height required him to bend halfway to pass through.
Those that required crawling through were directly abandoned—he truly couldn't bear that.
As he went deeper, some "residents'" "bedrooms" gradually appeared along the way.
The "bedrooms" were crude and messy. Having a mattress was considered a superior environment; most only had some old rags spread out, and many slept in piles of newspapers.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them refugees—even though above them was the most prosperous casino city in America.
The "residents" were very sensitive to light; when illuminated, they would cry and quickly turn their backs to avoid the light.
Only a few would brave the light, scrutinizing Victor, their eyes faintly glowing green.
The men were fine; upon seeing his simple attire, they would turn their backs with a blank expression.
The women were somewhat frantic; their gazes seemed to want to devour Victor alive, and several even began to touch their lower bodies in front of Victor... In this underground World, the demand for sex was not high; sometimes, even the opposite sex was not necessary, as long as you were clean.
Although Victor wore six layers of masks, his stunningly handsome face could not be seen, but his strong physique and clean attire were already irresistible charms.
Walking through the underground sewer now was like a child parading gold through the market; it was only a matter of time before he was targeted.
Facing these chilling scenes, Victor was more helpless than horrified.
In his previous life, he had only heard rumors and had never personally encountered such darkness. No matter how much he prepared, it was insufficient.
It was like ordinary people going to space; most would be completely lost, and you couldn't even find complete information online.
Although facing danger, Victor had no thought of retreating.
If those people didn't come up, then so be it. A few glances wouldn't make him lose a piece of flesh.
If there were truly ill intentions, the box of razor blades in his pocket, driven by his telekinesis, would be a Sharp Weapon for harvesting lives.
But as time went on, Victor didn't know where he had ended up.
He finally couldn't help but half-complain, half-question: "Alice, are you sure there's a temporary outpost for a Mutant underground shelter here?"
"Of course, Chen, these are registered with Sentinel Services." Alice's tone was very aggrieved: "Alice doesn't lie!"
"Alright, it's my fault... This place truly isn't fit for humans."
"Or should we choose other targets? The Mutants in Atlanta and Nashville should also be very eager for change," Alice suggested.
Victor was somewhat tempted.
But after three seconds, he rejected the suggestion, stating firmly: "No! My own preparation was insufficient. This is the path I chose, even if it's... ugh... What in the World is this damned smell?!"
"Alice cannot see and cannot answer."
The originally foul-smelling underground sewer suddenly gained a putrid stench that permeated the Soul. After a few steps past the corner ahead, a three-meter-high object blocked his path.
Upon closer inspection.
It was entirely composed of bones from various parts of the human body!
On the edge of the bone pile, there were even several bodies that had not fully decomposed. As the light shone on them, several gray rats immediately scurried out from skulls, chests, hip bones, and other parts, fleeing into the darkness.
Victor "..."
This shocking scene left him silent for a long time.
In this civilized society, such terrifying things were still happening. What exactly were the people at the bottom of society experiencing?
Bowing slightly to the bone pile, Victor fled from the place as if escaping, moving quickly.
This darkness... I need to make myself stronger first.
He decided to slightly alter his plan.
Originally, he had planned a carpet search, but after entering the underground sewer, the signal was basically Zero. Alice could only operate in the nano-earpiece and couldn't provide much help.
The underground sewer was intricate and complex, and Victor was undoubtedly lost.
He simply stopped bothering with the secondary pipes and directly sped along the main pipe.
He could traverse these 500 kilometers of sewer in at most two days—while Iron Body hadn't granted him immense strength and speed, his robust physique had been further enhanced, and his endurance was now top-notch.
Having made up his mind, Victor began to run through the main pipe.
Fortunately, it didn't rain today, and the walkways on both sides of the sewer were dry; otherwise, the experience of having his feet soaked in sewage... With the thought of completing the 500 kilometers, Victor continued along the main thoroughfare, running for a solid 7 hours—the light providing his body with necessary nutrients now seemed truly convenient.
Within 24 hours, he definitely wouldn't be able to eat anything.
Just as his flashlight battery was about to run out, a Platform notification floated across his vision.
[f-grade merchandise detected, please pay attention;]
Victor quickly stopped, looking left and right, seeing only moldy walls with fungal growth, but no entrance to any passage.
He was certain that there was something nearby, very likely a Mutant.
After claiming the "novice reward," his original "Rank Zero Merchant" automatically advanced to "Apprentice Merchant," gaining the basic permission "Merchandise Radar," and a merchant panel was added to his main interface.
——————
Name: Victor Chen;
Plane: Marvel Universe;
Rank: Apprentice Merchant;
Age: 24 years, 14 days, 12 hours, 56 minutes;
Bloodline: "Incomplete Superman Bloodline
Skill: "Telekinesis";
——————
"Merchandise Radar": Within a radius of (10 to the power of 1) meters, it actively alerts when merchandise is scanned.
——————
"Merchandise" here refers to items that are at least [F-] Rank.
Ordinary food and toys would be ignored as air.
Although it's unclear whether Mutant Ability is classified as [Bloodline] or [Skill], it must be within the "Merchandise Radar"'s scanning range... Wait!
Mutant Ability?
Could there be a Mutant Ability of concealment, covering up the entrance?
Very likely!
With a tentative thought, Victor closed his eyes, allowing his telekinesis to spread freely outwards. Upon encountering resistance from the sewer wall, the telekinesis would stop flowing.
Soon.
Based on the feedback from his telekinesis, a 3D model of the surrounding 10 meters was built in Victor's mind, and he slowly retreated along the way he came.
"Ha, found you."
Victor opened his eyes and looked at the wall 3 meters behind him.
It looked completely normal, but from the telekinesis feedback, there was a three-meter-high void.
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