Chapter 606: Zero Residential Zone

‘If this is a room number, does that mean the Zero Residential Zone actually exists?’

Mo Ling didn’t know the specific layout of the Pipe Fortress’s residential zones, either. He just suspected the string of numbers might be a room number.

After observing his surroundings for a while longer, Mo Ling drifted off to a deep sleep within the Block.

The pipe room was silent, the only sound Li Luo’s occasional breaths. She licked her lips from time to time and furrowed her brow, seemingly dreaming of something strange.

The light grew even dimmer. Deep within the Pipe Fortress, it was impossible to perceive the passage of day and night. The fluorescent lights in the room flickered faintly, as if day and night made no difference here.

It wasn’t until a muffled thud echoed from the depths of the fortress, shattering Li Luo’s dream, that she slowly woke up on the sofa.

She groggily rubbed her eyes, glanced at the Block, then at her backpack, and got to her feet.

Standing in the middle of the room, Li Luo gazed in the direction of the muffled sound. It sounded like massive pieces of steel grinding against each other, or perhaps something falling into a furnace and being beaten with great force.

The sound was deep, its source so distant that it reached her muffled and indistinct. Yet in the silent pipe room, it was jarringly loud.

Li Luo picked up a bottle of water and guzzled it down.

She had just had the dream about Dr. Liu again. Only this time, it was far more blurry and not nearly as vivid as the first time.

Li Luo picked up the digital screen to check it.

‘Three in the morning… I wasn’t asleep for long this time.’

Unlike before, she hadn’t slept for three days straight—it was just a normal night’s sleep. But the blurry dream still left her with a headache upon waking.

‘Just how long will I have to pay the price for the Pain Transfer Pills?’

Li Luo realized she might have underestimated the cost of the Pain Transfer Pills.

Just as she was stewing in her worries, the Block flew over. A moment later, a digital screen materialized on the nearby table. Li Luo knew at once that the Block was trying to tell her something.

Li Luo picked up the digital screen and saw its theory about the string of numbers.

‘A room number? The Zero Residential Zone?’

Below it, there was another question:

“Why are you so concerned with this relic’s origin?”

It occurred to Li Luo then that she had never told anyone about her dreams.

Ever since returning to the Pipe Fortress, she had been searching for the origin of the Pain Transfer Pills, trying to understand the relic’s effects on her.

The Block didn’t know about the dreams, so naturally, it couldn’t understand why she was so fixated on the Pain Transfer Pills.

With this thought, Li Luo looked at the Block and said earnestly, “The cost of this relic… it might not be as simple as the files say.”

Li Luo told the Block about her dreams and described how she’d been feeling lately.

Although her treatment by the medics on the Hua Sheng Islands had helped a lot, the side effects from the Pain Transfer Pills seemed to be persistent.

She would be struck by thirst from time to time, and drowsiness would wash over her unexpectedly. The “Dr. Liu” business constantly replayed in her dreams, and sometimes, when her mind wandered, she would find herself thinking about it unconsciously.

It was as if the dream had been permanently etched into her mind, tormenting her without end.

Li Luo knew with certainty that something was wrong with her body. To fix it, she had to uncover the secrets of the Pain Transfer Pills.

“It’s like the dream is pushing me to find what’s hidden behind this relic…”

“I don’t know if my thoughts are being manipulated, but the events of the dream have completely filled my mind, making me think about it constantly.”

As she spoke, Li Luo licked her lips again.

She had just drunk half a bottle of water, yet her lips were still frighteningly dry. Faint cracks appeared on their pale surface, revealing an unnatural, vivid red within.

Li Luo swallowed hard. Her tongue flicked out, catching a flake of dry skin from her lip. The cost of the Pain Transfer Pills was still taking its toll.

The digital screen blinked out, then reappeared. Mo Ling had seen her distress and written a short sentence:

“I’ll help you.”

「…」

Fortunately, while the side effects of the Pain Transfer Pills were persistent, they weren’t debilitating.

After composing herself for a moment, Li Luo picked up the digital screen and began searching for information on the “Zero Residential Zone.”

Sure enough, she found records of the residential zone in the Pipe Fortress’s internal network database.

When the Pipe Fortress was first built, there were no designated residential zones.

Back then, not many people could reach the fourth level of the Abyss, and even fewer made it to the Pipe Fortress. Furthermore, humanity’s control over the fortress wasn’t as refined, making it impossible to construct the kind of pipe rooms that exist today.

So, the inhabitants simply designated one area as a residential zone, sectioning off the pipes within for shelter.

The primary goal of the people at that time was to explore the Pipe Fortress, so the residential area was chaotically managed. They used whatever relics and tools they had to modify their living space, turning it into something more akin to a crowded, disorganized campground.

These living conditions were naturally poor. Once people gained finer control over the Pipe Fortress, they built new residential zones and phased out the old one. Its inhabitants gradually moved out, leaving nothing but ruins behind.

However, the modifications made to the area remained, and the people of the Pipe Fortress came to call it the Zero Residential Zone.

As time went on, many people forgot this residential zone even existed.

The Pipe Fortress had many such neglected, abandoned sectors. Aside from the records in the database, the newcomers who came and went through the fortress had no idea these places existed.

Reading the entry on the digital screen, Li Luo realized the string of numbers might genuinely be connected to the Zero Residential Zone.

She immediately began searching for the zone’s location.

She found it quickly. The zone was located directly beneath Residential Zone One, in a relatively deep part of the Pipe Fortress.

‘Residential Zone One?’

Li Luo opened her map. Residential Zone One wasn’t far, but the route looked a little convoluted.

Seeing this, she could no longer suppress the urge to go. She grabbed her backpack from the floor.

‘Time to go.’

「…」

As she walked through the empty pipes, the sound from the depths grew more distinct.

It sounded like some enormous metal mechanism was turning, accompanied by a rhythmic pounding. It was impossible to tell if the machine was striking something, or if something was striking the machine.

Following the map, Li Luo soon found Residential Zone One. But that wasn’t her destination. She bypassed the main entrance pipe and approached a dilapidated-looking one nearby.

‘Is this the place?’

The pipe looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time. The smaller conduits lining the floor were damaged and coated in dust. The lights inside flickered erratically, a clear sign of long-term neglect.

After a moment of confirmation, Li Luo stepped into the narrow pipe.

The pipe was about four meters in diameter and spiraled steeply downward. It would be easy to slip, so Li Luo hugged the wall, carefully treading on the broken conduits below.

After several turns, the pipe finally leveled out, and dilapidated structures came into view ahead.