Chapter 1 The Gunfire

Guns roared, and the steam engine drove the heavy mechanical spider to rotate its body. The six-barreled machine gun spewed out angry tongues of fire in all directions, sweeping through the monsters that constantly emerged from the fog like a reaper. From time to time, bullets flew from the thick fog, hitting the walker's armor and the sandbags that formed the barricades.

Among the monsters were "soldiers," fully armed, and even mechanical spiders flowing with black mud.

As the battle continued, these dangerous enemies became more and more numerous.

"These bastards are copying us!"

A soldier with a breathing mask hid behind the barricade, frantically pulling the trigger and shouting angrily. The metal armor on his body was already scarred.

The power pipes at the joints of the armor were damaged, and hissing steam poured out of the valves. On the steam backpack behind him, one could see the insignia of the Frost City State's elite guard.

"They're copying more than just us," the squad commander said loudly, his voice hoarse and dark behind the breathing mask. The fog on the street was getting thicker, and to avoid any possible poisonous gas, the guards entering the combat zone were now wearing these terrifying breathing masks. "Everything alive in the fog is an enemy, all enemies!"

"I just saw a group of people running past the intersection ahead!" another soldier shouted suddenly. "They looked like armed civilians—or sailors from the ship!"

"I saw them too, blurry. They looked like they were burning, but the fire was green!"

The squad commander raised his head upon hearing this, but the next second, a strange whistle suddenly came from the other side of the fog, carrying a sharp sound of death.

A grenade pierced through the fog, crossed the gap between the barricades, and fell directly at the foot of the steam walker. Without any reaction time, the grenade exploded, and shrapnel bloomed like rain.

The thin metal breastplate could not withstand such a close and deadly impact. The squad commander and his soldiers were blown away together.

After an unknown amount of time, he vaguely regained a little consciousness. In the corner of his eye, he saw the steam walker staggering and falling, its armor torn, all the power pipes spewing white mist, and the only remaining machine gun turret spraying the last barrage as it tilted.

Countless shadowy things emerged from the fog and surged towards the next intersection.

The squad commander slowly wriggled his body, his hand tightly gripping a grenade with the pin already pulled. He couldn't remember when he had gotten it—perhaps when he was blown away just now, or perhaps it was a subconscious reaction when he lost consciousness.

He felt that he had exhausted all his strength to throw the grenade into the fog.

But he just weakly released his hand.

The iron-gray metal cylinder slipped from his hand, making a clanging sound as it rolled onto the street. Its fuse hissed with smoke as it rolled to the side of the road and fell into a dry gutter—through the darkness, into the gap, sliding through the sloping ventilation duct, falling into the age-eroded underground world of the Frost City State, and making a roar in the forgotten darkness.

"Boom!"

A muffled sound came from a very distant place overhead, and the roof of the tunnel seemed to tremble slightly, scattering some dust and floating soil.

"Sailor" shrank his neck, his shriveled face showing a trace of tension: "This place really won't collapse, will it?!"

"It hasn't collapsed for at least the past few decades," Laurence said, striding forward. The gas lamps embedded in the walls of the corridor on both sides emitted a dim glow, illuminating the way forward. "As a dried corpse, how can you be so timid? You kind of 'anomaly' should be something that frightens others, right?"

"I think... digging such a huge underground space under the city-state is scary enough!" Anomaly 077 said nervously. "What were you thinking..."

Laurence shrugged: "How would I know? I didn't dig it."

Then he ignored the dried corpse and said to the small mirror on his chest, "Martha, what's the situation on your side?"

"It's lively," Martha's voice came from the mirror, seemingly mixed with distant explosions and artillery fire. "After you entered the Second Waterway, the entire mirror world went 'crazy'—all the ships inside and outside the port are firing at me."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm not so easy to sink—but the bad thing is, the enemy doesn't seem to be so easy to sink either. They keep getting replenished from the reflection."

Laurence was silent for a moment, then looked up at the dark and deep corridor ahead.

"How far is it from here to the deepest part?" he asked.

"Very far, but you can take a 'shortcut.'"

Laurence frowned: "Shortcut?"

"Did you notice the puddles on the ground? Find a street sign, then find the puddle closest to the street sign and look at the scenery reflected in it."

Laurence followed Martha's instructions to a suitable puddle and looked down at the reflection.

The reflection showed a crossroads, with a plaque nailed to the wall beside the crossroads, vaguely showing the words "Main Drainage Pipe of the Upper City."

He widened his eyes and looked up at his side.

On the wall next to him, the mottled plaque clearly read "Port Area Drainage."

Martha's voice came from the mirror: "See? The world in the mirror is discontinuous."

"...Incredible...like a dream..." Laurence murmured to himself. Even as one of the most experienced captains on the Boundless Sea, he had to admit that everything in this Mirror City was beyond his imagination, but soon, he regained his composure. "Then how should we use these 'shortcuts'?"

"You're already there," Martha said with a smile. "When you stay in front of this 'mirror' long enough, you're already there."

Laurence was stunned and hurriedly looked up.

Before him was a crossroads, with dim, flickering gas lamps embedded in the walls of the corridor at the crossroads. According to the nearest plaque to him, the mottled words were vaguely discernible—Main Drainage Pipe of the Upper City.

Anomaly 077 looked at the suddenly changing environment in astonishment, his eyes quickly scanning back and forth between the roadside plaques and the reflections in the puddles. After a long time, he suddenly shouted, "Is this reasonable?!"

A circle of sailors all looked at the dried corpse.

Laurence didn't care about the "sailor's" reaction. He just looked thoughtfully at the dimly lit corridor ahead. After a long time, he frowned in confusion and said to Martha, "We're already in the Second Waterway, but what about the 'helpers' you mentioned? What about those 'Queen's Guards' fighting in the Second Waterway?"

The sound of distant artillery fire came from the mirror, and Martha's voice was delayed by a few seconds before reaching Laurence's ears: "Take the left fork, follow the red signs all the way, and stop and wait when you reach the end of the road... They will appear, when the time comes, they will appear."

Laurence frowned: "Time?"

"...The Queen's Guard's attack time is midnight—midnight every day. Before this time, they are invisible."

In the secret room where the underground contact station was located in the "Golden Flute" Tavern, the "Old Ghost" lying on the bed suddenly opened his eyes.

"What time is it..."

The old man's eyes seemed a little dazed, and he muttered as if in a dream. However, in the dimly lit room, the only response to him was the occasional "beep" sound from some monitoring equipment, and the faint sound of gunfire coming from somewhere.

The next second, the Old Ghost suddenly widened his eyes.

Faint gunfire?

Gunfire!

The old man instantly woke up. The gunfire entered his ears, ethereal and blurred, as if separated not only by thick walls and floors, but also by decades of time—he quickly climbed out of bed, then reached out and grabbed the thing placed by the bed.

It was a large wrench that he kept by his side even when he slept.

It was his tool and his weapon.

"The fighting has started... the fighting has started... I can't sleep here... it's time to gather..."

The Old Ghost muttered, shivering as he put on his shoes, then put on the coat on the chair next to him, and then looked up at the room where he had just been sleeping.

This was the secret room used to contact the Sea Fog Fleet. Nemo had arranged for him to rest here and take care of the equipment here.

But the next second, the Old Ghost seemed to have forgotten everything about this room again. His eyes became cloudy again, and he looked at the door not far away in confusion.

"Oh! The door is here!"

The Old Ghost suddenly realized, a happy look on his face, and then quickly walked over and pulled open the iron door leading to the underground secret passage.

Opposite the door was a narrow and cold corridor, the lights in the corridor flickering, interspersed with the hissing sound caused by insufficient gas supply in the gas pipes.

"The gas pipes are not normal... the pressure is not enough... no, no, now is not the time to worry about these things..." The Old Ghost looked at the lights in the corridor, muttering quickly, he took a step forward, but seemed to suddenly remember something, and looked back at the secret room where he had just rested.

The room was empty.

Everyone was probably gathered in the tavern on the ground.

"Crow, I'm going out, you stay at home!"

The Old Ghost shouted at the empty room, then turned around, carrying the big wrench he never left his side, and slowly walked towards the deep, dark passage.

Heading to the Second Waterway.

The time for the Queen's Guard to counterattack had come.