“This is…” Roland looked at Garcia.
“An elevator,” the latter replied proudly, “Wait a moment, you’ll see soon.”
She hadn't finished speaking when the indicator light next to the car window switched from red to green, and then the curtain automatically rose, revealing the scene outside.
Roland immediately understood the reason for the pride in her tone. The bus was parked on a huge iron disk, surrounded by concrete walls painted with alternating yellow and black warning stripes, embedded with five or six metal rails, constantly emitting the sound of gears meshing.
With each descent, they could see glaring spotlights and huge numbered signs. In just a few minutes, they had descended over a hundred meters, and the numbers were still increasing.
Accompanied by the orange warning lights constantly rotating around the edge of the iron disk, this scene was like a scene from a science fiction movie. Also underground, he suddenly felt that the Third Border City he built paled in comparison. Compared to this grand entrance, the underground city transported by hemp ropes and steam engines was almost no different from a rural-urban fringe area.
The strength of the association that could build such a facility had risen several levels in his mind.
Without strong economic and political power as a foundation, it would be absolutely impossible to achieve such a magnificent project with just a group of martial artists.
No wonder Garcia was so proud of it.
Even those wild awakened ones with eccentric tempers were shocked by this scene. There was a cacophony of discussion in the carriage as everyone involuntarily looked out the window, seemingly wanting to explore how deep this place was hidden.
This was a good way to make an entrance, Roland thought. Closing the curtains earlier was probably to prevent the newcomers from knowing the exact location of the headquarters, and they became fearless after entering the underground. Rather than letting everyone appreciate this spectacular project, it was more like demonstrating the association's power.
He wondered if Ling following behind could find a chance to sneak in.
When the number changed to two hundred and thirty-five, the iron disk finally stopped descending, and several passages appeared in the walls. The bus started again and drove into one of the tunnels.
This time it only drove a short distance before reaching its destination.
Roland followed Garcia off the bus and discovered a very wide underground square. The ceiling was lined with densely packed lights, and its brightness was almost the same as daylight. If not for the previous experience, he would have found it hard to believe that he was in the deep underground. In the center of the square stood a statue, which at first glance looked like a large hand tightly holding an irregular polyhedron. Several buses were parked next to the statue, so it seemed they were not the only newcomers here.
“Are those people from other cities?” Roland pointed to the crowd gathered around the statue.
Garcia nodded, “The association has countless branches, but only two headquarters. If you want to get close to the Erosion, you must go to these two places.”
He was slightly stunned, “The Erosion from the outside… can be seen directly?”
“Not only can you see it, but you can also touch it—although you definitely wouldn’t want to touch it,” Garcia rolled her eyes at him, “Do you think we’re a cult that draws a big picture and makes people work hard to death? The real purpose of periodically gathering novices and taking you to see the real crisis facing the world is to visit the headquarters. Some things you won't believe until you see them with your own eyes—disaster is already at hand.”
At this moment, the lights overhead suddenly dimmed, and darkness surged out from all directions in an instant, focusing people’s vision on a small area in the center of the square—like a stage with the curtain drawn, two bright beams of light shone down from the dome, one falling on the statue, and the other illuminating the figure of a woman in black.
She stood on a high platform on one side of the square, about thirty years old, wearing a classical martial arts uniform. Her long black hair was tied on top of her head, and one of her eyes seemed to have been injured in the past and was covered by an eye patch. Although the natural power of the dream world was not limited to men and women, it did not have the effect of improving the appearance of the body like magic. Judging from her appearance alone, she was no different from ordinary people, and she was not tall, but she had a calm and solemn aura.
The woman waved to everyone and said in a loud voice, “Hello, Awakened ones, I am Lan, the chief disciple of the «Guardian» Cornerstone.
Welcome to Prism City!”
Prism… is she referring to the polyhedron of the statue? Roland noticed that the wild martial artists who came with him began to whisper to each other, seemingly quite dissatisfied with her words.
Before he had time to ask Garcia, Lan continued, “Of course, the matter of receiving new disciples should have been the responsibility of the Guardian, but unfortunately, something went wrong in Cloudsoar City. The master and the other three Guardians left this place the day before yesterday. In order not to delay the tour, I have to receive you all.”
“I know that some of you have awakened many years ago and cannot be treated as true novices, but now that the situation has changed drastically, your willingness to come here is equivalent to acknowledging the ability of the association. Naturally, you should temporarily put aside everything in the past and put fighting the Fallen Ones first. The association does not care about your past identities and positions, but only values your future performance—the more critical the moment, the more the Awakened should unite. If you don’t accept the association’s approach, you can choose to leave now!”
As she spoke, the woman in black made a gesture of invitation, but no one moved in the square, and even the noisy discussions subsided.
“This chief disciple is quite skillful,” Roland curled his lips. More and more Fallen Ones, the wild awakened ones applied to join the association when they couldn’t protect themselves, even if they thought highly of themselves, they had to bow to reality at this moment. The other party had accurately grasped this point and deliberately advanced by retreating, making this group of people speechless in just a few words.
At any time, strength is the only standard for persuading opponents. As a martial arts association that shelters one side, spreading out the strength they possess is undoubtedly the simplest and most effective method.
Garcia glanced at Roland with a complex expression, and after a long time, she whispered, "She is my Shifu."
“What?” He was stunned, “Shifu?”
“The senior I mentioned that day was her,” Garcia sighed, “If it is not necessary, you’d better not hang around in front of her. Shifu hates people who lack a sense of responsibility and are not punctual the most.”
Uh, so that’s what’s going on.
“Since you have all made your choice, then very good, the association welcomes the addition of any fresh blood.” Lan scanned the square and nodded with satisfaction, “I won’t give a long speech here, nothing is more impressive than seeing it with your own eyes, now please follow me to see the crisis the world is about to face—you will soon understand that the Divine Will War is not far from us!”