Chapter 41: A Crude Rescue Method
Ambera City, a clean and prosperous city.
In the perception of the outside world, the Sun Kingdom is a country with a moral purity complex. Its citizens are upright and incorruptible, tolerating not even the slightest filth or depravity.
Is this really the case? Obviously not. In this era of war, aside from nations like the Geya Alliance that aggressively expand outward, the lives of commoners in most neighboring countries are somewhat impoverished.
If the residents of the Sun Kingdom were truly so upright and incorruptible, the middle-aged driver that Su Xiao had tied up earlier wouldn't have fled with his pocket watch and vintage car.
Essentially, the commoners in most countries of the Blue Sea Star are quite similar. Compared to the national image, they care more about their own families. They are just ordinary folk; only when their basic needs are met do they have the leisure to gossip about matters between great powers.
The upper echelons of the Sun Kingdom indeed have a moral purity complex, but this is not evident among the commoners. While the main roads of Ambera City are spotless, the city also has its filthy alleys and slums. The crime rate is only about 2% lower than that of cities of similar size in the Geya Alliance.
It's not that Ambera City is "spotless," but rather that the royal family and the divine court cover up the city's filth, unlike the Geya Alliance, which exposes it, even leading to lawless districts.
The early sun slowly rose, and the residents of Ambera City began their busy new day. But before getting busy, they would pray at home or in factories, praying to their Dawn Goddess. Whether the Dawn Goddess, whose "divine" incarnation had just been devoured by someone, could receive these prayers was unknown.
Smoke from cooking fires rose above the residential houses. The streets gradually became lively, the aroma of food wafting through the air. Occasionally, a vintage car drove by, and the roar of steam engines from small workshops along the street made the city even more bustling.
Su Xiao mingled with the crowd on the street, holding a paper bag filled with freshly baked bread. The bread was soft, but the flavor of the jam inside didn't quite suit Su Xiao's taste—sour, sweet, and astringent.
Su Xiao was strolling along a main road in Ambera City, or rather, he was looking for someone.
Beep, beep, beep…
Urgent electronic sounds came from the signal receiver in Su Xiao's hand, indicating that the assistant was nearby. After precise positioning, Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. The assistant was actually underground.
After walking a few hundred meters through the crowd, Su Xiao arrived directly above the assistant. The light point representing the assistant was green, meaning she was still alive.
Soon, Su Xiao entered a small alley between two high-rise buildings, easily lifted a manhole cover, and jumped into the sewer.
With a splash, sewage splattered. Su Xiao, chewing on bread in his mouth, didn't mind at all. He could enjoy a meal sitting on a pile of corpses, let alone in a sewer.
After tossing aside the empty paper bag and rubbing the breadcrumbs off his hands, Su Xiao took out a heavy tablet computer.
This world had no satellite network, so to find the assistant, Su Xiao could only rely on two-way signal reception. Fortunately, the signal transmitter the assistant had swallowed was an item certified by the Reincarnation Paradise, with a wide signal range.
Su Xiao waded through the sewage and came to a concrete platform beside the drainage ditch. A few rats were startled and fled. These rats were as big as house cats, and when gathered together, they often attacked humans.
Su Xiao wasn't worried about being attacked by rats. The rats turned and fled as soon as they saw him, and some even dove into the sewage, lying motionless as if dead.
The underground drainage system of Ambera City was very complex. Supporting the drainage of a large city couldn't be done with just a dozen or so sewers.
Three hundred meters away from Su Xiao, in a low, narrow sewer.
"Cough, cough, cough…"
A dry cough echoed. A frail figure curled up inside a thick iron pipe at a drainage outlet, with drops of blood seeping through her fingers.
"Huff, huff… I can't believe it crashed. What bad luck."
The one curled up in the thick iron pipe was the assistant. She had successfully gotten onto the plane earlier, but with no good opportunity, she could only wait. However, when the plane landed in Ambera City, the wheel strut broke during the taxi.
Du Bois, who was in the front cabin, was fine, but the assistant in the rear cargo hold slammed her head against the hatch and passed out.
When the assistant woke up, several soldiers from the Sun Kingdom had just entered the rear hold. After a brief exchange of fire, the assistant killed eight of them, took two gunshots, and fled into the city. Fortunately, the assistant was clever enough. Before boarding the plane, she had smeared some colored resin on her face, and since it was nighttime, the enemies didn't get a clear look at her appearance.
Even so, the assistant couldn't go to any medical facility for treatment. The entire city was secretly searching for her, making her afraid to easily go above ground. She was the beacon; even if she died, she had to die in Ambera City.
Blood dripped from the assistant's fingertips. She reached her hand forward, letting the blood fall into the sewage.
Several black beetles floated to the surface, attracted by the smell of blood.
"Lucky me."
The assistant tore off a piece of cloth, grabbed those black beetles, wrapped them in the fabric, and roughly cleaned them. After doing this, she pulled up the clothing at her abdomen and bit down on it.
The assistant had two through-and-through gunshot wounds on her abdomen, which were already showing signs of infection. She grabbed one of the black beetles and placed it at the edge of the wound.
Smelling the blood, the black beetle opened its mandibles, bit through the skin, and began to suck blood.
After placing several black beetles, the assistant let out a long sigh. Although this type of Kletta beetle was a blood-sucking insect, the saliva it secreted while feeding had a disinfecting effect.
Just as the assistant was about to rest for a moment, light footsteps approached.
The footsteps grew closer. The assistant drew her pistol, released the safety, and stared at the entrance of the iron pipe. Severe blood loss was making her vision blurry.
With a crisp clang, something was thrown into the iron pipe.
"It's over."
The assistant let out a bitter smile. The enemy was more cunning than she had imagined.
Bang!
A flash of white light erupted. As her vision went white, the assistant was about to pull the trigger, but an irresistible force pulled at her hand, and the gun was taken away. The next moment, the assistant felt something wrap around her ankle, forcibly dragging her out of the thick iron pipe.
After more than ten seconds, the white light in the assistant's vision faded a bit. The earlier object didn't seem to be a flashbang.
"Judging by your vital signs, you won't die anytime soon."
Su Xiao pulled up the assistant's clothing and examined her injuries. Hearing Su Xiao's voice, the assistant was stunned for a moment before realizing what was happening. If Su Xiao had shown his face at the entrance of the iron pipe earlier, he would have likely been shot.
"Sir, I've located the target's position."
The assistant lay spread-eagled on the cold concrete platform, starting to feel drowsy.
"Oh."
Su Xiao hoisted the drowsy assistant onto his shoulder and walked toward the sewer exit.