Apart from the burning boiler, only piles of coal ash were stacked high in the corners...
The air quality here was much better than the two lower levels, with neither the damp smell of mold and rust nor the overly choking smell of coal dust.
"Let's go..."
Mono looked around, then took Six's hand and walked towards a wooden door open in the wall on the right side of the hall.
Outside the room housing the furnace was pitch black again—a corridor that stretched beyond sight.
Mono stood at the edge of the doorframe, listening quietly for a while, but heard no unusual sounds from the depths of the dark corridor.
They continued slowly walking deeper in.
The light from the nuclear lighter illuminated...
Both fell into a perfectly silent tacit agreement once more...
The sound of steam from the boiler behind them gradually faded, and the surroundings were slowly enveloped in coldness again...
After walking for a while, Mono suddenly slowed his pace.
"Screech—"
"Screech—"
"Screech—"
A grating, intermittent scraping sound suddenly came from ahead.
It sounded like sharp steel being forcefully scraped against hard granite.
Hearing it suddenly in the quiet was extremely noticeable.
Listening to this abnormal sound, they carefully moved closer. Before long, a thick iron wall appeared before their eyes.
At the bottom of the iron wall was a ventilation duct.
The intermittent "screeching" sounds were coming from inside the ventilation duct... Mono glanced around; there were no other exits nearby.
"Six... stay close..." Mono reminded her.
Now they could only proceed forward through the vent.
However, they didn't know what was making this strange sound?
Six silently nodded.
Mono went into the ventilation duct first, and Six followed closely behind as instructed.
The closer they moved along the narrow, winding duct, the louder the noise became.
Finally, the exit of the vent on the other side appeared before them.
Mono lay at the opening, looking outside.
Under the vast, gray space, a huge figure was staggering, constantly pacing back and forth on the ground.
It was dragging a heavy iron cage.
The "screeching" sounds they had heard were precisely the noise caused by the iron cage being dragged along the ground by the massive shadow.
Although it wasn't very clear due to the darkness, Mono recognized the identity of this shadow at a glance.
Wasn't this the Long-armed Blind Monster that constantly patrolled the The Maw's Bilge, capturing escaped Little Person?
After only a moment's hesitation.
"We'll follow it..." Mono whispered to Six.
As the The Maw's Warehouse Manager, the Long-armed Blind Monster undoubtedly knew where the exit to the upper level was.
Although it was somewhat risky, as long as they made no sound, they wouldn't be discovered.
Mono crawled out of the ventilation duct.
Six followed and crawled out.
They slowly walked towards the moving shadow in the darkness, treading carefully without making any sound, their breathing so faint it was almost inaudible.
They were no longer novices. After all they'd experienced in the realm of survival, they might not dare call themselves experts, but they could certainly be considered professional.
The Long-armed Blind Monster ahead showed no sign of detection.
As the distance closed, the monster's silhouette, which had been barely visible, now became clear before their eyes.
Although Mono had seen many of this world's oddities, he couldn't help but look curiously at the person before him.
It was a very bizarre person—wearing a worn brown coat, a small round-brimmed hat of the same color on its head, its entire eyes covered by several crooked strips of cloth.
Of course, the most bizarre thing wasn't its attire, but its body proportions—a torso over two meters tall made up most of its two-meter-plus height. Its legs were almost completely covered by the coat, so short they were nearly invisible. Its arms, however, were excessively long; just the upper arms were long enough to reach the ground. The extra length of the forearms could only be held up awkwardly; if lowered, they would just lie piled on the ground.
The entire figure looked extremely disproportionate.
This bizarre person, or monster, really wasn't a pleasant sight.
For the Little People, they absolutely would not want to see something like this appear before their eyes.
However, surprisingly, when it dragged the iron cage forward, its speed wasn't slow.
The heavy iron cage continued to emit piercing, chaotic noises, which conveniently masked their movements and figures.
They continued forward.
After walking for a while, the scene before them changed again.
In the pitch-black, enormous room, both walls were lined with towering, massive iron racks.
Many iron cages were placed on top of them.
Neatly arranged and densely packed, many of the cages were stained with dark, filthy
grime.
The Long-armed Blind Monster in front suddenly stopped before a huge rack.
Mono also pulled Six to a halt.
He didn't know what this monster intended to do.
The Long-armed Monster's lengthy arm gave a slight tug, pulling the iron cage it had been dragging behind right in front of itself.
Then, gripping it tightly with both hands, it lifted the cage and placed it directly on the very top
layer of the rack.
Its long arm stretched out incredibly far, lifting the cage across a distance of nearly seven or eight meters with seemingly effortless ease.
Although this sight struck Mono as somewhat bizarre,
compared to Neck Person Teacher's long neck, it was still a case of the pot calling the kettle black—both were within the realm of what he could tolerate.
After placing the iron cage, the Long-armed Blind Monster lowered its hands, dragging them along the ground as it trudged forward on its short, stubby limbs.
The two followed silently once more.
After winding through several twists and turns, passing through a few rooms and corridors, they followed it to a new place.
The blind, Long-armed Monster had already entered a doorway.
Mono led Six to the room's entrance, cautiously peeking his head inside to look around.
It was a small room, cleanly furnished without any strange odors. However, there was actually a television here?
Mono's gaze fell upon the table positioned in the center of the room.
Then, he saw the Long-armed Blind Monster that had entered the room walk over to that television.
Its long arm rose.
"Click!" It turned the television on.
This television was different from the previous ones that either had no signal or showed eyes.
As soon as the TV in the room was switched on, a 'pleasant' melody began vibrating from its speakers, echoing throughout the space.
The sound pierced through the iron walls and wooden boards, directly penetrating into the minds of those who heard it.
Initially on guard, Mono listened to the noise from the TV, fell silent for a moment, but couldn't help complaining to the person beside him:
"Hey, Little Six, this guy's taste is even worse than yours..."
He truly found it hard to describe the peculiar appeal of the song emanating from the television.
In comparison, the music box he once heard from Six was undoubtedly countless times better.
Thinking of this, Mono suddenly remembered that it seemed like a long time since he last saw Six holding her music box.
After he spoke, Little Six, leaning against him, couldn't help but glance at Mono beside her.
Suppressing the urge to bite him, she also whispered:
"Mono... If your taste were any good... you wouldn't say such things..." Telepathically, she understood exactly what he meant from his look and tone.
Mono actually dared to compare her favorite music to this thing in front of them... She felt a bit irritated...
The music from the music box was... the best...
Mono was the one who understood nothing and had no appreciation at all...
Otherwise, he wouldn't say such infuriating things...
Mono naturally understood Six's temper. Seeing her reaction, he didn't argue.
Sometimes, to truly convince someone to recognize themselves, you need facts to speak.
However, this girl actually dared to say he had no taste?
He might need to find an opportunity to show Six just how ignorant she was.
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