Deep in the Living
Chapter 291 - 279 Prologue

Chapter 291: Chapter 279 Prologue

The storm gradually subsides.

A man and a woman stand in front of a tattered inn, ready to head to the next location.

After a brief conversation, it is learned that the white-haired girl is named Agatha Strasser, an Iron Pillar Nun belonging to the Sequence organization.

Meanwhile, Luo Di simply informed the other party about his name and his acquaintance with Mr. Hook.

Caw~

A crow perched on Luo Di’s shoulder rapidly takes the form of a Crow Colt after leaving the inn.

Agatha appears to have no mount; she seems to have walked here.

Just as Luo Di was considering whether to invite her to ride the Crow Colt together.

Agatha squats down, placing her palm on the ground.

To the naked eye, streams of metallic liquid can be seen flowing through her veins and converging towards her palm, seemingly resonating with the substance beneath the ground.

As she gradually raises her arm,

An immense amount of metal material is peeled off from the ground,

Eventually forming a thick metal rod more than two meters long, larger and thicker than the rod she previously used to destroy the rats; it resembles a structural column used in construction.

Agatha then makes a throwing gesture, aiming in the direction of the Sin Bridge.

"You ride the Crow Colt first. Once you’ve determined your speed, I’ll catch up," she says.

"Okay."

Luo Di tugs on the chain atop the Crow Colt, racing out like a ghostly black shadow.

Once Agatha confirms the speed of the running Crow Colt, she immediately tenses her muscles and with nearly full force throws the large metal rod.

The moment she throws the rod, her lower limbs burst with instantaneous speed, and she takes off to land steadily on the surface of the high-speed flying rod.

Thus she flies close to the ground, stepping on the rod, catching up to the Crow Colt perfectly in parallel.

"This..."

Luo Di is astonished by the other’s strength and also discovers the uniqueness of this mode of movement.

Pure strength couldn’t sustain the flight of the rod; it merely provided the initial velocity.

The high metal content of the Pain Sensation Plain suggests that the rod, stripped by Agatha, might have been endowed with some sort of magnetism, allowing it to fly continuously through magnetic forces, like a maglev train.

While Luo Di is observing this unique mode of transportation, Agatha points forward and says:

"The Punishment Room controlled by Lord Hook is at the deepest, after we cross the Sin Bridge, you just need to head straight along the western avenue, and if you encounter a correctional carriage along the way, that means you’re on the right track.

The rat is dead; I just need to return to the Great Monastery to report back."

Luo Di catches a key term while on the move and takes the opportunity to inquire:

"The Great Monastery? Could you explain the composition of the Sequence organization?

I only made contact with Mr. Hook through a ’node’ of our world, and I am only allowed to operate in the Punishment Room; I know nothing of the overall structure of the Order."

"It seems Lord Hook really hasn’t told you such a basic thing... The composition of the Order is pretty simple.

The so-called ’Order’ corresponds to the 26 hell’s alphabet letters, which are the lifelong pursuit of Hell Monks. Some have already received recognition from the letters and have become members of the Order.

One thing to note is that the letter order does not relate to their strength or authority, but merely represents their traits.

At the creation of True Hell.

The meaning of the letters was set, eternal and unchanging.

Currently, ten Monks have successfully obtained a letter, shedding their previous names to become true ’Order members’.

Lord Hook is one of them, obtaining the letter H (Hook), symbolizing Hook and serving as the spokesperson for punishment.

Some sinners from True Hell will be sent to his Punishment Room."

"Aren’t you a member?"

"I am just an Iron Pillar Nun with less than three years in monkhood, yet to cross the Gate of Demon Ascension; my pilgrimage is still immensely long."

"Do other Order members, like Mr. Hook, control territories similar to the Punishment Room?"

"Only three are responsible for [Special Institutions].

The rest of the members are active in one place, which can also be considered as the main city of the whole Order - the [Great Monastery]. This is the ultimate destination of the Suffering Pilgrimage, and also where I mainly live and meditate on pain.

If you’re interested, Luo Di, you can come and have a look after visiting the Punishment Room.

As a disciple of Lord Hook, even if you haven’t become a Monk in formal standing, the Great Monastery will welcome your arrival."

"Okay, I’ll come by and take a look then..."

Luo Di was very interested in the Sequence Group to begin with; since there is no time requirement for the envoy’s journey, he will definitely visit the Monks’ main city to appreciate the different types of metal manifestations and so-called Suffering cultivation. Perhaps he could even discover some unexpected gains.

"By the way, what can I get for this head?" Luo Di reached out and patted the pitch-black Demon’s head on the side of the horse.

"One moment."

Agatha took out a parchment Warrant from the side of her outfit, with detailed information about this rat’s bounty listed on it.

≮Hell’s Warrant – Scylla. Black Rat Tail≯

The content was nothing more than the rat’s rank, habits, active areas, and the sins it had committed.

’Reward Required’: Kill Scylla, throw part of its corpse into any Hell Rift Valley, and you can obtain a small amount of Hell contribution.

Agatha, guessing that Luo Di didn’t understand these terms, began to explain: "Hell contribution, you can think of it as a type of special currency that is directly bound to you.

There are two ways to spend it.

First, you can use it to offset sins committed in Hell.

Second, you can spend it directly with the [Hell Trading Group], where basically any type of item can be bought. Given the equipment you’re using now, it seems to all come from the world you belong to. If you accumulate enough contribution, you might consider visiting the Trading Group. Hell equipment might suit you better now."

"How can I get to the Trading Group?"

"The location of the Trading Group isn’t fixed; they are always active in True Hell, and whether you encounter them is all down to luck... Of course, if you happen to receive an invitation from the Trading Group, you can be teleported there directly. I’m not too sure about the specifics of obtaining one."

"I guess my current contributions wouldn’t get me much, right?"

"Hmm, the Trading Group items are pretty good, so naturally, they are relatively expensive. You’d probably have to kill three or four similar Wanted Criminals to afford good items that suit you."

"Okay, thanks."

There was a subtle shift in Agatha’s gaze, and the metal tubing at her neck slowed its breathing.

She glanced at Luo Di, noting the contrast between his appearance and clothing and that of a Demon.

"We are about four hours away from Sin Bridge. Mr. Di, would you mind sharing a bit about your original world? I’ve never set foot outside of Hell, and my activities are mostly limited to the vicinity of the Sequence Group... To be honest, it’s a bit boring."

"Mhm."

Seeing Luo Di’s nod of agreement, Agatha’s pinpoint-sized white pupils slowly dilated with excitement and eagerness.

Luo Di simply articulated the situation on Earth, mainly explaining the structure of the United Nations and the threats from the Corners.

When it came to concepts like Thought Corner and Pseudo-Person, Agatha showed immense interest.

With time to spare, Luo Di also recounted his first Simulation Practice as a story.

Agatha, having lived in the Great Monastery and encountering content that was bitter and dry daily, was nearly knocked off the Iron Pillar when she heard such a story climaxing for the first time.

When it came to the Tongue Demon, she also realized something:

"Luo Di, have you also inherited this attribute? It seems that this tongue sound allowed you to see through the rat’s trickery."

"Mhm."

"Incredible~ No matter how I look at it, your tongue is related to Evil Plays, but it doesn’t have the characteristics of an Evil Play itself.

This tongue seems to be able to link with the spine, and it’s the enhancement from the spine that allows the tongue to produce a strong spiritual dispelling effect."

"Mhm~ The tongue was the opportunity for my contact with Hell. As I grow, its effects have been continuously strengthening."

All of a sudden, Agatha understood something, "Maybe the ’excursion’ arranged for you by the Spine has to do with wanting you to get an early touch of Evil Plays~ Anyway, we’ll talk about it when you meet Lord Hook.

Alright! Continue your story.

How did you guys survive when you encountered Demons similar to Evil Plays?"

Luo Di continued with the storytelling.

Agatha was completely mesmerized.

"That’s so interesting... I have never heard such stories before.

And your companions are great; if any one of them was missing from the teamwork, it would have been a dead end!

It’s just that the ’class leader’ in the story always seems a bit out of place, as if she’s not really a human dealing with the events for the first time. She seems to understand the development of the entire situation well, just pretending to be unfamiliar.

Of course, it might just be me overthinking it.

Can you spoil in advance what happens to the class leader?"

"We’ll talk about that later."

"Oh~ all right... There’s Sin Bridge ahead, time flies so fast."