Chapter 2: Chapter 2 The Underworld
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The sharp glass pierced the other person’s eye. Xu Mo didn’t stop; he used all his strength, covering the other person’s mouth with his left hand and pinning the body to the ground directly.
The person struggled violently, but Xu Mo held him down firmly. The sharp object stabbed repeatedly and wildly, blood splattering everywhere, quickly reducing the flesh and blood to a mess. The person started convulsing, the resistance grew weaker and finally stopped moving.
Xu Mo looked at the disfigured face, his body and hands trembling slightly. Forcing down the churn in his stomach, Xu Mo dragged the corpse away from the bedroom door. He found a piece of bedcloth to cover the body and cleaned up the bloodstains on himself and the floor.
After finishing all this, Xu Mo leaned against the old sofa, breathing heavily. His arms still trembled slightly. The dangers of this world made him feel a little afraid.
“Underworld!”
Xu Mo murmured softly. Only then did he have the time to review his memories, realizing that the place he lived in was the Underworld. In the original owner’s memory, the world above was a blank. He only knew that the Earth World was full of big shots.
For instance, the munitions factory where his parents worked — it was said that the president was a big shot from the Earth World. There were many factories in the Underworld, all serving the Earth World.
However, he didn’t believe for a second that everyone in the Earth World was a big shot. It’s just that those capable of controlling the resources of the Underworld wouldn’t be ordinary in the Earth World either.
As for the original owner himself, he worked at Master Batu’s department store.
In the Underworld, the order was extremely chaotic; otherwise, today’s events wouldn’t have happened.
“Parallel world or another cosmic civilization?” Xu Mo thought to himself. Humanity was so insignificant in the face of the Universe, and their exploration was but a drop in the ocean. Even if there were other cosmic civilizations, Xu Mo wouldn’t be surprised.
Xu Mo sorted through the original owner’s memories, finding that the owner’s understanding of this world was pitifully small; his knowledge only extended to his surroundings. This small area was his entire world.
“Hmm?”
At this moment, Xu Mo suddenly heard a noise. It seemed to be coming towards him.
Soon, the sound of people coming up the stairs came, and Xu Mo could hear their heavy breathing.
“Xu Mo!” A worried voice came from outside. The half-closed door was pushed open, and a woman in a beige dress walked in, breathing heavily. The people following her entered the room at a more leisurely pace, scanning it with sharp eyes.
The woman let out a cry of surprise at the sight of the room, covering her mouth with her right hand, her body trembling slightly.
“Xu Mo.” Seeing Xu Mo curled up in front of the sofa, she felt a pang of pain and tears slid down her face.
“Miss Mia.” Seeing the woman, Xu Mo called out. She was the daughter of his boss, Master Batu. In the original owner’s memories, Miss Mia was beautiful and kind, had a good voice, and sang very well. The original owner had always had a secret crush on Miss Mia, but he felt very inferior in front of her and didn’t dare to speak much.
“I’m sorry I came too late,” Mia said painfully. She couldn’t imagine what Xu Mo had been through.
“I’m from the Law Enforcement Team. Do you remember what happened? Who was the killer?” The man who came with Mia squatted down and examined the corpse, then looked at Xu Mo and asked. Xu Mo recalled the chaotic memories in his mind, shook his head, and said somewhat confused, “My head hurts. It seems like I’ve forgotten.”
The man glanced at Xu Mo’s head, seeing a noticeable wound still bleeding slightly. It was a miracle he was still alive.
“You can’t remember anything? Do you know anything about your parents’ death? Did you offend anyone?” The man continued to ask, “This is very important for the investigation. You want to find the killer, right?”
Xu Mo pretended to recall and then, as if in discomfort, held his head and shook it, “I don’t know, I can’t remember anything.”
The man smiled indifferently, got up, and didn’t continue the questioning.
“We’ll take the body. We’ll investigate the case later.” The others who entered the room then scanned it briefly, lifted the body, and walked out without Xu Mo’s permission. These people were from the Law Enforcement Team. The Underworld wasn’t completely without order, but ordinary people had it hard.
Xu Mo glanced at the man speaking. The man couldn’t even be bothered to pretend interest, but this was expected. The order of the Underworld was set by the so-called ‘big shots.’ The president of the munitions factory must hold substantial power in the Underworld; otherwise, how could he dare to commit such a blatant murder?
Moreover, Xu Mo knew that the original owner’s parents had visited the Law Enforcement Team before their deaths. He didn’t know what happened, so he dared not say anything.
Xu Mo didn’t stop them. He couldn’t stop them, and besides, he couldn’t handle the bodies, especially since one of them was killed by him.
In the bedroom, Yaoer peeked out, crying softly, but seemed to be holding back. She wiped her tears with her small hands.
“Yaoer.” Seeing her, Xu Mo walked over and held Yaoer in his arms, watching as they took the body away.
The man who questioned Xu Mo smiled at Mia and said, “Miss Mia, thank you for your hard work. We will go back to investigate now.”
“Please, I beg you.” Mia bowed, tears still streaming from her eyes. The innocent Mia did not seem to realize that the man was merely going through the motions.
After they left, Mia looked at Xu Mo, who was holding the girl, unsure how to comfort him. At eighteen, she had never encountered such a tragic scene.
“Are you hurt?” Mia stepped forward and saw a wound on Xu Mo’s head, with bloodstains.
“Xu Mo, I’ll take you to see a doctor,” Mia said anxiously.
“No need, the wound has healed, and I don’t feel any discomfort.” Xu Mo replied. In fact, the original owner had already died from the head injury.
“Miss Mia, why did you come here?” Xu Mo asked.
“My father heard the news at the black market and told me when he returned. I went to the Law Enforcement Team first, but I was too late. I’m sorry.” Mia said with her head down.
“Master Batu.”
In Xu Mo’s memory, Master Batu was the opposite of Miss Mia. He was a greedy, cunning, heartless fat man. Xu Mo never understood how Master Batu could have such a kind and beautiful daughter.
“Yes.” Mia nodded, “Xu Mo, take Yaoer and come with me. It’s not safe here.”
She worried that those people wouldn’t spare Xu Mo.
Xu Mo recalled the previous scene. Those thugs indeed didn’t plan to spare him, not even Yaoer. After that, he collapsed and didn’t know why Yaoer was unharmed.
Now that ‘he’ was still alive, staying here might indeed be dangerous.
Looking at the girl in his arms, Xu Mo didn’t refuse Mia’s suggestion and nodded.
Xu Mo lived in a dilapidated building, with the doors of other floors tightly shut. They came downstairs, and Xu Mo glanced at the area. The dense, decrepit buildings looked like cages, extending endlessly, with the population extremely dense.
There was no sky, no sunlight. Xu Mo felt very oppressed.
The girl in his arms held onto Xu Mo’s neck tightly, lying on his shoulder. Because his parents worked at the munitions factory and had little time, Xu Mo took care of his young sister most of the time. The siblings had always relied on each other, making the girl especially close to Xu Mo and very obedient to him.
“Brother, will mom and dad come back?” The girl asked softly, her eyes brimming with tears.
“When Yaoer grows up, mom and dad will come back.” Xu Mo said softly, holding the girl’s head with his right hand.
“Then Yaoer will grow up faster.” The girl said innocently. Mia wiped her tears beside them, not looking at Xu Mo and the girl but leading the way. Xu Mo followed, holding Yaoer.
“Too tragic.”
“I just saw the Law Enforcement Team drag away three people, all beaten to death.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Watch your mouth.”
In the corner, some people whispered. It was clear that many knew what had happened at Xu Mo’s house, but no one dared to meddle, not even to discuss it.
“Hmm?” All these sounds reached Xu Mo’s ears. He felt that his senses indeed had become sharper. Even though these people spoke softly, he could hear them clearly. Was it a peculiarity of this world?
If it were a different cosmic civilization, humans should have differences too.
Continuing forward, Xu Mo sensed this distinctiveness. Soon he showed a look of surprise, pausing briefly and suddenly becoming tense, glancing around.
Someone was following!
He could sense that someone was following him, but he couldn’t pinpoint the specific location. The passersby showed no anomalies.
Could it be that the thugs had returned?
“What’s wrong?” Seeing Xu Mo stop, Mia turned around and asked.
“It’s nothing.” Xu Mo continued forward, but the feeling of being followed didn’t disappear, keeping him on edge.
They left the residential area, walked through a few more streets, and arrived at another district. This one looked like a commercial street where Master Batu’s department store was located.
In Xu Mo’s impression, Master Batu was the epitome of capitalist exploitation. The environment here was far better than where Xu Mo lived.
The feeling of being followed disappeared at this point, making Xu Mo breathe a sigh of relief.