“That's right, you are Louis!”
“Then who are you?”
“I really am your father.”
Ning Busan: “...”
Could these two clumps of fire really not be beaten to death?
Too bad there was no water here, otherwise Ning Busan would have definitely held him underwater.
Leo quit while he was ahead. “Actually, I'm your brother from another mother and father, Leo! How could you forget me?”
Ning Busan expressed strong doubt about this.
Leo said, “I can tell there's definitely something wrong with your memory. But that's fine, you can ask me whatever you want to know.”
Ning Busan asked, “What on earth are you?”
“I'm an undead,” Leo said. “The rules here restrict the existence of magic, and also restrict the existence of magical creatures. Especially for the undead, it's really too unfriendly! These two clumps of soulfire are my eyes, and right now, I only have eyes left.”
Ning Busan asked again, “How much do you know about the City of Steam?”
Leo said, “I came here to escape being hunted by an angel. That angel entered the City of Steam. If I don't hide out here, why would I go in there to join the chaos?”
He had thought Ning Busan would easily obtain the recognition of the Crown of the Divine King, and it wouldn't be too late for him to show his face then. He hadn't expected Ning Busan to actually run into trouble!
Ning Busan didn't care why Leo was being hunted. With a scrutinizing gaze, he asked, “So you know nothing at all?”
Leo, the Seer: “Wow! Your insults are so filthy!”
Ning Busan: ?
“Forget it...” Ning Busan had already labeled Leo as “unreliable.” Helplessly, he asked, “Then what else do you know?”
Leo felt it was necessary to help Ning Busan recall their past glorious years and deep brotherly affection, so he began an impassioned speech, rambling on and on.
Ning Busan tried to filter out useful information, but he later discovered there was absolutely no useful information at all!
He could sense that although everything Leo said might be exaggerated, most of it was probably true.
The only problem was that listening to Leo's stories was of no help to the current situation.
“You can shut up now.” Ning Busan interrupted Leo's endless torrent of words and complained mercilessly, “You talk way too much!”
Leo accused, “You're actually starting to dislike me? You weren't like this before! Sure enough, people change!”
Ning Busan had a deadpan face. “Oh...”
Those two clumps of soulfire suddenly burst open, like countless long, thin claws scratching wildly at the surroundings, looking extremely irritable.
“Louis, I have to say, your current cold, dead attitude is exactly the same as when I first met you!”
Ning Busan pinched the bridge of his nose.
He doesn't even have a mouth, so what organ is he using to make sound?
Why is he able to be this noisy?
Ning Busan ignored the two clumps of soulfire. Clutching a small shovel in his hand and carrying a bag on his shoulder, he headed with a clear goal toward an abandoned ore pile in a corner of the coal mine.
There was saltpeter there.
Ning Busan quickly used the small shovel to dig up saltpeter, packing it into his bag.
The two clumps of soulfire slowly followed behind him, asking when they didn't understand, “What are you doing?”
Ning Busan said calmly, “I'm going to blow up the City of Steam.”
Leo doubted his own ears. “You're going to do what?”
Ning Busan briefly explained his plan to him.
Leo asked with genuine doubt, “Are you sane right now?”
Ning Busan nodded. “I am very sane.”
“No, I think you're not sane at all!” Leo said. “You need to ignite the gunpowder, so you'll definitely be at the center of the explosion. The entire city will be blown sky-high. How could you possibly emerge unscathed?”
Ning Busan revealed his carved arm and said flatly, “I definitely wouldn't send myself to a pointless death. Since I left this line of words, it means there must be a foolproof method.”
“First, I'll get the saltpeter. Once the gunpowder is actually made, I'll think about the next step.”
Leo didn't understand what chemical reaction would occur when gunpowder exploded in contact with gas, but he believed he knew Louis well enough.
“If it were really that simple, you would have blown up the City of Steam long ago. How could you have waited until now? You must have guessed that something would go wrong with your memory, so you deliberately...”
Leo paused.
Louis was digging a hole for himself to jump into!
How ruthless. When he gets ruthless, he even schemes against himself!
Ning Busan stared at the two clumps of soulfire, his mind stirring.
He suddenly thought of an old saying: Better you than me.
After considering for a moment, Ning Busan asked in a friendly manner, “Since we are biological brothers from different parents, shouldn't brothers be willing to take a bullet for each other?”
Leo: “...”
Your motive is way too obvious!
Leo asked, “Is it too late for me to say I got the wrong person?”
Ning Busan asked, “Soulfire is still fire. It should be able to light a fuse, right?”
Leo said, “No matter what you want to do, I can support you in spirit.”
He specially emphasized the word “spirit.”
Ning Busan: “Your vitality is very tenacious. Even if this city blows up, you will definitely survive! You have to believe in yourself!”
Leo: “No! I don't believe in myself!”
Ning Busan let out an “oh,” hugged his bag full of saltpeter, and left.
Leo's heart ached with anger.
Wait, he didn't have a heart right now.
“Why don't you ask again?” Leo said weakly. “How about you ask again? Maybe I'll change my mind?”
“*! I really give up!”
...
The underground pipeline center of the City of Steam.
This was the lifeblood of the City of Steam's operations. Countless massive pipes, like blood vessels, wound and twisted through the dark soil.
The surfaces of the pipes were covered in thick rust and condensation, with scalding steam occasionally venting from a few cracks.
Ning Busan took a specialized cutting tool from his bag, its blade glinting coldly in the darkness.
He walked up to a thick gas pipe and plunged the blade into its outer wall without hesitation.
A screeching metallic friction echoed through the cavernous underground space. Accompanied by a hissing leak, the strong smell of gas rapidly spread.
Leo shrank into a ball, trying his best to carefully avoid the gas. “That's it?”
“Not enough,” Ning Busan said coldly, walking toward the next pipe.
Ning Busan was wearing a metal mask, so Leo couldn't see his expression, but he could see those eyes flashing with a cold, sharp light.
Leo muttered, “You're really trying to get me killed here!”
Ning Busan took several simple explosives he had prepared beforehand out of his bag and secured them to key pipe joints, each connected to a long, thin fuse.
After doing all this, Ning Busan looked at Leo and confirmed once more, “Are you sure you won't be blown to death?”
Leo: “No.”
Ning Busan turned decisively and dashed toward the exit.
Leo: “...”
You really don't want to ask a single extra word, do you!
After a while, Leo estimated that Ning Busan had retreated to a safe distance. He tentatively extended a spark of his soulfire, slowly approaching the fuse, only to pull back the instant before it touched.
Don't ask. If you must know, he was nervous!
After repeating this a few times, Leo finally steeled himself and lit the fuse, then turned and ran without a single moment of hesitation.
Time to bail, time to bail!
The fuse ignited instantly, and sparks rapidly raced toward the explosives.
The moment the sparks touched the explosives—boom!
A deafening explosion rumbled from underground, and the entire City of Steam seemed to be violently flipped over by a giant hand.
The ground shook violently, buildings collapsed one after another, and people on the streets fled in panic.
Immediately following, a second and third explosion rang out in succession. Massive fireballs erupted from underground, devouring everything.
The entire city plunged into a sea of fire.
Thick smoke billowed, blotting out the sky.
Rate on N.U.
