Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

Chapter 6: 4: The Extinguished Fluorescence (Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch, Bi Mo Zhu Xian)

Raindrops clinked and clanked against the steel partitions and slanted stairs, and with the occasional passerby under an umbrella, one could hear the pitter-patter of rain bouncing off the canopy.

Hexia placed the document bag on her head, held onto the rough, corroded railing with one hand, and then hurried down the stairs.

Her black shoes splashed through puddles, making a clomping noise, and the black over-the-knee socks were partly dampened by the rain, darkening in color.

After a while, she hastily entered the structure of the Skylight, finally escaping the rain.

Setting down the document bag and shaking off the water droplets, the gray-haired girl slowed her pace and leisurely looked around.

Compared to the massive Skylight, this was just a small structure within its inner walls, with numerous similar entrances and exits visible in the distance, forming a web-like network leading to the complex Underworld.

Pacing through the long steel corridor, Hexia and a few other scattered passersby arrived in front of the vertical elevator to wait.

Click-click-click—

Amidst the sound of heavy gears turning and the slight tremor of the floor, the large industrial elevator slowly ascended from the depths, its edges and rust marks visible through the wire mesh.

But these were all minor details. The elevator, like a rugged beast, held a unique industrial beauty—sturdy, strong, and solid. Its main structure conveyed a reassuring presence.

Inside, it measured approximately 16 meters in length, 12 meters in width, and 8 meters in height, potentially larger than many people's homes, and it felt quite spacious as one walked in.

More than 300 years ago, such elevators were mainly used for carrying goods, but now they had been converted for civilian use. Their length and width were designed according to the size of the Federation's armored vehicles at the time, intended for transporting the then 'Viper-R2' medium-sized tanks.

Recalling the history she had read about in documents, Hexia joined the other few pedestrians in stepping in. Her black shoes clicked lightly on the black grating floor, and droplets of water and dust fell through the gaps in the grate.

Below the grating floor lay another layer, designed to catch dust, muddy water, and trash from above. To clean it, one only needed to spray the surface with a high-pressure water jet, then tip out the trash collected in the layer below—it was quite convenient and labor-saving.

In the Federation, there were more advanced high-end elevators, like glass bubble balls, quietly and swiftly shuttling through transparent tubes, spotlessly clean inside. But such things were expensive to maintain and ill-suited for industrial cities like Payin City.

After a two-minute wait, the elevator began to move. Hexia watched the thick steel doors close slowly, then, amidst the whir of gears, the elevator started to descend, speeding up from slow to fast, until the sound of the gears merged into a continuous screech without pause.

They would travel through 7 kilometers of deep crust inside the elevator until reaching the underground district of Payin City. The reason for housing the district so deep underground was due to historical factors.

Emerald Skirt Planet underwent rapid and substantial development during the internal conflicts of the Federation; it was a planet designated for military-industrial production and naturally had to be prepared for potential enemy attacks.

To preserve most of the living force during orbital bombardment by starships, the industrial cities built at the time were mostly underground, with domes above the cities that had extremely sturdy armor layers to withstand penetrative nuclear bombardments. The 'Viper-R2' model was also a tank well-suited for underground construction and street fighting, serving as a temporary bulwark to block roadways.

More than ten minutes later, the elevator suddenly emerged from the dark tunnel into a bright light, and its speed gradually decreased.

The underground world, with dim orange lights, unfolded before their eyes.

Steel buildings were neatly arrayed, a few hover cars flitted through the air, pedestrians strolled under the streetlights, and the neon signs flickered dimly, their images changing constantly, attempting to capture the attention of passersby.

[Underground Level 42, destination reached.]

The old display screen inside the elevator flashed with these words, and the thick door slid open slowly.

After stepping out of the elevator, she was greeted by familiar staircases and streets. She had walked this path for over ten years, and with such familiarity, Hexia's footsteps became brisker.

Beneath Payin City, levels 1 to 30 were the crust layer, featuring only a few buildings; levels 30 to 40 were the armor layer, uninhabitable; levels 40 to 45 were the public layers, housing numerous supermarkets, shops, restaurants, public institutions, plazas, and so on.

Levels 45 to 50 were the office layers, mainly used by companies and enterprises; levels 50 to 70 were divided into sections, some for residential layers, others for industrial layers; below level 70 lay the unknown regions.

What should I eat tonight?

Walking along the street, the girl eyed the brightly-lit supermarket in the distance, mentally tallying how much money and budget she had left. Setting aside her emergency funds and savings for the next two months' expenses, she only had 525 Federation Coins at her disposal. No, it should be 405 Federation Coins, since she had just spent 120 on the hover car ride.

It pained her heart, those 120 Federation Coins. Thinking of this, Hexia's mood sank, and she gestured absent-mindedly in front of herself.

It was time to start earning money.

Having just graduated from junior high and with several months until high school, she needed to think about how to make some living expenses.

Various ideas floated through her mind as Hexia walked into the familiar supermarket.