Hell Game: Starting from Metropolis

Liu Zheng secretly rolled his eyes.

Hachijo's tone immediately reminded him of the director of the orphanage.

The old man always told them that if the town leaders hadn't come to him for help, he wouldn't have taken on such a difficult job when he was almost retired.

Then he said things like he absolutely had to apply for a transfer next year, otherwise he would demand early retirement.

However, the old man worked there for twenty years, until he died in the position, without ever writing his application.

Perhaps it was because of his existence that Liu Zhengcai retained his principles.

"The door is not locked, come in yourself."

Hachi continued.

"Ok."

He pushed open the iron gate forcefully and went inside.

Upon entering, a wave of heat immediately hit you.

And it wasn't the intense heat of burning charcoal, but rather the scalding heat of steam.

When Liu Zheng saw the structure of the boiler room clearly, he understood the reason.

A huge boiler stood in the very center of the room, with countless pipes extending out from all around it, like a heart and its blood vessels.

Surrounding the boiler were eight enormous bronze kettles suspended in the air, each with a pipe leading to its bottom.

Orange flames spewed from the nozzle, aggressively licking their undersides, and the thick brass pot was also heated until it was red-hot.

Steam billows from the spout, transforming the surroundings into a fairyland amidst the clouds.

Directly in front of the boiler is a high platform covered with various mechanical devices.

On the high platform, an elderly man wearing old work clothes, thin and bald, was busy.

Plaques hung from the ceiling, and after he finished looking at them, he reached his arm into the cabinet behind him, pulled out a drawer, grabbed a handful of things, and threw them into a copper pot.

The eight bronze pots correspond exactly to the eight arms.

"So there are eight of them."

Liu Zheng raised an eyebrow.

"Stay put and don't touch anything. If you delay my work, I'll throw you into the furnace and burn you to ashes."

Even amidst his busy schedule, Ba Tiao still found time to warn him.

The old man had an isosceles triangle-shaped face, an exaggeratedly thick beard under his nose, and strange glasses that looked like a mix of swimming goggles and sunglasses, making him look quite comical.

"Uncle Hachijo, is there anything I can do to help?"

Liu Zheng took the initiative to ask.

"What can a clumsy human like you do? Just stay put and I'll give you instructions when I'm done with my work."

"I'm getting impatient," Hachijo said.

"Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm actually quite hardworking. And I feel really bad taking up your space here without doing anything to help you."

He said.

"Do you know the medicinal herbs?"

Eight questions were asked.

"do not know."

He wasn't interested in traditional Chinese medicine; he only knew the names and effects of many Chinese medicinal herbs from novels, but he absolutely couldn't identify them.

"Do you know how to brew tea?"

Eight questions were asked.

Does pouring boiling water and then waiting for the tea to cool count?

Liu Zheng asked.

He drinks a lot of tea, but he simply doesn't like sweet drinks or plain water.

Add some tea leaves, pour in boiling water, and let it cool down – that completes the whole process.

"Can you read the boiler's parameters?"

Hachijo pointed to the left side of the boiler and said that there were several instrument panel-like devices installed there.

"Okay, I really don't know anything."

Liu Zheng shrugged.

It's fun to give up temporarily, and it's even more fun to keep giving up.

"You're quite frank, but unfortunately I still don't like young people like you who can't do anything. Go to the side and don't get in my way."

Eight said.

"Then you go ahead and do your work. I won't bother you anymore."

He readily agreed and went to the platform next to the cabinet, then lay down directly on the ground.

I must say, the boiler room is indeed quite large; even without the boiler, it's still the size of three rest rooms.

In addition, the nearly six-meter-high ceiling gave Liu Zheng the illusion of being in a grand auditorium.

"This kid is far too lazy."

Hachijo caught a glimpse of his face out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but smile wryly.

However, he wasn't too angry. Compared to those brats who thought they were clever and insisted on helping with the work, only to create a mess for him to clean up, Liu Zheng was much easier to manage.

Just then, Hachijo's expression suddenly changed.

"Men, get out there and get to work!"

he shouted.

Chapter 389 Lighting a Fire, Starting a Big Fire

"Chi chi chi~"

A familiar voice came from under the platform.

When Liu Zheng opened his eyes, he saw thousands of black lumps running out of the hole under the platform, each with a piece of coal twice the size of itself on its thin little arms.

These coal blocks are also different from those in reality; they are jet black and shiny, and look more like black gemstones than coal.

It was clear that these coal lumps were unusually heavy, as they were all bent over under the weight.

However, they run quite fast, like overloaded and speeding electric tricycles.

"Do you need my help?"

Liu Zheng took the initiative to ask.

"No need, they can handle it."

Eight said without turning his head.

"Ok."

He shrugged, then switched to a side-lying position, propping his head up with one hand as he watched the black-clad figures carry coal.

I must say, watching them move coal is quite relaxing.

Although they were a bit chaotic when they came out of the cave, they automatically adjusted their position and distance as they ran.

The lines gradually converged, and by the time they reached the high platform where the Eighth Line was located, only two lines remained.

It looks like two black snakes with many tails, or like some kind of ritual pattern.

"Click click click click~"

With the activation of eight levers, the conveyor belt on the high platform began to operate.

The black ball at the head of the line was the first to step onto the conveyor belt, followed closely by the other black balls.

There was no rush to get a seat, no crowding, and even the spacing between people was exactly the same.

These seemingly childish and funny little creatures were behaving like a well-trained army.

When the black ball of matter arrives at the filling port, the closed cover opens automatically.

A roaring flame erupted from the boiler, and even from a distance, Liu Zheng could feel the scorching heat that burned everything.

"I wonder if those little brats got burned?"

He looked at the filling port with some concern, only to see the flames spraying onto the feed port, but being blocked by an invisible wall, scattering into a sky full of sparks.

"Oh, so that's one of those tricks."

He was relieved.

"Chi chi chi chi!"

Even though they weren't burned, the black balls still cried out in panic and instinctively tried to dodge.

Liu Zheng watched with amusement, thinking that small animals are just small animals and can never become an unyielding elite soldier.

"What's the panic? It won't burn you."

As he spoke, Hachijo picked up the wrench beside him and tapped the furnace.

"clang!"

The black balls huddled together in fright at the loud noise.

"Keep working."

Hachijo put down the wrench and continued adding something to the copper kettle.

"Chi! Chi!"

The black balls stretched out their bodies and continued carrying.

About ten minutes later, Hachijo picked up the wrench and tapped the furnace again.

"enough."

he shouted.

"Gee~"

This is a dark, round thing that has just finished transporting coal; its voice is short and cheerful.

"grumble"

This is a dark, lumpy mass that just brought out coal; its voice is deep and irritable.

"Pfft~"

Liu Zheng couldn't help but burst out laughing.

All the black balls looked at him, their beady eyes widening as much as possible to express their anger.

"I'm sorry, I just remembered something happy."

He quickly explained.

"Chi chi chi chi!"

The black balls cried out and rushed to Liu Zheng's side, looking at him without any intention of returning to the pipe.

"What's wrong with them?"

He asked, scratching his head.

"They want to know what makes you happy, so you'd better give them a satisfactory answer, or they'll bury you in coal."

Eight said.

"By the way, I'd like to know too."

"Um, I just started working at our bathhouse today, does that count?"

Liu Zheng tentatively said.