"We don't eat bugs very often, mostly we eat mushrooms."
As Mersin said this, he took off the backpack behind him and took out a black cake from it.
This cake is very dark, even darker than Selu's hands that never fade no matter how they are washed.
"This is black mushroom cake, which is very convenient to carry. It is made by grinding black mushroom into powder and adding water and then baking it."
Schliemann looked at the cake in his hand and handed it to Ampton.
"Try it..."
Ampton was also very honest. He opened his mouth and bit, and Vivian at the side didn't even reach out to stop him.
"Ah, it's quite delicious, but a little dry."
"It's good if it's done. It'll last a long time after it's done."
Schliemann said, broke off a little and put it into his mouth. A slight sweetness slowly spread in his mouth.
"Are there any other kinds of food?"
"Yes, there are many more delicious foods in Dark Star City, such as roasted insect legs, insect brains mixed with diced red mushrooms, and mushroom stew..."
Schliemann understood that there were only bugs and mushrooms to eat in the world below.
Two hours later, Hilpeter returned to the starting point and could not find the big hole.
But this time it was not his fault. Schliemann looked at the compass and the map drawn by Hilpeter and determined that this was where he was.
Schliemann felt uneasy in his heart. He slapped his thigh in annoyance and sighed.
"What's wrong?"
asked Ampton.
"It's possible that hole was filled."
Not only Ampton, but everyone on the deck frowned, except Mersin.
"This is impossible!
That hole is connected to the holes dug by countless borers. Can it be filled with the sand of these few dunes? Absolutely not. "
"Then now...oh I know, Hillpeter! Rope! Lower the height to the minimum!"
The captain's order was faithfully carried out. Schliemann tied the rope around his waist, jumped off the side of the ship, rolled with the force to release his strength, and jumped twice vigorously on what looked like the place where the big hole was originally. Down.
There was no response, so he kept jumping.
The big hole suddenly appeared like the bloody mouth of an enraged beast, and Schliemann was swallowed into the big hole along with the sand.
The people on the Crescent were startled and quickly pulled back the rope.
Schliemann was pulled back to the Crescent, covered in dust like a dirty monkey.
"Bah! Hiss...it seems like it won't be easy whether you want to go on or come back."
"so what should I do now?"
Schliemann brushed the sand out of his curls and smiled wryly.
"What should I do...if I don't go down, why are I waiting to starve to death here?"
Soon, the personnel heading to Dark Star City were identified. Schliemann was a hands-on captain, so his name was naturally on the list.
No matter what, Apton refused to let Schliemann go down alone. If he went down, Walter would have to go down.
Vivian was asked by Schliemann to stay on the ship. She looked unhappy and stared at Apton, hoping that he could help fight for it, but Apton didn't understand what Vivian meant at all.
Hilpeter, who was left on the ship, heard that Vivian was staying, and was no longer depressed. He ran to Selu to exchange some perfume with her.
When Selu was called to the deck, she was confused. After all, when Hilpeter just took the perfume from her, he said that the personnel allocation was over. She didn't know why she was called.
"Are you afraid of heights?"
Selu grinned: "I've been on the boat for so long, how can I be afraid of heights? My captain..."
Schliemann scratched his head and said, "Come down with us."
"ah?"
Selu looked at the people present alternately in surprise and pursed her lips.
"We're not afraid, we're just asking if we'll be of any use if we go down, so I don't want to hold you back..."
Schliemann sighed and waved his hand helplessly.
"Take your bottles and jars... let's go sell perfume."
"No, wait a minute, can we raise enough money for a boatload of supplies by selling until the Year of the Monkey?"
Schliemann spread his hands and said, "There is no other way. If we use foreign coins down there, we are telling others that we are demons from hell."
"Can't you bribe those nobles like you did in Hisoka Kingdom?"
"No way! The people here are all determined...What kind of religion is that..."
"Darkborn Cult."
"Ah, the people here are all staunch believers of the Dark God Religion. They are not like Scott who has read many books, is literate, and knows that there are other worlds outside."
"Then...will everyone be old by the time we can leave?"
Selu's tone was filled with fear and reluctance. She really wanted to see the world outside.
"No, no... Selling perfume is just a reason."
There were four ropes tied to the Crescent, which hung down into the large hole. Every two hours someone would come and stir the ropes.
They can not only prevent the big hole from suddenly blocking like last time, but also act as a cable for entering and exiting the cave.
Five people had safety ropes tied around their waists and hung down into the large hole.
They followed the order, with Mersin at the head and Walter at the rear.
While descending with a one-handed rock climbing pick, Mersin inserted the safety buckle into the crack in the rock.
The ropes of the five people were connected together, so Walter at the end of the team had to remove the safety buckle when descending and thread it through the empty rope ring with a knot at the bottom for Mersin to recycle.
It’s easier to go up a mountain than it is to go down a mountain. This saying also applies to climbing.
Fortunately, Mersin had enough experience, and she asked Selu, who was also a woman, to be ranked above her. Even so, a few days of life almost drove this ruthless girl who killed several enemies in succession crazy.
In short, the most difficult time was over, and they had already stood on the solid bottom of the cave with both feet and began to go down the slope.
When they arrived at the camouflaged cave entrance, which was glowing with fire, Schliemann's beard was already at least one finger long.
He couldn't help but doubt the feasibility of this plan.
Even if they succeed in making money, how are they going to transport piles of supplies up there?
Opening the disguise, Mersin got out and disappeared to the edge of the candlelit city.
Three men and two women were waiting inside the cave entrance, looking at each other speechlessly.
In the past few days, they had learned enough about each other that they could even identify each other just from the sound of farts.
Not long after, the sound of footsteps was heard, and Schliemann looked out and saw that it was Mersin.
She brought a few sets of insect skin clothes, and Schliemann and the three gentlemen took them and put them on, but Mersin held them down.
"No, can't you go out and change? There's no conditions in the cave. Now that you have the conditions, just give her some privacy!"
The three of them looked at Selu, who was holding her clothes with red eyes, and hurriedly ran out of the cave. Mersin put the disguise on, looked at Selu, and sighed.
"Come on, come on, I got this specially for you. I wore it when I was seventeen or eighteen. You should have no problem wearing it..."
Outside the cave, Schliemann frowned while lifting his trousers.
"Ampton...we made a miscalculation."
"Yeah... this is much further than expected. How do we get things back!"
"Last time, the supply cabin Vivian got pulled three carriages..."
After Schliemann finished speaking, he paused and quickly put on his coat.
"It's not like there's nothing we can do."
