After passing through a rusted iron door, Leilin arrived in a vast underground plaza.
Shouts, roars, frenzied bellows, the clash of weapons, and even the sound of blades piercing flesh filled the air.
The atmosphere was wild and frenzied. Every alien in the place waved scraps of paper in their hands, screaming toward the center of the plaza.
"What is this..." Leilin looked toward the center with interest and immediately spotted the source.
Inside an enormous steel cage, a lion-man covered in golden fur faced off against several massive beasts.
The creatures had eight legs each but otherwise resembled crocodiles, their maws brimming with razor-sharp fangs.
The sight was especially terrifying when they opened their gaping jaws — rows upon rows of sharp teeth forming what looked like a meat grinder, brimming with predatory ferocity and horror, enough to make any lesser creature tremble and faint on the spot.
But their opponent, that lion-man, was unarmed, relying solely on his fists to fight the beasts in close combat. Thick muscles bulged all over his body, hiding tremendous power within.
At the moment Leilin looked over, he saw the lion-man seize one enormous crocodile by the tail and slam it hard against the iron bars. Iron spikes drove deep into the creature's body, blood gushing everywhere — that crocodile was clearly not going to survive.
As a price, the lion-man's back had also been raked open with several bloody gashes, and he was bleeding profusely.
"An underground fighting arena, combined with gambling dens and taverns?" Leilin nodded to himself, feeling a growing sense of anticipation toward Old Man Gek.
The leaders of such underground operations were invariably the best-connected people when it came to intelligence. Running a power this large meant they surely commanded a vast information network.
After all, the intelligence trade was an incredibly lucrative business — no one in that position would let it slip away.
"Follow me!"
The minotaur limped ahead, leading Leilin past several bar-like counters where hordes of aliens were raising their mugs and roaring drunkenly. He opened a small wooden door — truly small. Leilin's build was already slender among the alien races, and he still had to duck and stoop to get through.
*Bang!* The thick wooden door closed behind them, cutting off all the noise from outside.
In the instant the door shut, Leilin caught a glimpse of the lion-man successfully finishing off two more crocodile beasts. Though he'd paid a heavy price, he'd at least kept his life.
Countless aliens who'd lost their bets screamed in fury, their combined roar nearly tearing the entire underground arena apart.
But once the wooden door was sealed, everything outside seemed to have nothing to do with this place anymore.
"Calm and madness are separated by just a single door — isn't that a wonderful feeling? Mr. Leilin, from the Unicorn territory!"
A dwarf barely a meter tall stepped out. He wore a silver robe whose trailing hem dragged along the floor, held a matching wine glass in his hand, and had a faint flush of excitement on his face.
But his eyes were as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice, without the slightest ripple.
"A sane madman!" That was Leilin's first impression of the dwarf. The fact that he could command such a vast operation meant he was clearly no ordinary character.
"You know me?" Leilin had only been in the Lava World for a few days. The only group he'd interacted with was the Unicorn clan. For this person to have obtained his information so quickly was a pleasant surprise — it meant his plans had a much better chance of succeeding.
"Of course! Those who can defeat Summoner Griduo are few and far between. A Sky-grade powerhouse certainly deserves my respect!"
The dwarf gave a slight bow, which brought a flicker of expression to Leilin's face.
The other party appeared to be a member of the Ant tribe, with brownish skin and two small antennae on his head, yet he had somehow separated from his kind and built a massive underground power right here in Vulcan City.
"It was the Unicorn City caravan, wasn't it?" With just a moment's thought, Leilin arrived at the answer. The only people in all of Vulcan City who knew anything about him were likely that Unicorn trade caravan.
"That's right! It was them. For your sake, Mr. Leilin, I've already given orders — all the goods they're carrying will be purchased at ten percent above market price!"
The Ant-tribe dwarf invited Leilin to sit and personally poured him a full glass of red wine.
A faint alcoholic scent, mixed with the aroma of various fermented ingredients and even a hint of anesthetic compounds, immediately circled around Leilin's nostrils.
"Alien wine really is terrifying. Aren't they worried about poisoning themselves..."
Leilin shook his head, somewhat speechless. Although his current physique had nothing to fear from such things, his palate had long since been spoiled — this crude brew didn't even register as worth drinking.
Even though this wine was clearly the best the Ant-tribe dwarf had in his collection.
"Very well! Respected guest! What exactly does poor old Gek want to know?" Seeing that Leilin set down his glass without taking even a single sip, the Ant-tribe dwarf Gek's expression didn't change in the slightest. His eyes were full of mirth as he spoke first.
"Everything." Leilin chuckled softly.