Chapter 26: Joining the Hero in the Abandoned Underground Shopping Street

As expected, the dolls' short legs couldn't outrun the 6.5-foot-tall robot, and they were quickly left behind.

The robot brought them to an abandoned commercial street in the underground city. The street was deserted, and even the ground was covered with cracks and slippery moss. Faded "Summer Festival" posters were stuck to the yellowed glass of the windows.

They hid in a snack bar. When they pushed open the old wooden door, the hinges made a clanging sound. The old musty smell filled the shop. The black leather sofa had a big crack, and the sponge inside was covered with years of dust, which made Ye Wan want to sneeze.

"Those little bear stuffed animals have left, right?" Ye Wan popped his head out.

The robot nodded.

Ye Wan explained his relationship with Ye Yu to Robert in detail, and Robert simply said, "No wonder I thought you were much shorter. I thought humans grew in reverse."

Ye Wan: “…”

People often pretend to be busy when they're embarrassed. She looked around. There was a menu hanging on the wall of the snack shop, and the word "croquette" could be vaguely seen.

"This used to be the most prosperous commercial street in the underground city." The robot lowered its head slightly, looking very lost.

The robot followed Ye Yu in the city and learned a lot of skills. It also brought back a lot of seasonings and ingredients to the dungeon. Its ramen stall soon became the most popular snack bar in the dungeon. Since then, it has gradually grown and developed into a hotel that provides accommodation and dining.

At the same time, the robot taught the skills it brought back to the residents of the underground city. The residents of the underground city gradually opened many small shops next to the hotel, and soon developed it into a prosperous shopping street.

This street has breweries, tailor shops, and various restaurants. It is very busy on ordinary days, and during the annual Brave Man Conference, it is crowded with all kinds of armored adventurers.

Because this is not only a trading place for various goods, but also a gathering place for information. The residents of the underground city will be stationed here to sell the addresses of mysterious ruins and the locations of powerful monsters to the warriors on the surface.

"pity......"

"What a pity?" Ye Wan asked curiously, "This place used to be so prosperous, how come it has become like this now?"

The robot punched the floor, which was already fragile, and it punched a hole in it, scattering wood chips all over the floor.

Suddenly one day, an evil doll appeared in the dungeon. She repaired a robot from somewhere that was smarter and more powerful than Robert. Then she led the robot and a group of dolls to invade Robert's territory and drove away all the residents of the shopping street.

"That robot can release a laser from its chest that can instantly cut through a whole rock. The residents are very afraid of it."

"This is outrageous." Ye Wan said angrily.

She stood up and said, "Then let's have a war plan meeting. Since you're my mother's old friend, let's take back the hotel and revitalize the shopping district."

Ye Wan paused: "Then the first thing we need to do is... uh..."

Her stomach growled, and Ye Wan covered her stomach: "The first thing to do is to go have dinner."

Robert had been looking at her expectantly, but he lowered his head again when he heard that.

Ye Wan was also a little embarrassed: "How about we have a meal first?"

She had just stolen a piece of meat, two potatoes and a box of curry sauce from the kitchen while the chameleon wasn't paying attention.

The water in the snack bar was still running, so she took some water and washed the dusty brass pot in the cabinet.

Robert went to find some firewood to light it. Ye Wan put the pot on the stove and took out a piece of butter from his bag. "Fortunately, I always carry some seasonings with me."

The butter was thrown into the pot and melted quickly, and the whole room was filled with the rich aroma of butter. The beef and onions were poured into the pot together, and soon a "sizzling" heat rose from the pot.

The rich curry began to bubble, enveloping the tender beef and onions. The curry cooked into a thick, sticky sauce, and the potatoes were cooked into a translucent, sticky mash. The beef's rich, oily flavor was all in this pot.

The whole house was filled with the aroma of curry.

Ye Wan happily stirred the curry slowly with a wooden spoon. You An suddenly said, "Isn't this pot of curry going to attract enemies?"

Her hand stirring the curry froze in the air: "Ah, this..."

Ye Wangang just thought that what he said made sense, when the door of the snack bar slammed open again and Youan drew his dagger in an instant.

In the backlight, a tall figure walked towards them steadily, and the wooden prosthesis made a thud-thud sound on the ground.

"It's Kiara." Ye Wan took a closer look and felt relieved. She continued to cook her curry. "How many monsters have you captured?"

"About 30 or so. Why are you here?" Kiara sat down without any hesitation, speaking in a relaxed tone as if she had just bought 30 cheap and good-looking clothes at the wholesale market.

"We walked in by mistake. Congratulations! You will definitely win the first place in this competition." Ye Wan generously gave her a bowl of curry. Kiara took it without hesitation: "I'm not here to compete, I'm here to look for someone."

Kiara finished a large bowl of curry, took out a few wrinkled pieces of parchment from her saddle bag, and stuffed them into the hands of Ye Wan, Youan, and Robert.

"If you've seen it, please contact me."

It showed a strange creature that looked as if it had been casually poked with a blue crayon. It had a square head with a cocked hat tilted on it, and its eyes were crooked ovals, one eye on guard duty while the other kept watch.

The body is a perfect trapezoid, with wavy lines drawn on each arm. The most eye-catching thing is the big heart drawn in the middle of the trapezoid.

Ye Wan, Youan, and Robert discussed the painting:

"My core can't tell what this painting is about," Robert said.

"Maybe an alien, a bit like a star-nosed mole②" Ye Wan guessed.

"It's hard to guess what it is with such a weird look on it," said Youan.

Pancake lay on Ye Wan's head and showed a disgusted expression towards the painting: "Squeak."

Kiara coughed violently twice. "Anyway, if you see a robot like this, please contact me."

"It turns out to be a robot." Ye Wan suddenly realized.

Kiara glanced at Robert in disappointment: "I heard from the residents of the underground city that there are robots on this floor, so I came here, but it turns out there are no robots."

Robert shrugged. "The 29th floor of the underground city used to be a factory with many robots. Later, the factory was closed and the robots disappeared."

"In short, we are planning to gather the former residents together to revitalize the commercial street. There are so many residents here, there must be one who has seen it before," Ye Wan said.

Everyone was surprised: "Revitalize the shopping street?"

Ye Wan nodded: "Yes, gather the residents together to revitalize the shopping street, and then rely on Youan and Kiara to defeat the evil puppet army, perfect." She stretched out a hand and posed as if she was determined to win.

"Do you know where the merchants in the shopping street live now?" Youan asked after a moment of silence.

Ye Wan was stunned.

Finally, Robert broke the silence: "I know they don't dare to go back to the shop. They are hiding in the basement."

Several people followed Robert and soon found a small door in an inconspicuous stone cavity. When they opened the door, they could see a passage leading to the underground.

As soon as they stepped inside, a group of little kids on the dark stairs began to hide everywhere, screaming in fear: "Foreign enemies are invading, foreign enemies are invading!"

Those furry little black balls looked like cockroaches. Ye Wan was so scared that he didn't know where to run, so he had to jump onto Youan's back.

The latter said speechlessly: "Calm down."

A voice came from downstairs: "Those are moss balls, they won't cause any harm. Now, who are you? Tell me your name!"

Ye Wan reacted and quickly got off You An.

But she felt that the voice sounded familiar.

As the torches lit up one by one, a tall rock figure stood before them. "Is it you?"

Ye Wan also recognized it: "Ah, is it the Hell Lava Cocoa Pizza?"

Robert interrupted, "Don't be nervous, everyone. These two are the warriors who saved me from the puppet army."

The residents of the underground city began to get restless. Ye Wan took a quick look and found that in addition to ordinary humans, there were also elves, dwarves, and various magical creatures.

Robert shared his idea of ​​revitalizing the commercial street with everyone.

Everyone fell silent, and Ye Wan advised, "I know everyone is worried about safety, but we have the warrior Kiara. She once subdued a Melusin, and this Youan, he dealt with the giant octopus monster on the lower level with just a dagger."

After a long pause, a sullen dwarf said, "Ten years ago, our commercial street was the most prosperous place in the dungeon. Every year during the Hero's Conference and when the dungeon opened, a large number of surface dwellers flocked to the dungeon, bringing a constant stream of gold and supplies. Back then, the market was a place where you could buy, sell, or exchange precious spices and turquoise at any time. But now? We can only struggle to find all kinds of food ourselves, then run around the dungeon selling it in every corner, like moles in a sewer."

It raised its hands, and the torches on both sides of the cave burned more vigorously, illuminating the murals on the walls.

The painting shows a bustling shopping street in the past. People on the surface, wearing silver shuttle armor and carrying long swords, are drinking and exchanging information in a tavern in the underground city; rock people are busy in front of a stone kiln, and a group of people are queuing up for freshly baked pizzas; at the exit of the shopping street, a cricket band is performing with various musical instruments, and a group of spectators are applauding.

It looks lively and happy.

However, one day, an evil puppet army suddenly arrived. The soldiers were all kinds of dirty plush bears, plush rabbits, and toy cars. These were not scary. The scary thing was that they had an extremely powerful robot. The robot could shoot a laser from its chest, which caused great damage and could destroy a house in one go.

After driving away the residents of the underground city, the dolls settled in Robert's hotel.

The quiet crowd began to stir. This dwarf seemed to have a high status here, and everyone listened to him very much:

"Now, let's get out of this moldy cellar where we've been hiding for ten years," the dwarf stamped his foot and pointed at the ground. "Tonight we'll return to the shopping street and clean up all the dust on the ground and the cobwebs on the walls. We, the residents of the underground city, shouldn't live in humiliation in the darkness, but shine in the darkness!"

Applause broke out in the tunnel.