Once they reached the bottom of the ship, they followed the pirates through a maze of twists and turns until they arrived near the engine room. They saw that the oil in the engine room had completely solidified, and the nearby fuel tanks had all been ripped open with large holes, clearly indicating that the pirates had emptied them.
Behind the engine compartment, a chain was tied to an iron pillar. The inside was dark, but when Lu Yuan shone his flashlight inside, he discovered a person inside.
The other person was disheveled, wearing only a thin piece of clothing, lying on the ground curled up in a ball, looking as if he were dead, without making any movement.
After finishing his cigarette and stomping it out on the ground, the man walked up to the other man and kicked him in the back. The man lying on the ground let out a muffled groan.
"If you're not dead, open your eyes right now!"
The other person turned their head, long hair covering their face, blood dripping from the corner of their mouth, revealing a few white teeth, looking as if they had walked out of hell, which was extremely creepy.
"This is the pirate I was just talking about. If you don't believe me, you can ask him. I got all this information out of him! Sigh, so I advise you to leave as soon as possible. By the way, if you leave, could you take us with you? We want to come with you, anywhere is fine with us!"
Lu Yuan definitely wouldn't take them away. They were short-staffed, and although they had enough food, they were headed for Taiping Prefecture.
Upon seeing Lu Yuan, the man lying on the ground revealed a smug look in his eyes.
"Haha, so another fat sheep has arrived. Judging from your appearance, you must have eaten quite a lot. Do you have some quotas to enter Taiping Prefecture? Don't hide it anymore, the sea area hundreds of kilometers away from the landing site is now blocked! You can't escape! Haha!"
Lu Yuan frowned; the other party's words did not seem like a bluff.
Then, Lu Yuan walked towards the man. A look of panic flashed across the man's eyes, but because he was bound by chains, he could only muster his courage. He had already been beaten beyond recognition and thought that Lu Yuan was going to beat him up again.
Squatting down beside the other person, Lu Yuan gently brushed aside their hair. The stench of urine emanating from them made Lu Yuan turn his head to look at the men behind him.
The other person shrugged and spread his hands: "You know, these kinds of guys are really stubborn, so I couldn't resist peeing on him a little, and on his hair too!"
Lu Yuan quickly removed his fingers and took out a piece of paper from his pocket to wipe his hands.
"You're saying we have no way to leave here and reach Taiping Prefecture?"
The other party chuckled: "That's right, you can try it if you don't believe me. By the way, let me give you a piece of advice: it's best not to bring women along, otherwise they will be sold as commodities in the underground fortress!"
"What do you mean? Are women in the underground fortress treated as commodities simply because they have no power whatsoever?"
"Pretty much. At least at the bottom, women are treated like commodities, while those at the top aren't. But are you sure you can make it to the top?"
"Then how do you know I won't go up to the upper levels?"
The other party burst into laughter as if they had heard a joke: "Haha, you look like a newbie. The real tycoons have their own internal channels of communication. People who have reached this level of wealth have long been integrated into underground fortresses. The tycoons who are currently out in the open are basically their vassals!"
Lu Yuan glanced at the other person but didn't say anything.
Seeing that Lu Yuan did not speak, the other party continued, "And these vassals have little chance of being at the lowest level or being loyal, so if you want to enter this steel fortress after arriving in Taiping Continent, you can only start from the very bottom!"
The other party seemed to know a lot about the situation inside the underground fortress. Lu Yuan couldn't help but want to find out about the situation inside the underground fortress in advance. Xi Wen, who was next to Lu Yuan, glanced at the time with some concern.
"Lu Yuan, we've been out for quite a while now, shouldn't we go back?"
Lu Yuan turned to look at Xiwen, then looked down at the scene: "Don't rush, let's find out the details before we leave!"
The other party could only nod and stand aside without saying anything more.
Lu Yuan took out a few chocolates from his pocket and tossed them to the man behind him.
"I have a few questions for him!"
The man took the chocolate, glanced at it, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. He quickly said, "No problem, of course no problem, ask away!"
"Thank you very much!"
Lu Yuan squatted down in front of the other person again, took out a chocolate and waved it in front of their eyes, tore open the wrapper, gently put it in his mouth, and took a bite.
A hint of longing flickered in the prisoner's eyes, and he licked his parched lips slightly with his tongue.
"Don't try to seduce me. I'll tell you everything I should tell you, but I won't tell you anything I shouldn't. Just give up on that idea!"
The other person was stubborn and simply lay down on the ground again, turned their head away, closed their eyes, and ignored Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan wasn't angry; instead, he threw the half-chocolate in front of the other person.
"Since you're from the black market, you must have quotas, right? If I want to enter the underground fortress, can you get me a quota?"
The other person paused for a moment, then raised his head and glanced at Lu Yuan: "Don't dream about it. These spots aren't for you at all. Even if you're rich, you're useless to them if you don't have power. The black market boss won't allow you in!"
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