Chapter 8

Ange dragged the small zombie down the path, and the number of "people" increased along the way. There were many skeletons and zombies, some carrying wooden baskets to transport things, others turning winches to draw water, and so on, performing repetitive tasks.

In these skeletons and zombies, Ange saw his own shadow; he himself was a skeleton who planted vegetables.

With the existence of these skeletons and zombies, Ange and the small zombie were hardly noticeable. The "people" on the road paid no attention to them, each busy with their own tasks. For some reason, everyone's face was filled with worry.

It was the first time Ange realized there were so many kinds of "people" in the world. There were humans like Esk, minotaurs with bull heads, troglodytes with long arms that walked on their forelimbs, and succubi with goat hooves and extremely curvaceous figures, among others.

Of course, the most numerous were still the skeletons and zombies, who performed almost all repetitive tasks, such as operating winches, fetching water, and transporting things.

Holding the small zombie's hand, Ange wandered aimlessly. The further he went, the more remote it became, and the fewer "people" there were. Eventually, Ange found a soft, flat area in a secluded corner of the sprawling underground city and stopped there.

The reason he stopped was that the soil here was very soft, fertile, and moist. As a skeleton who planted vegetables, Ange was very sensitive to soil and could tell at a glance what kind of land could grow things.

The soil here was very fertile but too moist and lacked sunlight.

Even the farms in the Palace of Rest had sunlight, but the underground city did not. However, the lack of sunlight did not mean there were no plants. At the edge of the flat area, there was a type of luminescent moss growing on the rock walls.

This did not surprise Ange. If moss could grow on stones in the soil, why not in an underground city without sunlight?

It had been months since Ange was transported here, and he had not planted anything for a long time. Seeing the soft soil and the plants that could grow, the instinct to plant vegetables, etched in his soul, could not be suppressed.

Without sunlight, there was no need to avoid it, and without the Resting Wind, there was no need to dig underground shelters. Ange, having stopped, began to play with the moss, collecting the luminescent moss from all around.

While Ange was collecting the moss, a heated argument broke out in the underground city's council chamber.

The main participants in the argument were the succubus Lina and the goblin Cleg. The reason for the argument was that Esk had failed to buy food, and the underground city was facing a life-or-death situation, requiring them to make a final decision.

Lina angrily said, "Your proposal is inhumane, immoral, and inhuman. If you drive these people into the wilderness, they will surely die. You are committing murder!"

Cleg calmly replied, "I am not human, so why should I have human morality? Driving out some people is to ensure the survival of others. Isn't that the most moral thing to do? If we don't do this, we will all starve to death next year."

Lina retorted, "That's sophistry. What gives you the right to decide who to drive out, how many, and who should survive? You don't have that authority."

Cleg said matter-of-factly, "It's not up to me to decide how many to drive out; it's determined by the food. We can only support as many people as our food supply allows. The rest will be driven out to fend for themselves. Otherwise, all the food will be exhausted, and everyone will die."

Lina said, "We can work harder to keep the magic lamps lit longer. We can add more magic to them, and if everyone works together, we can get through this crisis."

Cleg replied, "What about next year? This world can only support a limited number of people. In the past, the Undead Empire's world hub provided us with enough resources to last a thousand years. Now, we can't sustain it anymore. We shouldn't resist this fate; we should let it return to its natural state."

After a pause, Cleg added, "If we drive out the lower-tier population now, we can still make a selection and retain more valuable high-tier talents. Once the food runs out, even if you want to make a selection, it will be impossible. Noble mages will starve to death like troglodytes, and clever goblin engineers will rot like those succubi who only know how to seduce and charm people. That would be a true waste."

Cleg couldn't resist taking a jab at the succubi, which made Lina furious. She turned to Phyllin and said, "Lord Phyllin, Cleg's proposal is too absurd and cruel. Please use your veto power to reject this proposal."

Phyllin nodded. "It is indeed too cruel. However, Lina, if it were me, I would suggest initiating a necrotic plague."

"What!?" Phyllin's words shocked not only Lina and Cleg but the entire council.

As the name suggests, a necrotic plague is a disaster initiated by the undead, turning everyone into undead. This means killing all living beings in the underground city, which is even more cruel than Cleg's proposal to drive out some.

And he could easily do it. All the undead in the city were under Phyllin's command. With a single thought, he could initiate the necrotic plague.

For a moment, everyone thought they had heard wrong. Lina couldn't believe that the always kind and approachable Lord Phyllin would say such a terrifying thing. She instinctively tried to find an excuse for him: "Lord Phyllin, do you mean to turn everyone into liches?"

Phyllin shook his head. "We don't have enough materials. At most, we could turn three or five, which wouldn't be meaningful."

"Then what do you mean?" Cleg asked cautiously. He could accept driving out some, as it wouldn't affect him, but if it were a necrotic plague, he would have to compete for one of the three or five spots.

Phyllin sighed deeply and asked, "Do you know what the greatest achievement of the underground city's development has been?"

The topic was a bit of a leap, and everyone shook their heads in confusion.

"It's the atmosphere of harmonious coexistence. When everyone first arrived here, minotaurs and goblins were mortal enemies, succubi were slaves to humans, and many races were each other's food. Do you know what hungry people will do when the food runs out?"

Some guessed what Phyllin was about to say, and their faces turned grave. This was a possibility they had not considered before.

"They will clean the newborn calves of the neighboring minotaur lady and throw them into the pot. They will skewer the goblins, season them, and put them in the oven. They will cut off the hooves of the succubi and stew them in a pot."