Gamers of the Underworld

At a construction site in Winterfell, the diligent workers wore safety helmets as they carried bricks. Giants with safety helmets were also busy working.

At the entrance was a large sign—”Dangerous Incidents Occurring Land Development Private Limited.”

Slogans were seen everywhere:

“Safety and Productivity are our priority, no compensation if safety helmet isn’t worn.”

“Our company and Fatality Hospital have become collaboration partners.”

“Our company is working here 24 hours a day. If there’s any disturbance, you can try beating me up.”

When the workers saw the slogans, they would check their safety equipment instinctively.

TinyMeatball, who was wearing his coffee-colored windbreaker, gazed at the busy construction site as he adjusted his windbreaker. A short Gnome, who was his assistant, stood beside him. He was called Peanut.

“Peanut, look at this construction site. What did you discover?”

TinyMeatball smoked his Uranium stick. His deep eyes were filled with intelligence.

“The safety protocols of this construction site are pretty good. There shouldn’t be any problems. Winterfell has been pretty strict with safety.”

TinyMeatball extended his finger and pointed at a Houndhead Man pulling a cartload of metal bars as he asked, “Take a look. What is that?”

“Metal bars used for building the foundation!” Peanut narrowed his eyes.

“No, no, no. What is carrying the metal bars?”

“The shoulders!”

“Whose shoulders are those?”

“A construction worker’s!”

TinyMeatball smoked his Uranium stick, and his nose emitted agitated humming sounds.

“That’s a Houndhead Man with green symbols above his head. All the suspects in the recent cases have had green words above their heads. The Houndhead Men are included.”

“TinyMeatball! You found the blind spot!”

Peanut looked in astonishment at TinyMeatball.

TinyMeatball puffed his Uranium stick. He wanted to speak but held back. At that moment, a fat Hamster wearing a safety helmet ran over and panted as he said to TinyMeatball, “Apologies, Captain TinyMeatball. The construction site is busy. I heard you were coming and came over straight away. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s nothing much. I’m here to investigate a few things.” TinyMeatball pointed at the diligent Houndhead Man and asked, “Who is that Houndhead Man? I heard that Eternal Kingdom made the Houndhead Men intelligent. It’s the first time that this Houndhead Man is working in Winterfell.”

“Yes, it’s rather strange.” The Hamster supervisor nodded and said, “Initially, I rejected the Houndhead Man when he asked for a job, but he said he didn’t want any salary and would like to learn some skills. I thought he was a promising youth, so I arranged for him to carry bricks even though he is a Houndhead Man. His head is too big, so I rushed out the safety helmet for him.”

“Carrying bricks to learn skills?” TinyMeatball frowned and looked suspiciously at the Hamster as he recorded notes in his journal.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m not exploiting the Houndhead Man. He didn’t want any salary and wanted to learn skills.” The Hamster clarified and said, “He’s rather hardworking.”

“I understand. Let me question the Houndhead Man.” TinyMeatball sat on the side of the construction site.

The Hamster ran to the Houndhead Man and shouted, “TakeASpearHit, come over here. The Winterfell Garrison Guard Captain is looking for you.”

The Houndhead Man put down the bricks in his hands and walked over, befuddled. He walked and muttered to himself. The workers at the side shook their heads and whispered to each other.

“Ai, that’s a pity. He’s being targeted by the Garrison Guard. I thought the Houndhead Man was quite promising.”

“He’s a Houndhead Man, an intelligent one. Is it normal for the Garrison Guard to question him?”

“That’s right. It’s a pity his luck is bad.”

TakeASpearHit said, “Gosh… my luck is pretty good. The Garrison Guard is looking for me. I have triggered a Strange Encounter Mission…”

TinyMeatball noted the words based on his sharp intuition. He said to the Houndhead Man, “I’m Winterfell Garrison Guard Captain TinyMeatball, who is in charge of civil cases. You’re a Houndhead…”

The Houndhead Man broke into laughter. Then he discovered that he was rude and quickly restrained himself, but he was trembling very hard.

“What are you laughing at?” TinyMeatball asked bluntly, “Am I incorrect in saying that you’re a Houndhead Man?”

“No, I’m not laughing. I’m professionally trained, and I won’t laugh.” TakeASpearHit’s face was distorted as he restrained himself too much. He said, “Please continue.”

“Are you from Eternal Kingdom?”

TinyMeatball was unhappy, but he continued to ask questions.

“That’s correct.” TakeASpearHit nodded in cooperation.

“Are there a lot of you here in Winterfell?”

“About a thousand of us,” TakeASpearHit said.

“Why are you here?” TinyMeatball asked, but TakeASpearHit didn’t reply.

He was taken aback for a while before he asked, “Wait a moment. Is this mission about questions? Are there any rewards?”

“Rewards? What rewards do you want?”

Peanut scolded TakeASpearHit fiercely, “You’ll answer my captain’s questions!”

“Ai, don’t be so fierce.” TinyMeatball restrained Peanut as he pondered. TakeASpearHit was an inhabitant of Eternal Kingdom, and he didn’t commit any crime, so using a violent approach wasn’t appropriate.

TinyMeatball took out a Magic Stone from his Magic Stone card and passed it to TakeASpearHit as he said, “This is a reward for a good citizen. Tell me honestly, there are more rewards coming.”

TakeASpearHit gaped at the Magic Stone that was like a small gold nugget. He grasped it in his hand and said, “We’re here to play! I mean, we are adventurers from the Adventurer’s Guild in the old district. We will receive many missions in the future. We are also doing trading. You can assign missions at the Guild!”

TakeASpearHit blabbered about everything, and TinyMeatball noted down the important terms like the Old District Area and Adventurer’s Guild. Peanut was looking worried, as the old district was a terrifying place. He was feeling uncomfortable just by hearing it.

TakeASpearHit answered many questions, but the information revealed wasn’t important. For example, he divulged that the Springfield Flower Kindergarten Guild’s leader was Dragonborn, who was a capable big shot.

TakeASpearHit was asked more questions like, “Are all of you here to commit wide-scale crimes?”, “Are you committing crimes by learning mathematics and other natural sciences?”, and “Why are the caught suspects vanishing?” TakeASpearHit shook his head to all these questions.

He restrained himself for a long time before he said, “Gosh, is that a crime?”

Then he shook his head and said he didn’t know anything.

TinyMeatball knew that things weren’t simple. Normally, he would bring the Houndhead Man back to the station for interrogation, but he was a citizen of Eternal Kingdom. If he brought him back without reason, it would cause a diplomatic rift.

If TakeASpearHit had committed a crime, then it would be a different story.

After asking many questions, TinyMeatball was sure he wouldn’t get important leads in a short time. He gave an address to TakeASpearHit and said something that he would regret deeply in the future.

“If you or your friends have information, look for me at the Garrison Guard station. This is the address. Don’t worry, there is a reward for information.”

Then he put a Magic Stone in TakeASpearHit’s hand. Before leaving, he said, “Remember, I’m Winterfell Garrison Guard Captain TinyMeatball, who’s in charge of civil cases.”