The White Eagle Federation, as a nation established on the New Continent, was entirely designed to avoid all the drawbacks of the cities in the Old Continent right from the start.
For instance, beneath each city and residential area, there exists a vast and convenient sewage system, effectively preventing the embarrassing situation of towns in the Old Continent flooding with sewage during wet weather.
Of course, no matter how good the system, long-term operation inevitably incurs some problems that need to be manually handled.
In fact, Sean's area of responsibility is neither intense nor difficult; had it not been for the numerous previous incidents, it would not have ended up on his shoulders at all.
"I must say, Sean, you really picked a 'great' job!"
Within the sewer, Su Lu was clad in full labor clothing, wearing a thick mask. Despite this, he still felt nauseated by the stench, his face turning pale.
"Blech…"
Nearby, Sean had already taken off his mask and started throwing up into a drain: "I swear... I will never take on this kind of job again!"
"If you do, I'll knock you upside the head!"
Carrying a lantern in hand, Su Lu tried his best to avoid the filth, but his knee-high boots were inevitably smeared with large clumps of unidentifiable black sludge.
There's a chance that poisonous gas could accumulate in the sewer, but the previous crew had already acted as scouts by risking their lives.
With a shovel in hand, Su Lu approached a blockage in the sewer. He eyed the pile of accumulated household waste which almost completely obstructed the path and the overflow of dirty water, and announced his commencement: "Let's get to work!"
No matter where you are, work has to be done with diligence and care.
Su Lu plunged his shovel into the refuse, dug up a large chunk of garbage, and tossed it into a nearby bag.
"Blech... Let me throw up a little more…"
Sean leaned against the wall, leaving Su Lu speechless with his inaction.
While he worked, Su Lu remained highly alert to his surroundings, showing great interest in the school tales.
However, after a day's work, he found nothing but a large number of rats and cockroaches.
'So the so-called crying Revenant turned out to be made-up… Perhaps the janitor got bitten by a big rat or a snake?'
Su Lu was left speechless by this revelation.
He thought it might have been an opportunity to experience the mystical side of life, but he landed up with a job meant for a sewage cleaner instead.
Oh, Seven Gods, are you messing with me?
As it turns out, humans are highly adaptable. After working for three days, even Sean got used to the putrid smell of the sewage and began to shovel with great vigor.
He puts in great effort once he starts working, which is the reason Su Lu isn't completely fed up with him yet.
"Hmm, looking at the pace of our work, we might finish it in about seven to eight days instead of ten!"
During their break, Su Lu took the time to assess their productivity and came to this conclusion.
"Heh, that's all thanks to you, buddy. I won't forget your help!" Sean responded sincerely.
In the past few days, Su Lu had completed work equivalent to two people, Sean had observed all of that.
"Hmm!"
Su Lu responded absentmindedly. Using his current strength, such tasks were indeed easy for him.
But somehow, starting sometime back, he had started feeling that something was wrong.
"Indeed… something isn't quite right. It's too quiet!"
After giving it some thought, he finally realized what was off.
Sewers are a favorite spot for rats, and even if rats had been disturbed for three days, they would still sporadically make their appearances, giving people a shock.
However, throughout the entirety of today's work, such 'surprises' were absent! Any deviation from normal circumstances indicates a problem!
"Sean, do you feel that there are fewer rats around today?"
Su Lu leaned slightly forward, shovel in hand, and voiced his doubt.
"Rats? Those damn things, it would be best if all of them died…" an agitated Sean replied.
Just yesterday, a group of rats fell from above his head, hitting him square on, and one almost scurried into his clothes. The thought of that nightmare still gave him goosebumps.
"Alright!"
Su Lu's sense of caution grew stronger.
Although he too detested rats, as they were filthy creatures that didn't offer any experience points, they were still better than an unknown threat: "Let's be extra vigilant today!"
"No problem! Whatever kind of beast it is, once I hit it with my shovel, it's dead!"
After resting enough, Sean picked up his shovel energetically and flexed.
Whoosh!
But just at that moment, an unexpected change occurred!
A black figure the size of a basketball suddenly emerged from the dark, its two blood-red eyes aiming straight for Sean's lower leg!
"Oh! Shit! What is that?"
Sean struck the black figure with his shovel, sending it flying.
Smack!
The black figure fell onto the round wall, dropped down, and shook its body. It appeared unharmed and squeaked defiantly at Sean.
"That is… a rat?!"
Sean was taken aback.
This black figure was a rat that was two to three times larger than average. Its body curled up to the size of a basketball, a long tail dragged behind it, baring its sharp teeth and dark claws.
Most importantly, its pair of eyes was emitting a glowing red light.
"A mutant rat?!"
Su Lu let out a breath of relief.
Knowing who the enemy is makes things manageable.
"So the so-called campus ghost stories were partly true!"
Sean took a deep breath, grabbed his shovel like a baseball bat: "But it's just a big rat..."
As soon as he finished speaking.
Squeak! Squeak!
In the dark, a vast amount of tiny, red lights suddenly appeared, accompanied by the unique squeaking sound of rats.
"Oh! Shit!"
The color drained from Sean's face: "There are so many!"
"Tsk Tsk!"
Counting the rats, Su Lu estimated at least ten mutant rats hiding in the dark. He even began to consider retreating: "This is a bit troublesome, let's get out of here first!"
"Absolutely!"
Sean nodded fervently, taking a few steps back.
But his retreat immediately triggered a domino effect, and the mutant rats in the dark immediately charged forward.
"Ha!"
At a critical moment, a figure charged forward. A pickaxe had somehow appeared in his hand, and he swung it with all his might.
Thud!
The sharp point of the pickaxe pierced the belly of one mutant rat, almost skewering it, then tossed it aside.
"Squeak!"
The shriek of the mutant rat echoed throughout the sewer, frightening the other rats.
"Su Lu... you saved me!"
Only then did Sean finally breathe again, and immediately cursed: "That damned con man! If I knew there were so many big rats in the sewer, I wouldn't have done it even if it killed me!"
"A pickaxe would be more useful against them!"
Su Lu tossed a pickaxe over, but a glint of joy flashed in his eyes as he noticed a notification on his status bar:
[XP+10]