I'm building Gundams in America

[You have triggered the side quest: Murderous Intent from the Shadows. It seems someone is watching you from the shadows, wanting to eliminate you. Follow the clues, find the mastermind, and you will receive a reward.]

Seattle's sewer system is divided into a sewage system and a stormwater system, operating in parallel.

As a place with an average annual rainfall of 950 mm and a mix of coastal hills and lakes, Seattle's sewer system often faces environmental and climatic pressures.

This is why the core diameter of the sewage system, known as the Brightwater Tunnel, reaches 4 meters.

The main passageway of the sewer is also very tall and spacious.

Wayne remembered that in his past life, when he played The Last of Us, there was a hidden level where he had to go into the sewers of Seattle to complete a mission.

The sewers inside are very wide, with sewage flowing in the middle and platforms on both sides, making it perfectly habitable.

Led by old Hendy, Wayne and his group crawled underground through a sewer entrance and stepped into a main passage of Seattle's sewers.

You have entered the Dark Nest, a lair beneath the Lower Nest, which often harbors wondrous and evil artifacts.

Just as old Hendy had said, although it was a bit damp, it was very warm, much warmer than the snowy ground.

Of course, there are other smells, but for homeless people, smell is never a problem.

Footsteps echoed through the empty sewers as Old Hendy, flashlight in hand, led the group forward with practiced ease.

"There's a relatively dry section ahead, and there's also an engineering workshop not far away, so it's quite comfortable to live in."

Mike and David, who were supporting old Raymond, nodded, their faces showing joy.

It's at least in the teens here, perfect for winter living.

I never imagined there was such a great place in Seattle.

The only light source is the pale green patch of emergency lights. Apart from some sewer openings that let in some daylight, most of the time you can only rely on flashlights or other lights for illumination, which is not good.

However, compared to sleeping on the streets in the snow, this is already paradise.

The two even decided that they would spend their winters here from now on.

Just then, from the dimly lit corner illuminated by the green emergency lights, a somewhat timid voice suddenly came:

"Who?"

Old Will quickly shouted:

"It's me, old Will! Dear Alexander Wang, don't be nervous, I've brought some friends."

Then he turned to Wayne and whispered:

"Sir, these are some new residents who just moved into the sewers. They've temporarily taken over this area."

The group walked forward and saw several tents pitched on the dry ground beside the waterway.

Surprisingly, there were suitcases in front of the tents, and several laptops on top of them. Several people in shirts were sitting on the ground, fiddling with the computers, and the light from the computer screens illuminated the area considerably.

The group seemed somewhat wary, and one of them was holding a gun.

Upon seeing old Will, they seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. A young man of Asian appearance wearing glasses spoke first:

"It's you, old Will. Your cold is better?"

Old Will smiled devoutly and said:

"Thanks to this... gentleman, my illness was cured by a miracle, and I can live through this winter again."

The man named Alexander Wang glanced at Wayne, gave him a perfunctory smile, nodded, and said nothing. Clearly, he didn't believe the other man possessed any divine abilities.

Besides homeless people and criminals, another major product of America is charlatans. He has seen quite a few over the years, and it is not surprising that many of them have even entered the White House.

Wayne looked around and noticed that there were even clothes racks outside their tents, with carefully maintained suits hanging on them. All of them were covered with plastic bags, and there were even desiccants and perfumes inside to prevent the musty smell from the sewers from getting on the suits.

There were even some cardboard boxes that were clearly moved from the company office, filled with office supplies.

This includes personal items such as Avengers figurines and Labubu.

These homeless people were clearly different from other homeless people; several of them wore glasses, and in addition to a few Asians, there were three whites.

You have encountered a corrupted two-headed elf. As an elf, after falling from grace, they will grow a second head and tear it from their own heart.

Wayne suddenly spoke up and asked in Mandarin:

"Are you from the University of Tokyo?"

The other person was taken aback, clearly not expecting that Wayne, this scruffy-bearded homeless man, could speak Mandarin, and instinctively replied:

"No, I'm American... I came to America with my mother and lived with my white stepfather since elementary school... You can speak Mandarin?"

Wayne continued:

"Are you employees of an internet company? What are you doing living here?"

Upon hearing Wayne's question, Alexander Wang sighed, seemingly finding a chance to release his stress. He wiped his glasses and muttered:

"It's all because of the University of Tokyo... I was in charge of an AI project for Amazon. Although it was a bit worse than ChatGPT, it was still quite good in its niche. I never expected the University of Tokyo to suddenly release Deepseek, and it's an open-source version that completely disregards the market!"

"Do you know how outrageous these people from the University of Tokyo are? Their actions have stifled many AI projects in their infancy! Including our project..."

"We could have held on for a while, but after the company's latest evaluation, they decided our project was too expensive, so they completely eliminated the project department, leaving only the Indian manager! I was the key player on the project, but all the credit went to the Indian manager, Amir..."

"I even just took out a loan to buy a house by the lake..."

"But it's good this way. You see, Seattle's sewers are a dark mirror of the city's digestive system. There's no romantic tragedy like in Les Misérables, only the hissing of microorganisms breaking down matter, the groans of steel resisting corrosion, and the brief order of human engineering will in the face of chaotic natural forces!"

"And we also have cryptocurrency! We just crowdfunded a cryptocurrency project, and we might become billionaires very soon. This time, we're doing it all by ourselves!"

Wayne nodded, having basically figured out what kind of person this Alexander the Great really was.

They then led Mike, David, and the others through the camp set up by the programmers and continued forward.

The area in front is clearly more suitable for human habitation, as you can see graffiti on the walls, scattered trash, worn-out mattresses, and so on from time to time.

And every now and then a tent or something similar will appear.

Some people, with haggard faces and tattered clothes, lived in these messy areas.

Half of them were clearly addicts abusing stimulants, some of them were going through a mental breakdown, striking all sorts of bizarre, inhuman poses just like the guys on the street.

Some were much more sober and friendly, greeting Old Will and the others politely and keeping their lodgings tidy and presentable.

Several of them even clearly had their own jobs, as they all had several clean and tidy clothes, covered with plastic bags, hanging on racks.

Mike and David were amazed; it was the first time they had ever known that such a hidden world existed beneath Seattle.

"How many people live here?" Wayne asked.

"This place is so big that I don't know exactly how many people there are, but there should be several dozen people in the area I'm in."

Old Will stopped walking, shone his flashlight forward, and said happily:

"We've arrived."

Ahead was a relatively dry area, with a narrow passageway leading to a workspace.

Two worn-out sofas were placed facing each other, with a thick, old mattress in between.

There were also some pots, pans, and other household items nearby.

Old Will rubbed his hands together, and said to Wayne somewhat nervously:

"Sir, if you don't mind, you can stay here tonight... You can sleep in the clean workshop. It's a bit noisy there, but it's much cleaner than outside."

That was where he used to sleep every night, but now he willingly gave it to Wayne.

Wayne nodded:

"It's alright, old man, I'll sleep outside... bro, we can set up the tent now."

David cheered and quickly started packing up the tent with Mike.

He had never known this place before, but now it seemed much better than the freezing cold streets.

The little dog Wick was running around happily, chasing after mice and cockroaches in the corners, which was much more fun than the streets outside.

Wayne and his group quickly set up their tent, unpacked the food they had received from the shelter that day, and began to eat and rest.

It was only then that the group realized that the ham sandwiches they had received had been sitting for who knows how long; the ham inside had dried out like cardboard and had a strange chemical smell.

After tossing away the ham and munching on dry bread while drinking the oddly-tasting Dr. Pepper drink, Wayne asked old Will:

"Old man, where exactly does Old Joe the Bottle live?"

Just as Old Will was about to answer, Wick, the little dog who had run into the darkness, suddenly started barking wildly.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of a baby crying came from the darkness, growing louder as it approached.

Everyone turned to look and saw a newborn baby floating downstream in the sewage-filled underground river, drifting into the distance.

"Chase!"

Wayne was the first to rush out, chasing after the baby that was drifting downstream.