Residents of the Underground Federation would never call the Underground Federation by its full name.
The public did not recognize the name “Twin Goddess Republican Federation” when the two deitydesses were not residents in the country.
They were grateful to the two deitydesses for giving them the ability to live underground.
Gratitude, however, did not mean reverence.
The underground folks would not pay tribute to anything.
They paid no reverence to the monarch, their parents, and their deities.
They did not even have the concept of a country, a territory, or a nation. That was because they were still developing their “land”. Also, the dwellers were a collection of many “losers” at the beginning, and their population was still increasing.
Compared with the narrow world above the ground, the underground world, with almost infinite space and rich resources, allowed the citizens of the Underground Federation to live quite comfortably.
The underground folks even had a sense of superiority over those living above ground.
They would even get together often to mock the worries of the above-ground people.
Because there were always people above ground worried that the underground folks would attack them through the subway. Newspapers and speeches reiterated the underground threat, emphasizing the dangers of the subways.
But the truth was that they did not pay the slightest attention to the world above them.
These underground dwellers did not have to worry about food and clothing and had access to light sources. They had individual living spaces that were sold at extremely low prices. Plus, it was easy for them to buy specialties from various countries; They had no obligations to be enlisted in war by their country. There were no city lords, kings, or nobles. The only exception was that they had to pay taxes to the Wise Council and must abide by the local laws proposed by the Wise Council.
The entire underground world was governed by the dual parliamentary model of the “Digger Council” and “Wise Council”.
However, this did not mean that the status of the legislative members was superior.
The cities in the underground world did not have a so-called “mayor”. Instead, almost all members of the Wise Council were in charge of the jurisdiction. They did not have any specific positions, and they took charge of their respective responsibilities.
The reason being the Underground Federation had been expanding outward while their population was small. The federation did not have special affairs to attend to. At the same time, the federation did not need to report to any country, king, or local nobles.
Even in different underground cities of the urban layer, the laws varied. Housing prices were low, and there were no immigration restrictions. When local laws in a region were unwelcome, the residents would move to other cities independently.
It was a distinctive place from the world above ground.
“That’s why there are so few people here…” Suuankou looked around and whispered, “Is it because the living environment here is poor?”
He dared not speak loudly.
Those unfamiliar with the new place might easily step into danger unknowingly.
“Oh, that’s not the case.”
It was not Jiu Er or Lin Yiyi who spoke.
It was a man with ashen skin. He wore a long-sleeved, ruffled leather jacket.
“Something major happened, giving birth to a troublesome nightmare. This place used to be called the Black Mushroom Mill instead of Sporeggar Mill. After the nightmare, many people thought it was troublesome, so they moved out temporarily. I’m only going to come back after the nightmare is over.”
As the man said, he reached out his hand to Suuankou and smiled at Lin Yiyi and Jiu Er, “Let me introduce myself. I’m the supervisor of Sporeggar Mill. My name is Nieusel.
“Where do you come from? Since you came to Sporeggar Mill at this time, are you the friends who want to resolve the nightmare here?”
He had natural brown curly hair, and his eyes shone in a strange green light. Those eyes glowed on their own. They were characterized by unusually pale or dark plaster statue or obsidian-like skin. At the same time, those were the main characteristics of underground people.
Niusel exuded a faint smell of alcohol and tobacco.
…Is he an Overseer?
Lin Yiyi became vigilant immediately.
Similar to the world above the ground, the underground world also had positions like “policeman”, “judge,” and “lawyer”.
The underground people refer to the police as “Overseers” and the judges were members of the Wise Council. They were also the lawmakers. Lawyers were called “Debaters”, and they were despised and belittled professions in the underground world.
Cities had their laws discussed and determined by the members of the local Wise Council. On the other hand, members of the local Digger Council jointly paid for the fee to hire Overseers. Sometimes, the Digger Council’s members would directly stand in as an Overseer.
Of course, they were more affluent than citizens.
But it was not because being a member would make you rich. On the contrary, only those who could become rich were eligible to become a member.
The founders of the Underground Federation formed the original dual councils.
—The so-called “Wise” and the “Diggers”.
The pinnacle of “wisdom” and “hard work”.
The Wise Council was all Mysterious Lady’s believers and a small number of Father Flint’s believers. They were outstanding inventors, engineers, and botanists. These “Wise” created the splendid civilization of the underground world bit by bit. Only the genius could become members of the Wise Council.
The subway that used the Gray Mists as energy and the seafloor tunnels were their masterpiece—not a gift from the deities.
As for the Digger Council…
Among them, the believers of the Silent Lady and the believers of Bone Burying Grandma accounted for half of the council each.
Everyone who volunteered to become a “Digger” and discover a new soil for the Underground Federation would receive a set of equipment and a ration. They would be sent to dive into the exploration layer, and the rest were up to their fate.
Not every place had a “well” that would allow them to return to the ground.
In the exploration layer, the Diggers had no map and could not replenish their supplies. It was common to lose light sources, food, and water there. At the same time, they were vulnerable to the attacks of the underground monsters or even other Diggers.
Those who died in the exploration layer could not even send the message “I’m dead” out.
The victim would only be labeled as “missing”.
The ownership of valuable areas discovered by the Diggers would automatically belong to the Digger Council, and the discoverers would be granted the status as members of the Digger Council. But before the discoverer died, anyone who rented and used the land through the Digger Council would have 30% of expenses paid to the discoverer; this figure would be reduced to 10% ten years after the Digger died and would continue to be given to his family.
But under this generous remuneration, there was a 70% “disappearance” rate in the first month of “Diggers”.
This was why the “Diggers” believed in Bone Burying Grandma.
When they went on an expedition, many people had already mentally prepared to “die in the soil”.
—It was said that the “Wise” relied on their wisdom and brains to earn wealth and make citizens respect them and be happy. On the other hand, the “Diggers” won their wealth by relying on “hard work in digging”, “courage to endure great danger”, and “luck in returning successfully”.
Conversely, the “Overseers” would only need to be directly responsible to the Diggers.
What they arrested was not necessarily the person who broke the law but the person the Diggers wanted to arrest.
If the Overseer himself was the “Digger”…
Lin Yiyi glanced at Nieusel.
Her silly brother and Jiu Er were young and unreliable.
Annan went to the Austere-Winter Dukedom, and now she had to attend to the matters on her own.
The underground world was not a rightful place.
Weak people would only be bullied here. However, they would be unwelcome if they stirred up too much trouble.
I have to make him wary of us but not too intimidating…
So Lin Yiyi pondered for a while and had an idea in her mind.
She said in a deep voice, “My name is ‘Yiyi’.
“We are the scribes of the [Secret Eye].”
