Ch.7777. Underground City.

# Chapter 77

The floors of the Tower are so vast that the horizon is visible, but I sometimes forget that I’m currently at the very top of this enormous structure.

From the roof of this building with over 100 floors, I could barely see the underside of the platforms supporting each floor—the Tower was that tall. If I were to fall from here, there would be no chance of survival.

“Aaah!”

A scream escaped my lips at the sudden sensation of descent.

With my mind filled only with the thought that falling meant death, I noticed the snow piled up to knee height.

If I fell from a high place but landed in deep snow, wouldn’t I somehow survive?

The moment that thought crossed my mind, I immediately threw myself down, stretching my body into a spread-eagle position to prepare for the impending fall.

“…”

However, far from plummeting, the platform carrying me and the robots was merely descending at a pace much slower than a normal elevator.

When I realized this and raised my head, the two robots were silently looking down at me.

Though they said nothing, I could sense a subtle mockery in their gaze.

Despite realizing there was no danger, I couldn’t bring myself to get up for quite some time.

**

“I never imagined there would be a space like this beneath our feet.”

Below the massive platform supporting the top floor.

In a place I had vaguely imagined would be filled only with pillars and gears, there was another city hidden away.

Looking down from the edge of the platform—which had no safety measures whatsoever—I could see it wasn’t particularly large.

The buildings were low due to the limited distance between the ground and ceiling, and the streets were small enough that I could see from one end to the other at a glance.

It was more like a village than a city.

“…The lights are on.”

Considering the location, I’m not sure if “underground” is the right term for this place we’ve descended to.

This underground city, which wouldn’t receive sunlight except when descending on the platform like now, was extremely dark.

Yet I could see the cityscape because the streetlights and buildings had lights on.

The fact that lights were on meant that quite a few people had lived here.

“This isn’t Paradise, right?”

“That’s correct.”

I asked just in case, but as expected, this wasn’t Paradise.

The reason I, a first-time visitor, could be so certain was that the overall gloomy atmosphere of this place didn’t match the word “paradise” at all.

The streets without a single blade of grass and the shadows between buildings were far removed from the abundance and peace the robot had described when talking about Paradise.

While one wouldn’t have to shiver from the cold since there was no direct wind, that seemed to be the only advantage of this city.

“Why build this city when Paradise already exists?”

“Perhaps they needed a place to stay while Paradise was being built?”

“I don’t know. If they just needed a place to eat and sleep, they could have gone to the lower floors. The elevators would have been working fine back then.”

As we passed through clusters of tangled wires and rusted pipes, approaching the city, my questions only grew.

I wondered not only how they could build a city in such a place, but why. There must have been a compelling reason.

Was the outside environment so harsh that they needed a resting place while building Paradise and other structures?

That seemed the most likely explanation, but questions remained.

Considering the robots in the factory, it was probably the robots’ job to move materials and stack buildings.

Then humans would only need to design the city and buildings, input those designs into the robots, and verify they were working properly.

And such work could have been done perfectly well while living on the lower floors. In fact, that would have been more efficient.

Building a city here while waiting for structures to be completed on the top floor seemed like a waste of both materials and time.

“Hmm…”

“Perhaps—they wanted to show something?”

“Show what? To whom?”

“To the people below. As you know, Mori, it takes quite a bit of money to go to Paradise, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Even after people disappeared, the gentlemanly robot guarding the elevator to Paradise demanded money.

And considering that people who couldn’t ascend to Paradise built a city in front of the elevator on the lower floor…

The guardian robot that had collapsed in front of the wall I’d blown up probably demanded money as well.

“Would people who paid a hefty sum for the right to go to Paradise want to live in the same place as those who couldn’t afford it?”

“…Wait. About that right to go to Paradise—they were selling it even before Paradise was built?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

“Ah.”

I see. The scattered puzzle pieces seemed to fit together, however clumsily.

Since ancient times, humans have strived to prove that they, or their group, are superior to others.

Whether this is a natural instinct of living beings or a kind of collective consciousness that emerged after the birth of private property, I don’t know.

But people wanted to flaunt their wealth, power, or strength, and the most primitive method was the sense of superiority that comes from height.

Having never been to Paradise, I don’t know how impressive its facilities are or how long it took to build.

But given this environment, and seeing that it still operates even after humanity’s extinction, it must have taken considerable time and money.

During that time, those who paid dearly for the right would have wanted to boast to those who couldn’t.

“I’m different from you; I can survive even if the world ends.”

But few would have said this out loud. People facing death are capable of anything.

A place to feel superior, and simultaneously, a place to protect oneself from those who don’t have—that’s what people wanted.

But the top floor where Paradise was to be built was far too cold.

So this underground city was created.

As if to support this theory, the buildings here, though low in height, were sturdily built and not uniform.

“…How pathetic.”

I spoke candidly.

If they had shared that money and materials with others, they could have saved that many more people.

As if agreeing with me, both robots nodded.

“How do we go back up?”

The platform that had carried us to the ground returned to its original position as soon as we disembarked.

After blankly watching it ascend at a speed quite different from our descent, I belatedly realized we had no way back and asked the Big Robot.

“Pull the lever on each pillar, and the platform will come down.”

The Big Robot’s hand pointed to a pillar. Inside a rectangle marked with black and yellow tape was a large lever.

“Can I try it?”

I wasn’t particularly doubting the robot, but seeing the not-so-intact city with its rusted pipes, I thought the mechanism might not work.

I grabbed the lever, which was slightly higher than my height, with both hands.

“It’s stiffer than I expected.”

Had it rusted? With the lever not moving easily, I lifted my feet off the ground and put my weight on it.

With a clunk, I heard the sound of rails moving, and then saw a platform slowly descending from above.

Relieved that the machinery was working properly, I turned my head and began to mentally map the general layout of the city, in case I got lost and needed to find my way back.

“Oh, what’s that over there?”

“Where?”

“On that street, something’s moving.”

While looking around, I noticed a moving object.

At first glance, it looked like a person, but since there were supposed to be no people, it must be a robot.

“It’s a robot. Judging by its appearance, it seems to have been a household robot.”

“…Why did they make it look so human-like? It’s unsettling.”

“I suppose they made it that way because there was demand.”

…What kind of demand was the robot talking about? I had a feeling I knew, but I didn’t want to know.

“If you’re really curious, why not lift its skirt?”

“What are you saying?!”

I yelled at the robot making such inappropriate comments, and began to wander the streets as if escaping.

With the robot following me apologetically and the Big Robot silently following as if letting me wander freely, I realized there were more functioning robots than I had expected.

“It seems only robots remain in this city where humans have disappeared…”

There were robots sitting on the ground with various lubricants and screws laid out in front of them, with signs drawn in lines and shapes I couldn’t read.

And robots walking around in human clothes that robots wouldn’t even need.

In this city where various types of robots mingled, the robots were living like humans.

…Why did they call me to a city like this?

“What are you thinking?”

“I can’t tell you that yet.”

The Big Robot looking at me was smiling.

Faced with that genuinely happy smile, I couldn’t say anything.