NOVEL WEB Chapter 23: “Inspection”
John cursed a few times before asking Charlie in their "group chat".
[Do you know which powerhouse controlled this dungeon? The officials, or the guilds? Or maybe those noble families? I didn't pay too much attention to these things before.]
Charlie, a young man who knew more about such gossip, immediately responded with a stutter.
[U-uncle John, it should be our World District 9's city-level Dungeon Management Bureau...]
So it's an official powerhouse belonging to the World District's government.
John's face turned even darker than before.
[The Dungeon Management Bureau has always been strict! We can't smuggle out the little ancestor at all.]
John and Charlie talked as if Neo couldn't hear them, so much so that Neo, who was confused with all the sudden information, couldn't help but interrupt.
[Excuse me, hooman, what's going on? What security line? What inspection? What's with this "World District 9 City-level Dungeon Management Bureau"?]
This bureau sounded like police uncles!
For smugglers and the smuggled item like him, the police uncles weren't good news.
John and Charlie forgot that Neo was just a slime who didn't know anything.
Neo was too smart, and that's why, they subconsciously treated Neo as a fellow human being.
The two hunters gritted their teeth and started to tell Neo about the so-called security line.
[In short, this bureau, an official government, owned the dungeon where you lived. They would collect taxes from hunters who enter the dungeon to get raw materials.]
Neo wasn't unfamiliar with such a setting because in many dungeon manhwas, the government, guilds or rich families could own a dungeon through early explorations or auctions.
[If it's just tax, it's okay. Other guild-owned dungeons also collect taxes. But the bureau-owned guild always sets up inspections!]
John wasn't too fond of these officers even though their purpose was good, which was to eliminate bacteria, viruses and many other dangerous factors that might be brought out from the dungeons.
And Neo was something that should absolutely not be brought out!
If caught...
Neo finally realized the severity of their current situation and couldn't help but panic.
[Ah, ah, ah! Why am I so unlucky? Now what to do? Should I run out now? B-but...]
But there were only six hunters coming out of [The Gate].
A slime roaming around was so eye-catching.
Not to mention that Neo saw that right in front of [The Gate], there was only an empty street with empty buildings.
It was so deserted here, as if someone vacated the entire street.
The presence of those guards and the security line they set up stood out even more.
There was only one path to leave the straight-line street, and they had to go through the security line no matter what.
John and Charlie tried to keep their calm while slowly falling behind their teammates, wanting to be the last to do the inspection.
[How about you just go back to the dungeon and then we will smuggle you out when there are no security lines?]
John gave a new suggestion.
Once a group of hunters entered [The Gate], it would be closed until the hunters inside came out.
Now that the dungeon had been harvested, no other hunters would come here for at least three days.
The security would definitely not stay in front of this dungeon gate either, and that's when they could sneak back into the dungeon.
John's idea sounded good, but going back to the dungeon?
Neo peeked at the gap between Charlie's backpack zipper and saw the swirling black-blue strange portal behind him, floating in the air.
That's what [The Gate] looked like from outside, and he had just come out of that magical thing.
How could he return within minutes after leaving?
Moreover, Neo was afraid that if he returned, the leftover slimes inside would devour him in no time!
[No, no, let's try another method! I-I can transform into some other animals.]
Neo quickly told John and Charlie about his [Slime Transformation] skill.
Even if this skill still has twelve hours of cooling down time, if he chose to devour ordinary animals instead of beasts, there was no cooling down time.
Listening to Neo's explanation, John and Neo's faces instantly brightened and they all hurriedly found some small animals for Neo to transform into.
[How about a cockroach? It's so small and everyone won't pay attention to it. You can slowly crawl out of the street and we can meet up.]
John immediately came up with a bizarre idea but even the usually cowardly Charlie quickly agreed to his idea.
[I-I will go find a cockroach! Wait for me!]
Before Neo could stop him, the boy ran around the street near [The Gate] and soon, he actually came back with a cockroach!
The live cockroach waved its antenna at Neo, and the slime almost puked out all his meals.
[Ah! Ah! Ah! No— I'd rather die if I had to devour this thing!]
Unfortunately, before Neo could refuse, the other teammates and the two gatekeepers next to [The Gate] had already noticed these two hunters.
"Hello, the two hunters over there, please don't be left behind!"
John and Charlie were about to quibble, but an inspector with a cloaked pure-black police uniform had already strode towards John and Charlie.
"The two of you! Quick, come to the inspection machine!"
The inspector gestured to the gatekeepers, and the gatekeepers immediately pushed John and Charlie from behind.
"Move! Move!"
The two people had no time to discuss things with Neo, and even Charlie could only throw the cockroach into the tube and hurried forward.
In just a few minutes, the two hunters stood in front of the inspection machine, with two inspectors eyeing them.
Neo didn't see this scene, but John had already urged him.
[Ancestor! Quick! Transform into a cockroach!]
If the little ancestor didn't transform into a cockroach soon, they would all be caught red-handed!
By then, everything would be too late!