Flip Side of a Coin

Night came, and two shadows, one slightly taller than the other, could be seen skulking on the circular road outside. The taller one acted as a guide, leading the other towards the docks. There, they boarded a canoe and rowed towards the small bit of land in the centre of the city.

They were not alone, however. Similar figures could be seen all around them, rowing their way forward. They all rowed and rowed, making sure only the slightest noise escaped. Finally, after a while in silence, the two shadows arrived at their destination.

The two alighted from their canoe, and the taller one took the lead. In front of them stood the heart of the city, the clock tower. It was 93.6 meters tall, and 15 by 15 meters wide. The only material used for it was stone and only stone. It was as if a sharp and narrow mountain rose, and the city's creator chiselled it into a tower, where then a bell and clock were affixed to it.

On the base of the tower was a door crafted from Ironwood, and on it, a door knocker in the shape of a dragon. The tall shadow grasped his hands on it and knocked. One knock with a long pause followed by three. Three knocks, each with a long pause in between, repeated twice. Lastly, he repeated the first knock, long in pause, that was followed by three. A muffled voice could be heard through the door.

"Please stand back!" It asked.

The door slowly moved as it was pushed from within. When it opened, the figure of the door pusher could finally be seen huffing for air. He gestured the two to follow him, and finally, light from the torches inside revealed their identities…

Yep, it was me and the fighter all along. You must've known already. Sorry for the long and dramatic entrance, but I need some drama in my life.

"Ah, it's you two. Didn't you visit my Grandpa's shop around noon?" Asked the door pusher.

"Yes, we came at around that time. It was quite fun, the show you did." The fighter replied.

The door pusher bowed animatedly.

"Thank you for the praise. Now, you're here to visit the city, right?"

The fighter nodded.

"It's my companion's first time here, so I thought it would be an interesting experience for him."

"Is that so? Anyway, I'm sorry for taking your time, please, go ahead."

The door pusher leads us to the spiralling stairs.

With torch flame as our only source of light, we descended. The path downwards continued for what seemed to be an eternity, drama aside, it was around thirty minutes give or take. Finally, it all ended with a single door. The fighter urged me to open it, and so I did.

Behind that door was a city, a city like no other. It was a city within a city. The flip side of the coin. Unlike the city above, this one only consists of one level where everything was jumbled together. Facing it, a word floated to the top of my mind, Kowloon Walled City. A place where shops were stacked on top of each other, where winding roads led men to directions untrue, where stairs whisked others to places foreign, Where apartments were only fit for livestock, Where restaurants served unknown substances, and more. It was the heart of Jia City, where all "true" residents sleep.

There is but one thing here that could be described as free from human touch: the dark ceiling above. The source of light in this dark place. Following the fighter's lead, I asked the system about my curiosities.

'What's that thing up there?' I pointed at the glittering stars on the ceiling.

[Chen's Liferoot, from planet XsZ-Y104a. According to legends, this fungus was named after a famous doctor in the past who used it to treat the illness of his emperor.]

'Interesting, tell me more.'

[It has its own biological clock that controls its light intensity. It gains tremendous vitality and reproductive capability by absorbing water. That's why it was banned in various parts of the country since it could easily cause drought and crop failure. It also has hallucinogenic and pain-killing properties once dead.]

'I see, so it's something illegal. Not only it causes drought, but it also has certain properties one could get addicted. Then, how can you get rid of one?'

[The fungi itself was fairly brittle since its light burns its moisture away, causing it to die in three hours without water. But, unless it was dead, a drop of water could fully reinvigorate it. With a single drop of water, a single fungus could leave behind ten sprouts which will reach maturity once that lone fungus died. The lifecycle of this fungi was either very short or very long, according to its environment's condition. Facing such a species, one could simply leave it in places without water to die.]

'Then how did the ones up there survive?'

[What's above us?]

'Jia City… I see, they got water from above and literally held up the sky for the people here.'

[Are you satisfied with my explanation, dear host? If so, please leave behind a five-star rating for me.]

I shook my head and left my system to its own devices. Finally, under the fighter's lead, I'm entering the underground city, with a heart full of curiosity, in these lands of obscurity.

I thought I would find interesting xx-punk-ish, or xx-core-ish things here, seeing how unique this place is. Imagine meeting a fortune teller from who-knows-where on a roadside stall here and getting a prophecy of legends, or mysterious people who somehow will become part of the party. I had such a fantasy once, but the sad reality hits me in the gut and made me vomit out my expectations, as always. The sheer amount of disappointment inside me has swelled so large, that if I were to let it out to people, it would be like using a hydrogen bomb against a baby, a coughing baby.

You asked what made me so disappointed? It's the fact that there's literally everything and at the same time nothing, here. Just your normal mundane slum stuff. People living their damnedest, surviving on every inch of bread. Red light districts galore, and shady bullshit on every corner. Children, who're supposed to be our treasure, are pitifully dragged into the underbelly of society, all in the name of greed and survival. There's no honour here, nor chivalry, they won't bring bread to the table after all. But maybe, if we were all a little bit righteous, then things might've been better, that's a little thought I had.

"Brother Cho, do you still want to enter?" The fighter asked. Maybe he had discerned my distaste.

In front of us was one of the many entrances to the flip side of Jia City. From where I'm standing, it looked like a maw, trying to swallow us whole. It looked… almost too similar to a dungeon, one designed by a noob, that is; Chaotic, random, and full of chance. It tickled my curiosity. Moreover, my D.I.K., short for Detection Item for Kerbalites, which I hoped you haven't forgotten, has been throbbing for a while.

"I'll enter," I replied.

"Of course, if you don't want to enter, we don't need to enter; Wait, you'll enter? I thought immortals don't like filthy places?"

I cleared my throat, and blurt out the most eloquent bullshit I could muster.

"I don't, but I could feel something inside picking a fight with me."

"Really? Are you certain, brother?"

"I am."

I nodded my head and posed my best in order to look as professional as possible. I spread my legs shoulder length, slowly raised my right hand with my pointer finger pointing forward, and pointed it to where my D.I.K. was throbbing the hardest, while slightly lowering my torso a bit. Although it wasn't at the level of some certain bizarre adventurer whose family had beef with an undying vampire for at least six generations, I thought highly of my perfect pose.

"Whatever it was, it's right there," I spoke with conviction.

"Damn, you knew where that thing is? As expected of an immortal, I guess." The fighter commented, clearly surprised.

"Do you know something, Lin?"

"Well, it's like this. Before we went to the Spirit Sword Sect, Mr Abdul and I visited this place. We found some, rather, unnatural remains."

"Are you sure it's not from gangsters and the like?"

"We are positive it wasn't done by human hands."

"How are you so sure?"

"Because there are signs of melting on said remains."

"The human body could melt if the temperature is high enough, chemicals and the like could also be used to induce the same effect. How could you be so positive that it wasn't done by human hands?"

"Brother, no matter how rowdy the underground is, there are still rules that govern this place. Fire and everything related to it is forbidden. The reason for that is to keep the structure of this place sound since a single fire-related incident or accident could potentially kill everyone.

"Then what about chemicals?"

"About chemicals, residents and also visitors must not carry any chemicals, except for pre-made medicine which will be further discerned by professionals, the gatekeepers. They are people who have achieved a certain degree of skill in alchemy, who were tasked to check everyone before they enter this place."

"I see, and then there's that secret knocking password."

"Yes, that means only the ones the community trusted could enter this place." The fighter affirmed.

From the flow of the conversation, it was certain that I would be roped into joining this activity. It's okay, I am a man that could say no, I will decline the invitation, and I will go at my own pace researching this place.

"Well, let me tell you this first. I'm only curious about the place's architecture and structure, that's the reason why I'll enter. I won't be taking part in whatever it is you're planning, Lin."

"That's too bad, it would've been an easy case with your prowess, brother!" He said with clasped hands, upturned eyes, and high pitched voice, which caused a shiver down my spine.

"Oi, don't use that kind of tone with me!"

"Well, weren't you the one that left me in the jaws of death?"

"When did I do that?!"

"Back at the camp, you retreated all by yourself, leaving me with my pure heart behind to listen to miss Xue's ramblings about… stuff!"

"A-ah, that time."

"Did you know, how much I suffered? She told me about horrific stuff like how to tame another's dragon and things like that! Do you know how betrayed I felt?!" He pressed.

"W-well, I don't think it would be that bad?" I shrugged my shoulders with a scrunched-up smile on my face.

We stared awkwardly at each other for a while. The fighter finally sighed and let out a small chuckle.

"Well, I'm just kidding. You've already helped us more than enough. How could I ask for more?" His eyes were downcast.

"Is the situation really that bad?"

The fighter looked at me, deep in the eyes, and nodded.

"Mr Abdul has received reports that the integrity of this underground town has fallen drastically."

"Is it because of the thing?"

"We are certain. Support pillars, that were placed on random parts of the city, mind you, were having signs of melting. Apart from the unlucky few who died, all it did was melt the support pillars away."

"Alright, let me get this straight. First, the thing was released here suddenly, right?"

"Yes."

"You don't know who released it?"

"Yep."

"And the thing has a purpose?"

"That's right."

"What are you waiting for, then? Let's enter the place!"

"Brother, you're going to help?"

"Even if I don't, you're still going to enter, right?" I smiled, repressing my inner thoughts.

Damned thing, if I weren't so curious about this place, I wouldn't even try facing something that made the D.I.K. throb that hard.