Chapter 3261
“Don’t you guys exploit the people of the lower floor too? And what did they get from you?” Philip asked blandly.
Philip guessed that the commotion he caused had attracted such a large number of people from the lower floor that the other party came looking for trouble.
If Philip was doing this to earn star dollars before, that was no longer his purpose now. Especially after seeing the Square Cage on the middle floor.
He wanted to advance step by step to the middle floor and even the upper floor. That was Philip’s objective.
However, after hearing Philip’s remarks, the members of the Rain family were ruffled up.
“We can at least feed the people of the lower floor. And you?”
Philip smiled indifferently and said, “I’m just giving them hope so that they’ll no longer accept your exploitation.”
Then, Philip turned to the people of the lower floor and said, “Since someone has doubts, I’ll make myself clear today. My cram school will not only help those with elemental talents but also those without elemental talents can attend.”
His words were greeted by cheers all around!
The people of the lower floor worked more enthusiastically now. Before this, no one treated them as human beings, but Philip gave them the chance.
So even if they had to give, they were willing to do so. Especially since Philip said that even people without elemental talents could come here and learn.
Philip had successfully ignited the fire of hope in people’s hearts!
Seeing this, the Rain family members roared angrily, “Stop, all of you!”
They bellowed furiously. They could not believe that these people were conquered by a few simple words from Philip.
When they tried to win these people over back then, they had to fork out star dollars.
None of the people of the lower floor paid any attention to them or even looked at them.
“I repeat, if anyone dares to move another inch, I’ll chop your hand off!” The leader of the Rain family shouted grimly.
Seeing this, Philip knew that the other party was here to crash his party, and strong pressure surged from him.
“I dare you to touch them!”
If they dared to make a move, Philip would strike without hesitation. Philip did not take the Rain family seriously at all.
The people of the lower floor were very excited at this scene. They felt that someone was finally standing up and speaking on their behalf.
The Rain family did not expect that they would cause public outrage at this time. However, at this point, there was no turning back, and they could not let it go either.
“Philip Clarke, let’s see if you really have what it takes to fight against the Rain family!”
After saying this, the members of the Rain family rushed at Philip.
Philip did not sit idly by either. Flames burst from his body as he rushed at them too!
His strength was equivalent to eight stars so he was not afraid of them at all.
Chapter 3262
Boom!
Lightning flashed and the sky above the boxing arena darkened.
The bodies of the Rain family members flickered with water vapor, obviously all water element practitioners. They practiced a technique unique to their family, so the combined force was quite powerful.
In the sky, rain drizzled.
The members of the Rain family drew out their weapons which only function was to enhance their water element. Following their movements, water jets suddenly appeared out of thin air, shooting at Philip like water dragons.
Philip was not to be outdone either, and flame chimeras appeared in the rain one after another.
The sound of rumbling was deafening!
The fire chimeras and the water dragons clashed wildly, producing terrifying energy fluctuations.
The other people of the lower floor stood aside, and everyone could see that Philip was fighting against these Rain family members single-handedly.
No one expected Philip to be so strong, and after seeing this scene, the people of the lower floor believed in Philip’s strength even more.
At this time, Philip was their pillar of hope.
As for Leopard and the others, they did not want to make a move at all, because they had seen Philip’s strength and knew that the Rain family would not pose any threat to Philip. However, at this time, everyone discovered a problem.
In the center of the battle, the area under their feet had become wet at some point. It seemed that in the next second, a bigger water jet would gush from below.
Just when the people of the lower floor were about to remind Philip, cracks appeared on the ground, and the water jet wrapped around Philip like a prison of water elements.
For a while, the fire element was no longer visible in this area, and even the fire chimeras in the rain gradually became dim as if they would disappear at any time.
“Philip Clarke, aren’t you very strong? Today, we’re going to crush the people of the lower floor, and we’ll see what you can do about it.”
Hearing that, everyone around was furious.
They wanted to fight too, but they were not strong enough, let alone elemental talents, so they were no match for these Rain family members.
Suddenly, there was a burst of explosion!
In the water prison, a raging fire element blasted the walls violently. As if in the next moment, the water prison would be shattered.
“Don’t let him out!” The leader of the Rain family shouted.
However, this was beyond their control. Philip’s fire elemental level was not something they could contend with.
That was a level 5S fire element!
Boom!
The water prison finally exploded, and the water vapor evaporated under the scorching temperature of the fire element.
Philip moved constantly, punching the Rain family members one after another. Following Philip’s movements, raging flames burned the Rain family members.
Chapter 3263
No matter how they tried to use their water elements to resist, it was in vain.
The delicate raindrops were of no help at all. After all, Philip’s fire element was too aggressive.
Finally, the sky cleared up. The bodies of the Rain family members were swallowed by the fire element released by Philip and burned to a crisp.
Everyone also realized the wild ambitions of the Rain family and started discussing if they should start boycotting the Rain family from now on. After all, their intentions were too sinister because they saw the people of the lower floor as their slaves.
At this time, Philip said to everyone, “Nice people are often bullied. Only when your fist is strong enough that others will listen to you, instead of the other way around.”
“We have to say no to all inequality!”
Everyone got excited at Philip’s actions, especially his final remark. They had been suppressed for too long and needed to vent.
At this time, people of the Curry family turned up. There were a few of them too, but unlike the Rain family, they were courteous to Philip.
“When I first saw you, I thought you were no ordinary person. Today, you exceeded my expectations!”
“Not to mention those ignorant fools, what you did could be seen as the icon of the lower floor!”
Hearing what Patriarch Curry said, Philip narrowed his eyes and stood on guard.
As the saying went, a barking dog would not bite. Someone like him was no doubt a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Philip knew that he had threatened the interests of their families, so he knew they would look for him. However, to Philip’s surprise, not only did Patriarch Curry not say anything harsh, but he also gave him a little box.
“This is a small token from the Curry family. I hope you’ll accept it.”
After taking the small box, Philip looked at Patriarch Curry in wonder.
He felt that he could not figure out this person, and he knew that the other party must be hiding something up his sleeve, but things were still under wraps for now.
“Thank you, Patriarch Curry,” Philip followed his lead and put the gift away.
However, seeing his action, Patriarch Curry said, “Philip, this is an elixir we obtained on the middle floor back then, which coincidentally is an elixir of the fire element. It’s only useful for people of the fire element…”
“Also, I realized that the power of this elixir seems to be draining all the time, so I think it’s better for you to take it as soon as possible.”
Philip glanced at him suspiciously. The problem seemed to lie in this elixir!
“No rush, I’ll keep the elixir for now,” Philip said flatly.
However, Patriarch Curry was very smart. He looked at everyone and said, “Since Philip has done so much for us, we should repay the favor, right?”
“That’s right!”
All the people on the lower floor replied in unison.
“Can you bear to see Philip waste such a good medicine and delay his practice?”
Everyone replied like a shockwave, “No, we can’t!”
Immediately, they persuaded Philip to take the pill!
Philip frowned. He now understood that Patriarch Curry wanted to kill him in public!
Patriarch Curry wanted to use the public to put Philip in a situation where he could not refuse to take the elixir he had carefully prepared for Philip, or to be precise, poison.
Chapter 3264
Since Philip had figured out the Curry family’s plan, he certainly would not give the other party a chance to harm him.
He accepted the item and said to the Curry family, “I’d like to return the token too. Since Patriarch Curry is so kind, I want to return a gift too. Please wait here…”
Philip turned around and went to the back room. He took out the elixir and put it in another box before putting a jelly bean bought by Emily in the box prepared by the Curry family.
Then, he came out with two boxes.
He smiled and handed the box containing the elixir to Patriarch Curry. He said loudly, “This is an elixir I specially prepared for Patriarch Curry. On this fine day, why don’t we take the elixir together today?”
Hearing that, Patriarch Curry thought that his scheme had succeeded, not expecting that Philip had made a switch.
Everyone else was out of the loop and simply thought that Philip and Patriarch Curry had become friends.
Philip opened the box, took out the jelly bean, and popped it into his mouth.
Then, he said to Patriarch Curry, “Patriarch Curry, go ahead.”
When Patriarch Curry opened the box, he was shocked silly by Philip’s trick.
“Uh, this…”
Seeing Patriarch Curry hesitate while holding the elixir, Philip confirmed his suspicions.
He smiled and said to Patriarch Curry, “What’s the matter, Patriarch Curry? Don’t you like my gift?”
Patriarch Curry was simply at a loss for words.
He was the one who prepared the poison, so how could he not realize it?
He wanted to make use of the public to force Philip to take the elixir, but unexpectedly, he shot himself in the foot.
Everyone stared at him while he looked at Philip meaningfully.
“I just recalled that I can’t take this elixir today. I’m just about to break through to the next level, so I’m afraid that I cannot control the effect of this pill.”
Philip narrowed his eyes at Patriarch Curry and asked, “Are you afraid that something is wrong with this elixir? Why don’t we find someone to appraise it?”
Hearing that, Patriarch Curry immediately put the elixir away!
“That’s not necessary. Since it’s a gift from you, there won’t be a problem.”
Philip grabbed his hand and said calmly, “I think it’s more reliable to appraise it. After all, this thing doesn’t belong to me, but was given to me by someone else!”
While speaking, Philip’s eyes were fixed on Patriarch Curry.
When he heard the suggestion to appraise the elixir, there was a flash of panic on Patriarch Curry’s face.
If the cat was out of the bag, with Philip’s current strength, he would definitely fight Patriarch Curry to the end. Even so, Patriarch Curry could not display fear.
Chapter 3265
“Since Philip said so, I happen to know someone, but he’s no ordinary character, and we need to go to the upper floor to appraise this elixir. I wonder if you have the guts to go with me!”
Patriarch Curry said earnestly but there was a hint of intimidation in his tone. However, as soon as he finished speaking, Philip heard Cougar’s hearty voice.
“Philip, I just happen to have some business on the upper floor too, so may I tag along with you?”
Hearing Cougar’s words, everyone looked at him blankly.
No one expected to see him here. He had always been a special existence on the lower floor.
The Cougar Squad was the only entity that could exist on the lower floor based on might alone, and his status as its leader was no doubt special.
When Patriarch Curry saw Cougar, his expression was full of uncertainty. He did not expect this uncontrollable factor to pop up.
Cougar said to Patriarch Curry, “Patriarch Curry, having been on the lower floor for so long, I haven’t heard that you know anyone from the upper floor.”
In the underground city, the hierarchy was very clear-cut. The people of the lower floor and even the middle floor had always been oppressed by the upper floor. Even if Patriarch Curry had a certain influence on the lower floor, he was no more than an ant to the people of the upper floor.
No one would take him seriously at all, so Cougar refused to believe his words.
Patriarch Curry suddenly looked smug and said, “Commander Yorkshire, don’t think that you’re the only one who knows someone on the upper floor. Don’t forget that I participated in the riot back then and have fought my way up to the upper floor too.”
Hearing that, Cougar said unceremoniously, “In that case, I’ll have to ask you to go back and wait for us. After I’m done talking to Philip, I’ll get someone to find you, and I can also see who the person on the upper floor you know is!”
Although Philip did not ask Patriarch Curry to leave, Cougar did it on his behalf!
Since the request had been made, Patriarch Curry had no reason to stay either. With a cold snort, he left with his people.
Philip invited Cougar into a room in the boxing arena while the people outside got busy.
With the help of Leopard and others, there was no need for Philip to remain.
“Commander Yorkshire, thank you for coming to my aid.”
Philip thought that Cougar was just trying to help him out, so he thanked Cougar, but Cougar sighed heavily.
“Philip, I really need to ask you for a favor this time, so I really need you to go to the upper floor.”
Hearing that, Philip looked at him in exasperation. It never occurred to him that Cougar would have anything to do with someone from the upper floor.
“Commander Yorkshire, why do you need me to go to the upper floor?”
Cougar said slowly, “Do you still remember the mine from last time?”
Of course, Philip remembered this so-called mine. Because of it, the head butler of the Shannon family came looking for him once. He just did not tell Cougar about it.
“The problem is with the mine. I secretly sent people to explore several times and found that the mine is too large, so I have to report it!”
Hearing that, Philip finally found out his identity.
In fact, he was sent by the upper floor to control this place. Once he found any talented people or valuable treasures, he had to report it. In other words, he was actually here to monitor the people of the lower floor.
Chapter 3266
Nonetheless, so what if Philip found out?
This world was full of injustice and oppression had always existed, although not very obvious in many cases.
After delving into the reasons, one would discover that many rules were established by the people on the upper floor. And everyone else could only obey.
“I won’t let you make this trip in vain. I can give you a chance to go to the upper floor by recommending you…” Cougar dropped a bombshell on Philip at this time.
This was exactly what Philip needed now. He had to get in touch with the world on the upper floor to achieve his goal.
In that case, why not grab this opportunity?
“When do we set off?” After thinking through the details, Philip asked.
There was no doubt or hesitation. He had always been like this. Under normal circumstances, he would weigh the option most beneficial to him when making a choice.
Cougar was obviously taken aback for a moment. He did not expect Philip to agree so quickly.
“I’ll send someone to go with you.”
After saying this, he added, “However, you’re not allowed to disclose this matter to the Shannon family!”
Hearing this, Philip immediately understood why Cougar insisted on sending Philip.
There was the reason. It also involved the Shannon family.
It seemed that the background of the Shannon family was not that simple after all, so after Philip was targeted by the Shannon family, Cougar also tried to win him over.
Philip nodded and said to Cougar, “I’ll leave my team members and the people of the lower floor over to you then.”
Cougar agreed and switched on his communicator.
“Panther, come over here now!”
After this order, Cougar said to Philip, “Without further delay, you’d better leave now.”
Philip did not speak but just sat on the chair and waited for Panther whom Cougar spoke of to arrive.
This was a conflict of interest. Although Philip did not know who stood behind them, the implication was no small matter.
Soon, Philip saw a thin man with cruel and cunning eyes.
“Commander Yorkshire, is this the one who wants to go to the upper floor with me?”
Cougar nodded.
“He’s not very familiar with the middle floor and the upper floor. Take care of him on the way.”
Panther just nodded slightly and sized Philip up.
Then, he said to Cougar, “As long as he doesn’t screw things up, of course, I’ll take care of him.”
However, the second half of his sentence was left unspoken. If Philip screwed things up, not to mention taking care of him, Panther would probably do something to Philip too.
Of course, Philip understood his meaning, and he also knew how dangerous it would be for a person from the lower floor like him to go to the middle floor or even the upper floor. Thus, he did not refute it.
Some things could only be proven by action, not words.
Following Panther out, the two of them did not speak on the way.
Chapter 3267
When Philip left, he asked Cougar to help him find Emily’ s grandfather before he could leave with peace of mind. Otherwise, this matter would weigh heavily on his mind.
Soon, he and Panther arrived at the place on the middle floor that Philip had been to earlier. Although there were many passages from the lower floor leading to the middle floor, the passage in front of them seemed more often used by people of the lower floor and relatively easier to pass through.
When he went to the Square Cage last time, Philip found out from Old Clarke about the passages from the lower floor to the middle floor.
This was simply the back door left by the middle floor to the lower floor, which made it easier to oppress and understand the people of the lower floor. However, this also allowed the people of the lower floor to risk using this backdoor to reach the middle floor, trying to smuggle in.
He saw the communicator in Panther’s hand flashing similarly to the one as Old Clarke’s, and Philip knew that they must have a special identity to open this passage. However, it was a little different from what he saw the last time.
Teams of guards seemed very busy.
Seeing this scene, Panther also frowned in confusion. He had never seen the guards of the middle floor so busy before.
This time, Philip had the time to take a good look at the middle floor.
He was on a rescue mission the last time, so Philip did not observe the middle floor, not even paying attention to the difference between the middle floor and the lower floor.
Walking with Panther on the street, Philip found that the streets on the middle floor were wider than those on the lower floor, and flying aircraft could be seen everywhere.
On the lower floor, those with mechas and aircraft were already regarded as kings. This also showed that the people of the middle floor were much stronger than those on the lower floor.
At this moment, a team of guards appeared, escorting people from the Square Cage, some of whom were still yelling and cursing, “If not for that b*stard, I wouldn’t have been caught by these guards in a million years!”
Philip just realized that his riot in the Square Cage had actually brought such a big change to the middle floor. Even the Square Cage was taken down by the guards.
Panther muttered under his breath in confusion, “Mr. Cusack has been on the middle floor for so many years and the guards could do nothing to him. Who made that arrogant Mr. Cusack suffer such a big loss?”
Philip pretended not to hear, and said to the Panther indifferently, “Where are we going now?”
Panther said without even turning his head, “We need to find a hotel and wait for the time when the passage to the upper floor opens.”
Having said this, he walked to the tall building on the side.
Philip had long discovered that the middle floor was much better than the lower floor in terms of architecture and prosperity.
Most importantly, Philip saw no less than ten defense methods on the steel-covered buildings on the middle floor. If war really broke out, this place could become a fortress in an instant.
“Walk faster if you don’t want to be killed by the guards on the spot,” Panther said coldly.
Philip merely chuckled and followed, unperturbed by Panther’s words.
Philip did not care about the guards at all. After all, Philip had taken down Mr. Cusack, whom the guards could not even deal with, so why would he be afraid of these guards?
However, he did not want to say this.
Who knew if Panther had anything to do with Mr. Cusack?
He did not want to invite unnecessary trouble.
Chapter 3268
Philip thought that he and Panther could just stay in the hotel, as they had already planned to avoid the guards and head to the hotel. However, at this time, something dropped from one of the guards’ hand.
It was not anything important but a piece of armor he got from the Square Cage. It was an important part of the armor that they could use to upgrade their armor.
When he passed by Panther and Philip, the thing fell to the ground.
The guard glanced at Philip and Panther and immediately knew that they were civilians. Otherwise, they would not be wearing such ordinary clothes, not even simple armor.
The guard raised his eyebrows and yelled at Philip, “You, pick that up for me.”
He seemed used to bossing others around, so when he spoke to Philip, he was not polite at all.
Seeing Philip motionless, just standing there looking at him, he was immediately unhappy.
As he walked toward Philip, he cursed, “I’m talking to you. Are you deaf?”
Seeing this, Panther immediately picked up the part and stuffed it into the guard’s hand.
“I’m really sorry, sir, my little buddy isn’t right in the head. Please forgive him…”
Hearing that, Philip immediately realized that Panther was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Once he had decided to help out, although his tongue was sharp, he would not ignore Philip. However, the guard refused to accept Panther’s help.
He knocked the part away from Panther’s hand, let it fall to the ground, and snorted coldly.
He said, “Am I talking to you? Who do you think you are? How dare you touch my things?”
The guard was not just being rude but bullying now.
Philip felt very uncomfortable. He did not expect that the middle floor was worse than the lower floor, especially the people with a bit of status who would trample on other people’s dignity as much as possible. The guard did not intend to let them off but wanted to fight them until the end.
He said to Panther, “Get out of my way, you ignorant fool!”
He then pointed at Philip and said, “I want you to pick it up for me right now.”
His tone was clearly threatening.
Panther glanced at Philip, signaling Philip with his eyes to pick up the part quickly.
Philip did not want to cause trouble either. He wanted to choose to resolve things too. After all, this was not the lower floor and they should not be here at all. So Philip lowered his head and reached out to pick up the part on the ground.
However, before he could touch the part, the guard stomped on Philip’s hand.
Philip frowned and avoided the guard’s foot. He looked at the guard coldly.
When the guard saw this, he kicked Philip.
“What are you looking at, you lowly civilian? If you look at me again, I’ll gouge your eyes out!”
Philip turned sideways and avoided the other party’s kick.
Seeing that, the guard still refused to give up and punched Philip in the face.
Chapter 3269
At this moment, Philip was furious.
Seeing the guard pouncing on him, he crashed into the guard, knocking him into the prison van transporting the prisoners of the Square Cage.
There was a muffled bang.
The prison van swayed. This van was no different from the normal ones, except that the bottom part was the structure of an aircraft while the top was steel cages.
Seeing this, Panther’s heart dropped to rock bottom.
If this incident became serious, it was hard to say if they could return to the lower floor safely, not to mention go to the upper floor. However, now that things had happened, there was no other choice.
The worst they could do was to provoke the guards and fight with them. If they could find a suitable opportunity, maybe they could escape.
To his surprise, Philip did not seem prepared to escape.
He strangled the guard’s neck tightly. The guard’s face was already flushed red, obviously unable to breathe. The guard did not expect that the young man in front of him would actually dare to fight him.
When Philip let go of him, the people of the Square Cage inside the prison van saw Philip’s face clearly.
As soon as the man saw Philip’s face, he shouted. “Get him away from me! Quick, I’m begging you!”
At this moment, the commotion between Philip and the guard attracted the people around. They saw the scene in front of them and heard the people in the prison van talking.
“Stay there quietly and don’t think of playing any tricks!”
One of the guards said to the person in the prison van. However, the prisoner in the prison van pointed to Philip and said, “That’s the man who killed Mr. Cusack! He’s horrific!”
Everyone was dumbfounded.
If someone else said this, they might not believe it, but this man came from the Square Cage.
No matter what, they had to believe him.
Disbelief filled their eyes. Especially Panther, it never occurred to him that Philip had been to the middle floor once, and even killed Mr. Cusack, who was notorious here.
The people in the prison van pleaded, “I don’t want to die, I really don’t want to die!”
There was no way this could be fake. That man was already full of tears and snot. He was afraid because he saw Philip’s fire element burn a living person in front of him to ashes. So when he saw Philip now, he was terrified.
He could hardly believe it!
He could not believe that this person was standing in front of him alive. Moreover, he seemed to be fighting with a guard.
The guards turned pale with shock at this moment. They did not expect that this seemingly ordinary young man in front of them would have such strength, and the atmosphere froze.
Chapter 3270
The guard who heckled Philip earlier asked tremblingly, “Did you really kill Mr. Cusack?”
Philip did not answer. Although his hand loosened a little, it did not leave the guard’s neck. However, his action all the more convinced the guards that Philip had really killed Mr. Cusack. And that was the reality, but few people admitted it.
The guards exchanged a glance with each other before they persuaded Philip, “This is just a misunderstanding. Please don’t take it to heart…”
Although they had weapons and equipment and seemed in a much better shape compared to that of the lower floor, facing a person who killed Mr. Cusack, they simply had no courage to put up a fight.
“Sir, on the account that I’m a first-time offender, please forgive me this time…”
The guard who was strangled by the neck started begging for mercy.
In their opinion, anyone who could deal with Mr. Cusack on the middle floor must not be a simple character.
This was not a person they could afford to mess with, so they became the ones who wanted to resolve this situation now.
Philip knew that at this point, he could not carry things too far either, so he let go of his hand and snorted without speaking. Sometimes, actions spoke louder than words.
As this left a lot of room for imagination, they would reflect if they had done anything wrong to make the other party unhappy.
Seeing this scene, Panther felt as if he had learned a lesson this time. He even whispered to Philip that no matter where they chose to stay, he would pay for it.
Philip, on the other hand, waved his hands pretentiously and told Panther to lead the way and leave this place quickly. After all, this place was fraught with danger.
If they accidentally revealed any flaws to show they were the people of the lower floor, it might invite some trouble.
However, at this moment, the guard suddenly stopped the two of them.
“Wait a minute!”
Both Philip and Panther looked back at the same time.
The leading guard approached smilingly. He reached out the communicator in his hand and swiped it lightly on Philip’s communicator.
He said with a smile, “No matter what you do today, I’ll take care of the expenses…”
It was beyond Philip’s expectation that someone would take the initiative to give him money to spend.
“The 100,000 star dollars is a token of my appreciation. Please accept it, sir!”
With that said, the guards left. They seemed afraid that Philip would refuse so they left quickly, leaving him with their backs.
Panther asked doubtfully, “Did you really kill Mr. Cusack on the middle floor?”
Hearing Panther’s question, Philip did not admit or deny it, merely glanced at Panther indifferently. They quickly left.
Although the facilities here were not on the same level as the lower floor, Philip recognized the hotel at a glance.
Different from the architectural style of the original world, it was shaped like a dome, which was similar to most buildings here.
Of course, just like the buildings on the ancestral land, the outer walls were coated with a layer of steel.
After a casual glance around, Philip walked to the building marked as a hotel.