Unlike the previous tunnels we've been through, these were definitely smaller and it had turned into a maze as well.
It got to the point where Leena had to transform out of her centaur form just to squeeze through the tunnels and Olivia was basically moving in a permanent half crouch the entire time.
The bunny girl in front of us didn't seem like she had a problem moving through the tunnels and only slowed down to make sure we were still following behind her before continuing.
We eventually reached what looked like a dead end before Maylene went up to the wall and pushed against it.
The wall moved back a little to show a small crack at the side and she whispered into the crack something unintelligible.
She then stepped back from the wall before the entire back wall started to slide to the side, opening the path for us.
The doorway was basically made with the expectation that no one of human size was going to use them so I had to duck my head to pass through the opening.
Thankfully, it was still big enough for the tallest amongst us to climb through and the only person who didn't have a problem using it was Kris since he was just a little bit taller in height than Maylene.
The moment I entered, I found myself looking at a whole bunch of bunny girls that were exactly the same in height as Maylene though they had different skin and fur colours.
And yes, I say bunny girls because I do not see a single male amongst them. Unless the males of their species also have boobs that are almost as big as their heads.
Is it just this group of people or are their race just filled with short stacks?
All of them were looking up at us in wonder before one of them with tanned skin and brown bunny ears turned towards our guide.
"Maylene? What's going on? Who are they?"
"Apparently they're also survivors from outside the tunnels. I was ambushed by some of the Rock Munchers while I was scavenging and got cornered but they came by and rescued me."
"You? Getting cornered?"
"I went to the Old Nir's residence."
The brown bunny girl scowled, "Why are you even there? Didn't we already decide that everything beyond there is too dangerous? That's already black territory!"
Maylene shook her head, "I will admit that it was dangerous… But it was not without some rewards."
She opened up her cloak and several objects fell at her feet, the volume of the items making it somewhat of an impossibility for her to have fit them underneath her cloak without it ballooning up.
I didn't even have time to wonder just what was dropped at her feet when all the other bunny girls let out a scream of joy.
"Spare parts!!!"
They then scrambled towards Maylene and started grabbing what I have now realised were metal scraps and started running off into the different tunnels that were joined with this one.
The only person that remained was Maylene who didn't seem bothered that all of the things she brought had been taken away.
I looked at huh, "What was that about?"
She turned to look at me with a tilt of her head, "Eh? Is this your first time seeing a Bunarf?"
I'm going to assume that Bunarf is the name of her race so I nodded, "I told you, I'm not lying when I say that we came from another World."
"Sure, sure… Anyway, we really like to make stuff and we were running out of supplies to make what we need in here so we have to scavenge for parts. I'm hoping we can eventually get our own replicator up and running soon or else we won't die because of the Rock Munchers but because of starvation."
My ears caught onto something she said.
"Replicator?" I asked.
She nodded, "Yeah, the thing that we can use to make other things? Have you not seen one before?"
I was going to tell her again that we were really from another world but I guess without actual proof in front of her, she would still think that we were being delusional.
So I decided to just shake my head, "No, we have not."
I think she was actually not expecting that answer as she just stared at me and let out a rather quiet "Oh" when I said that.
What? Are replicators supposed to be like some really common thing in this world or something?
I decided to try to change the topic, "How are you all doing with food actually? Do you also scavenge or…"
She shook her head and gestured towards one of the tunnels, "I suppose I might as well give you all a short tour since you would be living here now. Follow me."
My Guardians all looked at me, clearly wondering if we were really going to be staying here and I gave them a slight shake of my head.
At least for now, we'll just follow this bunny girl to see where things go before we decide anything else.
As we moved into what I presume was the hideout of these bunny girls, I leaned over to Olivia and whispered, "Are there any problems with bringing them over to our World as refugees?"
"I would first check if they are compatible with us, my Lord… There are always some civilisations with… Ahem… Questionable cultures that will not be a good fit with us and it would be better not to welcome them. If I may be allowed to suggest, we can accept their hospitality and maybe even share some supplies with them first before we make a decision. After all… We will be coming back here a few times."
That is true…
I shifted my attention back to our bunny guide right as we appeared at the edge of a chasm.
I was wondering why we were here until I looked into the chasm and realised that this wasn't just a hideout of bunny girls… This was an entire city of them.
The chasm spiraled downwards and it seemed like the bunny girls had carved out homes within the space and constructed buildings, bridges and even what looked like power lines that stretched across the hole.
They even made the hole itself into an elevator shaft where several lifts were being moved up and down to move residents and cargo.
It was also here where I heard the sounds of metal banging against metal and it took me a moment to realise that there must be some kind of forge down there where they are building even more things.
"Is everyone here a… Bunarf?" I asked as she started leading me down the spiral towards the lower levels of the chasm.
"Yes. This used to be a mineshaft which we have fled to and repurposed into our shelter. It is here that we have hidden ourselves from the Rock Munchers and continued to survive, hoping that one day we could make a weapon big enough to wipe them all out."
…
Not gonna lie… It sounds like they were trying to make a nuke.
Something tells me that it's better not to ask so I just let that topic drift away.
Along the way, we passed by the locals and pretty much all of them were staring at us in wonder as we walked by them.
I paid no heed to their gazes but an interesting thing I noted was that putting aside the fact that they were living underground, the architecture of their buildings that they have built seemed like a mix between steampunk and what I would describe as cyberprep.
You would see the pipes jutting out from the walls and ceiling with smoke billowing out of them and pushing gears and winches around the place… Then right beside that were clean, metallic sliding doors and even what looked like rectangular pillars that projected holograms acting as light sources.
Yeah… It was rather bizarre like I was looking at two different genres mashing together.
Maylene looked at what I was staring at and nodded, "Yeah, you can see the old tech that used to be here and the new tech that we made after we moved in here. Most of them we just keep around since it still does the job well enough but we were in the process of replacing a lot of the old stuff with new ones. Recently we made some new advancements towards robotics so hopefully we can start churning out autonomous drones that we can use to scavenge and push back against the Rock Munchers soon."
Wait…
I just realised something… These people aren't survivors hiding in a hole after they got beaten back by the Anomalies… These people were thriving and actually even advancing even further despite the losses they must have suffered during the appearance of the first Anomalies!
Damn… These people are awesome…
Just one question though… Why do I only see girls?