As the largest city in Nevada, Las Vegas once became a gathering place for rich celebrities and Internet tycoons.
But in the 600 miles of sewers underground, there is a very different world, which is dark and damp, and there is no sunlight all day long, known as the home of the "Mole Man".
Of course, I'm not talking about a mutant race experiment about human-mole hybridization, but I'm trying to take you into the real life of a hermit in the sewers, an American tramp.
Before leaving, jason, the tour guide, repeatedly told the film crew not to move around, as most of the group were gamblers, addicts and even pimps.
They are grumpy, fierce and terrible, and if they are not careful to provoke them, they will cause trouble, Jason said: Not long ago, outsiders entered the underground community and were cut.
After remembering the instructions of the tour guide, everyone officially entered the "Mole Man" community under the leadership of the tour guide Jason.
The sewer, called the Heroin Tunnel, is 180 metres long and is covered with graffiti on both sides.
It didn't take long for them to meet the first "Mole Man" here, riding a tricycle whose name was Paul. He is a heroin addict who has lived in the sewers for 9 years.
A simple tent is where he sleeps at night, and the debris piled next to it is his clothes and daily necessities.
Paul's closest friend in the underground community, Sadr, has been living here for seven or eight years, and Sadr is a war veteran who was bitten by a bear when he was young and disabled, so he can only sit in a wheelchair now.
Unlike Paul, he had certain requirements for the quality of his life, and in order to live comfortably, he made a simple house out of wooden planks and picked up some furniture from outside.
According to Paul and Sadr, living in an underground community requires strict adherence to three specific rules, and if someone breaks the rules, they are kicked out of the community.
First, only those who are invited can come here to live.
Second, outsiders cannot be brought in and out of the community at will.
In order to maintain a harmonious neighborhood relationship, the "mole people" cannot attack each other.
Although no one knows who made these rules, everyone tacitly implements them.
In addition, living in the sewers is also facing some threats at any time, first of all, mole people need to remain vigilant to prevent foreign thieves from taking away the garbage they have worked so hard to pick up.
These bottles and cans are not worth a few dollars, but they are all their possessions.
Second, the humid environment of the underground sewers also gives excellent breeding conditions for spiders and poisonous pests, who usually spew fire to kill swarms of flying mosquitoes.
Finally, when it rains heavily, the sewer drainage difficulties cause short-term floods, which is also the biggest threat to the "Mole Man".
Every time there is a flood, not only are the items washed away, sometimes their lives are in danger.
If life is so hard, why don't they choose to go home?
Paul said: In the dead of night, people will also miss home, but many people have long been destroyed and their wives and children have been separated because of drug use, fighting, gambling, etc.
Sadr's face was full of loneliness, he choked up
"My family always locks me up and I just want to get out of there and maintain this disconnected state."
After bidding farewell to Paul and Sadr, Jason and his party prepare to go to another sewer, and as they approach the entrance, they are nearly attacked.
Several Mole Men hid in tunnels in search of drugs, almost being photographed by an accompanying photographer, the camera lights infuriating them, and Jason clearly saw one of the "Mole Men" with a gun in his hand.
Fortunately, the underground light was not good, and nothing was captured, and the film crew was able to successfully escape.
After driving for half an hour, the group finally arrived at the "Crystal Meth Tunnel", a sewer that is deeper and more hidden than the "Heroin Tunnel".
In order to avoid being searched by the local police, the "Mole Man" very cleverly placed a shelter at the door, and when the police flashlight was shone here, they would mistakenly think that they had entered a dead end and would not continue the patrol.
When they walked to an area full of debris, they found that there was a female mole man living alone, and the head of the local shelter was talking to her, hoping that she would go to the homeless shelter to live.
The woman, who didn't look very old, said she had lived alone in the sewers for more than 3 years.
For self-defense, she would hide a dagger under her pillow.
Then, Jason and they passed a square intersection, where the splendid Caesars Palace Hotel was located, and above it was a hollow building Pedestrians saw the film crew and wondered what they were doing.
Jason says they're doing city exploration, but people outside have no idea that beneath their feet, there's an isolated group of "mole people."
The Crystal Meth Tunnel seems to be more mysterious, and can only be entered and exited through the small opening in front of you, which is a shortcut for the "Mole Man" to enter the sewers, and can only accommodate one person visually.
After some tossing and turning, everyone finally passed and successfully reached Tom and Jerry's residence.
Tom's family is from Hawaii and has lived in the sewers for 5 years, and their home is too clean compared to other mole people.
Not only did he have a bed, table and chairs, Tom also built a simple bathroom, in order to help friends, his wife Jerry specially prepared an extra bed, which is simply a perfect two-bedroom, one-living room, one kitchen and one bathroom sewer apartment.
And all these facilities are all exchanged for the couple for many years of picking up garbage.
Tom and his wife, who were once rich families in Hawaii, came to Las Vegas in search of excitement, gambled all their savings overnight and even went into debt of $100,000, and Tom said that he did not want to go home, but that he would be sentenced to prison as soon as he returned home.
"One thought of heaven, one thought of hell" is the true portrayal of Tom.
Jerry said, "When the outside world talks about the tunnel mole people, it always thinks of us as a legend in Chengdu, in fact, everyone is just an ordinary homeless."
Despite their harsh and drug-ridden lives, Mr. and Mrs. Tom never gave up their conscience, and whenever they had money to eat, they would take the initiative to share it with other mole people.
Before leaving, the film crew gave the couple a sum of money, and the rich American who used to be rich in money are now dancing happily because of a few dollars, which is lamentable.
According to statistics, there are still thousands of "mole people" living in the sewers of Las Vegas, and we don't know how they live now, nor do we know where they will go in the future.
One wrong step, one wrong step, the "mole people" once had a family and love, but they were miserable for a lifetime, and they hoped that the urban "mole people" would get out of the sewers as soon as possible to reshape themselves.