Chapter 72

The next morning, after a quick wash, the two headed to the industrial area, not to look for work, but to gather more clues.

Just then, the door opposite opened, and a man dressed in black came out. He was probably in his forties, with a broad face, well-defined features, and an extremely strong and upright physique, giving him a sense of solidity like a mountain.

In such a place, people wouldn't greet each other like ordinary neighbors. The man just glanced at him and went downstairs.

“He seems different.” Xiao Shengyun could sense that the other person’s pollution level was not high, there were no obvious deformities on his body, and most polluted people were confused and had cloudy eyes, so they would not have such sharp eyes.

"It must be someone from the operations department or the military," Zhou Zhi guessed.

Such a large city couldn't have appeared out of thin air; the local government must have noticed something, which was rare good news for the two. With thousands of polluters in the city, even if they killed the city lord, the aftermath would be difficult to manage. They could first ascertain the man's identity, and then try to join forces.

It seems that all transportation in this city follows buses. They arrived at the entrance of the residential area, where there was a building that looked like a bus stop, with some stop names written on the bus stop sign.

Happiness Community—Commercial Street—Industrial Zone—Aquaculture Zone—Fighting Arena—Experimental Zone—Church—

The bus stop sign ended abruptly, with the area where the final stop should have been written left blank for some reason.

It seems there's only one bus in the entire city, departing at 7 a.m. and running approximately every two hours.

“We’re late. The next bus will be about half an hour from now.” Xiao Shengyun sat in a chair, while Zhou Zhi stood not far away, seemingly studying the plants in the roadside green belt.

Although the two have now revealed their true colors, there are still some unclear and ambiguous elements involved.

This little thing made Xiao Shengyun a bit annoyed.

I have a headache, but I don't know what to do about it.

After all, he can't deal with the "source" that's causing these emotions right now.

Zhou Zhi washed his hair yesterday. His hair is a bit soft, and it became fluffy after it dried, looking very soft.

A leaf landed on his hair, swaying gently with the movement of his hand.

Xiao Shengyun's gaze also swayed slightly.

A few minutes later, Zhou Zhi returned, holding two blades of grass in his hand.

"The plants here also show signs of slight pollution,"

"Can plants be polluted?" Xiao Shengyun was taken aback. The question was a bit silly, but he had never really paid attention to it before.

"Yes, but the level of pollution is not as deep as that of humans and animals, probably because they do not have a nervous system. However, I do not have in-depth research in this field. Mutant plants are currently less harmful and are mostly used to extract drug components."

Zhou Zhi explained in a serious tone that he hadn't noticed the leaf on his head.

Xiao Shengyun didn't pay attention to what he said. The plant was weak and didn't taste good, so it was meaningless to him what substances could be extracted from it.

He simply found the leaf nestled in his hair adorable, so he followed his heart and removed it from his black hair.

"What are you doing?" Zhou Zhi was stunned by this sudden action.

Xiao Shengyun waved the leaf in front of him, then took it down. He felt that the leaf was no longer cute, and he also noticed some gray hairs in the other person's hair.

This discovery saddened him once again.

Humans are too fragile.

"What are you thinking about again?" Zhou Zhi found it too difficult to observe Xiao Shengyun. He was not good at dealing with complicated interpersonal relationships and emotions. He preferred to be with reagents and data. Moreover, non-human brain circuits are different from human brain circuits, so he asked directly.

I just answered whatever they asked.

"I'm wondering how much longer you have to live," Xiao Shengyun said frankly. "You have white hair."

The person who was inexplicably given a death notice: "?"

However, compared to pollutants, he certainly couldn't survive that long.

"Having gray hair doesn't mean I'm going to die. I'll try to live a little longer." At least I'm better off than those researchers who have their hair falling out all over the lab.

“But at most fifty or sixty years, that’s still very short.” Xiao Shengyun counted on his fingers.

It was only at this moment that he realized the difference between humans and non-humans.

What saved Zhou Zhi was that even the arriving bus driver seemed to be human. However, it was only after Xiao Shengyun got on the bus that he noticed the driver had eight legs, which were resting on the steering wheel.

Is this considered driving with your feet?

"Swipe your card before boarding," the driver called out.

Xiao Shengyun only had one card, which the administrator had given him yesterday, and he tried swiping it.

"Get in." The driver waved his tentacle.

Zhou Zhi swiped his card and sat down.

The seats in the car were very close together; two men of average build sat together, almost touching.

The passengers on the train didn't know what it was, and the entire carriage was filled with a foul, pungent odor.

Xiao Shengyun sniffed. His sense of smell was very sensitive, which made those subtle smells a kind of torture. But Zhou Zhi smelled very good. It wasn't that he smelled particularly fragrant, but rather that he had a very refreshing smell.

He opened the window, and the breeze from outside made his nose feel a little better.

There were other passengers in the car, and the two didn't chat; they just quietly huddled together.

Xiao Shengyun was still thinking about Baifa when a few soft strands of hair brushed against his face.

We arrived at the shopping street soon.

A group of plant-like beings covered in vines were sunbathing when they noticed guests arriving.

The owner, who had fish gills, kept spraying water on himself. Perhaps because the temperature was too high today, he plunged headfirst into the fish tank at the entrance of the shop.

At the entrance of a shop, the shop owner, who has a human face and a spider body, is knitting a sweater with his extra hand-knitted sweater.

"You two look unfamiliar. You must be new here. Would you like to buy some daily necessities?" a young girl called out loudly. Her face was normal, but she had a pair of huge horns on her head.

Xiao Shengyun entered the shop for three reasons: first, compared to the other inhuman creatures, the shop owner's face was at least presentable; second, they genuinely needed some daily necessities; and third, the girl seemed quite young, and perhaps they could extract some information from her.

Toothbrush 300, towel 500, shampoo 800...

The bank card the administrator gave me only had 1000 yuan in it. I thought it was a lot at first, but now I realize it can only buy two towels.

Although he couldn't afford it, Xiao Shengyun still picked up a bottle of shampoo. The bottle was blank except for the words "shampoo".

"What does this smell like?" he asked.

The shop owner was surprised that a man would ask about the scent of shampoo, and stammered, "It might be mint-scented."

"Where is the production date and ingredient list? And what about the brand? I wouldn't dare use something of unknown origin."

Xiao Shengyun realized from the shop owner's behavior that the other party was really a pushover; he had played the role of a mean and meticulous person perfectly.

"Excuse me, sir, I need to check the order slip." The girl hurriedly went into the inner room.

Should we resolve this?

Xiao Shengyun gave Zhou Zhi a look.

The latter blinked, and the girl's figure suddenly stopped in front of the door. Then she mechanically took out a key from her pocket and opened the door at the end of the shelf.

“Violence won’t solve the problem,” Zhou Zhi said slowly.

“I don’t always resort to violence.”

Xiao Shengyun replied with dissatisfaction, and then followed the girl into the room. It seemed to be a small lounge with a set of tables and chairs. On the table were a computer, a water cup, tissues and other miscellaneous items. There was also a green plant next to the computer.

The two searched the room but found no paper documents; the records must have been stored on the computer.

Xiao Shengyun turned on his computer, and a page popped up on the screen—please enter your login password.

"Let's solve this without violence." He gestured to Zhou Zhi, his gesture carrying a hint of provocation.

Zhou Zhi controlled the shop owner, who sat at the table. The shop owner's hand touched the keyboard, and a string of numbers appeared on the screen—successfully powered on.

“Muscle memory.” He raised an eyebrow.

childish.

Xiao Shengyun found the invoice, which indeed recorded the detailed information of the goods. However, this information was not important; what was important was the delivery address.

Where is this city located? Does it have contact with the outside world? What are the methods of communication?

This is the problem they are urgently seeking.

The source of the goods was listed at the bottom of the list, including Yuanwang Group, Chuanling Group, etc.

Xiao Shengyun was familiar with these names; he had seen them on the hotel's guest list.

The city's inhabitants are all connected to them, and a vast network is gradually unfolding.

"Have you found any useful information?" Zhou Zhi wrote down the information on the list.

"A part of it."

He then looked through other files on his computer, and they were mostly similar, involving the same few companies over and over again.

The two left the office. Xiao Shengyun said, "Release the controls. We still need to investigate other places."

Zhou Zhi glanced at the goods on the shelf. "Is there anything you need?"

What's the meaning?

Wow, it's free!

Xiao Shengyun realized that Dean Zhou had also been corrupted.

He only took essentials such as towels and cups.

After they finished taking the money, the shop owner finally came to her senses. She didn't even notice whether the two had paid or not, and absentmindedly saw them out the door.

Seeing the shop owner's clear eyes, Xiao Shengyun felt a rare sense of guilt.

Bang-

Just as he was about to suggest checking out other stores, a thud came from the ground. A woman was kicked to the ground not far away, and her belongings were thrown to Xiao Shengyun's feet.

He subconsciously bent down to pick it up. The box also had no detailed information, only three big words: "cold medicine".

"Please, my family member is sick and we need this medicine to save their life!"

The woman knelt on the ground and shouted loudly.

The pharmacy owner, who was the fish-man soaking in the pool, said: "What are you doing here, you penniless lowlife? Get out of here! If you dare to steal from the store again, I'll beat you to death."

"Please!" the woman pleaded.

The fishman ignored her, picked up the medicine from the ground, and walked to Xiao Shengyun's side: "Please give me the medicine."

Xiao Shengyun was silent for a few seconds: "How much does this medicine cost?"

"A thousand? What, you're going to buy it for her?"

“That’s right.” He took out his card and swiped it for eight hundred.