Chapter 12
A man named Allen led the team all the way north, which was basically the same route as Jiang Fei. She was like taking a ride, but she was not very happy either. Several questions were still circling in her mind.
For example, where did the pollutant black cat she had just subdued go? Because she was surrounded by people, she couldn't show it too obviously, so she could only observe the surroundings secretly, hoping to find the black cat.
"Where is he taking you?" Jiang Fei asked. She lowered her voice. The engine of the transport truck was rumbling, and the person sitting in the driver's seat probably couldn't hear what the people in the back car were saying.
"I heard that we are going to a new base, right in the North District. For people like us who have nowhere to go, as long as there is a place to shelter us, how can we ask for so much?" It was the kind-hearted old lady who answered Jiang Fei's question. She had a headscarf wrapped around her head, which was gray because it hadn't been washed for a long time. When she talked about the new base, her face was full of hope.
Jiang Fei didn't express her doubts. She lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and saw that the sun had completely sunk below the horizon, which meant that night had officially arrived.
The transport truck would not stop even at night because no one knew if there would be a storm in the middle of the night. It only stopped briefly during dinner. Alan and another companion would stand behind the first transport truck to distribute dinner, and everyone lined up in an orderly manner.
Only then did Jiang Fei get to see the entire team. Except for a very small number of young and middle-aged people, the rest were almost all old, young, women and children. The scene was a bit weird. The team moved forward step by step. It was Jiang Fei's turn to receive dinner. The dinner was in a sealed can. As for what kind of can it was, it depended on luck. Her luck was okay. It was canned tuna, but it looked like it had expired for some time. There was a layer of dust on the can, which she barely wiped clean with her sleeve.
"Next." He called out while distributing dinner.
Alan's eyes passed over Jiang Fei. After receiving their dinner, everyone returned to the carriage to eat silently. Jiang Fei came to the carriage and saw the old lady in the headscarf holding a can and eating. She received canned fruit and ate very slowly. She chewed each piece several times before swallowing it carefully.
Jiang Fei didn't plan to eat the canned food. She put the can next to her. It was the best time to chat about random topics while eating. Jiang Fei only learned about part of the world in Anna's base. If she wanted to save the world completely, understanding the world was the first step.
"How did your bases get destroyed?" Jiang Fei asked casually. She gave her own answer first: "My base ran out of supplies, and gradually there were fewer people. I was afraid I would starve to death, so I escaped."
"Because Sky City's taxes were too heavy, our base couldn't pay, so it was taken over by another, larger base. However, the manager of that base was a psychopath. I didn't want to live in such pain, so I ran away with my family. But... I later lost contact with my family again. The last message they sent me was that they were in the north."
The person who was speaking was a young girl. Jiang Fei guessed that she might have just reached adulthood. There was a bit of childishness in her facial features, but her eyes were surprisingly bright. Her skin was a healthy wheat color, and her hair was a little naturally curly.
"You will find your family." A woman comforted her, but in fact everyone knew it tacitly that once they were separated, they would probably never be able to reunite.
"Sky City is damned. The taxes are increasing every year, and they say it's for better protection. But is making us homeless considered 'better protection'?!" When Sky City was mentioned, everyone present felt more or less resentful towards it, because their current experiences were all caused by Sky City.
"They are just sucking our blood. I heard that people in Sky City live a life of luxury and extravagance, and they eat naturally grown vegetables and fruits. Even the meat is fresh!" The person who spoke drank the last mouthful of soup in the can. Her tone was a little envious, but more of resentment.
Jiang Fei remained silent. The people in the underground city were full of resentment towards the sky city, but they had no way to resist. The night wind blew open a corner of the carriage curtain, revealing the dark night sky outside the car and the brightly lit sky city hanging in the air.
"Who knows, maybe one day the sky city will fall from the sky. I really hope that all those people will die." Someone said this.
After dinner, the transport truck continued to drive north. Jiang Fei didn't feel sleepy at all, especially since she had something on her mind. The snoring sounds around her made the atmosphere peaceful.
In the second half of the night, the transport truck stopped for a while. It seemed that it was running out of fuel. Jiang Fei looked out of the car and saw Alan refueling one of the cars. He was very sensitive to sight, and he turned around after Jiang Fei looked for a few seconds.
Jiang Fei happened to have some questions, so she simply got out of the car and asked, "Which base in the North District are you going to?"
"Didn't you get anything out of them just now?" Alan held the fuel tank with one hand without raising his head.
It seems that he actually heard the conversation between her and others just now. Jiang Fei said, "I'm sorry for talking about you behind your back. I'm just curious why you did this." Is it really just a simple act of kindness?
Alan threw the empty fuel tank aside. "The more you know, the faster you die. Don't you understand that curiosity kills the cat?"
That means there is nothing to talk about. Jiang Fei pursed her lips and said, "But from what I can see so far, you have indeed saved many people. You are a good person."
Alan pulled the corner of his mouth and smiled, "Good man?"
He quickly stopped smiling, his expression becoming icy, "Hurry back to the carriage."
Seeing that she couldn't get anything out of him, and that she might be tricked into telling herself otherwise, Jiang Fei had no choice but to return to the carriage. Allen looked at her departing figure, as if talking to himself, "Good person... It's been a long time since I've heard such an evaluation."
The next morning, Jiang Fei was awakened by the shaking of the car. She was so scared that she thought she had fallen from a high altitude.
Compared to Jiang Fei who was not quite used to it, the old lady with the headscarf opposite was very calm and composed. She even comforted Jiang Fei, "You'll get used to it soon."
Jiang Fei, whose butt was aching from the bumpy ride, didn't quite agree. She forced a smile, thinking that most bases were destroyed because of excessively high taxes leading to insufficient supplies. She asked again, "I wonder what Sky City uses all that tax for."
"I heard that it was to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for a young nobleman, and the guard selection competition was held a year in advance for this purpose." The so-called guard selection competition is a large-scale selection event held every four years. People with superior IQ or martial arts skills are selected from the residents of the underground city to serve as members of the guard team. It was supposed to be held next year, but it coincided with the birthday of the young nobleman, so it was simply moved forward to this year.
It can be said that passing the selection is no less than achieving a class leap. Bill is a vivid example. Therefore, the people in the underground city despise the sky city while hoping that they can become the lucky one and stand out in the selection.
Jiang Fei thought Sky City was a democracy, but it turned out that aristocrats still existed? It really was true that even the most advanced technology couldn't stop history from going backwards.
Speaking of the noble young master, everyone else also opened up and talked one after another. Jiang Fei acted as a listener, writing down all the information they said. Leaving aside the exaggerated parts, the image of the noble young man gradually became concrete in her mind.
I heard that he is a violent person with an erratic personality. He will abuse others when he is unhappy. He seems to be a complete lunatic.
While everyone was gossiping, Jiang Fei opened the system panel and found that the [Black Cat] she had collected before was in the [Out] state.
The image of the black cat was also trotting along, looking a little cute, but Jiang Fei was more worried about it running into other people, or even hurting them. Because although it was docile and well-behaved in front of her, it was always a terrible pollutant to others.
Jiang Fei's worry about the black cat continued until that night. After everyone had gone to bed, she sat by the carriage and looked up at the sky. The Sky City was still brightly lit, like an unreachable crystal tower.
The transport vehicle stopped in front of a transfer station. Jiang Fei couldn't sleep, so she got off the vehicle to move around. Suddenly, a dark shadow passed by the corner of her eye. She turned around cautiously, holding the dagger given by Anna in her hand.
Snap——
Something fell from above her head and landed straight at her feet. She looked down and saw that it was a beast that had died not long ago, with blood still oozing out of the wound. Next came the familiar black shadow, with most of the black cat's body hidden in the darkness, revealing only a pair of bright green eyes, staring at Jiang Fei obediently and innocently.
The black cat was now about the same size as a cheetah. It used its claws to scratch the beast's body, pushed it towards her, and blinked at her.
She thought she understood what it meant. So it was going hunting?
The beast is also very large. It is no exaggeration to say that if we are a little frugal, it is even enough for the entire team to drink the broth together.
Jiang Fei looked at the beast's corpse with embarrassment. How would she explain this to Allen and the others later? This meat couldn't have fallen from the sky, could it?
The black cat didn't understand why she was distressed and tilted its head. Jiang Fei heard footsteps coming from behind and hurriedly reminded the black cat, "First, shrink and hide."
This time it understood and instantly turned into a small ball. When Jiang Fei bent down to touch it, it disappeared again, but it felt more like a pet in the game that had been recycled. Perhaps it had been taken to a space prepared by the system? She didn't quite understand.
"What are you doing?" Alan asked.
"I just saw two beasts fighting, and one died." Jiang Fei pointed at the corpse lying on the ground. "Maybe we can drink meat soup tomorrow?"
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