Chapter 021 A Clearly Divided City
Beep beep beep, beep beep beep.
Uh...whose phone is ringing?
Chen Xiao'er struggled to open her eyes and saw the glowing white ceiling and several rows of light tubes.
Beep, beep, beep.
6:20, 6:20.
It turned out that it was the player in the corner that was broadcasting, repeating it three times.
“Ha~”
She wiped her eyes, unrolled the quilt and crawled out of the sleeping bag, only to find a lot of extra things around her.
A row of identical brown suitcases were neatly placed against the wall, with each student's name marked on a metal plate.
Next to the suitcase were folding chairs and wooden boards for tables. She was one of the few students who slept until the announcement. Many of her classmates had already packed their sleeping bags and started drinking water and eating.
Someone next to me was running out in tracksuit, getting some exercise early in the morning. It truly deserves to be the best university in the country; its students prioritize well-rounded development, both morally, intellectually, physically, aesthetically, and labor-intensively.
Xiao'er went to the bathroom to change her clothes. When she came out, she happened to meet Lin Lang passing by with two bags of food.
"Xiao'er, take it. Your portion." She handed over the plastic bag on her right. Inside was a bag of sandwiches, a bottle of milky drink, and—a tube of toothpaste? Toothpaste candy?
"Thank you~"
Chen Xiao'er took the plastic bag and took out the toothpaste to examine it. It wasn't candy, but a vitamin-fortified food.
The food in college is not what you imagine... No, this is the free part. The cafeteria definitely sells paid food, so some difference is quite reasonable.
She unscrewed the toothpaste cap and carefully put a little bit into her mouth.
It's not bad at all. It has a very ordinary starchy taste, similar to soaked Wangzai steamed buns, but a little softer and with a bit more apple fructose flavor.
The sandwich looked good, with ham and egg slices, but no lettuce. It was covered with a layer of green sauce, not sure if it was vegetable puree or mustard.
Chen Xiao'er put the sandwich into her bag and opened her phone to send a message.
【Xiao Ai: (Good morning, meow~)】
Xiao Ai: Have you eaten yet? I have sandwiches here. Is there a shop outside?
【Lan: I’m full.】
[Xiao Ai: You got up so early today! What did you eat?]
【Lan: fish.】
Eating fish so early in the morning? She held her phone and didn't know how to reply. Fortunately, Sister Lan replied again.
【Lan: I caught it yesterday.】
Last night? She thought carefully about her experience yesterday.
It was too dark at night, and I could only see the street scenes under the lights. At least there was no river in the city. But after sleeping in the car for so long, there should be a lake outside the city.
Wait, she said yesterday she lives under a bridge. Could she be fishing in the city's sewage ditch?
【Xiao Ai: Is the fish clean? 】
【Lan: Very fresh, a little bland.】
【Xiao Ai: No mutation, right? QWQ】
[Lan:?]
Forget it, let’s not pursue it too much.
Chen Xiao'er held her phone in her hands, speechless and choking. She thought this wouldn't happen once Sister Lan made some money. She was so lazy, she would definitely buy food at the store.
Xiao Ai: Okay~ Where are you now? I'll come find you.
[Lan: Now? See you at the school gate.]
That means it will pass immediately.
Xiao'er closed the communication bar and clicked on the new text message from the school.
Dear student Chen Xiao'e, welcome to school.
[Preparatory supplies have been provided. Please contact the teaching assistant if you have any additional needs. Pre-school courses are available before military training. The class schedule is as follows [Image]. All pre-school courses are open to the public and students can arrange their own schedules. Seats are limited and are on a first-come, first-served basis.]
What a freedom! I can actually arrange my own class time.
Chen Xiao'er took a look at the course schedule. The courses had a high repetition rate and were marked with a, 1, etc. in their names.
This should be due to the fact that students report at different times, so each student only needs to complete it before the military training begins.
There are about 12 courses. Assuming that you can get a seat in every class, four days of study will be enough under the most efficient condition.
It's only 7 o'clock now. After finding Sister Lan, I'll go to the first class! "Red Star Life Common Sense" ~ I don't know what the specific content will be.
She set the alarm and rushed to the door.
Lin Lang only saw a shadow scurry past. "Xiao'er, wait a minute, hey." She didn't have time to stop it, so she had to run after it.
…
Chen Xiao'er ran into the corridor, carrying a shoulder bag. The lighting during the day was different from that at night. At night, there would be a row of purple night lights, while during the day, there were only simple incandescent lights.
The dormitory was very close to the exit. She followed the sign and soon passed the outermost rooms.
The doors of these rooms are now open, and many students are exercising inside.
Xiao Ai took a few curious glances and found that the fitness equipment was quite complete. On the far left was a swimming pool, and many people in swimsuits were swimming in the water.
There are actually people jumping in wearing diving equipment. How deep is the pool?
...Isn't it true that all students have to take one or two physical education classes? It's probably the seniors from the Physical Education College.
She quickened her pace and ran outside, and soon saw the entrance she had entered last night.
A security guard was standing at the door. Although his helmet blocked his face, it was obvious from his gender that he was not the big man from yesterday.
"Number, purpose of leaving school."
The security lady held her left hand high and stood in front of the door with her chest puffed out.
"My name is Chen Xiao'er, ID 1001. My sister is at the school gate. I want to go out to see her. I'll be back soon."
"newborn?"
"Yes!"
Chen Xiao'er looked at the other person sincerely. The security guard was silent for a moment and asked, "Are you good at fighting?"
"...Not really."
"No," the security woman shook her head, unwilling to move. She shifted her rifle to her other shoulder and said, "It's dangerous outside of school. The atmosphere is not good these days. You and your sister should just text."
"It's very dangerous to leave the safe zone. The power leaking from the Abyss Well has been increasing recently. Tell your sister not to get too close to the campus."
Is it really that exaggerated? Is the atmosphere near the university town bad?
Chen Xiao'er opened her mouth slightly, not knowing how to convince the stern-looking security guard.
Fortunately, Lin Lang rushed over, patted her on the shoulder, and said to the security lady, "I'll go with her. I'm good at fighting."
The security guard glanced at Lin Lang, his gaze lingering for a moment as he saw her wrist and waist. He then nodded at them and opened the door. "Come back soon. I've memorized your numbers."
"Thank you~" Lin Lang held Xiao'er's hand, and the two of them walked out of the school gate briskly and into the bright sky.
…
The sun shone warmly on her face. Xiao Ai relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief: "The air outside——"
She stopped mid-sentence as the United City finally revealed its true form before their eyes.
A wide, clean tarmac road, like a cake knife in the hands of a chef, divides Taoli University from the rest of the United City.
Behind her was a large park that was bright and clean, full of modern atmosphere and even looked forward to the future. But in front of her was only a dilapidated and bumpy alley that was even worse than the one on Blue Star in the 1970s and 1980s.
Calling it an urban village is an understatement, it is clearly a slum in a documentary!
The rolling shutters seen at night turned out to be part of the house. Most of the buildings were simply stacked with wooden boards and metal sheets, and some even had only a piece of waterproof cloth on the roof.
It wouldn't even take a magnitude-two earthquake. If she just held onto the concrete pillar and shook it a few times, the electric pole next to it would fall down along with her.
The only thing worth mentioning is the sanitary conditions.
Even though the road was full of potholes and the manhole covers were half broken and blocked with khaki tape, at least there was no suspicious sewage to be seen.
The residents who got up in the morning to wash and hang clothes were quite neat, but they were a bit thin and seemed a little malnourished.
"How could there be such a place next to the school in United City?" After a brief shock, Chen Xiao'er bit her lip angrily.
Referring to the brochure and online map, Taoli University is clearly located in the city center of United City.
Even the old town near the city center shouldn't be so dilapidated, right? If you didn't know, you would think there was a war here every few days.
"It's like this everywhere. It's very common."
Lin Lang raised her head calmly. She didn't want to deceive her friend.
"Impossible, Changhe City is not like this!"
Chen Xiao'er clenched her fists excitedly, and then hurriedly put them down the next second.
The anger on her face disappeared temporarily, and then she slowly revealed an expression of surprise: "Sister Lan!"
Lin Lang followed her gaze and saw two residents walking by, but neither of them was worthy of the title Sister Lan.
She saw Chen Xiao'er take out a sandwich from her bag, run across the asphalt road, and into the narrow alley. Then she stopped halfway and smiled sweetly towards the front.
There was no one in front of her.
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