Chapter 77
Xiao Shengyun's brain short-circuited briefly after he got up, and he only realized where he was after looking around.
Perhaps because he had experienced too much these past few days, he slept very well last night. After the fatigue subsided, his body finally relaxed, and he rubbed his eyes in the morning sunlight.
It's 10 a.m., and I'm all alone. There's a note on my pillow—Go to the fighting arena.
The first character was written somewhat messily. Zhou Zhi probably only realized it was a message after he finished writing it. It was written too abstractly so that others couldn't understand it. The following characters were written very neatly.
Xiao Shengyun's first reaction was worry, but he belatedly realized that the other party was not a weakling. Compared to pollutants, Zhou Zhi's talent was a devastating blow to most polluters.
I just felt inexplicably abandoned.
Ugh, this is annoying.
He brushed his teeth with a blank expression and then knocked on the door next door.
Fan Huacheng must have woken up quite early and tidied himself up neatly. They had initially established a cooperative relationship last night, but out of caution, Fan Huacheng did not expose his teammates.
"Good morning, Brother Xiao. What can I do for you?" Fan Huacheng was receptive to the cooperation. He couldn't wander around outside now and relied entirely on Xiao Shengyun to gather information.
"We'll talk about that later." Xiao Shengyun only came here to make sure he wouldn't run away obediently. Right now, he himself was in a mess and didn't have any tasks.
Fortunately, Fan Huacheng was already used to playing support and didn't say anything more.
He arranged to meet Wang Tan the day before yesterday. The two met in a dense forest between the industrial area and the commercial street. Wang Tan didn't arrive until midnight.
She should have finished her work; she was wearing her uniform underneath, and her hair was tied up high.
"Thank you for the medicine. My mother's condition has improved a lot." Wang Tan seemed very happy today.
It should have been quite normal, but after being transformed into Fan Huacheng's words, it seems very strange.
There are no hospitals here, how can ordinary people give birth? The industrial area is full of ordinary people, won't they be polluted?
So Xiao Shengyun raised his own question.
"Yes, but we take medication regularly. In the past, we would start looking like adults around our teens, but recently the medication has been working a bit better," Wang Tan said vaguely.
That means this city has been in contact with the outside world recently, but how did these people manage to get their hands on antagonists?
The city lord has quite a lot of things to keep. This city has ordinary people, polluters, and even pollutants.
How much of those medicines can you get?
"Three per month."
That's a bit too little.
Xiao Shengyun then asked about the layout of the industrial zone, and Wang Tan explained in detail, even hand-drawing a floor plan.
He had expected some twists and turns, but the other party was incredibly frank.
"Aren't you afraid I might do something detrimental to this place?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
“Is anything worse than this? You’re from the outside world, can you tell me about the outside world?” Wang Tan said.
This city is a closed cage. The local residents are taught by the divine messengers from childhood. Outsiders must also visit the castle on the mountaintop. Mind control and pollution, guards and protective nets on the high walls, trap everyone in this city.
But Wang Tan was different. Her mother, or rather her adoptive mother, had stayed since the city was first established, and she knew what the outside world was like.
It's like a lucid person suddenly appearing in a group of zombies.
She dared not tell anyone. But the arrival of the outsider brought Wang Tan a glimmer of hope.
The industrial zone not only has antagonists but also nutrient solutions, which is exactly what Xiao Shengyun needs.
He traded medicines and daily necessities from outside with Wang Tan, who readily agreed.
We've seen the fighting zone, what's in the industrial zone?
Xiao Shengyun decided to go in with Wang Tan. At this time, everyone was working in the factory, and there weren't many people around.
Factories in the industrial zone produce a variety of goods, some of which are sold on the commercial street because the city lacks a complete industrial system. Other goods are sent out of the city to trade for other items.
The ordinary people here have no education. When they grow up, they will be sent to the assembly line to work twelve hours a day.
It's like a terrifying cycle.
Ordinary people have no choice but to work on the assembly line, because if they don't work, they won't have food.
The polluters were forced to go to the fighting arena in exchange for nutrient solution.
Pollutants are kept as feed and become raw materials for making nutrient solutions.
Every cycle holds true, but here all beings are equal, and every kind lives a life of great suffering.
If we really had to choose the best among the worst, then the polluters would have a slightly better life.
Xiao Shengyun even suspected that the city might feed on resentment, which was why it created such a city filled with suffering.
Xiao Shengyun followed Wang Tan into the industrial area. Wang Tan gave him her card, which allowed him to buy nutrient solution directly from the vending machine. She then hurriedly returned to her post, as she only had one hour for lunch break.
This card uses a different currency than the cards outside. There are over two thousand in the card, but a bottle of nutrient solution costs thirty.
This amount of over two thousand yuan represents Wang Tan's savings accumulated over more than a decade of work.
Twelve hours a day.
Xiao Shengyun bought ten bottles in one go and gave them to Zhou Zhi and Fan Huacheng.
Five days.
He's determined to tear this place down!
Next, Xiao Shengyun went to the place where the antagonist was distributed. Compared to the drab factory, this place was located in an exquisite house, which looked similar to the shops outside, with blue and white walls and clear glass windows.
Perhaps because I've lived here for so long, this house, which would be considered a slum outside, can be described as exquisite here.
There were people in front of the house, so he entered through the back window.
Crack—
An extremely faint sound rang out.
A bullet whizzed through the air and flew towards the small patch of shadow on the wall.
Xiao Shengyun hurriedly emerged from the wall, barely dodging the bullet.
"Who are you? This is not a place for polluters!" The woman was in her forties, with a deeply lined face and an extremely long scar running from her temple to the corner of her mouth.
She wasn't particularly beautiful, but her aura was extremely sharp, like the gun in her hand.
"Don't move. The guards are only a few dozen meters away." The woman held up a gun, and Xiao Shengyun realized that this might be her only way to save her life.
She lacks the talent for aggression.
It was just a verbal threat; she didn't actually call the guards. Under normal circumstances, if she had called the guards, Xiao Shengyun's only option would have been to kidnap her.
Is this person afraid of death?
Negotiating terms is better than resorting to violence at the slightest disagreement; he hasn't yet grasped the true situation here.
“Madam, I’m only here to pick up some medicine, I have no ill intentions.” He stood quietly in place.
"What do you need that for?" The woman did not lower her gun.
“My companions need help; they are contaminated and need treatment.”
“It’s incurable; this city is terminally ill.” The woman put down her gun.
That same phrase again.
Xiao Shengyun didn't say much. The woman was clearly of high status here, and he wasn't sure of her position.
How much medicine do you need?
Two.
"Take this and get out of here."
The woman took out two vials of medicine.
Xiao Shengyun took his things. There were too many people inside, so it wasn't convenient to meet with Wang Tan. Wang Tan said he could return the shopping card to him in a couple of days, so he went straight back to the residential area.
He delivered five bottles of nutrient solution to Fan Huacheng, who was not in danger of being harmed in the short term. Xiao Shengyun kept both antagonists for himself.
Zhou Zhi rushed back on the last bus. He must have been on the fighting ring, as his clothes were stained with a lot of blood.
Clang—
The first thing Zhou Zhi did upon entering the room was to drop the blood-stained dagger, and the second thing was to rush into the bathroom.
Xiao Shengyun sat on the table, never having seen him move so fast before.
She really is a germaphobe.
After Zhou Zhi came out, the two began to exchange information. Xiao Shengyun briefly explained the situation in the industrial zone and handed him a bottle of nutrient solution.
Zhou Zhi didn't rush to drink it, but instead focused his attention on the two antagonists.
He was the developer of this thing, so he knew it all too well.
"This is the third generation, produced two years ago." The packaging has a date on it, which is engraved and cannot be erased.
"However, according to what you said, even antagonists cannot guarantee that a person will not be contaminated for more than ten years. There is only one situation: some people have the talent to heal or purify."
Third-generation antagonists are defective; they can only reduce pollution, not eradicate it.
"It should be a purification-type talent. If that woman possesses this kind of talent, it might explain why the industrial zone is full of ordinary people. And judging from her age, she may have been here since the city was first built."
Xiao Shengyun deduced. But the other party didn't seem easy to talk to, and if he went in again, he might really get ganged up on and beaten.
Zhou Zhi played all day today, partly to earn his salary, and partly because he received some news—
“The top ten players each month have the opportunity to enter the mountain palace.”
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