The night wind was a bit cold, and the wind flowed into the suspended car, blowing Heshia's hair. She sat alone in the back seat, resting her head on the side of her hand, thinking about what happened just now.
Heshia has never been fond of a fringe member of society like Qiao Long. If it weren't for her special talent that made her sure that the other party was not lying, she would never have agreed.
Accepting an invitation from a stranger or even an enemy to go to a dangerous area is never a wise move.
But because of the singer's talent, and the perception of the soul's attunement, Qiao Long's anxious and regretful emotions were conveyed to her, making her hesitate a little. Do she really want to refuse and then sit back and watch a life pass away?
It was something she had seen before.
She stood in the corridor and thought for a minute. If she refused this time, it would not be her fault, but she would still feel a little regretful and sad.
What a soft-hearted person, like a fool, Heshia thought to herself.
But if everyone lives so smartly and profitably, it will be very tiring. She just obeys the feeling in her heart and does what she wants to do. If even this has to be distorted, then what is the purpose of all her efforts?
.
After experiencing many changes in life, Hesia has long seen the truth of life clearly, and she no longer values many things that outsiders care about so much.
"I can't escape this right feeling"
Although she didn't like Qiao Long, she didn't want to go against her true feelings when it came to saving people.
After clearing her thoughts, the girl felt inexplicably lighter inside, as if some mental barrier had been broken.
"What happened to you tonight?" she said suddenly.
"I'm sorry, Miss, I didn't make it clear to you before." Qiao Long responded promptly from the front row.
"It's not a fight or fight between lower-level gangs. I'd be embarrassed to disturb your life like that. This time we encountered a special situation. The opponent is not a normal human being. He is just like the master before, losing his mind and out of control like a wild beast.
"
"Are there many cases like this?" Hesia originally thought that only a few people encountered the same situation as herself, but according to Qiao Long's description, it seemed that this was not the case.
"Although the underground world was very complicated in the past, and many people went to extremes in pursuit of improving their strength, but generally speaking, it was still for desire or ambition, and they would not be stupid enough to make themselves crazy. That would be no different from death."
"But this time it affected a wide range. It seemed that suddenly, there was a group of people in the underground world. They attacked people like mad dogs and made a mess."
"Does the Federation not care about this situation?" The girl was puzzled.
"The federal government will take care of the residential areas above the 70th floor, while some of my companions stay in the world below the 70th floor. That is a place that the Star Network cannot reach. It is very harsh and chaotic."
"Why is it there?"
"Because most of them do not have normal identities, as you might imagine, many of them are scum, gangsters, and fugitives. But there are also people who are stranded underground for some historical reasons."
"In the corridors of your residential area, you should still see some protest slogans from the past." Qiao Long suddenly mentioned this.
"You know, what are those?" Hesia vaguely realized in her heart.
"Yes, serious protests broke out in Payin City or in various northern districts before. At that time, the conflict between residents and the government reached such a serious level that the federal government even had to mobilize troops from the south to suppress it."
"The decline of the Four-leaf Crystal Star Territory has led to many social problems. Welfare has been continuously cut, and life at the bottom has become increasingly difficult. However, a small number of people in the upper class are not affected. This has led to deeper and deeper resentments, and finally broke out."
"People smashed government facilities, destroyed surveillance, robbed supermarkets, etc. In the chaos, order gradually collapsed."
"My master was expelled from school because of his involvement in this incident, and serious records were left on his files. As a result, he could no longer study in major colleges, and it was even difficult to find a job. From a highly anticipated genius,
Reduced to jobless vagrants in lower-class residential areas.”
"Under the threat of the government's troops and soft tactics, the turmoil gradually subsided, and many people were pardoned. However, a small number of core elements in the conflict were expelled, or had serious records in their files, and were displaced and had no choice but to flee to
In the underground world, we work together to survive.”
"They also have children and descendants, but these children do not have federal resident ID cards and can only live there their entire lives."
"My little brother Blue, the one you think is very fat and tall is him. He was born like this."
"He has been following me for several years, from the age of 15 to now, from being black and thin as a child to being white and fat now. Later, I spent money to get him an identity at the police station, so that he can enter and exit some federal facilities normally.
Already."
"Although such files are not strong enough to withstand deep investigation, compared to those brothers and sisters in the underground, they are already treated very well and can even receive free relief meals every month."
"Relief meal..." Hesia fell into deep thought.
She has eaten that kind of food before. To be honest, it tastes very bad. It is made by mixing artificial protein powder and other nutrients into starch, then mixing it evenly and then compressing and sealing it. It needs to be soaked in hot water to eat, otherwise it will be difficult to swallow.
pharynx.
Except beggars and people who really can't walk, no one will get this kind of food.
But even so, such food is rare hard currency for the underground world.
Because there is no star network and various facilities and terminals, electronic federal coins cannot be used in the underground world, and most of them rely on bartering.
"What do people in the underground world usually eat?" the girl continued to ask.
"Eat garbage." Jolon replied.
Payin City is an industrial city and there are many food production plants. After producing T5\T6 food, there will also be a lot of substandard products and wasted raw material residues. Although normal people will not want this garbage, it is not good for the underground.
It is an important product of maintaining the world.
Every year, underground gangs fight and kill each other for these 'trash'. The large number of deaths of normal federal residents will attract the attention of the management AI, but life in the underground world is not valuable. Three T6-level standard packages can make a gangster...
You kill people.
"Do the government and police know about these situations?"
"I definitely know, but maybe I don't know it carefully." Qiao Long shook his head slightly.
"As long as we maintain a certain level of peace and order and do not disturb the lives of urban residents above the 70th floor, they will not bother to care about us sewer rats."
"Sometimes we also help the police deal with some inconvenient things, such as finding people to find lost items, knocking on certain companies, etc."
"Some companies are very good at legal affairs and will seek a large amount of profits for themselves within a 'reasonable' range, then walk away and then leave the remaining problems to the government. When it is inconvenient for these governments and police to take action, we will be needed."
"
"well……"
The girl sighed softly, not wanting to comment on such a dark and real world.
"Let's talk about tonight's situation." She turned to ask about the specific matters tonight.
"Okay, what happened tonight is mainly related to the blocked D390 industrial zone. There is a milk factory there, and it is also the place where we often receive 'garbage'..." Qiao Long began to talk about this time caused by the milk factory,
Then chaos spread.
…
"In other words, everyone who drank their milk had changes tonight?" The girl organized her thoughts.
"Yes, because it is milk that is about to expire or has expired. It cannot be stored anymore. It will be consumed quickly after being transported to the underground world."
"Didn't you check it? Oh, I was wrong." The girl shook her head. She had to live on garbage and expired food, so why would she check the taste and safety?
"There is no inspection, because this is how we came here before." Qiao Long replied, and then continued.
"When they first drank it, some people said they felt their body was full of power and had an inexplicable excitement. Then many people responded with the same thing, so more people tried it."
"Everyone thought that what we encountered today was a batch of excellent defective products, that is, T4-level food that was eliminated. T4-level food has certain extraordinary effects, even if it is expired and damaged. It is normal that it will bring a feeling of strength."
"In this way, the situation slowly changed during the fight. Some people became more and more excited and began to fight. The impact expanded until it finally became uncontrollable. Those who drank the milk became like lunatics.
Became a loser..."
"The above is all the information I know. I hope it can give the eldest lady some help."
"Well, actually there is no need to call me eldest lady."
Heshia suddenly realized that Qiao Long's title was wrong. This was the first time he had said this tonight. She had been thinking about something before and didn't pay attention.
"I'm just an ordinary student, and you probably know my family situation well," Hesia denied.
"It has nothing to do with your family background. You are willing to take the risk to come to the underground world to save my companions. Out of respect and gratitude for your character, I am willing to call you Miss."
"I'm very sorry for what happened before. It was my mistake. I am willing to accept any punishment you have in the future. If you can use me, you can use me as you like."
"It's too humble to be a servant." The girl shook her head.
"But maybe, I do have something I need you to help me find out about..." She thought of her father who had been missing for nearly a year.
I don’t know what happened to him and why he suddenly said goodbye and left home.
The secrets of the past are still waiting for her to be revealed step by step.