Chapter 23: Shelter No. 9
“No residence either. Get out of here now.”
The hoarse-voiced man bared his fangs, pushing his thumb forward to release the safety catch on his metal firearm.
“Hey, what’s that in your hand?”
The hoarse-voiced man stared at Su Xiao’s fingers, where a small test tube was visible.
“Something that could save your life.”
Su Xiao tossed the test tube in his hand. The hoarse-voiced man immediately leaped back as the glass tube landed on the soft farmland.
“Drink it if you don’t want to die. The feeling of your organs being corroded isn’t pleasant, is it?”
“Do you think… that’s possible?”
The hoarse-voiced man sneered. Just as he was about to crush the glass tube under his foot, a sharp pain in his chest made him pause.
Su Xiao could diagnose and even cure Sha’s hidden ailments, let alone this man’s problem. His organs were being corroded by some kind of energy—the same energy he used in battle.
“Is it radial or spotted?”
Su Xiao snapped his fingers twice. The hoarse-voiced man turned his head away in annoyance.
“Spotted.”
The hoarse-voiced man pursed his lips. Within his left eye’s field of vision, there was indeed a black spot.
The metal firearm still aimed at Su Xiao, but the hoarse-voiced man had already bent down to pick up the test tube from the ground.
Picking up the tube, he used his thumb to pop off the cork and brought it to his nose to sniff.
“Die within a month from organ erosion, or drink it and take a gamble. Your choice.”
Su Xiao watched the hoarse-voiced man with interest.
“I choose to kill you first, you suspicious bastard.”
The hoarse-voiced man grinned, revealing a few yellow teeth.
A few seconds later, he dropped the smile and jerked his chin. A girl in a green grass cloak rose from the ground.
“If I die, shoot immediately.”
“Are you really going to drink that? Have you lost your mind?”
The green-cloaked girl was clearly surprised.
“Right now, living is worse than dying. If it weren’t too shameful to shoot myself under the chin, I’d have done it long ago.”
The hoarse-voiced man jumped into a livestock pen, grabbed a spotted cow, and forced some of the potion down its throat.
After waiting over ten minutes, the spotted cow didn’t die. Seeing this, the hoarse-voiced man ignored the cow saliva on the tube’s rim and gulped down the potion in several mouthfuls.
The hoarse-voiced man didn’t care about Su Xiao’s origins, nor did he much care whether the potion would kill him. The burning sensation in his chest was driving him mad. Over forty percent of the hunters in the shelter had similar problems, with no solution.
“Cough—”
The hoarse-voiced man felt a discomfort in his throat and began to cough dryly. Soon, he coughed up a large patch of blackened phlegm.
“Huff, huff, huff…”
The hoarse-voiced man gasped for air, tears and snot streaming down his face. The sensation was strange—like finally coughing out the sticky mucus clogging his organs. This relief made him want to lie down and sleep without a care. He hadn’t slept well for a month—no, a month and seventeen days. At most, he got three to four hours of sleep each night before the burning in his organs woke him.
“Broken Fang, hey, talk. How are you?”
The green-cloaked girl spoke, ready to fire at any moment.
The hoarse-voiced man wiped the saliva from his mouth, stood up from the ground, and walked over to Su Xiao.
“Doctor, please save my younger brother. If he recovers, I’ll be your dog from now on.”
“Woof (Not interested).”
Bubu Wang barked at the hoarse-voiced man, Broken Fang.
“Of course, no problem. Where is your brother?”
Su Xiao was in a good mood. Infiltrating Shelter No. 9 was much easier than he’d imagined. The supernaturals in this world suffered severe side effects when using their abilities—organ erosion from energy.
Su Xiao had initially thought Broken Fang’s condition was an isolated case, but when the man mentioned his brother suffering the same erosion, and the green-cloaked girl’s severely corroded liver, Su Xiao realized this was a common problem among the world’s supernaturals.
“Please, follow me.”
Broken Fang’s attitude had completely changed. This was the law of the jungle in Siren Star—those with ability were never refused anywhere.
Following Broken Fang, Su Xiao soon arrived at a vast slum. No wonder Baha had called it a slum. For several kilometers around, there were tents made of wooden planks. The better structures were made of rusted iron sheets.
Walking along a dirt road littered with garbage, Su Xiao saw people in front of the tents on both sides. Their clothes were tattered, their faces unwashed, and the calluses on their hands showed that the fields outside were cultivated by them.
Bang!
Blood splattered. A burly, potbellied butcher stood at a chopping block, splitting a skinned beast leg.
A few dirty-faced children stood nearby, staring unblinkingly at the chunks of raw meat.
“I’m always so merciful.”
The butcher tossed the cleaned bones toward the children, sparking a frantic scramble. This savage world had never been gentle to anyone.
“Doctor, not bad territory, huh?”
Broken Fang spoke, watching the children with interest. He had grown up like this—no, worse. He hadn’t met such a kind butcher.
“It can’t compare to big shelters like the Fire Skull Gang, but not many starve to death here. Being alive is good enough.”
Broken Fang described the harsh environment people endured with an indifferent tone.
“We’re here.”
Broken Fang stopped before a square concrete underground entrance. It was about ten meters wide and eight meters high, with a gentle slope. A cool breeze blew out from inside.
Entering the underground passage and descending over thirty meters, Su Xiao found a hidden world.
Passing through a giant metal door, Su Xiao saw an underground city. Most buildings were stone and concrete, with roads wide enough for vehicles. Huge light bulbs hung overhead. The power source was likely magnetic electricity—a pinnacle achievement of humanity before the great disaster.
Clearly, this was Shelter No. 9. The slums above were for laborers and sacrifices.
As for why Shelter No. 9 was built underground, it made perfect sense. After the disaster a century ago, how could humanity not learn from the lesson? It was an experience paid for with ten billion lives. On Siren Star, never live on the surface.
On the shelter’s ceiling, rows of metal pipes over two meters thick were neatly arranged—cooling devices. Even if the great disaster struck again, the underground temperature wouldn’t exceed 20°. Humanity wouldn’t yield to natural calamity a second time.
Giant exhaust fan blades turned. An off-road combat vehicle drove down the underground street, speeding past Su Xiao toward the shelter’s exit.
“Doctor, this way.”
Broken Fang dismissed the green-cloaked girl, stuffing a potato into her hand. He tilted his head, signaling Su Xiao to follow him first.
“Call me Alchemist. Holy Flame Alchemist.”
“Alright, Doctor—ah, spit—Alchemist.”
Broken Fang suddenly slapped himself. Though scrawny, he was a ruthless man, even hitting himself when angry.
After half an hour of walking through the underground shelter, Su Xiao reached Broken Fang’s residence. The shelter was much larger than expected.
Bang, bang, bang.
Broken Fang pounded on his own door.
“Open up, you bastard.”
Broken Fang’s face showed anger. Clearly, he wasn’t kind to his younger brother. Yet, despite that, he risked execution by the leader to hide Su Xiao’s abilities. He knew that if it became public, whether his brother would get treated was uncertain.
The heavily chipped iron door opened. A gloomy-eyed youth stood inside, lifeless.
“You’re still not dead?”
The sullen youth spoke, turning to sit on a mechanical exoskeleton.
“If you’re not dead, how could I die?”
Broken Fang sneered.
“I’ve got bad news,” Broken Fang said, entering his shabby home and grabbing a jug to chug water. A wooden table nearby was covered in metal parts.
“What?”
The sullen youth looked up at Broken Fang.
“You don’t have to die. But I will.”
After drinking his fill, Broken Fang let out a long sigh.
“…”
The sullen youth was stunned for a moment. The next second, he rushed forward, grabbing Broken Fang’s collar and growling, “What the hell are you talking about?”
The sullen youth’s face trembled. He knew his brother never joked.
“We have twelve days of food left. After I die, don’t hate anyone. Otherwise, you won’t live long either.”
As he spoke, Broken Fang knelt on one knee before Su Xiao, raising his metal firearm.
“Mr. Alchemist, please. Save my brother now. Save him immediately.”
Su Xiao looked at Broken Fang, then at the sullen youth. The situation was getting more and more interesting.
Bang!
The iron door was smashed open, landing twisted. A bloodied figure was thrown into the room—the green-cloaked girl from before.
“This gentleman, our leader invites you.”
A burly man, at least two meters tall, wearing a mechanical exoskeleton on his upper body, stepped into the room.