Chapter 1954: The Value of an Inspector's Identity
It was inconvenient to talk outside, so the middle-aged woman didn't say much. When the city bus passed through a relatively dense residential area, the two got off.
This area should be a stronghold of the Rebel Army. As Xu Huo got off the bus with the woman, three gazes from different directions fell on him. Two of them quickly moved away, but one person in the nearest building facing the street kept their attention fixed on him.
This was different from the curious glances of nearby residents seeing a passerby.
This residential area was located in the southeast part of the East District, still a considerable distance from the city center. The architectural style was similar to what he had seen when he first exited Gate No. 3. The main structure of the buildings was made of special glass, with metal partitions between floors. It was daytime now, and many people had chosen to turn off the shading effect of the walls, so everywhere he looked, there were scenes of domestic life.
"Don't you people have to work?" Xu Huo asked.
"Of course we have to work," the middle-aged woman said with a smile. "But the East District implements a half-day work system. You can choose either the morning or the afternoon shift."
Although the technological development in the East District was decent, it hadn't yet reached the point where the entire society was fully mechanized. Unlike the high-welfare, stress-free living environment of the district where the Ember Maiden instance was located, the people living here still needed to work. Welfare only covered the most basic meals, and other high-consumption expenses were unaffordable. However, the wages were not low.
As they passed by the street, Xu Huo saw some job postings.
Chefs, designers, teachers, and emotional guidance counselors were the most common. There were also some home repair workers, artisans, or cleaning staff.
The lower floors were all shops. On the way, the middle-aged woman encountered two neighbors and chatted enthusiastically with them for a bit. After learning about fresh vegetables on sale at the market, she took Xu Huo, her newly arrived "distant relative," to buy ingredients for lunch.
The market in the East District was essentially a large supermarket. The staff inside were all robots. The variety of food was complete and fresh. Although the prices were high, the East District residents could still afford them. Because of the flexible working hours, there were quite a few people in the market at this time.
After asking Xu Huo if he could cook, the middle-aged woman bought two days' worth of ingredients.
Her apartment was right in the middle of the residential building. After closing the door, she first activated the shading effect to block the view between the inside and outside. Then she took a detection device from the cabinet, easily pried off its cover, removed the chip inside, and replaced it with her own. Only then did she activate it to inspect the house. After confirming there were no dangerous items, her expression turned serious. She solemnly said to Xu Huo, "First of all, thank you for your support to the Rebel Army. The Rebel Army will remember this kindness."
"Also, if you want to stay and live in the East District, we can try to arrange a job for you until you can live stably."
"I no longer have an identity in the West District," Xu Huo said. "Your people took my place and went to the training base. No matter what he plans to do, my identity will eventually be invalidated. I can't go back to the West District. I can only stay here."
"I don't have an identity in the East District either."
The middle-aged woman said, "The East District isn't as good as you think. Staying here doesn't mean safety either."
"But I know you won't believe me now. You'll understand after you stay for a few days."
Xu Huo sat down at the dining table, looking anxious. "Anyway, I can't go back to the West District. Even if the East District is bad, it can't be so bad that I can't get a meal, right? And it's not like someone will just jump out of an alley and stab me..."
The middle-aged woman observed him carefully. After a moment, she comforted him, "Don't worry. You've done the Rebel Army a favor. We will definitely find a way to settle you. If you decide to stay in the East District, we will get you a legal identity card no matter what."
Xu Huo nodded reluctantly. After a pause, he asked, "Can I ask where they went? Those inspectors?"
"Sorry, I don't know that either." The middle-aged woman took a bottle of drink from the groceries and pushed it in front of him. "This is a functional drink. It will help you calm down."
Xu Huo grabbed the bottle but didn't open it. He pressed further, "If they get discovered, will the Supervision Department trace it back to me?"
"Don't worry. They'll only think you were swapped out by us midway. Even if our person is exposed, they'll only get the news that you've been killed. You can call me Sister Yan." The middle-aged woman seemed unwilling to talk more with him. She turned on the holographic projection in the room to let him watch some shows and relax, then excused herself to cook and went into the kitchen.
The public programs were a way to learn about life in the East District. Xu Huo, acting as if he had never watched television before, scrolled through all the different signal channels. After he had roughly skimmed through them, he settled on a program about the nearby streets to understand the surrounding situation.
Before long, Sister Yan brought the food to the table. During the meal, she gave him two instructions.
First, she had to go to work in the afternoon, so she would leave him alone. He'd better not go out, to avoid revealing himself due to unfamiliarity with the East District's living environment.
Second, every once in a while, an automated aircraft would pass by on the street. If it suddenly scanned the interior of the house, he shouldn't panic. This was the city government randomly checking player identities. The mask he was currently using had a legal identity in the East District, but the prop mask had a time limit and couldn't be used indefinitely.
Xu Huo said he understood. He also asked for the operating methods of various devices in the house before finally feeling a bit more at ease. His demeanor became more composed, and he even proactively asked about the Cleanup Plan.
"If the East District people want to clean out all the West District people, will the West District people living in the East District be affected?"
"That's hard to say." Sister Yan said a few more words upon hearing this. "The city government and the Agor Corporation are selfish. Everything is driven by profit. If one day machines can replace all labor, maybe this city won't allow us to exist either."
"I can't go into more detail with you." She said meaningfully.
Xu Huo understood. After all, he wasn't one of them.
After the meal, Sister Yan cleaned up the dishes and left.
Xu Huo stayed alone in the house. He watched TV for a while and got bored. He tried out some of the interesting little devices in the room before finally going into the room Sister Yan had arranged for him to sleep.
Someone nearby had been watching him. This wasn't surprising. He wasn't a member of the Rebel Army, and he had seen their members. Even if the Rebel Army truly intended to keep their promise and arrange an identity and job for him, they would first need to confirm he wasn't someone who would betray them at any moment. Otherwise, it would be better to just kill him and be done with it.
Of course, the fact that a trained inspector surpassed ordinary people in physical fitness and reaction time was precisely where his value lay. (End of Chapter)