Chapter 2571: Easy to Get Beaten
This time, before the Painting Woman could make a move, the hand that reached out was caught by another diner waiting in line. The man raised his hand and slapped the half-grown youth across the face, pressing his head down to make him apologize to the Painting Woman, and scolded, "A grown person with hands and feet stealing things—if you really can't afford to eat, go register at the welfare office. Don't make us lose face!"
The half-grown youth, having been hit, mumbled an apology to the Painting Woman, and was then taken away by the enforcement team that arrived.
"Sorry about that, miss. Whatever you want to eat later, I'll cover it." The man who caught the thief apologized apologetically to the Painting Woman.
The Painting Woman tapped on her communicator, "Why did he steal? Is it really because he has no food to eat?"
The man was a bit embarrassed. In reality, the welfare in District 001 was quite good. Although most people in the district were straightforward and emphasized repaying kindness and enmity, leading to more orphans than in other districts, it was absolutely not to the point where children couldn't get food. In fact, by the time these kids were in their teens, they could already do some work within their ability (li suo neng ji). If they grew up in a welfare home, the staff would introduce them to some jobs to help them adapt to the environment. But with all kinds of people, there were always some children who were lazy and preferred taking shortcuts over honest work.
When such children were caught, the enforcement department wouldn't punish them too harshly—mostly just a few words of education before sending them back to the welfare home. Of course, it wasn't just welfare home kids who acted this way. Many children, during their growth, would do things that adults considered unacceptable because their values hadn't fully formed yet. But as long as it didn't cross absolute bottom lines, the entire district was still quite lenient with children. After all, if they refused to change their ways, society would teach them how to behave when they got a bit older.
This also had to do with District 001's educational philosophy. Although many people were stubbornly single-minded in their approach to time and interpersonal relationships, outside of that, they more or less had a mindset of letting children grow up on their own. Because in the overall environment of District 001, many children, through daily exposure and genetic inheritance, would naturally become like the people of District 001. If they couldn't, it proved that the child simply couldn't be taught well. And for those without moral bottom lines, sooner or later, someone else's moral bottom line would deal with them.
In District 001, many believed: "If I stand on the side of reason, I have nothing to fear. If the person opposite me is unreasonable, then someone else will come and have a proper 'talk' with them."
Goodness was cyclical.
When everyone could indiscriminately "reason" with each other, everyone adhered more to reason.
"Not fully grown yet, picked up bad habits," the man said quietly. "Someone will teach him later."
The Painting Woman asked again, "Can't they cut off his hands for stealing? If they cut off his hands, he can't steal anymore. If he wants to steal, he'd have to use his feet."
The man couldn't tell if she was joking or serious, so he didn't answer.
Fortunately, the line soon reached them. The Painting Woman bought quite a few things, and the man paid without complaint, even giving her a bottle of drink before leaving.
The Painting Woman carried the food out. While Xu Huo was setting it on the table, she was busy typing. By the time the food was all laid out, she pressed her communicator, "They weren't really hungry, so why did they want to steal my things?"
"Maybe because good things are something everyone wants," Xu Huo said. "We're all the same."
The Painting Woman thought about it seriously and felt that made sense. She grinned, "So they didn't need it, they just wanted it. Next time someone tries to steal from me, I'll cut off their hand. Their hand is very dexterous—I want it too."
"Once it's cut off, it won't be dexterous anymore." Xu Huo placed the chopsticks in front of her. "Eat."
The Painting Woman quickly put the little incident behind her and happily started eating.
The midday sun was just right. After eating, the two found a park to bask in the sun.
The park had strict opening hours. The management staff (guan li ren yuan) arrived on time at three in the afternoon to open the gate, and within a minute of opening, people who wanted to enter the park would arrive one after another, cleverly avoiding peak times. Without anyone queuing, everyone entered the park within ten minutes.
Xu Huo and the Painting Woman entered at the tail end, and after they came in, few locals arrived afterward—everyone had their time perfectly arranged.
The Painting Woman quickly started playing with the children in the park, while Xu Huo sat next to a group of old men watching them repair an old clock.
The sound of mechanical gears meshing and turning was very pleasant. After a while, a group of young students learning music laid out their instruments and began practicing. In the distance, there was the sound of children laughing as their parents lifted them high, and the cries of a kid who jumped into the water with a bare bottom and got a double-parent spanking...
A shadow fell over him. Xu Huo opened his eyes and met the Painting Woman's upside-down face.
Both sides were very patient; neither spoke.
After a moment, the Painting Woman's eyes went blank. She was very used to hanging on walls—no one could outlast her in a staring contest.
"Something wrong?" Xu Huo reached out and gently pushed her head aside.
"There's a dead body hanging over there." The Painting Woman pointed to a nearby grove of trees.
By now, the body had already been discovered by others in the park. It seemed this wasn't the first time a body had been found here. As the news spread, people playing in the park immediately packed up and left.
From the murmurs, Xu Huo learned that this park was the entrance to a random instance. But this instance was special: the next instance would only open when the body of the last person who entered the instance began to appear in the park.
The management staff (guan li ren yuan) walked around with instruments: "The Z11 Hanging Suicide Random Instance is about to open. Please, citizens playing here, leave as soon as possible. If you accidentally enter the random instance, the enforcement team will have difficulty rescuing you in time."
The people of District 001 were also impressive—they cursed and grumbled as they left, because this instance's opening time was estimated to be twenty minutes earlier than expected.
It was hard to describe their state, but that carefree, life-and-death-defying demeanor was deeply ingrained in their bones.
Xu Huo also followed the crowd out. Shortly after they left, the park gate closed, and then power fluctuations appeared inside. Soon, the enforcement team arrived to maintain order and record data, and the park was naturally sealed off.
"Not revering the law, not revering others, indifferent to others' lives, and indifferent to their own lives. This district does not conform to the normal course of human development."
As they turned to leave, a long-haired man who had been standing against the flow of people frowned and looked toward the park. He spoke these words, but his gaze didn't fall on anyone in particular.
Xu Huo took an extra look at him. At that moment, the man happened to turn around. Their eyes met, and the man nodded slightly in greeting before quickly walking away.
"What did his words mean?" The Painting Woman tilted her body, imitating the long-haired man's standing posture, then commented, "Sounds cool."
"It means he hasn't woken up yet." Xu Huo told her not to imitate him. "Easy to get beaten."