Chapter 2624: Third-Class Residents
Looking at the figure in the heavy rain, both the execution squad and the anti-government alliance members suppressed their urge to act, all eyes turning in that direction.
Xu Huo did not close his umbrella but stood in the rain and asked, "There should be a city near the station, Apricot Flower City."
Several players on the execution squad exchanged glances, and the captain said, "Apricot Flower City was destroyed a month ago. If you go three times the distance ahead, you'll reach Cloud Pass City, the nearest city to the station."
Destroyed? That wasn't simply destroyed. The location of Apricot Flower City on the map had turned into a desert, with no trace of the city left.
Without asking further, Xu Huo thanked them and activated a Space Teleportation Item, heading straight for Cloud Pass City.
On the map he had purchased, Apricot Flower City was a large tourist city near the station, famous for being perpetually covered in apricot blossoms. Cloud Pass City, on the other hand, was originally marked as Cloud Pass Village on the map, an obscure little place.
But when he arrived, he found that Cloud Pass Village's scale had already caught up with a first-tier metropolis in Zone 014. From a distance, towering buildings stood in rows, with aircraft occasionally sweeping across the sky above the city. Holographic advertisements occupied the high altitudes, alternating between mechanical modifications and erotic entertainment, their dazzling radiance shrouding the entire ground.
Checkpoints were set up at the city's outer edge. Everyone entering the city, whether ordinary residents or players, had to undergo inspection. A transparent bubble-like barrier enveloping the city blocked all possibilities of entry through unofficial channels.
Three queues stretched very long. As Xu Huo walked toward the end of the line, many ordinary people were also approaching on foot nearby, most of them with families in tow, their spirits listless. Facing the city ahead, their expressions were numb, completely devoid of anticipation for a new place to live.
These people actively avoided the players queuing up, keeping their distance. From snippets of conversation, Xu Huo learned they were all residents of Apricot Flower City. After losing their homes, they had no choice but to leave their homeland. Those who left early had already entered Cloud Pass City. Those unwilling to enter the city had hidden in the nearby woods, but with no food or drink in the woods, they had held out for a month and now had no choice but to enter the city.
"Why are they unwilling to enter Cloud Pass City?" someone nearby asked other people in line with confusion.
Someone in the queue answered, "They should be second-class residents of Apricot Flower City, without much property. Here, changing your place of residence requires paying a lodging fee. The more you pay, the better the treatment. First-class and second-class residents can live in good places and good houses. Third-class residents can only live in unrenovated areas—old, dirty, and smelly—and they're also responsible for all the dirty work in the entire city. If they can't afford the fee, original second-class residents can only become third-class residents. They probably don't want to live as third-class residents, which is why they held out outside the city for so long."
"But they have no other survival skills. If they don't enter the city, what else can they do?" The speaker tossed a few bread rolls to that group. Immediately, several adults in the line lunged out, snatched the bread rolls messily, and returned to their families, silently feeding the small children.
Logically, given Cloud Pass City's scale and level of development, there should be no need to divide people into classes. But this district's resources were not very abundant, and wars were frequent. The powerful naturally seized the vast majority of resources, leaving the rest impossible to distribute fairly. So they were used as bait to keep the nation running.
"I want to be a player too," a child in the back said, watching the players ahead in line pay only a small toll to get their passes, their eyes full of envy and longing. "If I become a player, we can all eat well and dress well!"
His parents, with bitterness, encouraged him with a few words, then fell back into silence.
"Welcome to Cloud Pass City." The player at the checkpoint handed Xu Huo a communication terminal. "This terminal is provided free of charge for players from other zones, but it must be returned when you leave Cloud Pass City. Damage or loss requires compensation."
Xu Huo nodded, passed through the checkpoint, and entered the city. The local residents who came in behind him boarded vehicles already parked nearby. Along the defense barrier, there was a separate, isolated road. Those who couldn't afford enough lodging fees didn't even get a chance to set foot in the prosperous city before being sent to where they belonged.
Declining several automated taxis that came to solicit him, he activated the terminal and walked along the street.
The terminal device could connect to the network, but this was likely a neutered version. The Message Collection Terminal couldn't find any more information about Apricot Flower City. He casually found a ground terminal to browse, but there were only rumors about Apricot Flower City being leveled. There was no official announcement, no clarity on how the city was destroyed, and no one even discussed which forces were involved in the destruction.
It seemed information management in this district was very strict. The maps bought on Under Dimension might not be real or comprehensive.
After walking a short distance, a holographic message popped up on the street ahead, advertising the recruitment of personnel for the war zone. It listed the positions needed, main job content, and salary benefits, but no pedestrians paid it any attention.
As Xu Huo passed by, only a face at the entrance of a sewer looked up to read the information.
The person quickly lowered their head upon meeting his gaze, touched the third-class resident wristband on their wrist, and took their tools away through a nearby passage.
"Third-class residents can't come to the surface during the day," an old man sitting across the way, enjoying the shade, said. "Don't talk to them. If the execution squad finds them talking to players from other zones and slacking off, they'll be punished afterward."
The old man seemed just to want to talk, not caring whether Xu Huo replied. "Lucky for me, I'm old and won't live much longer. Otherwise, who knows when Cloud Pass City might disappear, and I still couldn't afford the lodging fee... A lifetime of savings, all emptied in one go. Now I have to think twice just to eat meat. The government never intended for us ordinary people to live well. Batch after batch of third-class residents, all sent to fill the war zones."
As he spoke, his gaze fixed on a certain spot diagonally ahead, and he picked up his chair and slipped into a nearby alley.
Two players came up ahead of Xu Huo. They wore the hyena badge of the execution squad, glanced at him, and walked past.
This city, with its towering buildings and clean streets, appeared prosperous. But in reality, both the execution squad on patrol and the residents were on edge. Although erotic advertisements could be seen anytime, even during the day, more people stayed indoors, and pedestrians hurried along, unwilling to linger outside.
Xu Huo didn't ask anyone for directions but headed toward the city center. As he crossed an intersection, a timid young woman cautiously looked around before hurrying over from the opposite side. As they passed each other, a round stone suddenly flew from behind, aimed straight at her forehead!