Two Worlds

"It really got dark..."

Looking up at the dark outline of the Floating City blotting out the starry sky, Su Shijie could not help muttering.

"Dad, how do we get up there? Is Prosperous Market down below?"

"Yeah, you could say it gradually formed into a market on its own. With the Floating City protecting it, nothing major usually happens."

Su Ren's answer clearly implied that minor problems were still common below.

The buildings beneath the Floating City looked as though they had been haphazardly pieced together from plastic panels and plasterboard. There were no outer walls, only a crude ring of barbed wire.

There were no guards at the entrance either.

Yet despite it already being night, the entire market was still brightly lit and bustling with voices.

"Once the market reached a certain scale, the Floating City sent people down to collect land-use fees and maintain basic order. But overall, the order here is still less complete than in a shelter.

"Even if someone goes missing, as long as there's no corpse, then nothing happened. The relatively safe area here is actually the black market."

Su Ren gave a brief warning, but Su Shijie immediately caught the underlying issue.

Although it lay right beneath the Floating City, it seemed like they were two entirely different worlds.

"The Floating City has lift platforms, elevators, and lift shafts. Those with money can also register their aircraft and fly directly in. The lift platforms stop operating at night, but we can take the elevator."

The lift platforms were essentially the Floating City's buses, moving up and down at regular intervals and carrying many people and vehicles each trip.

However, entering the city required a fee of 30 Credit Points, and the Floating City did not permit people to sleep on the streets. If one did not want to pay for lodging, they either had to come back down before nightfall or find somewhere like an entertainment venue to stay.

"Awakened Rank individuals registered within the city are exempt from the entry fee. And once the platforms stop operating, those at Awakened Rank or above can enter by elevator. You haven't registered yet, but I can bring two people in.

"Of course, the most privileged class in the city is still the bloodline members of the City Lord's Mansion, along with others who possess bloodline ranks. Many of them even have immunity from prosecution."

With Su Ren's simple explanation, Su Shijie vaguely came to understand the alternative rules of the Floating City.

Money made you king. A high evolution rank made you king. A high bloodline rank made you even more of a king.

A Floating City steeped in extravagance, a Floating City with rigid class divisions...

Even beneath the Floating City, his lousy Personal Terminal could connect to the network signal and perform basic cloud operations.

"Come on, sir, have some fun..."

"The convoy to Binhai City tomorrow only has three spots left! Those who want in, hurry up."

"Fresh high-grade Spirit Beast meat! If it isn't fresh, you don't pay."

"..."

Once they entered the market, all sorts of voices filled their ears, while stalls and shops lined both sides of the street.

It was a dazzling array of everything imaginable.

Su Ren quickly found a shop and dealt with the Spirit Beast materials they had gathered during their hunt, handling the transaction with great familiarity.

"The things outside are just small-time business. This place also has the largest black market in the area. We can look around when we come back. For now, let's head up and find somewhere to stay."

Since they were not short on lodging money, there was naturally no reason to make themselves suffer.

As for why the black market was located below, that was only natural. Putting it inside the city would have been a little too disrespectful.

Su Shijie and Su Ren had come in from outside at night. They wore Combat Suits and had guns at their waists. Even though Su Ren looked disabled, no one dared provoke them.

Even here, some people recognized Su Ren. After all, his disabled appearance was quite distinctive.

Following Su Ren through the market, they soon arrived at a place resembling an elevator entrance. It was a shaft that hung directly down from the Floating City.

This elevator entrance was completely different from the rest of the area. There were no stalls within a ten-meter radius. The elevator had no guards, but the cameras and firing platforms above the entrance were enough to keep the people here from causing trouble.

Su Ren led Su Shijie over, then raised his Personal Terminal and scanned it at the elevator entrance.

"Welcome, Instructor Su Ren, C-1 Class. Please place your weapons in the storage slot and collect your number tag."

The elevator doors opened along with the pleasant welcome message. Su Ren then had Su Shijie scan his terminal to confirm his identity, after which they placed their weapons into an opening inside the elevator that resembled a trash chute.

The weapons would be transported separately to the storage area, and they could retrieve them with their number tags when they came out.

Well, while scanning and locking systems had issues with Spiritual Creatures, weapons could still be detected without fail. The elevator would not depart until all weapons had been deposited.

This also showed that Mechanists had their own limitations.

Perhaps there were highly concealed technological weapons... uh, but they were expensive...

"Once you reach Awakened Rank, you can become C-3 Class by completing certification in the city. Then you'll be free to enter and leave. The certification is simple. I'll take you there tomorrow."

Once the weapons were stored, the elevator started quickly, shooting upward with a whoosh.

The view outside rose continuously, looking down over the market below.

Su Ren had barely said a few words before they reached their destination.

The two emerged from an exit resembling a phone booth and stepped into the flourishing metropolis.

The streets were crowded with people, but unlike the chaos of the market below, they exuded the prosperity of a major city.

Moreover, among the passing crowds, only a tiny fraction wore Combat Suits. Most were fashionable, attractive urban men and women.

From the ground to the sky, all kinds of four-wheeled vehicles and hovering cars streamed endlessly along the streets. Railcars hanging in midair sped past with only the roar of rushing air, without the slightest vibration.

Advertisements projected in every imaginable form of 3D covered the buildings, lending the city a dazzling, kaleidoscopic splendor.

This was what a city in this world was supposed to be.

This was the proper way to experience human civilization.

Only after arriving here did Su Shijie truly experience the brilliance of the future world.

Compared to the residential district converted from the civil-defense parking garage where his family lived—even compared to the shelter—the gap was simply too vast. They were like two entirely different worlds.

The people coming and going here showed no trace of the pressure of daily life, nor any sign of threats from the outside world.

There was only the leisure of enjoying life with ease.

Su Shijie quietly observed his surroundings, feeling somewhat out of place here, with an indescribable sense of distance.

Even though, in theory, this was clearly the place better suited to him...

It was not until every outdoor 3D advertisement switched over to display a seductive, gorgeous beauty that Su Shijie snapped back to his senses.

Huh? My third wife?

Oh, no, it was Nan Mingxi...

This woman, the very pinnacle of pure yet seductive beauty, with top-tier looks and figure, was a famous idol.

Su Shijie had seen her online before. Then, in the game, he had spent a great deal of effort obtaining a face-customization card and used it to make a prospective wife—whose background, personality, and character setting were very similar to Nan Mingxi's—look like her.

It was quite memorable...

Actually, if he were not afraid of being sued, Su Shijie felt that if he put this face-customization data up for sale and charged a thousand in copyright fees per copy, he might earn even more than he had made over all these years.

After realizing she was a real person, the worldly desire that had just risen in Su Shijie's heart gradually faded again.

Heh~

Nan Mingxi was nothing more than someone who happened to share his third wife's appearance. She was merely an idol from the entertainment industry—how could she compare with his third wife, whose character setting was practically perfect?

What a waste of that face and figure.

Just like the outside world and this city, they belonged to two different worlds...

Knowing that this was Su Shijie's first time entering the city, Su Ren deliberately waited for him to take it all in.

However, when he noticed Su Shijie's gaze gradually becoming strange, he still interrupted his thoughts.

"For convenience tomorrow, let's stay at the Kaiming Hotel beside the administrative building. The environment is pretty good."

"Whatever you decide, Dad."

After seeing Su Shijie agree, Su Ren raised his Personal Terminal and swiped across it a few times.

Now that it had a network connection, this brick-like thing had quite a few more functions.

Booking a room was basic stuff.

Even the robots that occasionally passed along the sidewalk cleaning up trash could handle tasks like booking a hotel...