After about half an hour of climbing, the carriage finally left the treacherous mountain road.
The wheels rolled onto a broad avenue paved with stone blocks, which would lead them toward Zion City.
What was worth noting was,
Black lamp posts stood at equal intervals along both sides of the road. They were not kerosene lamps, but electric lights.
There are actually electric lights here?
Ever since arriving in this world, Yi Chen had been curious about the era he was in.
The wooden cabin in the cemetery had an old-fashioned telephone, which could only contact the Administrator. Aside from that, there had been no other electrical appliances... This led Yi Chen to speculate that this world was not far removed from the era following the Second Industrial Revolution.
But after leaving the cemetery,
he had not seen any electrical equipment in the outside world,
and people all used kerosene lamps and candles for light.
Even the vehicles sent by the organization were carriages rather than automobiles powered by internal-combustion engines.
This made Yi Chen even more confused.
Now, electrical facilities had appeared once again along the road to Zion City, leaving him unable to understand what was going on.
Could it be that, because of the illnessification, some backward regions failed to keep up with development and remained in the era before the Industrial Revolution? That doesn't make sense either. If they had remained there, the telephone shouldn't have appeared in the cemetery.
Could the Administrator have brought the telephone over from the organization?
The Gray Domains.
Little Grape suddenly cut into Yi Chen's thoughts and offered a keyword.
What do you mean?
Based on the memories fused together in my mind,
the humans here had once entered an electrical age for a period of time, replacing steam power with electricity, which was extraordinarily efficient and convenient... Unfortunately, under the influence of illnessification, electric power was unable to develop comprehensively before it was "divided and restricted."
Because Gray Domains were spread throughout the world, they were constantly expanding and breeding.
Any substance within a Gray Domain would be affected, and electricity was no exception.
When electrical wires passed through a Gray Domain, the current flowing through them would be affected and transform into a medium for illnessification.
Light bulbs illuminated by the current would affect an individual's skin through light radiation.
Telephones that had been affected would emit strange static and whispers through their receivers, gradually influencing people's thoughts.
Televisions might even display some blurry, bizarre images, spreading illnessification through vision.
Therefore,
the development of electric power was completely suppressed, and human technology was forced to retreat to the Steam Age.
However, in some relatively safe large cities, such as Zion City, where you are about to arrive, there would inevitably be power plants within the city to maintain its electricity supply and preserve the development of related technologies.
That's more or less how it is.*
Even electrical currents are affected by illnessification? What exactly is this so-called illness, and where did it originate?
My memories are incomplete, so I can't answer that... Besides, even among you humans, I'm afraid no one can answer it. In the future, you should gradually come to understand it through exploration and the pursuit of knowledge.
Just as Yi Chen's doubts multiplied and he was about to continue talking with Little Grape,
the carriage came to a stop.
Edmund's voice came from outside:
"Mr. William, don't doze off~ We've arrived at Zion City.
Next comes the crucial assessment, evaluation, and award ceremony. It concerns whether we can officially join the organization, as well as the benefits we'll receive afterward."
"Okay."
After stepping down from the carriage, Yi Chen did not see the city gate he had expected.
Instead, two pitch-black, towering Gothic towers with pointed roofs stood before him, their surfaces etched with vertical ribs.
Between the towers was a narrow, cramped, and dark passage.
This was also the only road leading into the city.
On either side of the towers stretched unbroken black walls, dominated by pointed roofs and vertical structures.
Statues resembling gargoyles were set at regular intervals along the tops of the walls, adding another layer of gloom to the already dark outer structure.
Rather than the outer walls of a city, they resembled Gothic fortifications with military characteristics.
"William, come on!
We still have to pass through this passage, which is used for isolation, inspection, and purification, before we can officially enter Zion City."
"Mm."
There were nineteen examinees sent here in total.
Everyone entered the narrow passage between the towers in relatively orderly lines.
The passage used a barrel vault and a ribbed arch framework, while wall lamps with classical decorations were installed on the surfaces of the vertical columns on both sides.
They had not gone far.
A man dressed as a gentleman, holding a hooked walking stick and wearing a white mask, blocked their path.
Dark passageways appeared in the walls on either side of him.
A mature, deep voice came from beneath the mask:
"I am very pleased that so many newcomers passed this difficult assessment.
However, before setting foot in Zion, you must undergo a thorough bodily decontamination.
Men to the right.
Women to the left.
Once you reach the decontamination chamber, please remove all your clothing as quickly as possible.
If, after decontamination, your bodies are still found to contain illnessifying substances exceeding the permitted limit, or if you display symptoms of infection, you will be directly eliminated."
Yi Chen followed at the rear of the men's line and arrived in a sealed room.
The blond Edmund was the first to strip completely.
As Yi Chen removed his clothes, he unexpectedly discovered that this body of William Berens was in rather good shape.
Though it was slightly thin,
four abdominal muscles were faintly visible, and his body fat was within the normal range.
About half a minute later,
spray pipes extended from the walls in front of and behind everyone, and even from below their bodies and above their heads.
An extremely pungent, pale-yellow liquid was sprayed out under high pressure,
directly washing over their bodies. Some of the examinees carrying serious injuries were even blasted into rolling several times.
Yi Chen did his best to keep his body steady.
"Chlorinated water? It seems to be mixed with something else..."
After the washing ended,
a strange sensation of being watched rapidly swept over everyone's bodies, as if it were detecting something.
Hum! The air seemed to tremble faintly, and a young man sitting against the wall vanished outright.
He disappeared? What kind of method is this?
Yi Chen was extremely surprised. He had maintained intense concentration, yet he had not seen anything just now.
Everyone gradually put their clothes back on and returned to the passage corridor from before.
After the decontamination, their number had fallen to seventeen.
Everyone continued following the gentleman in the white mask toward the exit of the passage.
When they stepped out of the passage,
the radiance of the rising sun instantly spilled over them,
revealing to everyone a special city filled with the aura of Gothic Revival and surpassing conventional construction styles.
Zion—Zion City
Its streets had multiple layers and intersecting levels, connected by arched bridges.
All kinds of rugged, winding neighborhood paths rose and fell at different heights.
Churches, guild buildings, noble mansions, and other structures had been suspended in midair through special architectural methods, supported by columns, spiral staircases, or enormous flights of stairs.
In certain aspects of architecture, the city had already surpassed the world Yi Chen had lived in.
The gentleman leading them removed his top hat and held it against his chest, bowing slightly to everyone.
"Welcome to the headquarters of G&D, the refuge of the world—Zion.
I am your temporary guide, Jeff Peterson.
Please continue following me to Divine Skin Manor. Depending on your performance in the assessment, you will receive a different grade of Gentleman's Skin.
Please do not leave the group or go elsewhere along the way. Otherwise, it will be regarded as voluntarily forfeiting 'the Gift of Skin.'"
When they heard this special term,
the blond Edmund and most of the other examinees revealed looks of longing and grew excited... It seemed that all the dangers they had endured along the way had been worth it.
Although Yi Chen remained expressionless,
his Inner Heart was also gradually surging with excitement. He really wanted to know what kind of reward his "desperate gamble" would bring him.
Before you continue