Secondary Infected and the Inner City
Min'an No. 3 Settlement is a human settlement built around Min'an Prison.
Lu Li and Fang Yi arrived outside No. 3 Settlement. The outermost perimeter of the settlement was a thick wall of cars. After the cataclysm, some physical rules were also altered by the distorting force. It was unclear which link had gone wrong, but a large number of cars were scrapped as a result.
This car wall is four cars high and two cars wide. The gaps are filled with a large amount of concrete and stones, forming a steel and cement wall. Some cars have sunroofs open on top, using the cars at the top of the wall as sentry posts. The gate of the wall is made of a mixture of steel and tires, a rubber gate.
Lu Li was still quite eye-catching. He was bald, barefoot, and wearing a smooth, shiny black fur coat. There was also a backpack-like protrusion on his back. However, the expected scene of someone rushing up to snatch him did not happen.
This is the end times, a time of moral decay and social collapse. Although there are basic laws governing settlements, the rules of survival have become more blatant. It's highly unlikely that anyone who has survived to this day is a fool. If you do encounter one, you need to consider two possibilities.
First, the other party must possess immense power or a powerful background, enabling him to survive until now despite his foolishness.
Second, the other party might be the protagonist, who is still very naive after being transmigrated, or whose IQ has been lowered by the crimson halo for the sake of the plot, so as to pave the way for pretending to be weak to deceive others and showing off and slapping them in the face.
In short, even though the people in the settlement were Greed over Lu Li, they didn't dare to do so openly. After all, Lu Li had a ruddy complexion, a strong body, and his fur was clearly not ordinary. In the apocalypse, only men could be in such a state.
As Lu Li entered the car enclosure, he began to observe the humans in this settlement. Ignoring the dirty and chaotic environment, he assessed the impact of the twisting power on these people. They were all emaciated and lived in a messy environment, using cars, containers, tents, and even garbage dumps as their homes, stubbornly surviving.
In some places, a fire was burning, and a large pot was placed on top of the fire, containing vegetables, tree bark and leaves, some leather, and occasionally chunks of meat of unknown origin. While these things were cooking, the people standing around would watch each other warily, and after being served into bowls, they would quickly finish eating them no matter how hot they were.
"Sir, this is a low-infection residential area. Everyone is sticking together, not only to protect their food, but also to avoid being ambushed and becoming food at any time," Fang Yi said in a low voice.
"Which side is where the Secondary Infected live?" Fang Yi pointed to the other side and said, "The Secondary Infected and low-level infected individuals. Their food sources are relatively abundant, making their lives a little easier."
Lu Li squinted and surveyed the area. There, a group of people were trading with a group of monsters, exchanging food for food. In this Land of Calamity, food was the most valuable form of currency.
Low-infection food, secondary-infection food, and high-infection food—the lower the infection level, the higher the value. The humans took out a large bag of what looked like fruits and vegetables, while the other side only took out a small bag. The two sides argued for a long time, and finally, the monsters added a fist-sized piece of jerky, and the transaction was successful.
"Meat is the hardest currency here!" Fang Yi's lips twitched when he mentioned meat, and then he continued, "Those people know this in their hearts, but as long as they didn't hunt it themselves, they can comfortably assume that it is the meat of some kind of lightly infected creature."
"Your heart rate increased when you mentioned meat. Logically speaking, with your will to survive, you shouldn't be unable to eat meat, right?" Lu Li asked Fang Yi while still looking at the Secondary Infected over there.
"If I had a choice, I wouldn't eat that meat," Fang Yi said in a low voice. "Although if I had to survive, I would eat more than anyone else."
"I guess I haven't reached my limit yet."
The Secondary Infected returned to their homes with food. This transaction at least filled their stomachs. Because more of Secondary Infected were infected by the twisted power, their appearances changed, and they generally developed three types of mutations.
One type has skin that turns gray like that of Doros. These infected individuals are much more sensitive to danger, and some outstanding ones even have precognitive abilities. Their physical structure also undergoes a certain degree of Mutation, making them more resilient and tenacious.
The second type involves the development of snake scales on the body, snake-like pupils in the eyes, and in some cases, a snake-like forked tongue. They become sensitive to heat, and some can produce venom from their teeth and nails.
The third Secondary Infected have yellowish skin and are sensitive to water, but they have an extremely clear sense of earthquakes, and some can even vomit a viscous substance that can melt rocks.
There is supposedly another rather unusual variation, but because it is so rare, it is generally considered a rumor or false information.
In the early years of the apocalypse, these Secondary Infected had an easier time surviving than the lower-level infected humans because they could feed on the lower-level infected. Some of the Secondary Infected called themselves Evolvers, adaptable to the new environment, and imprisoned and abused the lower-level infected.
It wasn't until the emergence of the Correctors, created by the Twisted Artifacts, that the Secondary Infected, for unknown reasons, were unable to fuse with the Twisted Artifacts. The Correctors, after absorbing enough Twisted Power, would awaken various abilities and become incredibly powerful, thus stripping the Secondary Infected of their title of Evolvers.
"There are three or four forms of manifestation. Besides Doros, are there at least two other unnamed entities involved in the Twisted Storm?" Lu Li pondered the key points, crossed the outer city of No. 3 Settlement, and headed towards the inner city, which was the original prison. There were seven or eight relatively well-preserved buildings there, but they were surrounded by two high walls and electric fences.
The power grid was not electrified at the moment, but the surrounding walls and watchtowers were guarded by sentries in combat uniforms to prevent anyone from sneaking into the inner city. The people in the inner city were considered the elite of humanity, or their families. The great Correctors Lord also lived there. Compared to the outside, life in the inner city was much better, and in some places it was even more enjoyable than in peacetime.
The prison's large iron gates were guarded by many guards who checked and registered the people coming and going. Residents outside the city were generally not allowed to enter the inner city unless they found some treasure, and residents of the inner city rarely came out either, since every now and then, there were always people who couldn't survive and would take risks or seek revenge on society.
The registration officer at the city gate glanced at Lu Li and Fang Yi behind him. Given Lu Li's appearance, he asked in a polite tone, "Sir, entering the inner city requires registering certain information. Could you please answer a few questions?"
After finishing the third update, there will be an extra chapter tonight for those who vote with 200 monthly tickets.