Wilderness

City No. 18 is adjacent to City No. 10.

Two cities with non-adjacent serial numbers are only about 200 kilometers apart geographically, simply because these cities are not ranked by importance, but by the order in which they were established.

If we compare the federation to a circle, then the urban circle formed by City No. 10 is like the center of this circle.

Of course, this analogy is not accurate; the federation is not a perfect circle.

Qing Chen had asked Li Shutong for a map of the Federation. It could be said that the maps of the Outer World and the Inner World were quite similar, except for the coastal areas where the differences were significant.

If these two worlds are truly parallel worlds.

The Inner World's crust must have undergone violent movements to become what it is today.

City No. 18 corresponds to Los Angeles, City No. 10 corresponds to Zhengzhou. Whether in the Inner World or the Outer World, they have always been the Central Plains.

Without the strategic importance of coastal ports, such as the City No. 7 corresponding to Haicheng, the prosperity of Haicheng in the Outer World would be far less.

Within the Federation, the most prosperous cities are No. 18 and No. 10.

Number 18 is the economic center, and number 10 is the political center.

One in the west and one in the east, they are known as the Twin Stars of the Federation.

The lines connecting them seem to directly separate the north and south of the federation.

Countdown: 96:00:00.

Another midnight.

More than 100 kilometers south of City No. 18, a dozen people were warming themselves around a campfire. In the flickering firelight, eight men and four women were chatting and laughing.

Branches intertwined around the campfire, and an iron pot hung from one of them, its thick noodle soup bubbling away.

Someone took out a piece of cured meat from their pocket, cut it into a few pieces with a knife, and threw it into the pot.

This is a small, temporary campsite.

Nine dark green canvas tents were pitched in an open area near the campsite.

The wind was strong at night, and two dilapidated pickup trucks were positioned directly in front of the wind, providing shelter for the small, makeshift camp from the fierce cold wind.

There seemed to be some cargo covered by a tarpaulin in the pickup truck bed, so you couldn't see what it was.

A pile of windproof stones lay beside the campfire, yet the orange-red flames still flickered and swayed precariously.

"The creature our employer wants to catch this time is hard to find. We've been searching this area for a month and haven't seen a single one," said an elderly man by the campfire. "How about we try our luck at the edge of 'that place'? We don't necessarily have to go in; the edge isn't that dangerous. I went there years ago."

The old man's name was Qin Cheng, and he was the leader of this group.

The people around the campfire are basically related by blood.

They wore combat uniforms that had been discarded from who-knows-where, some with patches on their elbows, knees, trouser legs, and buttocks, and the sizes were not quite right.

"Dad, is the price the buyer offered worth the risk?" a young man asked.

"As you know, they asked for 200,000," the old man Qin Cheng said, rolling a tobacco leaf with his somewhat mottled mechanical hand, the nano-coating on his fingers peeling off piece by piece. "With this money, we can get you and Xiao Yi better mechanical limbs, with enough energy to support at least one mission."

"Dad, this isn't something we urgently need, and we don't need to risk our lives for it," the young man said.

"Hmm," the old man picked a half-burnt piece of firewood from the campfire, lit a cigarette, and said, "They also promised a gene serum and a box of BVC antibiotics. Your brother is almost an adult, and someone in our family needs to be less dependent on mechanical limbs. I'd like to get him a gene serum; it's a rare opportunity."

As soon as he finished speaking, the young man looked at his younger brother in astonishment, opened his mouth but didn't say anything more.

A middle-aged woman standing next to Qin Cheng said, "Xiao Tong, don't think your dad is biased. He wanted to get one for you back then, but he got scammed."

The young man, Qin Tong, thought for a moment and said, "Mom, don't overthink it. I didn't mean it that way. I have mechanical limbs now, but my brother doesn't. It would be normal to give him the gene serum. Besides, it would be easier for my brother to find a wife if he had the gene serum."

As they were talking, the sound of snapping dry branches suddenly came from the woods outside the camp.

Old man Qin Cheng suddenly fell backward into a pile of fallen leaves. In an instant, he swiftly pulled a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at the source of the sound.

His agile movements don't seem like those of someone his age.

The others quickly left the campfire and hid under tree trunks.

Hello, no offense intended.

Outside the camp, a sound came first.

Two figures slowly emerged from the dark woods. Both were wearing black windbreakers; one was middle-aged, and the other was a young boy, who also had a tall hiking backpack on his back.

The two of them zipped up their clothes, and the raised collars covered most of their faces.

The middle-aged man in the windbreaker raised his hands and said with a smile, "I'm just passing by. I saw you have two cars here that can block the wind, so I'm just asking to borrow a spot."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man glanced at the boy beside him.

But then the boy took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tossed it near the campfire. "It's okay if you don't agree, here's the cigarettes, we're leaving."

The old man Qin Cheng, who was prostrate on the ground, hesitated for a moment, then slowly stood up, his gun still pointing faintly at the two people in front of him. "From the city?"

"Yes, from City No. 10," the middle-aged man said with a smile.

"Where are we going?" the old man asked warily.

"I don't know yet, I just came out for a walk," the middle-aged man continued to reply.

The old man pointed to an open space about twenty meters away. "You can camp there, but you can't come near us. If you want to borrow a spot, a pack of cigarettes won't be enough. Do you have any medicine?"

"Yes," the boy in the windbreaker replied, tossing a small white bottle next to the campfire as if he had prepared it beforehand.

This is the hard currency of the wilderness.

After throwing it away, the two went to an open space nearby.

By the campfire, a girl looked at the boy in the windbreaker and whispered to Qin Tong beside her, "Brother, that boy is very handsome."

Qin Tong glanced at the boy's retreating figure. "That windbreaker covers most of his face, and you still think he's good-looking?"

The girl said, "Some people are good-looking even without seeing their whole face."

"Don't overthink it," Qin Tong added two more pieces of firewood to the campfire. "Did you see their down jackets? Those two jackets alone could replace two of my mechanical limbs. These people call it traveling in the wilderness, while we call it survival. We're from completely different worlds."

The girl pouted. "I didn't say anything."

"I'm worried you'll be bewitched by these rich kids," the young man said earnestly. "None of those wealthy people living in the Upper District 3 are good people."

"Alright, alright, I know," the girl said impatiently.

As she spoke, her gaze remained fixed on the boy.