The strange fish, as long as an adult's arm, was devoured in an instant. Only the bones, sucked clean, remained on the plate, and a few of the older children began fighting over its ugly head.
"You think this place is filthy because you haven't grown used to the darkness yet. You haven't grown a pair of eyes that belong to the dark." Cook held a small piece of sheet metal in his filthy left hand, with two fish eyeballs resting on it. Carefully, he picked up an eyeball with his right hand and eased it into his mouth, a look of enjoyment on his face.
Tugging at the rope, the driver finally lost his battle with nausea. He bent over beside the Underground River and began dry-heaving.
"You think the things you eat up on the surface are clean? You think what you eat and use really are what your eyes tell you they are?" Cook thought the driver was being rude, interrupting his enjoyment of the food. "Different eyes see different truths. Everything up there is formed from the ugliest malice. So many people in the city fall ill and die every year. Do you know how their bodies and all the garbage are disposed of? Use your brain and think about it. Why did the Second District, which handles waste disposal, become the wealthiest district in the city? Why did the Cleaning Company become the largest, most firmly established company in the entire city?"
"Is the secret in all this garbage?" Gao Ming watched Cook. After eating the fish eyeballs, Cook's eyes, hidden beneath his tattoos, had become brighter and more lively, a stark contrast to his filthy appearance.
"Heh heh. I can't tell you. You'll have to look for yourselves." Cook put his bottles and jars