Rust City

Compared with the Central District.

Rust City No. 003 before him had no defenses whatsoever.

Rust City also bore the number 003, just like the Central District, because in the real world, the standard arrangement was one Central District with a Rust City nearby.

In other words, a city for the "half-humans," paired with a city for the "Castoffs."

Rows of dilapidated houses lined the edge of Rust City, much like the shantytowns of the old era.

Dim, silent, desolate.

The boy stood inside the city with a huge load of food on his back.

It was a small plaza, but its fountain had long since dried up, and its paving stones were cracked.

There was still no one around.

But.

Qin Yiguan lowered his head slightly and clearly heard rustling coming from the darkness and corners around him.

It was as though countless horrors lurked in the dark, already surrounding the boy.

He tightened his backpack straps, coughed loudly, and said, "Come on out."

"Yayayaya..."

"Wahahaha..."

Thirty-four little rascals came tumbling out of every corner, rolling along like balls.

Some immediately clung to Qin Yiguan's legs, while others crashed straight into walls.

The oldest were only six or seven, and the youngest were three or four, blowing snot bubbles and drooling.

The boy chuckled, opened his backpack, and poured out all kinds of fresh fruit. "Today's snacks. There's enough for everyone, so don't fight over them."

"Little Bear, don't try cracking a coconut with your baby teeth!"

"Well, that baby tooth is free now."

"And don't bash it with your head..."

The children grabbed the fruit and began wolfing it down, having the time of their lives.

The boy stood off to one side.

These were all children from Rust City. Some suffered from various physical illnesses, while others came from poor families that couldn't afford the Nutrient Pods' data fees.

In short, they were all little Castoffs.

Their usual diet consisted of energy blocks that even dogs wouldn't eat. Now that Qin Yiguan had brought them fruit, their taste buds exploded with the most exquisite delicacies imaginable.

At that moment.

Qin Yiguan spotted someone not far away.

A little girl of five or six stood there in a red dress, her hair tied in a ponytail. Shy and a little scared, she kept tapping her index fingers together, her head lowered, not daring to approach.

The boy smiled, picked up a big red apple, walked over to her, and crouched down. "Here."

The little girl swallowed secretly. "Um... what day... is it?"

The boy glanced at his watch. "Tuesday."

The little girl's eyes suddenly lit up. "Daddy said I can be friends with Big Brother Yiguan on Tuesdays!"

She took the apple and bit off a big mouthful, her eyes curving into crescents.

Crouching before her, the boy gave her a warm smile. "I'm not the way I used to be. I can control myself really well now. From now on, you can be friends with me every day."

After a few bites of the apple, the girl reached into her pocket and slowly pulled out a paper crane folded from a plastic candy wrapper.

Qin Yiguan remembered that the wrapper had come from the bag of candy he had given her last week.

"Big Brother Yiguan."

"Here. This is my gift in return."

The little girl smiled happily, cradling the crane in her palms as she offered it to him.

There wasn't much she could do for the big brother who often brought her fruit, so she had turned a skill she'd learned in kindergarten into a small token of affection.

The boy held up the crane. Backlit by the lights, it gleamed translucently. He smiled warmly. "Thank you, Little Ya."

Just then.

Lights began coming on in homes throughout Rust City, the scattered glimmers growing into a sea of light.

The adults had all woken up from the Metaverse.

Ahead, an apartment door opened, and a middle-aged couple appeared in the doorway, stretching contentedly.

A little rascal with two snot bubbles raised the durian in his hands high above his head and ran toward the couple.

The child shouted excitedly, "Daddy! Mommy! Big Brother Yiguan treated us to shit today!"

His clear voice rang through the night sky.

The residents looked around in bewilderment-who could be that shameless?

Under the moonlight.

The boy standing in the wind.

Stiffened slightly.

You little bastard. Repaying kindness with betrayal and ruining my reputation.

Are durian and shit... the same thing?

If you don't know, ask. Why go making up categories?

A moment later.

All of Rust City came back to life.

The bustle of conversation and laughter filled the air, and the lights grew brighter and brighter.

It was like a city that never slept.

At one end of the street, a pristine white maglev car shaped like a pebble glided over silently.

Qin Yiguan frowned at it. "That doesn't belong in Rust City."

The car stopped in front of a low-rise apartment building.

A young man in his twenties with short hair helped his elderly mother out of the apartment, then carefully settled her into a comfortable seat in the maglev car.

The short-haired young man glanced back, spotted Qin Yiguan standing among the children, smiled, and strode over.

"Brother Lu."

Qin Yiguan looked puzzled. "What's all this?"

The short-haired young man he called Brother Lu looked at him and smiled. "I'm moving to the Central District. I came to say goodbye."

The boy froze. "The Central District? But you're clearly..."

Brother Lu was poor, with a congenital genetic defect in his brain, and supported his elderly mother alone.

Yet they had only gone a few days without seeing each other.

Somehow, Brother Lu could now move into the Central District, where houses and nanny robots were outrageously expensive.

And.

Moving into the Central District meant... his application for a Nutrient Pod had been approved?

Brother Lu laughed heartily. "I got a Nutrient Pod approved for my mother too. From now on, neither of us will have to worry about our physical ailments anymore."

Qin Yiguan was stunned again. "Two Nutrient Pods?"

Brother Lu smiled and whispered into his ear, "I found a way to get rich overnight in the Metaverse, and used the money I earned... to pull a few strings."

The boy's eyes widened slightly as he stared in confusion at Brother Lu, whom he had always been close to.

Just then, Brother Lu unconsciously clenched the hand hanging at his side.

Memories flickered in his eyes.

His login time was six hours. Unlike Qin Yiguan, he had to work to survive, and his range of activity was much wider.

That day.

He had piloted his aircraft, charging desperately forward... forward... forward!

Deep down, all he wanted was to escape this quagmire of a life.

Poverty, illness, his mother's aging, the world's abandonment.

He had barely any login time left, but he never thought of turning back.

He had no idea how far he had traveled. He simply kept crashing through layer after layer of fog.

At last, he reached a new realm.

A Metaverse map he had never heard of before.

He discovered an opportunity, a chance to strike gold.

He dug desperately...

His hands were covered in blood...

His surroundings twisted eerily...

Finally, something glittering appeared in his palm...

"Brother Lu?"

The boy called softly.

The young man called Brother Lu suddenly shook his head, snapping out of his memories. "Yiguan, I'm really sorry, but I can't tell you how I did it. It might not be a good thing for you."

As he spoke.

Brother Lu swiped the tech watch on his wrist over Qin Yiguan's watch.

A message immediately popped up on Qin Yiguan's watch.

It essentially said that a string of code had been received but could not be decoded.

In this era, everyone owned a tech watch manufactured by Gemini.

These devices connected the Metaverse to reality.

They could store all kinds of information, as well as money. The wages people earned from working in the Metaverse were stored in their watches too.

Just then, someone nearby said admiringly, "Little Lu's so generous. He hasn't forgotten his neighbors now that he's rich. He's handed out tens of thousands to everyone tonight!"

Brother Lu scratched his head and said to Qin Yiguan, "What rotten timing. Before I ran into you, I'd given away all the cash I had on hand. You came too late, so there's none left for you..."

"As for what I left you..."

"I believe in you. Sooner or later, you'll break free of your shackles and venture far into the Metaverse."

"When that time comes, this code will turn into a real item in the Metaverse."

"It's very precious, and it's something to remember me by."

"You used to bring my mother food all the time. This is also my way of thanking you."

The boy paused. "You're too kind, Brother Lu."

At that moment, Brother Lu looked across Rust City before him, his eyes filled with fondness and reluctance to leave.

"If one day..."

Brother Lu suddenly said calmly, "When you see me again, you find... that I'm dead, then please bring my body back and bury me here in Rust City."

The boy was taken aback again.

Brother Lu laughed heartily. "After all, you can sneak into Central City without anyone noticing! Come on, confess. Have you ever peeped at any beautiful women?"

"I honestly can't imagine it. Hahaha."

"What does it feel like to sneak into Central City all by yourself?"

"Peeping must be child's play, right? Come clean, you little punk. Have you ever gotten hands-on?"