Mixed in the apocalypse, become a fairy alone. 26

Chapter 26: The Bastion

Misunderstanding?

Wang Jixuan, who had just been pointed at with a gun and decisively retaliated, looked slightly hesitant.

Several waiters, amidst the boisterous laughter of the manager, Thomas, lowered their weapons aimed at Wang Jixuan.

Wang Jixuan slowly released the doll-faced bunny girl he had pulled in front of him to shield from bullets. The girl, clutching her neck, coughed repeatedly, her eyes brimming with tears.

Wang Jixuan held the fake revolver and pulled the trigger at an empty space beside him.

*Bang!*

Streams of colorful ribbons shot out from the barrel.

“Hahaha!”

‘Old Goat’ Thomas laughed so hard he almost fell over.

“Cough! Ugh!”

The doll-faced bunny girl, clutching her bruised neck, complained tearfully, “I just wanted to celebrate for you… why did you have to be so rough… it hurts so much!”

Wang Jixuan shrugged, “Instinct.”

“Nice moves!”

Thomas greeted enthusiastically. His flamboyant makeup and the stubble on his lips created a striking visual impact: “Come with me. She was supposed to take you to register your residence and give you some… benefits, but I’ll do it now. Hahahaha! I told you, surprises can go wrong.”

The bunny girl sniffed, her face full of grievance.

“This way.”

Thomas, in high heels, swayed as she walked forward.

Wang Jixuan offered an apologetic smile to the bunny girl before calmly following.

They exited through the back door, where a handcrafted car, looking somewhat bloated due to its thickened skin, was parked in the alley. Wang Daozhang (literally “Wang Daoist Priest,” here referring to Wang Jixuan’s Daoist identity) imitated the others and sat in the back seat.

*’It seems the car chassis uses some ingenious techniques, constantly borrowing power from the ground,’* Wang Daozhang thought.

Mu Liang’s memories did not include the experience of riding in a car; he had only seen them in textbooks and films. Those cars that once filled the streets were regarded as important symbols of humanity’s golden age.

Inside the car, Thomas seemed like a different person. He expertly applied a face mask to his face and reclined his seat.

The driver asked, “Where to today?”

“Didn’t get a chance to ask; had a little unpleasantness inside,” Thomas said in his deep, naturally male voice. “Where are we going, Brother Zhou? Your uncle’s payment is enough for you to choose any minor leader position among the Seven Great Gangs. I’ll personally take you there and help you settle in. I wouldn’t recommend the Black Fire Gang; they’ve gotten into some trouble, big trouble. They’re about to molt.” (Molting here refers to a period of significant upheaval and potential collapse). “When a gang molts, many mid-level and low-level members die, and many black workers in their territories are caught as scapegoats.”

Wang Jixuan casually asked, “Any recommendations?”

“Recommendations?”

Thomas pondered, “The Black Fire Gang has the most oil and the most opportunities. They deal in organs and blood – the most profitable business in the Lower City. Don’t even consider the 47th and 48th floors; those are for supplying labor to the Bastion’s expansion zones. Extremely dangerous and not profitable at all. You’re new to the Lower City; you don’t understand these things yet.”

Wang Jixuan said, “My uncle mentioned some things, but I don’t quite understand.”

“Which part don’t you understand?”

“Why the Lower City must exist. My uncle said it was necessary.”

“Hahahaha! Fuck! My face mask! This garbage is so damn expensive!”

Thomas lightly slapped his large face, quickly saying, “Is that so hard to understand?

The Upper City serves the warriors: technology, social infrastructure, sufficient food – all for those warriors with a 60% mortality rate. They protect the Bastion. Those noble lords also take advantage of these benefits.

The Middle City is a comprehensive factory. The Middle City, like the Upper City, enjoys the protection of the Bastion’s laws and statutes, adhering to ancient legal principles. Every resident in the Middle City receives a reasonable range of supplies: food, electricity, clothes, shoes, hats, belts, underwear, and so on… They also have regular light entertainment activities and sufficient medical resources. Children born there enter collective foster care institutions and are raised by the Bastion for six years, free of charge. And of course, that damned, enviable genetic matching marriage.

The Upper and Middle Cities have created a perfect ecosystem for the Bastion.

But if the Bastion wants to obtain more resources, what should it do?”

Wang Jixuan thought carefully, slowly shaking his head, “I don’t quite understand.”

“Exploitation. A population that can be arbitrarily exploited, without the need to protect their human rights, without regard for the laws of the civilized world in the Upper and Middle Cities.” Thomas’s low voice held a sharpness: “That’s how the Lower City came to be. It was originally called the ‘Auxiliary Layer,’ an area built downwards after the Bastion had been operating for decades. The Lower City’s purpose is exploitation. Old Huang, drive a little further, to any street. Let’s let our big client see the real lower-class residential area, not this fake, prosperous garbage ‘City of Joy’.”

“Right away, Boss.”

The elderly driver smilingly complied, driving the car out of the alley and along the narrow streets.

Armed men were everywhere, but they all recognized Old Goat’s car and didn’t approach.

About two minutes later.

A dim light source appeared outside the window.

Hundreds of tin houses, stacked like pigeon coops, surrounded by foul-smelling ditches. Only a third of the dozens of streetlights were working, casting a yellowish light.

As Wang Jixuan’s cultivation deepened, his eyesight constantly improved. He could now see many things that the driver and Thomas couldn’t see, and those…unremarkable eyes.

“Come, look at them, to show you what’s part of a middleman’s job.” Thomas calmly introduced, “Look at them, surviving on minimal intake; the source of their food is questionable. As long as they stay alive, that’s enough. Desperation surrounds them. If they got a job, enough to feed themselves and their families, even if it’s only half full, wouldn’t they work hard? Wouldn’t they volunteer for unpaid overtime? And even if they are killed or die of illness, who cares? Because the rulers of the Lower City are the gangs, and the gangs aren’t responsible for them. Even having children is difficult for them, relying on people who understand a little bit of physiology. These people are deliberately trained by the gangs. This is only the most basic exploitation. In fact, the entire system of the Lower City was designed by the upper echelons of the Bastion. The Seven Great Gangs each have their own business.

The major gangs on the 46th floor are the City of Joy and the Silver Party. The City of Joy is a playground for officials from the Upper and Middle Cities, allowing them to form cliques, consolidate their circles, and satisfy their desires, which are stronger than ordinary people. The Silver Party is the City of Joy’s partner. In addition to providing thugs for the City of Joy, they also turn people into commodities. Look at the handsome, cute, and obedient waitresses in my shop; most of them are bought from the Silver Party’s territory. They are very obedient and clever.

The 47th and 48th floors are each occupied by a single gang, not because they are strong, but because they are engaged in physically demanding industries with meager profits.

Our Bastion currently has four major expansion zones that provide the Bastion with minerals and other resources. The main role of the gangs on the 47th and 48th floors is to supply unpaid miners to the expansion zones – like slaves.

And the 49th floor has three large gangs. It’s the most crowded. Do you know why?”

Thomas excitedly posed the question.

Wang Jixuan replied, “Because the lowest level is farthest from the Upper City?”

“Part of the reason. The other part is that they can continuously expand their territory downwards, digging tunnels,” Thomas winked smugly. “The three major gangs on the 49th floor control different businesses: Wanli Jin controls alcohol production, the Black Fire Gang controls organs and blood, and Hellfire controls additives for tobacco.”

Wang Jixuan didn’t understand, “Alcohol production?”

“Have you ever had alcohol?”

“No.”

Wang Jixuan was referring to Mu Liang’s lack of experience with alcohol. Cultivators not only liked drinking but also adding various spiritual roots and herbs, and certain body parts of certain妖兽 (yao shou, demonic beasts) to their alcohol. Wang Daozhang didn’t like that kind of thing.

Thomas looked at the street scene outside the window and said in his rough, low voice, “Apart from the kind of industrially produced alcohol we use in my shop, brewing requires a key resource: grains or fruits that humans can normally consume. I grew up in Wanli Jin’s territory. If Wanli Jin didn’t brew alcohol but instead distributed the food resources they controlled, a third of the Lower City could eat an extra starch stick every day. That’s just a hypothesis. In reality, each gang consciously keeps most of the Lower City population barely surviving. The gangs also periodically distribute vitamins and anti-darkness drugs, all shipped down from the Upper City.”

Wang Jixuan thought quietly.

“This is the Bastion.” The flamboyant Thomas seemed somewhat sentimental as he looked at the street scene, muttering, “This is the Bastion. My friend, what do you think is most important in this world?”

Several answers came to Wang Jixuan’s lips: talent, aptitude, innate constitution, perseverance?

The flamboyant and sorrowful man beside him answered his own question: “It’s your birthplace. Born in the Middle City, above the 28th floor, you can enjoy full protection. At worst, you’ll deal with some bullying and harassment. Below the 28th floor, there’s a risk of kidnapping. Born in the Lower City, it’s most likely what you see before you. If you’re lucky, you are good-looking or sufficiently strange, you’ll be taken to the City of Joy for service work. Those who are physically strong will become thugs or cannon fodder for the gangs, eventually killed. Ordinary people, if they don’t work in the gangs’ workshops, will just lie here. Their corpses after death will be sent to the refinery – there’s not much difference between the two; those who eat more, work more. If you’re born into one of the small handful of noble families in the Upper City, wow, you’re a lucky one. Hard work can’t change anything. Oh, yes, if you’re in the Middle City, there’s a tiny chance to change your fate – assuming you have excellent physical fitness and the Bastion needs a large number of soldiers, reducing the industrial population, you can join the army normally and fight for a chance to become an officer in the Upper City. The Upper City’s warriors are all high-quality individuals screened through genetic selection from the embryonic stage. In the Lower City, there’s no chance at all. If the Bastion needs a large number of new soldiers, it will activate the Bastion War Protocol. The Lower City gangs can deploy 50,000 young men and women at any time, implanting chips in their brains to become contract soldiers. Even if they don’t die in war, they will only have a few years left to live due to aftereffects. Don’t underestimate the Bastion’s will. It’s cold, cruel, and has no mercy for individuals, prioritizing the greater hope of this group’s survival. The Lower City gangs are controlled by this will. Never forget that the era we live in is the end of human civilization.”

Thomas stretched, “That’s your first lesson, as mentioned in the package. Remember to give positive feedback to your uncle when you write to him… Okay, now choose. Do you want to be a waiter on the 46th floor or go to the 49th floor – brewing alcohol, harvesting organs, or making chemical agents?”

“Brewing alcohol,” Wang Jixuan said softly. The Wanli Jin Gang and Black Fire Gang’s territories bordered each other and frequently clashed; it was his target.

Thomas said, “Wow, an unusual choice. Wanli Jin is constantly suppressed by the Black Fire Gang because their profits are so low. The other two are incredibly profitable!”

“Wasn’t the Black Fire Gang not an option?”

Wang Jixuan changed his tone, looking into the older man’s eyes, using a hint of the weight of his actual age: “What about you, Thomas? I imagine your life hasn’t been a smooth ride. You’re a successful person in the Lower City. How did you do it?”

“Are you being polite?” Thomas frowned, then sighed, gazing out the window. He didn’t want to talk, really.

Worldview chapter, introduction to the internal ecology of the Bastion. You might find this a bit wordy, but these are the basic settings, necessary for the story. The next chapter will move the plot forward~!

Also, we’re working hard to climb the new book rankings. The overall feedback on this book is quite good, and various data have been unexpectedly good. I have to invest more and more energy to maintain the quality of the writing.

Continue to ask for reads! Ask for recommendations, collections, and monthly tickets! If you like this work, remember to recommend it to your friends!

Thank you!
(End of Chapter)

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