Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Having said that, An Zhe ignored him and walked straight ahead.

There were no footsteps behind him for a while. It wasn't until he swiped his ID card to open the door that Joshua hurried over, grabbing his shoulder. "Are you really An Ze? But you—"

An Zhe casually picked up the stack of genetic examination reports on the table and held them out in front of Joshua.

Joshua asked, "This is…?"

An Zhe lowered his head and noticed that the top sheet was the statement "Oppose the Tyranny of the Judges."

He slowly pulled that sheet away. Joshua looked at the report.

"You…" He quickly scanned it and then looked up at An Zhe. "You really escaped from the Abyss?"

"I was rescued by someone," An Zhe replied. "I've forgotten the rest."

Joshua's hand holding the genetic report trembled slightly, then he tugged at the corner of his mouth, looking at him with a smile. "I... I'm just too excited. I didn't think you'd come back."

He placed the genetic report on the desk, leaning closer to An Zhe with even the muscles around his eyebrows twitching subtly, his expression revealing a touch of excitement. "You... How much have you forgotten?"

An Zhe took a step back.

"I've forgotten everything," he said. "Please don't disturb my life."

"Don't you even remember who I am?" Joshua's voice softened. "We grew up together."

"Thank you," An Zhe replied. "Can you leave now?"

"I—" Joshua was clearly unprepared for An Zhe's attitude and froze for a moment before continuing, "You weren't like this before."

But after a brief pause, his demeanor softened again. "I won't bother you. Rest well. I'll come see you tomorrow. I'm just so happy. An Ze, we're the closest people in the world."

An Zhe remained silent, not speaking until Joshua turned to leave and gently closed the door behind him.

It felt surreal to An Zhe that Joshua let him off so easily and left the room. Perhaps Joshua was simply too guilt-ridden to stay.

As silence returned to the room, An Zhe slowly leaned back onto the bed, hugging his pillow. He felt a vague discomfort, not for himself, but for An Ze.

The fragility of human connections was perhaps just like that. Joshua would no longer be the closest to An Ze. Once he retrieved the spore, he'd return to the Abyss, find that tranquil cave, and spend the rest of his life as a mushroom beside An Ze's snow-white bones.

...A spore.

Outside the window, the night was deep, and the aurora danced across the dark sky as usual. An Zhe sat at the desk, turning on the lamp.

Firstly, he needed to find a job so he wouldn't starve. At the same time, he had to search for information about the spore – the only clue being that brass bullet casing.

With this thought, An Zhe anxiously reached into his pocket, always fearful of losing it – fortunately, it was still there. A mushroom could keep it safe inside its body, but not a human; it was too small, as if it might slip out of his pocket at any moment.

Eventually, An Zhe found a black leather string in a drawer and hung the bullet casing around his neck.

In the same drawer lay a small, sleek black device. After examining its details, he recalled from memory that it was a communicator, with each person's ID serving as their communication number. Humans could use these for long-distance conversations within the base, but not outside since there was no signal.

He charged the communicator – even though it wasn't necessary, but the act of having electricity seemed to bring humans great satisfaction.

With those tasks done, he finally felt at ease and began to inspect the desk.

On the notebook lying on the desktop were An Ze's writings, the handwriting elegant. On the wall side stood two dozen books, likely An Ze's favorites from before. Scanning the titles along their spines, An Zhe picked up a modest gray-covered book with the title "Base Handbook."

He flipped it open, and the title page contained only one phrase.

Human interests supersede all else.

An Zhe subconsciously pursed his lips and continued to turn the pages. The second page was an index. The manual was divided into four sections: Base Laws, Living Regulations, Brief Introduction of Functional Areas, and a Map.

An Zhe skipped the legal section. He knew he was an obedient mushroom who wouldn't break any species' laws. The living regulations detailed the schedule for electricity, water, and food supply in the residential areas. Power, water, and food were available for one hour every morning at six, then again from noon till one, and dinner started at six in the evening with a slightly longer electricity supply until nine. Each residential area had a towering alarm tower, with three types of alarms: "Assembly," "Evacuation," and "Emergency Shelter." The assembly alarm was a short high-pitched sound, the evacuation alarm a wave-like changing tone, and the emergency shelter alarm a sharp, prolonged wail. Base residents had to adhere to the living regulations and follow the alarm tower's instructions, but they could choose their own lifestyles outside of that.

As he read this, An Zhe felt a slight confusion. He thought that under such rules, people would just need to stay in their rooms and go out to eat and drink at set times. But soon, he understood the base's intentions.

Though everyone had the freedom to live as they wished, life in the base came with a cost; everything needed to be paid for. To obtain the base's currency, people had to find work or become mercenaries, collecting valuable supplies from the outside world to submit to the base in exchange for payment.

However... if that was the case, then wouldn't it be enough for everyone to just go to the safest place, pick up something, and use it to meet their basic needs for eating and drinking?

An Zhe kept flipping through the pages. The next section was an introduction to the functional areas.

The first area mentioned was called the "Supply Station." It was divided into three sections: 1, 2, and 3. Supply Stations 1 and 2 belonged to the military and were located at the entrance and exit of the base, responsible for the verification and exchange of currency and military supplies. When mercenary teams returned from the wild, the staff at the supply station would convert their collected supplies into currency and distribute them, while keeping back any lethal weapons and armored vehicles, which could only be re-applied for on the team's next departure. Mercenary teams could use the currency to exchange for guns, bullets, armor, fuel, and even different models of armored vehicles needed for their expeditions.

In contrast to the first two, Supply Station 3 was located within the city and dealt with civilian supplies. Using the base's currency, one could exchange for daily necessities, food, ingredients, strong liquor, electronics, and more at the supply station. Housing transactions could also take place there.

Opposite the Supply Station 3 was the "Free Market." Sometimes, the items scavenged by mercenary teams from human ruins were not what the military needed. In such cases, they could bring verified safe items into the city for free trade.

At this moment, An Zhe noticed a small footnote below.

Note: The Free Market is not an official facility of the base. All consequences of one's actions are their own responsibility.

Note: Employment and contractual relationships established through the Free Market are not protected by base laws. One assumes full responsibility for any consequences.

There wasn't much else, but An Zhe fixated on the word "employment."

This meant that the Free Market also served as a place to find work.

Moving further down, there were brief introductions to each residential area. Zones 6 and 7 were densely populated, while the rest had few humans with many buildings unoccupied. Zone 8 was a centralized shelter with comprehensive safety facilities.

After that came the description of the Court of Judgment.

Remembering the colonel with his cold emerald eyes, An Zhe slowed his reading pace, carefully digesting each word.

The duties of the Court of Judgment extended beyond identifying hybrids at the city gates. They patrolled crowded areas within the city to conduct secondary screenings and eliminate potential threats. Main patrol points were around supply stations, but they would also conduct random checks in residential buildings—especially those involving humans displaying abnormal behavior or under report.

For some inexplicable reason, An Zhe recalled those words, "You'd better be."

If possible, An Zhe wished that Lu Fen would remain at the city gate, with no need for the judge to deign to visit the residential area.

As he flipped through the pages further, the other sectors became less relevant to him—places like the City Affairs Office, the City Defense Bureau, and the Main City. It was stated that the base consisted of the Outer City, also known as the Citadel, and the Main City. The Main City housed crucial research facilities, military installations, energy sources, and political centers. Entry was prohibited for all except those with special passes or residence permits.

After perusing the map of the base, An Zhe closed the book. He realized once again that humans were creatures vastly different from mushrooms.

The second book he opened was titled "Supply Station Examination Handbook." The moment he saw the cover, related memories flooded his mind, clearer than others. An Zhe thought that perhaps this indicated how significant it was for An Ze to go to the supply station.

So why did he agree to accompany Joshua on an expedition into the wild?

He pondered for a long time and concluded that such was the nature of An Ze as a human.

An Ze had missed the exam; the supply station's recruitment test took place fifteen days ago, a time when he was already nothing but bones.

But it didn't matter, An Zhe decided. If he was still alive in the human base a year later when the supply station recruited anew, he would give it a try. That way, upon returning to the cave, he could describe the place to An Ze.

Reading for extended periods had drained him significantly. After attempting to read two pages of the Handbook, An Zhe felt drowsy and eventually went to bed. To avoid encountering Joshua, he left his room at four in the morning the next day, descended the stairs, and headed to the transport hub. There, he boarded a train to the supply station, where he intended to find work at the nearby Free Market.

It was seven in the morning when he alighted from the vehicle, and a thin layer of white mist still hung in the air. The Free Market was a massive circular structure with four entrances and exits; he entered through the nearest one.

The pungent aroma of strong liquor assaulted his nostrils.

Upon entering, there were four long tables set up where mercenaries, dressed in their typical attire, were engaged in rowdy games and loud chatter. Before them were placed drinks, with requests for refills now and then. In response, attendants would fill the glasses to the brim with spirits, using a small machine to scan and charge the ID cards that the guests would hand over.

A muscular, dark-skinned mercenary, sitting alone and drinking, noticed him. He raised an eyebrow, grinned, and waved his glass. "Kid, what're you staring at? Wanna learn how to drink?"

Instantly, a short-haired woman by his side nudged him with her elbow, her voice rough yet lighthearted. "Rule number thirty-two: minors aren't allowed to drink."

The man retorted, "If I drink, I drink. Will the Judges come after me?"

The woman burst into laughter. "Minors don't know the might of the Judges yet."

"He'll find out soon enough."

An Zhe stood by, contemplating a defense— "I'm not a minor"—but before he could find the right words, the two had already locked lips, entwining themselves together. He realized that no one was truly paying attention to him.

So, he shifted his gaze elsewhere, looking around the area.

On the right side of the entrance, the scent of potato soup wafted over - much richer than the soup served in the first-floor hall of the residential building, and mixed with an aroma that could make humans feel content, a meaty smell. A mercenary was buried in a white plastic bowl, enjoying his breakfast.

The scent made An Zhe a little hungry, but he hadn't eaten breakfast.

Deeper inside, similar scenes unfolded. The bustling atmosphere crowded the hall, with long tables selling food and drinks, as well as stalls offering clothing, backpacks, and gloves. Further along, stalls selling specific items grew fewer, replaced by ones filled with a motley array of miscellaneous items that An Zhe couldn't identify.

"Brand new smartphones from the recently excavated Ruin 511. They turn on with just electricity!" As he walked, a slim, dark-clothed youth, resembling a monkey, sprang in front of him. With narrow eyes that darted around, he quickly pulled out a black rectangular object from his shoulder bag the moment he blocked An Zhe's path, waving it in front of him. "Want to take a look? I'll give you a 10% discount and throw in a charging cable. You can play games on it."

An Zhe replied, "Thank you, but no need."

Swiftly, the young man retrieved another white device from his bag. "Different model, this color suits you better. It's the latest before the Cataclysm, a Fruit brand phone that used to sell for ten thousand. Now, you can have it for a hundred."

An Zhe said, "Thank you, but I don't need it."

Undeterred, the man pulled out yet another item. "Don't need it? You already have a phone then? How about a power bank? This can charge your phone when the base loses power. The larger ones are sold out, but this one can charge twice. I'll give you a deal, just thirty."

An Zhe looked at him sincerely and said, "I don't have any money."

The expression on the black-clothed youth's face froze. He promptly stowed the item back into his bag, turned, lifted his leg, ready to leave while muttering under his breath, "If you have no money, why come to the black market?"

"Wait a moment." An Zhe called out to him.

The young man turned back, but with a profoundly indifferent attitude, "What's up?"

"I... I'm looking for a job," An Zhe said. "Do you happen to know where I should go?"

The youngster frowned slightly and turned fully around, scrutinizing An Zhe from head to toe. "...So you're looking for work."

An Zhe replied truthfully, "Yes."

"You seem quite qualified," the young man commented. "Remember to find me when you have money to buy a phone. I'll be staying in the black market this month."

An Zhe responded, "...."

He then asked, "Then where should I go?"

"Over there," the young man pointed in a direction towards a corner. "Go down, to the third basement level, and look for the boss lady."

An Zhe was grateful and smiled at him, "Thank you very much."

The young man said, "You're good-looking. If you find someone reliable and become successful, remember to buy your phone from me!"

An Zhe replied, "...Okay."

On the third basement level.

Dampness – this was An Zhe's first impression of the place. Mushrooms likely enjoyed the moisture in the air, but the pungent fragrance that accompanied it made him frown.

Looking around, under the dim lighting, the space resembled a beehive. The corridors twisted and turned, with makeshift plastic partitions lining the walls, creating numerous tiny compartments. There was no circulating air, and water droplets condensed on the plastic surfaces. The entire area hummed with a subtle, oceanic noise. Upon closer listen, it was the result of many voices softly conversing, occasionally interrupted by bursts of laughter.

An Zhe hesitated for a moment before taking a few steps forward.

He glanced at the small compartments on either side. The one on his left was empty, while on his right was a long-haired woman with her head down. When she heard his footsteps, she lifted her head to glance at him before lowering it again.

An Zhe continued walking and heard voices. First, a woman's voice.

"How's the climate in Basin Two?"

"It's fine," came a soft, low male voice, somewhat muffled, as if his nose were congested. He dragged out his words, "The weather is pleasant, but there are too many earthquakes. We've experienced three in a month. During the worst one, they were all outside, and I was alone in the car. I almost thought they wouldn't come back."

A woman's voice chuckled. "If they're not coming back, just take the car."

"I was supposed to learn how to drive from the team leader the last time I joined them. In the end, he was just sweet-talking me. He promised to bring me along next time too, but that was also a lie. I accompanied them for a whole month and only earned three hundred. Is that expensive?"

"Take mercenaries' words with a grain of salt," the woman advised. "Aren't you used to being deceived yet?"

An Zhe paused in his tracks.

—Recalling Hosen's face and his greedy gaze, he suddenly understood what kind of work took place in the basement.

And the phrase in the base manual—employment and contractual relationships established through the free market are not protected by base law; one bears the consequences oneself.

He didn't want to bear those consequences.

Silently deciding to leave, An Zhe turned around, only to unexpectedly bump into a soft body.

"Oh," a coquettish female voice trilled. "Cutie, first time here?"

The term 'cutie' left too deep an impression on An Zhe, causing him to reflexively step back twice.

Before him stood a tall woman with honey-hued skin and jade green eyes, her chestnut tresses ending in playful curls, her elongated eyelids tilted seductively upward as she smiled at him, her lips quirking in amusement.

"Are you here to buy someone? Or are you selling yourself?" the woman whispered into his ear with a smile.