654: 654 Chapter: Under the Shadow of the High-rise Building (Seeking Monthly Pass) 654: 654 Chapter: Under the Shadow of the High-rise Building (Seeking Monthly Pass) “Is sothing the matter?”
He Ao watched the woman standing outside the door.
“Ah, this, I—”
The woman’s extended hand seed unsure of what to do, hanging in mid-air.
She waved it, and eventually touched the back of her head, smiling awkwardly, “The weather’s nice today, isn’t it?”
At the sa ti, she also recognized that this elderly man’s voice was exactly the sa as the one she had heard the night before.
“Indeed, it is.”
He Ao glanced in the direction of the blackened burnt window where a faint glow ca through, clearly illuminating the dilapidated scene inside the house.
The apartnt Cito had bought wasn’t very tall, only twelve stories.
In Saint Joen City, where buildings were taller and more expensive, it was hard to enjoy sunshine.
Now, with sunlight managing to pierce through the gaps between high-rises and spill into this room, it proved that it indeed was a fine day.
The woman looked at the house, now reduced to ruins, and realized her words seed sowhat out of place at the mont.
It was then that a small head popped out from behind He Ao.
She glanced down at the monster on the ground, “Yuck, that’s disgusting.”
Then she imdiately turned her head away, looking at the woman standing outside, “Sister, do you need sothing?”
“Well, my na is YiXiya, and I wanted to ask,”
The woman smoothly continued, “Was it you who saved last night?”
Although she seed to be asking Jia Xi, her gaze kept drifting towards He Ao.
“Yes,”
Jia Xi nodded her little head.
She looked up at He Ao and, noticing that he didn’t say anything, continued, “So, sister, do you need sothing?”
“Ah,”
YiXiya’s tone paused again.
She was montarily at a loss for words, taken aback by Jia Xi’s innocent and straightforward counter-question, and she had thought she would face so difficulty in getting confirmation from the people across from her.
By now, she had already confird that the elderly man in front of her was the one who had saved her the previous night, even without ntioning his distinctive voice.
In Saint Joen City, such a mysterious elder capable of easily killing Polluted Monsters without her knowing any information about him was probably unique.
After a brief mont of reflection, she quickly organized her thoughts, “May I invite you to a al?
And,”
She looked down at the monster’s corpse on the ground, then at He Ao, “Elderly sir, after touching that Vite-mutated monster last night, you’ve gotten its Qi on you.
I’m not sure if you’ve encountered these kinds of Polluted Monsters before, but there are so precautions you might need to be aware of.”
This ti, Jia Xi didn’t answer directly but looked up at He Ao.
He Ao observed YiXiya, whose brown eyes glowed with a hint of expectation.
He carefully folded the blood-stained handkerchief, the bloody side now hidden, and placed it back into his jacket pocket before looking down at the ground, “Could you wait a mont?
I still have so things to take care of.”
“Of course!”
YiXiya imdiately nodded and then cautiously approached the doorway, tentatively offering, “May I help you?”
This ti He Ao didn’t respond to her.
He had already bent down and continued to search through the rubble.
Standing beside He Ao, Jia Xi watched her with a sowhat reserved expression and winked at her quietly.
Seeing the little girl’s wink, YiXiya hesitated for a mont, then carefully crossed the threshold and entered the room.
He Ao noticed this but said nothing, instead, he continued to search for anything still intact within the ruins.
YiXiya breathed a sigh of relief.
At this ti, Jia Xi also turned around and began searching the ground.
YiXiya glanced at He Ao, then at Jia Xi, and cautiously approached Jia Xi.
As she helped overturn debris on the ground, she asked in a gentle voice,
“Little sister, what are we looking for?”
“Grandpa said to look and see if there’s anything intact that hasn’t been burned,”
Jia Xi moved a piece of charred wood to reveal a stainless steel spoon blackened by soot.
She examined the spoon and after a brief hesitation, took it over to a corner where a pile of smoky blackened tal items lay.
YiXiya looked at the pile of tal fragnts, where there were bent tal brackets, blackened knives, forks, and soup spoons, and so tal toys that had not been burnt.
What remained after the fire were mainly tal pieces or so lucky items that had been squeezed into so oxygen-free corners, escaping the flas.
These were all common household items, nothing particularly precious.
However, what surprised YiXiya was that Jia Xi moved very quickly, so fast that it far exceeded the level that a child of her age should have, even surpassing so adults.
At the sa ti, she also saw the strong muscles beneath Jia Xi’s tender skin.
“Little sister, you’re so fast.”
She asked curiously.
“I’ve been exercising with Grandpa since I was little!”
Jia Xi excitedly nodded her little head, and then she waved her little arm, “None of the students at school can beat .”
“That’s impressive,”
YiXiya smiled and gave Jia Xi a thumbs up, and then started helping her search the ground together, “Actually, I’ve been wanting to ask, weren’t you scared of the monster we just saw?”
“Not scared,”
Jia Xi shook her head while rummaging through various debris on the ground, “Grandpa is here, it was just a bit disgusting.”
“You’re really brave,”
YiXiya exclaid in admiration, “I was scared to death when I first saw such a monster.”
“Everyone is different,”
Jia Xi turned over a tal frog toy from the rubble, “At school, there are many kids who aren’t afraid of insects, and there are also many who are.”
Hearing this, YiXiya’s actions paused slightly,
She realized that, in Jia Xi’s worldview, the monster they had just encountered was no different from the sudden appearance of an insect by the roadside; it was just bigger, more ferocious, and more disgusting.
Fear often stems from powerlessness, and Jia Xi’s first impression of the insect was seeing ‘Grandpa’ effortlessly tearing it apart.
To this little girl, a big bug and a little bug were essentially no different.
Of course, this might also have to do with talent; so people are naturally less afraid of monsters than others.
YiXiya chatted with Jia Xi off and on.
The sunlight outside the window rose little by little and then dimd again,
The sun had already moved away from this direction, and the clock had also reached one o’clock in the afternoon.
The three of them had basically searched the whole house.
It was a small two-bedroom apartnt, not very big, but it was sowhat troubleso to turn over the small, charred remains.
In the end, they only turned up so small tal objects and thoroughly destroyed electronic products, nothing of particular importance.
Throughout this process, YiXiya was once again surprised to find that the petite Jia Xi didn’t seem to get tired at all during the search process.
Even though she ran back and forth many tis, she didn’t take any breaks and didn’t seem to feel fatigued.
Even more, she wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but YiXiya felt that Jia Xi’s movents were even faster than when she first t her.
And the Elderly gentleman, who seed very old, also seed to move a bit faster, although he didn’t show the agility he had when tearing apart the monster; he seed faster than when he first started searching the ruins.
YiXiya felt this might not be an illusion, but if it wasn’t, then the two people’s energy hadn’t diminished from their busyness, but had actually increased, which seed a bit far-fetched.
At the mont, the three of them were clearing up the last area, which was the master bedroom of the house.
While YiXiya mused, He Ao turned over a picture in a tal fra from what was left of the tal fra of a double bed.
The surface of the tal fra, originally covered with white paint, had been completely blackened, and the clear glass had also taken on a tea color.
Fortunately, whether it was because the fra was entirely tal, or because it had fallen into a corner,
The photo inside the fra was luckily preserved, with just the edges a bit charred, but the portraits in the photo remained intact.
In this fra, a youth with square glasses who looked simple and elegant held the hand of his bride dressed in a white wedding gown; he looked at the cara, while his bride looked at him, both beaming with happiness on their cheeks.
This was his son’s wedding photo.
The photo wasn’t exactly idyllic, as the photography studio they had visited wasn’t particularly upscale.
But the photographer managed to capture the happiest mont of the two, leaving behind this image.
The son always cherished this photo, so he bought an expensive alloy fra to mount it in, and had it displayed by his bedhead ever since.
He Ao put away the photo fra and took another glance around the empty room.
Then, he slowly stood up and picked up the suitcase that had been leaning against the door.
“Elder, have you finished?”
YiXiya, who was standing near the door, looked up at him.
“Yes,”
He Ao nodded gently, looking at YiXiya, “May I choose the restaurant?”
“Of course!”
YiXiya quickly nodded.
Before departing, the three of them did so final tidying up.
He Ao, together with Jia Xi, piled up the things salvaged from the ruins in the corner of the wall, only taking the photo fra with him.
YiXiya, after getting He Ao’s consent, made a call to her ‘colleague’ to handle the monster corpses in the living room.
——Half an hour later——
Juiduo Fast Food Chain
YiXiya looked at the old window in front of her, the tabletop covered in grease stains, and the dark-toned floor.
“Surprised?”
He Ao looked at her, revealing a smile.
“Yes,” YiXiya didn’t hide her emotions, “I thought a strong person like you, Elder, would choose a high-end restaurant or a hotel dining room.”
“This place has been open for many years,”
He Ao looked up at the restaurant’s decor.
Although it was nearing two in the afternoon, the place was still crowded, with most custors ordering large servings of fried chicken burger als.
He brought his gaze back and continued, “When I was little, my mother used to work here.
Back then, this was a new establishnt and not yet part of this fast-food chain.
Of course, they were still selling these fried chicken burgers.”
“The three of you can choose whatever you’d like to order,”
Right then, a server ca over with an electronic nu and placed it in front of them before walking away.
“Elder, little sister, what would you like to order?”
YiXiya looked up at He Ao and Jia Xi, sitting opposite her.
“I’ll have a large drumstick, a burger, and a cone of ice cream.”
Jia Xi imdiately raised her hand.
“Okay.”
YiXiya chose the items Jia Xi wanted to eat, then passed the nu to He Ao, “Elder, what would you like to eat?”
“A basic fried chicken al will do,”
He Ao took the nu, made his choice, and then passed the nu back to YiXiya.
“I’ll have a basic burger al too and a cup of coffee,”
YiXiya quickly made her selection, then paid.
Most of the ti, these chain fast food establishnts operate without staff, and once the paynt is completed, the order is sent to the kitchen in the back.
When the al is ready, a ssage is sent to the electronic nu, reminding custors to pick up their food at the counter.
There was a wait ti for the al, and during this interval, YiXiya’s gaze fell on the nu prices, “I just realized, the giant burger here actually costs 6 federal coins.”
The giant burger is Juiduo’s signature dish, well-known for being cheap, substantial, and filling.
However, due to varying local prices and taxes, the giant burger’s price fluctuates, typically ranging between 4 to 7 federal coins.
In so sense, the price of a giant hamburger also reflects the local cost of living.
7 federal coins is just the price at a very few scenic spots or remote areas; in a regular restaurant in an ordinary city, 6 federal coins is already the highest selling price.
“New around here?”
He Ao looked at YiXiya with a smile and asked.
“Yes, I just got transferred here from Twilight City,”
YiXiya nodded and then said with so sigh, “The giant hamburgers over there are only 4.8 federal coins.
I thought that as a granary city, the selling price for this kind of food would be a bit cheaper in Saint Joen City.”
“It would be cheaper,”
He Ao spoke slowly, “but that was about thirty or forty years ago.
At that ti, this city had many grain companies.
Since there were no transportation costs for local sales, these grain companies often sold grain to local dealers at a lower price.
Back then, the prices of synthetic flour, synthetic at, and the like in Saint Joen City were very cheap.
“For instance, this kind of giant hamburger was probably around 4 federal coins back then.
Of course,”
He Ao chuckled, “that wasn’t the cheapest ti.
Almost twenty years ago, the prices of various grains were even lower.
That might have been the ti when grain prices in Saint Joen City were at their lowest ever.
The price for this kind of giant hamburger could even go down to 3.5 or even 3.3 federal coins.”
“That cheap?”
YiXiya was startled.
“Isn’t that price below cost?
How could they sell it so cheaply?”
“At that ti, the Kajet Group had just risen and was expanding their power ambitiously.
They used many thods to rapidly conquer the market of Saint Joen City, and low price dumping was one of them.
At that ti, almost all the grain companies in Saint Joen City were swept into that brutal war,”
He Ao turned his head, looking out the window at the towering factory buildings, with the dim and hazy streets under their shadows, “Back then, there were not so many skyscrapers in this city.”
The Tweed Group, where Cito had once worked, was one of the key players in that food war.
“What happened later?”
YiXiya, sowhat srized, continued to inquire.
This gentleman, dressed impeccably, seed to know many stories about the city, and at this mont, YiXiya felt as though she was questioning a witness to history itself.
“Well, afterward,”
He Ao drew back his gaze and looked at YiXiya, “Kajet Group killed off all the grain companies, acquired their factories, and beca the largest and only Grain Industry Group in Saint Joen City.”
He looked down at the nu on the table, “And then the price of a giant hamburger went up to 6 federal coins each.”
To date, Saint Joen City, a granary city where over one-third of the entire population is involved in food production, still remains one of the cities with the highest food prices in the Federation.
YiXiya was stunned for a mont; she hadn’t expected the conversation to loop back to her initial question in such a way.
Her eyes swept over the old windows outside.
Slim figures in a hurry walked along the dimly lit streets covered in shadows, their skin all showing a slightly sickly paleness.
Towering factory buildings blocked out everything, casting shadows across every road.
Now, in the most scorching mid-afternoon sun, even those living at the very bottom of this city didn’t have the privilege of enjoying the sunlight.
Ding-ding-ding—
Just then, the electronic nu sounded an alarm.
YiXiya snapped out of her thoughts, picked up the nu, and slowly rose, “Looks like the al is ready, I’ll go get it.”
“Let’s go together.”
He Ao rose with her.
Jia Xi also stood up and followed behind them.
They were seated not far from the counter and soon went to the front of the counter to get their als.
Jia Xi placed her al on the table and excitedly picked up her ice cream.
While He Ao, on the other hand, opened his box of fried chicken and asked YiXiya, “Let’s talk about the things I should know, like that monster that just attacked , and also”
He paused in his movents, with the steaming fried chicken now fully revealed in front of him,
“The organization behind you?”
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