With a snap, all the lights in the room ca on. Zhang Qinghuan found himself in the living room of a dilapidated apartnt building, the windows covered with thick curtains.
His brothers were still lying unconscious nearby, none of them dead.
Zhang Qinghuan's mouth slowly opened wide as he looked across at his opposite.
Sitting opposite him was Luo Wanya.
“Well, I’ve interrogated your younger brothers. You really didn’t let slip anything about Qing Chen Supervisor, at least your mouth is still tight,” Luo Wanya smiled. “What I fear most is eting a useless person, without any rits. After all, we need to use this gang’s cover to work for the Leader.”
Zhang Qinghuan's mind was a little muddled. He had clearly heard the sound of throats being slit, knives piercing flesh, and the sound of gasping breaths, so how co none of his brothers were dead?
At this ti, a Silver Family mber not far away moved his mouth slightly and then mimicked those sounds again.
Zhang Qinghuan was startled. There was actually soone here who was skilled in vocal imitation, what artistry!
Luo Wanya asked: “Your Arts Society… what kind of na is this for a gang? I’ve seen Black Dog Gangs, Protein Bar Freedom Gangs, Daily Homosexual Gangs, but to be honest, this is the first ti I've seen a gang like yours. It's serious, yet has a hint of unseriousness, making it seem like a literary and art troupe.”
“It sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?” Zhang Qinghuan weakly said.
Luo Wanya thought for a mont and said: “Next, you have to cooperate with us. We’re going to pretend to be mbers of your gang to do so things. By the way, what do you guys who are in gangs usually do?”
Zhang Qinghuan was stunned for a mont: “Big brother, we usually spend our ti in prison.”
Luo Wanya: “?”
Zhang Qinghuan reacted: “We usually just smuggle so Cybernetic Limbs, and occasionally go to nursing hos to act as thugs.”
“Interesting,” Luo Wanya gestured for the Ho Families to untie Zhang Qinghuan and the others. “I’ve been ordered to do sothing in City 22. What just happened is a necessary process. These days, being cautious is responsible to your brothers, I hope you don’t mind, we’ll all be family from now on.”
“Okay… okay,” Zhang Qinghuan slowly stood up.
He was a little bewildered. What was Qing Chen Supervisor trying to do by sending so many Gene Soldiers here?
Wipe out all the gangs in City 22?
……
……
Ninth District, Pigeon Cage Building.
“Bang bang bang!”
There was a rough knocking at the door, the dilapidated apartnt door creaking.
There were several bullet holes on the apartnt door, and soone outside was using a chanical eye to peek through the bullet holes, looking inside like a cat’s eye, not at all shying away from the fact that the owner of the house was inside.
Qing Chen calmly asked: “Who is it?”
“Blackwater Gang collecting protection money!” a young voice shouted.
Blackwater Gang, Qing Chen had an impression of this organization. They were the ones he had mowed down with an automatic rifle on the Steam Train.
They made their living by smuggling, trafficking won and children, and selling human organs.
Qing Chen calmly walked to open the door. As soon as the door opened, a cold pistol was shoved into his chin.
Three young n crowded in, one of them smiling and saying: “Newcor, where are you from? Are you ready for the protection money?”
Qing Chen slowly backed away: “Sixth District, my investnt in the blockchain went bankrupt.”
“No wonder you’re still intact, it seems like you had a pretty good life before,” the young man sneered. “How much do you owe? Do you want to find you a way to make money? Otherwise, you won’t even be able to pay the protection money.”
“Why should I pay protection money?” Qing Chen asked.
“Because this entire building is managed by our Blackwater Gang, everyone who lives here has to pay two thousand yuan a month,” the young man said. “If you pay, you won’t die. If you don’t have the money, I’ll find a way for you to make it.”
Qing Chen curiously asked: “What way? I don’t sell organs.”
“You don’t have to sell organs to make money,” the young man smiled. “Have you heard of Cross Ga?”
Qing Chen shook his head: “No, I haven’t.”
“It’s run by bigwigs in City 22, specifically to help poor people in the lower three districts get out of poverty. As long as you win the ga, you can get a lot of money,” the young man said.
“What do I need to do?” Qing Chen asked.
“You need to be the prey, and then big shots will hunt you down,” the young man explained. “Within 168 hours, you just need to do everything you can to survive in this city, you can’t leave the city, you can’t fight back and kill anyone, as long as you make it to 168 hours, you can take away 10 million!”
In the Federation, 10 million was enough for a poor person to make a class leap, at least enough to buy a small house in the fifth or sixth district. As long as you don’t live extravagantly, you can live your whole life without any problems.
The young man asked: “So, pay protection money or beco prey, or are there other ways to make money, those thods are simpler.”
Qing Chen calmly said: “I’ll pay protection money.”
Saying this, he took out two thousand yuan from his wallet.
The young man's eyes lit up, because he saw that Qing Chen still had a few hundred yuan left in his wallet.
However, these young n didn’t continue to press him, they just patted the money in their hands: “He’s sensible, let’s go, brothers!”
After saying this, they turned and left.
Qing Chen pondered, they just left like that?
The young man’s look as he left told Qing Chen that these people would definitely co back again, but they couldn’t do it now.
It seems that there are certain rules in this lower-class world, gangs can’t openly attack those who have paid protection money.
Otherwise, collecting protection money in the future will be very difficult.
At least not openly.
Qing Chen looked around the cramped room, ten square ters, one room and one bathroom, except for a dirty bed, there was almost nothing else.
The water pipes in the pigeon cage building were still good, but the sewage had long since broken down, so the toilet couldn’t be used.
The landlord simply blocked the toilet.
At this ti, Qing Chen sent a ssage to Yang Yang: “As agreed, I’m in the lower three districts now.”
Yang Yang: “Now you know why we want to change the world.”
Qing Chen: “I know.”
Yang Yang: “As agreed, although it’s hard there, you must stay for at least a month.”
This was the exchange condition between Yang Yang and Qing Chen. She went to Osaka to take young Zhenji to see her mother and then bring young Zhenji back to Luo City, that’s what Yang Yang needed to do.
And what Qing Chen needed to do was to experience the lower three districts for a month.
Actually, in this exchange, Yang Yang didn’t really benefit, she just wanted Qing Chen to understand what the Inner World was really like.
Qing Chen put down the phone and shook his head. Actually, the mont he stepped into the lower three districts, he understood everything.
He didn’t dislike it at all, instead, he breathed in the pain of every person, every second, and thought about his own direction.
As he was thinking, a small head poked in from outside the door. Qing Chen looked, and the mont the other party t his gaze, he imdiately shrank back in fright.
It was the little boy who had stolen Qing Chen’s phone before, the chanical eyes on his eyes looked particularly jarring.
“Co in, I have a few questions for you, I’ll give you money,” Qing Chen said.
The skinny boy, who looked like a matchstick, walked in timidly: “What do you want to ask? One question for one yuan, no less.”
“What’s your na, how old are you?” Qing Chen asked.
“Zhang ngqian, 13 years old, that’s two questions, you have to give two yuan!” the little boy said.
Qing Chen frowned and looked at the little boy, silent for two seconds before asking: “Where are your parents?”
Zhang ngqian leaned against the wall, his voice filled with indifference: “I don’t have parents.”
“I’m paying,” Qing Chen said.
Zhang ngqian hesitated: “This question costs two yuan. I ran away from ho from the seventh district. They’ve already booked a buyer. When I turn fourteen, they’ll take my kidney.”
Qing Chen felt his breath catch in his throat.
So, this was the Inner World.
Master Li Shutong adopted so many orphans, it wasn’t a matter of whether he wanted to fight or not, but if he didn’t adopt them, so children really wouldn’t survive.
Qing Chen asked: “Why did you co here?”
“I think you’re different from the people here. Let remind you, honestly paying protection money will get you killed. You have to understand what resistance is, only then will they dare not touch you easily,” Zhang ngqian said. “A kid like understands this, why don’t you? Consider this my repaynt for you catching but not beating up.”
Qing Chen asked: “What will those from the Blackwater Gang do to ?”
“Although they’ve left now, they’ll still sneak into your room at four or five in the morning, first anesthetize you, and then take one of your kidneys,” Zhang ngqian said.
“Understood,” Qing Chen nodded.
“Why aren’t you scared at all?” Zhang ngqian asked.
“I’m scared, very scared,” Qing Chen got up and walked towards the door.
“You haven’t paid yet,” Zhang ngqian said, chasing after him. “Also, I’ll give you so information. They’ve definitely tricked you into participating in Cross Ga, right? Actually, everyone who participates will die. Those rich people will use the most advanced weapons to hunt down the prey. Even if the prey miraculously survives for 168 hours, they will die anyway because they don’t want the dia to know about this ga. Besides, the reward is actually given to the interdiaries like the Blackwater Gang. They don’t really intend to pay 10 million to an ant.”
This child was surprisingly precocious, and when he talked about the things in the lower three districts, he was very knowledgeable.
Qing Chen took out a hundred-yuan note from his wallet and gave it to Zhang ngqian, who directly stuffed it into his pants, making sure it wouldn’t be visible when he walked before he felt relieved.
Even today, in a technologically and internet-advanced Inner World slum, paper money is still used because it is still the safest way to avoid taxes and launder money under big data surveillance.
At this ti, Qing Chen passed a door, and saw five people inside wearing brain-computer interfaces, sitting quietly, occasionally making painful sounds.
“What are these people doing?” Qing Chen asked.
Zhang ngqian glanced over and casually replied: “They’re hired by businessn, using brain-computer interfaces to connect to their brains, and then using their brain’s computing power to mine in the blockchain. The businessn rent them equipnt and pay them wages. This way of making money is quite simple, but it kills you quickly.”
“These people look young, but many of their brains can’t take it, usually they’ll die before they turn thirty.”
Qing Chen calmly looked at this scene. This is the world where the weak are no longer protected by the law, the oppression from capital is not to lock you in a cage, but to let you go in yourself, and then willingly beco a pig.
He turned around and walked down the stairs out of the pigeon cage, the little boy asked behind him: “Where are you going?”
“To work.”
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