Arknights' Lock of Heaven

The scavengers pick and choose from the trash, then take their day's catch to the recycling station to sell for some money to support their families.

People here have no hope. No company will hire a scavenger from the slums, and most factories won't even come here to recruit.

But the slums in Lungmen seem to be quite different.

Xia Yu didn't know if all the slums in Terra were like this.

There weren't large bags of trash on the streets, though they weren't exactly clean either.

The houses are old-fashioned and dilapidated, a world apart from other parts of Longmen, but at least there's no worry that they'll collapse with a single tremor.

Perhaps it's because Longmen is a mobile city? Xia Yu had no idea.

He still knows too little about the world to draw conclusions through comparison.

Chen didn't seem like someone who could discuss this issue.

We don't know each other well.

But one thing is for sure.

Xia Yu looked out the car window at the people sitting slumped on the side of the street in twos and threes.

Their eyes were filled with numbness.

Even when a vehicle from the Guard Bureau, which rarely ventures into the slums, appeared before them, they merely glanced at it casually.

It was as if all of this had nothing to do with them.

Although it really had nothing to do with them, Xia Yu was still shocked by their numbness towards life, tomorrow, and the future.

He had never seen anyone like this before.

Whether in a past life, in Babylon, or on Rhodes Island.

Although the country I lived in in my previous life wasn't perfect, as long as I was willing to work hard, I wouldn't have any problem supporting myself and my family, and at least I had something to look forward to.

Although Babylon faced the threat of the alliance of the three goddesses, and those people would rise up against the hordes of monsters roaming the mountains and plains, they might be afraid, they might retreat, and they might beg for the protection of the gods before they die...

But at least they aren't numb; they all want to live.

But what Xia Yu sees now is someone who has lost all hope for everything.

They all have one thing in common: the black crystals on their bodies.

They are all infected.

"You seem to have never seen a slum like this before?"

Seeing his constantly shifting gaze, Chen asked unexpectedly.

Xia Yu didn't answer her question, but instead asked in return, "Are all the people here like this?"

Hearing his question, Chen was secretly delighted. He wasn't afraid of what the other person would say, he was just afraid that the other person wouldn't speak.

Sometimes, the more you talk, the more you reveal.

“Of course not,” Chen replied without hesitation, “this is only a part of it.”

A glint of light flashed in Xia Yu's eyes.

“The people you see here have all given up hope for life and are just waiting to die,” Chen sighed and explained. “Those who still have a sliver of hope for the future wouldn’t be lounging idly on the street at this time.”

"They have to work to support themselves and their families, even though some of the jobs aren't exactly...legal."

"Even so, it's still much better than the slums of most cities, and at least better than the hell of Lentinium."

Chen chuckled self-deprecatingly, "No wonder you're so surprised. Haven't you ever seen such a clean slum before?"

She took Xia Yu's shock as a result of never having seen such an orderly slum before, after all, someone with such martial arts skills must be a well-traveled and knowledgeable person.

Who knew he just had a good natural foundation?

The slums of Longmen have always been like this, and Chen has seen countless businessmen who come here to do business marvel at this.

They felt that this place couldn't even be called a slum.

"But this is not enough."

She whispered, "It's not good enough."

Chen knew exactly why all of this was happening.

The Rat King.

This underground king of Lungmen single-handedly restored order to the Lungmen underworld, and because of him, this slum is so unlike a slum.

But all of this won't last long.

The Rat King is old, while his successor is still very young.

Being young means lacking prestige.

Over the years, with the rapid development of Lungmen, infected people have been pouring in, quickly filling the entire slum and spreading to all parts of Lungmen.

By the time Wei Yanwu discovered them, these infected individuals had already become an indispensable part of the city.

They are cheap laborers in factories and the best cannon fodder in wilderness exploration. From government officials to businessmen of all sizes, they all love to use infected people.

Simply because it's cheap.

This raises a question: when a class becomes an indispensable part of society, they begin to demand more.

More pay, more vacation time, and more rights.

They will start demanding equal pay for equal work, they will demand fixed working hours, they will demand fixed holidays, they will demand the most basic rights of a citizen of Lungmen.

They felt that they deserved some credit for Longmen's rapid development.

All of this is what they deserve; it is an inevitable consequence of social development.

But the factory owners wouldn't agree, the officials wouldn't agree, and the capitalists certainly wouldn't agree.

All of this is cutting flesh from their bodies, even though that flesh should never have belonged to them.

Caught between their contradictions, the Lungmen authorities could only try to smooth things over.

They even lean more towards capital.

Wei Yanwu could not possibly support the infected at the bottom of society. He is a typical aristocratic ruler whose power comes from the city, and the city's prosperity comes from the influx of major capital. He is inherently incompatible with the people at the bottom of society.

Infected people? There are plenty of them in this world. Even if this batch is gone, there will be another. There will always be people who are desperate to get in.

The reason they're still trying to smooth things over between the two sides is simply for the sake of maintaining stability in the city.

When forced to choose sides, don't expect him to side with the people at the bottom.

Everything is not yet beyond repair, and the infected are only showing early signs.

That's why Wei Yanwu wanted to cooperate with Rhodes Island to introduce cheap inhibitors, as a carrot dangling in front of the infected.

After all, the infected are different. Their lives are destined to end. What if the conflict reaches an irreparable point, and they, who have nothing to lose, rise up in rebellion?

Although it can certainly be suppressed, Longmen will definitely suffer serious damage.

Therefore, they need Rhodes Island's drugs to give the infected a hope, a hope that hangs in the air, a hope that is just out of reach.

Cures Oripathy.

Rhodes Island can't do this, but that's okay. The capitalists will use their silver tongues to convince the infected that Rhodes Island can do it; it just takes a little time.

They don't need Rhodes Island to do that; they just need the Rhodes Island brand to appease the increasingly unruly infected.

As long as Rhodes Island, the authority on Oripathy, is willing to move to Lungmen, all departments will give it the green light, and all chambers of commerce will line the streets to welcome them.

Xia Yu was unaware of all this; he was still troubled by Kal'tsit's unknown trials.

Chen knew the general idea, and being naturally righteous, she disliked this approach, but could only follow it blindly because she couldn't find any other way out.

As for whether Kal'tsit knows or not?

God knows if she knows or not.

This damned era.

19. In the end, there's no going back.

An Suo looked at the several trucks of Imperial Guard officers outside the door and felt a little bewildered.

It was just a wallet that was stolen, was it really that big of a deal?

With that police force outside, they could easily take down an entire gang.

Although she was terrified, she obediently handed over all of her gains for the day before Chen asked any questions.

She was quite familiar with the Royal Guard; sometimes when she couldn't get food, she would steal something and then turn herself in to the Royal Guard.

At least they can get a prison meal and fill their stomachs.

Judging from today's scene, it's obvious that we've stolen from a big shot.

An Suo looked pitifully at Chen, who had a serious expression.

She knew this kind police officer; after all, not everyone who can't afford to eat can just go to jail for a few meals.

After all, the Guard Bureau isn't a charity.