Chapter 115: On the Verge of Collapse
It didn’t take rare materials to make an ordinary lamp containing a moth—just some basic raw materials, a [Moth]-attribute high-grade core, and Xu Zhi’s [Moth] ability were enough.
Xu Zhi made dozens in one go. She then called Zhong Lingfan, and the two personally installed these [Moth] lamps in the most critical areas at the center of the residential zone, as well as at key entry and exit points.
Zhong Lingfan was clearly curious about the lamps. Xu Zhi didn’t hide anything:
“It’s my extraordinary ability. The effect is somewhat like an alert system, but I don’t have too many to spare, so just place them in the most important locations.”
Zhong Lingfan couldn’t tell whether this was true or not, but she didn’t dare question Xu Zhi.
After setting them up, Xu Zhi added:
“If you run into an urgent situation you can’t handle and I’m not around, smash one of the lamps.”
She would sense it immediately, dispatch her fastest servant back, and even activate the [Moth] ability to cause chaos in that area. In emergencies, it could be useful.
While placing the moth lamps, Xu Zhi and Zhong Lingfan passed by many residents. They greeted Zhong Lingfan politely, but their gazes inevitably fell on Xu Zhi. Most could guess who she was, and even those who didn’t recognize her treated her with respect, since she was with Zhong Lingfan.
“So many people now?” Xu Zhi was a little surprised.
She hadn’t really kept up with the changes in the residential area, but now that she was walking through it with Zhong Lingfan, she realized how different things were.
Aside from the ever-present haze and dim daylight, the residential area had begun to resemble peaceful times.
Of course, that peace only existed inside the zone.
“Ever had people who couldn’t pay rent?” Xu Zhi asked.
“Yes,” Zhong Lingfan nodded.
With more people, there were bound to be some useless ones.
“How did you deal with them? Kick them out?”
Xu Zhi figured that wasn’t Zhong Lingfan’s style.
Sure enough, Zhong Lingfan shook her head.
“We had them sign a contract, repaying their debts with labor and their extraordinary abilities.”
She said it simply, but the contract clearly wasn’t anything like what you’d find in peacetime.
If you thought about it, signing a contract that essentially gave up all control of yourself—it was probably better to risk your life hunting mutant beasts for cores to pay rent.
“People actually signed that?”
Anyone with a functional brain should know better. Once you sign that, your life isn’t your own.
Zhong Lingfan smiled. “Quite a few, actually.”
“What if they break the contract and run? Doesn’t that just let them freeload?” Xu Zhi asked again.
With no formal law in Cloud City, no one in the residential area dared to violate the rules. But once outside, in this lawless world, the zone couldn’t spare resources to hunt down some unimportant ‘criminal.’
“We have someone with tracking abilities. Besides, leaving the zone isn’t necessarily a good thing. The ones who signed did so because they didn’t want to face the dangers outside.”
Then, Zhong Lingfan said meaningfully:
“As long as we catch one runaway and show everyone what happens to them, the rest won’t dare try it.”
“I’m still a kid, can’t handle these gory stories,” Xu Zhi said, shaking her head. “I’m a minor.”
Zhong Lingfan looked exasperated.
“You? A kid?”
“Doesn’t matter. My federal ID still says I’m underage.”
(Even though her birthday was only a month away.)
“Fine.” Zhong Lingfan let it go. She knew Xu Zhi simply didn’t care about things like how the residents were managed or what punishments were in place. As long as they continued supplying her with cores, that was all that mattered.
Once she asked the questions she was curious about, she stopped listening to the rest.
Since she had just leveled up, Xu Zhi asked whether anyone in the residential zone had broken through to level 5 while she was away at the Second Ring.
The answer was: No.
“It’s not that easy to go from level 4 to 5.”
“Probably won’t happen before New Year’s.”
And summer hadn’t even arrived yet.
“That hard?” Xu Zhi was surprised.
She hadn’t paid much attention to how fast ordinary extraordinaries advanced. She didn’t bother hiding her surprise either—Zhong Lingfan already knew Xu Zhi wasn’t like the others. As long as she didn’t reveal critical secrets, everything else didn’t matter.
Zhong Lingfan smiled and explained:
“You think leveling is easy?”
“It’s easy to get from 1 to 2. But 2 to 3 takes at least a month, maybe two or three. From 3 to 4 takes half a year, even the fast ones need several months.”
Cloud City had been sealed off for over six months. Anyone at level 4 was already exceptionally talented.
“4 to 5? At least a year.”
“Fastest would still take seven or eight months.”
So difficult…
If it took this long inside Cloud City, wouldn’t it be even harder outside?
And yet the Federation nearly saw the rise of a high-ranking archbishop. If Xu Zhi hadn’t interfered, that archbishop would have crushed their extraordinaries like ants.
Now, she had inadvertently bought the Federation some breathing room.
But looking at the big picture, the number of zealots in the Federation was likely abnormally high. Some had probably already infiltrated the political system—or perhaps some high-ranking officials were zealots, but no one knew.
However you looked at it, the Federation was now standing on a precipice. They could rely on modern tech to temporarily suppress the zealots, but if something like another archbishop emerged, technology wouldn’t be able to save them.
Meanwhile, Cloud City was stabilizing thanks to the residential zone—assuming you ignored the monsters in the city center.
Xu Zhi figured that if she made progress at midnight tonight, she would soon head to the city center again.
She had no confidence in handling the center and didn’t plan to tell Zhong Lingfan either. Before parting, she only gave a heads-up that she might be leaving again soon.
Zhong Lingfan was long used to Xu Zhi’s wandering ways. She simply nodded and promised to take good care of the residential zone.
After placing the moth lamps and saying goodbye, Xu Zhi returned home. She told Yu Shenwei to stay in her room and not come out, then waited quietly for midnight.
When night fell and the clock ticked past a certain point, an invisible, mysterious space descended into this world. Xu Zhi lit a gray lantern, opened the door, and stepped into midnight.
