Chapter 70: City of Order (Bonus Double Update)

Chapter 70

Cheng Xiangtian heard Shen Wang call him 'Captain Zhou.' There's only one person an S-class Mutant would call captain.

He was contaminated, but his brain wasn't fried yet.

'Zhou Xiangzhe?!' Cheng Xiangtian suddenly thought of something. 'You're Zhou Xiangzhe?!'

When Cheng Xiangtian's dispatch squad stumbled in here, the Deer God Incident hadn't happened yet. The Zhou Xiangzhe he remembered still had black hair and black eyes, so at first glance he didn't recognize him at all. Now that he suddenly knew who he was, his whole brain buzzed.

Physical change is the most common sign of Aberration. Even a strong S-class Mutant like Zhou Xiangzhe got contaminated?

Even an S-class can't avoid the end: Contamination Level maxing out and turning into a monster.

Shen Wang patted Zhou Xiangzhe's shoulder from behind, signaling him to calm down.

'You said your teammates died in action. How did they die?' Shen Wang glanced at the people still working frantically around them. 'It looks like they're all alive and well.'

Cheng Xiangtian's face looked bad, but he still spoke.

'Because they refused to enter the Layer of Greed. Their Contamination Level spiraled out of control.'

From Cheng Xiangtian's words, they got some information.

The City of Order is a Grade S Contaminant's territory. So inside the City of Order, everyone will Aberrate and vanish within seven days. But if you enter the Layer of Greed, you can control the Aberration. Once you go inside, your Contamination Level stabilizes.

That's the rule of the City of Order — you could even say it's an extra rule forced on everyone from the Anti-Contamination Center.

The City of Order discriminates against the Anti-Contamination Center.

'Makes sense.' Shen Wang nodded. 'After all, the Vanishing Project was approved by the Anti-Contamination Center. It's only natural it would have a grudge against the Center.'

'They wouldn't enter the Layer of Greed. Every one of them thought the layer was a trap, that once you went in you'd never leave. So they stayed outside until their Contamination Level erupted, turned into monsters, and vanished from the City of Order.' Cheng Xiangtian's face was grim. 'But if you're dead, what good is sticking to your principles?'

'Being alive is worth more than being dead!'

'So you entered the Layer of Greed?'

Cheng Xiangtian nodded.

He was always a slacker, and had only joined the Anti-Contamination Center not long ago. At first he was full of ambition, wanting to make a name for himself. But he never expected the dispatch squad would face something so dangerous. After his first mission, he tried to transfer to the security team. Before that transfer happened, an accident threw him into the Ghost City.

He didn't want to die, so one night he secretly bought the lowest-tier ticket and entered the Layer of Greed to stay a day.

When he came back, he could clearly sense that his teammates already knew where he'd been. But not one of them said a word. No matter how he tried to persuade them, none of them would go. In the end, it was Cheng Xiangtian who collected their bodies and buried them.

They died for their principles.

'I had no choice. Only people from the Anti-Contamination Center die from Aberration within seven days — normal people don't.' Cheng Xiangtian said, 'And only Anti-Contamination Center Marker Tags can be pawned for a million. I really had no other option.'

Zhou Xiangzhe looked at him coolly, neither understanding nor condemning.

But under that gaze, Cheng Xiangtian was so scared he crouched down, clutched his head, and trembled.

'Since you've been here three years, you should know everything about this place.' Shen Wang said, 'Tell us. If you do, we'll consider letting bygones be bygones.'

Cheng Xiangtian looked at Shen Wang doubtfully. '... Let bygones be bygones?'

He glanced furtively at Zhou Xiangzhe. 'Really? Can you do that?'

'Don't mind him.' Shen Wang said. 'I'm in command of this mission. He answers to me.'

Zhou Xiangzhe calmly withdrew his gaze and didn't contradict him.

Pawning his teammates' Marker Tags displeased Zhou Xiangzhe greatly, but he knew this wasn't the time to show personal feelings. Getting clues and finding Zhou Qing was the priority.

Cheng Xiangtian was even more surprised. To think he could make North Star's captain Zhou Xiangzhe follow orders.

This new S-class Mutant really is something.

Oh, right... they're wearing matching rings. They're a couple.

'My captain said before he died: No matter why this Layer of Greed exists, the underlying logic of the City of Order is “Rules.” It's just that those “Rules” hide beneath desire.'

'For example: after entering, if someone from the Anti-Contamination Center doesn't go into the Layer of Greed within seven days, they Aberrate. That's one rule.'

Cheng Xiangtian said, 'Other than that, I've discovered a few more rules.'

[Those who enter the Layer of Greed automatically lose their chance.]

[Guests in the Layer of Greed are gradually contaminated. Money is everything here. Guests who spend all their money and have nothing left to pawn will Aberrate and vanish.]

[Those who have not entered the Layer of Greed possess a chance. After meeting the conditions, they may advance to the next layer.]

[Guests of the Layer of Greed can, under special conditions, regain their chance.]

'Next layer?' Zhou Xiangzhe looked at him. 'There are other places in the City of Order?'

'As far as I know: the City of Order has three layers.' Cheng Xiangtian answered. 'This is the bottom layer: the Layer of Greed. Above that are the Power Lust Layer and the Layer of Lust. But you need special conditions to advance to the next.'

Shen Wang looked at him. 'Do you know how to get to the next layer?'

Cheng Xiangtian shook his head. 'I spent a fortune in the Layer of Greed to buy intel. All it told me was: after meeting the conditions, The Butler will give you a hint.'

'Beyond that, I don't know anything.'

The moment they heard The Butler gives hints, Shen Wang and Zhou Xiangzhe exchanged a look.

They instantly recalled that when they left, The Butler seemed to have said something to them.

'Oh, right.' Cheng Xiangtian suddenly remembered something. 'You two big shots are leaving here, right? If you're leaving, could you take someone out with you?'

Shen Wang and Zhou Xiangzhe looked at him. 'Take someone out?'

'Yeah.' Cheng Xiangtian turned and headed in a direction. 'Follow me.'

On the way, Cheng Xiangtian talked as he walked.

'She's The Child my captain brought back. When he found her she'd just learned to walk — both parents dead, no one left but her. The captain took her in and raised her. Too bad the captain and the others only lasted seven days... I had no choice, so I kept raising her.' Cheng Xiangtian pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it as he walked.

'Anyway, I figure I'm never getting out. If you really can leave, take her with you.'

Passing the people working themselves to death, they turned into a small alley. Cheng Xiangtian pushed open a tattered door. In the dim light, they saw a pair of big eyes.

The little girl sat on the floor staring at them blankly, not saying a word.

Cheng Xiangtian walked in and rummaged around, finally finding two pieces of bread in a drawer. He handed them to her. The little girl started gnawing on the bread as soon as she got it. There was no emotion in her eyes at all.

'Her brain's a bit off. Not sure if it's from contamination or...'

'New-type Genetic Disease.' Shen Wang walked over, crouched in front of the girl, and said, 'This state of hers is clearly a symptom of new-type Genetic Disease.'

Cheng Xiangtian looked at Shen Wang, confused. 'Is it?'

Shen Wang had been a patient for many years, so no one knew the symptoms of new-type Genetic Disease better than him. Affected children's symptoms vary, but most come with emotional issues: flat affect or intense emotions — both are emotional abnormalities.

Shen Wang himself was diagnosed with new-type Genetic Disease because his episodes came with extreme irritability.

Zhou Xiangzhe crouched down beside Shen Wang. 'Should we take her with us?'

'No.' Shen Wang said. 'The place we're going is too dangerous. She's just an ordinary kid, not too badly contaminated yet. If she comes with us, she'll probably Aberrate directly.'

The little girl paid them no mind, just gnawing her bread bite by bite, crumbs falling all over the floor.

'Raising her is tough.' Cheng Xiangtian hinted at Shen Wang. 'A kid like her is the easiest to get robbed. I have to protect her while working. People even use her to threaten me.'

Shen Wang looked at him. 'What are you implying?'

'Nothing!' he said hurriedly, then added carefully, 'At least give me back my Marker Tag.'

That was his last million.

'Fine, for this little one's sake.' Shen Wang pulled something from his pocket and tossed it over.

Cheng Xiangtian clutched the Marker Tag and grinned broadly, laughing nonstop.

Shen Wang and Zhou Xiangzhe stood up and left.

After walking out the door, Zhou Xiangzhe asked, 'What did you give him?'

'Hm?'

'I don't think you actually returned his Marker Tag.' Zhou Xiangzhe said. 'So what did you give him?'

Shen Wang smiled. 'A lesson.'

Watching the two leave without so much as a backward glance, Cheng Xiangtian looked at the little girl still gnawing her bread and sighed.

'You really are my lucky star.'

'I knew those fresh Anti-Contamination Center guys are just as rigid as the captain. They refuse to enter the Layer of Greed, but they'll definitely go soft for a little girl. See? My Marker Tag's back! My last million!'

'Choosing not to sell you was the right call!'

Cheng Xiangtian delightedly opened his hand to look at the Marker Tag. But the moment he opened his hand, blood-red thorns suddenly burst out, shooting straight for his eyes. He screamed, and the thorns coiled around him and hurled him against the ceiling.

With a bang, he crashed to the ground, groaning in pain. The Marker Tag clattered onto the floor with a crisp sound.

The little girl gnawed her bread, expressionlessly watching him crumple on the floor, unable to move.

After finishing her bread, she stood up, picked up the Marker Tag from the floor, and walked out barefoot step by step.

After walking a while like that, she saw two people sitting under a streetlight. The two men sat on the curb. The long-haired one looked a bit put off by the surroundings, but because the other kept holding his hand, he looked both happy and unhappy.

'See? Here she comes.' Shen Wang waved at the little girl.

Zhou Xiangzhe watched her approach. 'How did you know she'd come?'

'She has new-type Genetic Disease, she's not stupid.' Shen Wang took the Marker Tag from her hand and ruffled her hair. 'New-type Genetic Disease patients don't have intellectual problems.'

Zhou Xiangzhe gazed at her and Shen Wang gently.

'I remember that new-type Genetic Disease patients were contaminated in the embryonic stage, so they're actually more resistant to contamination than normal people. That's why she's managed to stay here three years without incident.'

The little girl copied their posture and sat down beside Shen Wang, resting her chin on her hands with an expression that said she was deep in thought just like them.

With her young age and baby fat, she looked quite adorable.

Shen Wang and Zhou Xiangzhe glanced at her, then started exchanging information.

'Did you get any hints from The Butler?' Shen Wang asked Zhou Xiangzhe.

'Yeah.' Zhou Xiangzhe spoke first. 'After I sent you into the Layer of Greed, The Butler said I'd given all the money I earned to you, sending you in to enjoy yourself, while I kept working to support myself — a very determined person. And he hinted that I'd make a qualified resident of the City of Order.'

'I got something too.' Shen Wang said. 'When I left, because I hadn't spent anything and hadn't used up my ticket time, The Butler said I possessed even stronger desires and was very suited to the City of Order.'

They exchanged a look.

Shen Wang frowned slightly. '... Extreme goodness and extreme desire?'

'That's really twisted.'

Zhou Xiangzhe also understood Shen Wang's meaning. 'The City of Order wants morally upright people as residents, so it created a Layer of Greed to test their desires. Those who enter the Layer of Greed lose their eligibility to become residents of the City of Order, and can only Aberrate into monsters within those desires. Only those who refuse to enter the Layer of Greed and can still sustain themselves in this harsh environment are considered excellent.'

'But the City of Order also wants people with great desires. They enter the Layer of Greed but don't spend a thing, because nothing here attracts them. It shows they want something even greater — a desire that can make them an even better person.'

Shen Wang clicked his tongue again. 'The most important part: the City of Order has excluded Anti-Contamination Center people. All Center personnel who don't enter the Layer of Greed will Aberrate. It just hates the Anti-Contamination Center. No matter how well they meet the conditions, it wants them dead. This contaminant really targets the Center to the bitter end.'

So yeah, they definitely shouldn't have signed that time. Thank goodness Jing Chunjun was there so they could come in without signing.

The little girl followed suit with a 'tsk.'

Shen Wang and Zhou Xiangzhe both looked at her. The girl remained expressionless, seemingly just mimicking their tone.

Seeing them look at her, the little girl finally spoke. She said, 'Are you going to use me to get money too?'

Shen Wang poked her. 'Who's using you to get money?'

The little girl thought for a moment, then shook her head. 'No one, but I know.'

'He wanted to use me for money.'

She meant Cheng Xiangtian.

She said, 'I don't want to go back.'

She then rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a Marker Tag. She shoved it into Shen Wang's hand. 'Take me with you.'

Shen Wang glanced at what she'd put in his hand, then handed it to Zhou Xiangzhe.

It was an Anti-Contamination Center Marker Tag. The tag was clearly marked with the squad name “Red Maple,” and the name on it was Captain Yu Xiang.

Before he died, this captain had already sensed Cheng Xiangtian couldn't be trusted, so he gave the important Marker Tag to the little girl. The girl had genetic disease, didn't speak, and showed no emotion, but she wasn't stupid. She remembered who picked her up and took her in, and she knew what kind of person Cheng Xiangtian was.

She'd hidden this Marker Tag very well.

Zhou Xiangzhe sighed. 'Take her along?'

'Take her.' Shen Wang stood up. 'Once we find Zhou Qing, we'll have him look after her. I bet he's great with kids — being the reincarnated holy monk and all, he loves children.'

'Monks can't marry or have children.'

'He's not actually a monk, so let's happily decide that.'

/

Once they knew the City of Order's criteria for picking residents, everything became much easier.

Zhou Xiangzhe clearly fit the 'stays true to himself and won't be corroded by desire' type, while Shen Wang was the opposite — a person of 'great desire.' That meant Zhou Xiangzhe needed to continue firmly not entering the Layer of Greed, and might even need to do some work and earn some money to maintain his persona.

For Shen Wang, it was simpler.

He just needed to get his hands on some money, get a ticket, take that ticket inside, walk around a bit, and come out without spending a cent.

Getting money was easy. All he had to do was walk around a dangerous area holding the kid's hand, and a bunch of people would come to rob him. After all, a harmless-looking guy with a child is the perfect picture of an easy, wealthy target.

So Shen Wang's anti-mugging plan went off without a hitch, and he quickly got the money.

This made Zhou Xiangzhe, who was having a rough time finding work, wonder if this counted as a kind of 'punishing evil and promoting good.'

Before entering the Layer of Greed, Shen Wang handed the kid over to Zhou Xiangzhe. They certainly weren't going to let a child follow them into such a dangerous place.

He arrived alone at the entrance to the Layer of Greed. The smiling Butler was still there.

'Ticket.' Shen Wang said. 'Give me the lowest tier.'

'Sir, you wish to purchase the lowest-tier ticket?' The Butler smiled and suggested, 'A low-tier ticket will not grant you access to high-level services, nor allow you to reach the deepest areas. I suggest you purchase the highest-tier ticket in order to discover your desires, rather than leave unsatisfied like yesterday.'

Shen Wang looked at him. 'You're saying the higher the ticket tier, the deeper you can go?'

'Of course.' The Butler said. 'You are a person of great desires. Wealth to you is merely external. Please, venture deeper inside.'

In the end, he bought the highest-tier ticket. Fortunately, Shen Wang had mugged quite a few times, so he could scrape together enough for one premium ticket.

Entering the Layer of Greed, The Attendant clipped the ticket to his chest as usual. Shen Wang walked inside calmly, his spending showing zero.

The usual wailing came from the Pawnhouse. People being dragged in by force were frantically searching their bodies for anything they could pawn; there was even looting.

The Layer of Greed doesn't regulate robbery. If you snatch someone else's collateral in the Pawnhouse, it counts as yours.

They let greed run rampant like that.

Shen Wang watched for a while at the entrance, then turned away uninterested. He walked forward with his hands in his pockets. Soon, someone stepped out ahead and blocked his path. Shen Wang looked up. The person blocking his way was very familiar — it was Cheng Xiangtian from yesterday.

Now Cheng Xiangtian had an eyepatch over one eye, and he was radiating hostility.

'Yo.' Shen Wang looked at him. 'You really crawled your way back in here. So tough.'

'Give me back my Marker Tag!' Cheng Xiangtian shouted. 'You blinded my eye! Give me the Marker Tag! I have no money for treatment!'

Shen Wang looked at him, puzzled. 'What are you talking about? What does your blind eye have to do with me?'

'It was you! When you gave me that Marker Tag, that thing suddenly appeared! It went straight for my eye, so you're the one who blinded me!'

Shen Wang looked at him calmly. 'Now you're just being unreasonable. You said yourself that I gave you the Marker Tag yesterday. You lost it yourself, so what's that got to do with me?'

Cheng Xiangtian clutched his eye. His remaining eye was bloodshot with rage, as if stained with blood.

'Then don't blame me. I know you're an S-class Mutant, but this is the Layer of Greed. You can at most resist the contamination here. And the Anti-Contamination Center can't attack ordinary people who haven't fully Aberrated...'

'Yeah, you're no different from an ordinary person.'

'There's nothing to be afraid of!'

Cheng Xiangtian let out a loud shout in the crowded area.

'That person! He's got two pieces of collateral worth a million each! Everyone, rob him!'

'Tch.' Shen Wang clicked his tongue. 'Pulling this stunt again?'

But this trick was indeed very effective. Everyone here had already been corroded by greed. The Pawnhouse nearby was full of people on the verge of death because they had nothing to pawn. Instantly, everyone turned to look at Shen Wang, and their eyes grew even greedier when they saw the zero-spending ticket pinned to his chest.

A person with zero spending had to be a newcomer, and a newcomer meant their money and valuables still hadn't been spent.

Sentimental value is something everyone in the world possesses, regardless of status. So he must have plenty of wealth.

'Snatch his collateral!'

Everyone present surged forward.

Shen Wang sneered. Since leaving Central City, he'd hunted plenty of contaminants — not as many as Zhou Xiangzhe, but quite a few. Grade A contaminants couldn't stop him; could a bunch of ordinary people hold him back?

The people rushing at him all fell in unison. They looked down in confusion, then in terror, discovering that at some point, a black shadow had appeared around their ankles.

Those shadows coiled around their ankles, forcefully dragging them down.

'What is this?!'

'Contamination! This must be contamination!'

'Ah! Let me go!'

The black shadows dragged them steadily downward. The ground transformed into a black river, and everyone flailed in its currents. Terrified, they tried to claw their way out, but more and more blackness covered their bodies, even seeping into their mouths and noses, silencing all their screams.

They struggled, but only sank deeper, until their entire bodies were buried in the black river.

Shen Wang walked across the black river step by step toward Cheng Xiangtian. His black hair gradually lengthened, falling over his shoulders. One eye was stained blood-red, the other pupil growing blacker and blacker, only the moon-white of his irises showing his inhumanity.

Red lines extended downward from the corners of his eyes, disappearing into his collar.

Cheng Xiangtian stared at Shen Wang in terror. He turned to flee, but his legs gave out and he fell straight to the ground.

'No, you can't!' Cheng Xiangtian scrambled backward. 'Anti-Contamination Center regulations state you can't kill ordinary people who haven't fully Aberrated.'

'You can't kill them, and you can't kill me!'

Shen Wang walked over, planted a foot on Cheng Xiangtian's chest, and slightly lowered his head. His black hair cascaded down, making Shen Wang's eerie inhumanity all the more pronounced.

'Then you're wrong.'

'You came here too early, so you don't know at all, do you?'

'After the Deer God Incident, the Anti-Contamination Center established a new regulation: for those who have suffered Mental Contamination from a Grade S Contaminant and cannot recover, the option to kill them under special circumstances is granted.' Shen Wang smiled at him. 'I really have to thank you for giving me that option. Under normal circumstances, I truly couldn't dispose of you.'

Cheng Xiangtian wanted to get up and run, but found he couldn't move at all.

Without him noticing, countless black threads had connected to his body, continuously pulling him down into the black river water.

'No, I was wrong! I don't want to die!' Cheng Xiangtian pleaded. 'For the sake of me also being part of the Anti-Contamination Center!'

'I just didn't want to die. I, I just...'

Shen Wang crouched down and looked at him, his heterochromatic eyes carrying a smile.

'Do I look like someone who listens to excuses?'

Of course not.

The moment he took Cheng Xiangtian's Marker Tag, Shen Wang had already written him off as a dead man.