Chapter 7 (1/2)

Translator: xujin-t-t, _Min_ Editor: xujin-e-x, Lis_

Civilization transcended through time, as history unfolded the successes and failures of a species. Humanity was a product of human adaptation and increased the understanding of humans themselves. Civilization hence existed as the cultivation of all the spiritual, intellectual, and physical discoveries of humankind. It has no accurate definition and can exist in any form.

Therefore, civilization existed at this place. But the definition was different than what Jiang Chen believed.

The technological level at Sixth Street was all over the place. A soldier carried an old automatic rifle with a cigar in the other hand and stared blankly into s.p.a.ce. While a merchant, with an advanced full-sensory computer, calculated the price of goods. People with missing limbs were everywhere. Some used canes while others were geared with robotic arms that were agiler than a real leg.

The lives of the Sixth Street residents were also drastically different.

People starved to the bones crowded the streets. They no longer even have the energy to howl. Uniformed soldiers, in groups of three, overlooked the road. They ignored the starved refugees and hookers on the street.

Like machines, the dark shades disguised any emotions they had.

“Absolute neutrality. That is Sixth Street’s founding principle on this wasteland. The laws are rather simple here. Murder and theft will be punished by death, tax fraud will be punished by eviction, and intentional harm will result in jail time,” Sun Jiao explained to Jiang Chen as he tried to get familiar with the rules.

“Then, why is that guy not shot?” Jiang Chen swallowed his spit as he stared in disbelief. A man was beating a woman to death. The starved woman did not fight back. The man sensed Jiang Chen stare and gave Jiang Chen a friendly smile.

“That’s the inspector. They are responsible for cleaning up the corpses at the ghetto,” Sun Jiao answered with ease, but Jiang Chen could sense her dislike for this place.

That woman was clearly alive.

“The inner circle at the Sixth Street is a bit more organized, but it’ll cost us one crystal energy. We are here for some small exchanges, so the outside market should be more than sufficient,” Sun Jiao said avoiding the previous topic.

“…” Jiang Chen nodded in silence.

It was a twisted civilization.

The outside market was littered with filth, but it was much better than the ghetto. The thief that got shot today was thrown into the dump. At night, the inspector would drag the body into the farm. It would then get mixed in with the lard that they looted from the Roshan and get made into fertilizers.

Some of the more famous, grand thieves, were nailed directly to the wall.

“Roger Clarkson, known as the werewolf, perpetrated three murders at Sixth Street and was shot by the security team in the sewage.”

A close examination of the wall explained the death of the criminals.

The name suggested that the guy was a foreigner, but it was nothing surprising since NATO’s troops had previously landed in this city. A lot of people remained here.

At the front of the market, two rather clean looking merchants were arguing fiercely. They seemed to have reached a conclusion in the end, as they signed both their names. Under the supervision of the market regulator, one side put a piece of crystal onto the crystal counting machine. The other one leashed out ten barely clothed women.

Indeed, they were on leashes.

Every woman’s slim and pale body was chained with a collar shaped electronic lock. Their spirits seemed to have escaped their bodies as they blindly obeyed the order.

Their graceful figures were stunning to the human eye. They were like dolls with almost flawless skin, but a barcode tattooed on their cheeks ruined the perfect image. It’s a symbol that typically appeared on products only.

The merchant was satisfied by the “products” he had just purchased. He waved his hand as the women were loaded onto the truck, that was leaving the market.

“New Ray Hotel,” with her eyes fixed in the direction the vehicle, Sun Jiao slowly let those words out of her mouth.

Jiang Chen noticed that Sun Jiao’s hands clutched into fists.

“Hotel?”

“It’s a brothel. The goal of it is to provide full services to all customers. I think you understand exactly what kind of services they provide. At that place, female labors are expendable, since people with weird fetishes exist everywhere. I heard once from a not-so-smart guy, who was bragging at a bar in Liuding Town, how soft the girls were. Soft, as in an edible way.”

Jiang Chen s.h.i.+vered, as if he could almost imagine the h.e.l.l those spiritless women go through.

“That slave merchant is probably from the force that occupied survival base 101. They use cloning technology and nutrient supply to provide low-cost clones. The people cloned are more like products than they are human.”

“So, what exactly is a survival base?” Jiang Chen looked at Sun Jiao’s emotionless eyes as he opened his mouth in disbelief.

“It’s something rather peculiar. Each survival base had a unique design philosophy to increase its survival probability,” she shrugged as she continued to explain, “I was born in survival base 71. Now that I think about it, I was quite fortunate. The design philosophy was to use A.I. to govern human nature. Although my life was structured, at least I was happy. Some of the survival bases were not as lucky.” A cruel smile, unfit for her age, appeared on her charming face.

“I heard before that one survival base was designed to use people to govern people. It aimed to create a spiritual leader that motivates people’s desire to survive. It was clear how naïve the designer was. The “spiritual leader” only enforced justice for a few years before he neglected all human consciousness and became a barbaric tribe leader. He used the security measure in the place to eliminate all males and left all the women as his s.e.x slaves. For survival base 101, I’d a.s.sume it was a human-less survival base.”

Shocked by the harsh truth, Jiang Chen forced himself to remain calm. However, he didn’t completely understand Sun Jiao’s words.

“Human-less survival base? What is a survival base without survivors?”

“Hehe, it stored the DNA of the human race’s elites. After the survival base reached its time limit, the breeding system automatically “manufactured” perfect bodies. It then used virtual reality to produce years of memories within a short amount of time. I don’t know what the designer considered, but they did not realize how popular these “people” would be after the war.” Sun Jiao’s words were full of mockery. Jiang Chen remained silent and continued to listen.

[Is this the end of civilization…]

“We are here.” Sun Jiao’s voice abrupted Jiang Chen’s thought as she dragged him into a store.

The store was Sixth Street market’s official purchasing station. It was responsible for evaluating the price of goods necessary for the survival camp and make purchases accordingly. Although canned food and batteries could all be used as currency in most survival bases, these trade rules were not applicable at the “prosperous” Sixth Street. Therefore, it was necessary for a credible organization to enforce a consistent currency. It also simplified the taxation process.

Crystals were the source of energy for high power equipment. It acted as a hard currency in any survival base. Its ease of access also made it match all of the characteristics of money.

Although it would be much more profitable to open his own store and sell canned food, the “wealthy” Jiang Chen chose the simpler option of selling it directly to the Sixth Street officials.

Sun Jiao did not stop him as she noticed he didn’t want to stay here much longer.

“Items.” The mechanical voice echoed through the window.

Jiang Chen opened his backpack. He took out one of the items and placed on the table.

The trader let out a loud gasp.

Jiang Chen heard a s.h.i.+ver of disbelief from the tone. Then, he felt all eyes were on him, without any intention of hiding their greed or desire.

Uncontrollably, Jiang Chen looked at Sun Jiao with pleading eyes. Sun Jiao signaled Jiang Chen to remain calm. No one dared to break the rules here. At least before they leave Sixth Street, they are safe.

“Sir, do you have any more of this?” The tone had a mixture of respect.