Chapter 327

The scavenger girl Keni took Li Yi back and forth through the alleys in Feicheng. She was indeed very familiar with this place. The complex alleys like a maze couldn't trap her at all. If she encountered danger and ran into such alleys, the enemy would easily lose her, and this might be a means of survival and self-protection for the bottom people.

However, the alleys were always filled with unpleasant smells, and the ground was full of various industrial waste water. Walking in such a place required a lot of experience, otherwise, if a mouthful of poisonous gas was inhaled, one might fall into a coma directly. If there was no one to treat it, it was likely to die here.

Li Yi had inquired about this situation, and Keni said that corpses were found in the alleys every day. Some were scavengers, and some were victims of Feicheng citizens. The security here was not good, filled with depravity and chaos.

At the intersections of some alleys, he even saw some hoodlums.

Those hoodlums had colorful fluorescent tattoos on their bodies and were dressed in colorful ways, like running lights, seemingly belonging to some gang.

Keni was very wary of these hoodlums. She always tried her best to take Li Yi around them, not wanting to be entangled by these hoodlums and get into trouble.

Because the bottom-most hoodlums always liked to bully the bottom-most people. Conversely, those big shots were not interested in bottom people like them and wouldn't deliberately make things difficult for them.

"Keni, stop, don't think about slipping away. You haven't paid your residence tax for last month. You must make it up today. What is that you are holding in your hand? Is it an energy source? Give it to me quickly, this is not something you should possess."

Suddenly, when Keni passed an intersection, a green-haired hoodlum recognized her, shouted, and then rushed toward this side aggressively.

Facing that gang member, Keni subconsciously panicked, then pulled the flatbed cart and wanted to run.

But soon, a yellow-haired hoodlum also appeared at the other end of the alley, grinning and blocking Keni's way.

Originally, the two wanted to tease Keni and find some fun in their boring lives.

But soon, when they saw Li Yi behind Keni, the smiles on their faces froze instantly. Although they didn't have much insight, the momentum emitted from Li Yi made them feel terrified.

"It's a genetic warrior."

Such a term immediately popped into the minds of the two.

"Does this world also have yellow-haired people? If you two don't want to die here, get away from me." Li Yi just said this sentence calmly.

Where did the two dare to tease Keni? They were so scared that they turned around and ran immediately.

In a place like Feicheng, a genetic warrior represented strength, represented order, and even more meant that they could kill hoodlums like them at the bottom at any time. The magistrate wouldn't even pursue the genetic warrior's fault. Instead, they would issue a notice telling others that they were killed because they stole the genetic warrior's things.

"Wow, Yi, you are too cool. They were scared away by you. They will definitely not dare to collect residence tax from me in the future." Seeing this scene, Keni shouted excitedly again.

"Already mixed to the point of living in the sewer, and still want to collect residence tax?" Li Yi asked.

Keni said: "This is not collected by the Genetic Federation, but by the Mama Gang in this area."

"Mama Gang? What kind of gang is this? The name is really ugly," Li Yi said.

"Mama Gang is a gang established by a female genetic warrior named Hong Zhen. She adopted many orphans in Feicheng. Those orphans affectionately called her Mama, so this gang is called Mama Gang," Keni said.

Li Yi asked: "Why didn't you join this gang? This way you could be bullied less."

"Mama Gang only accepts men, not women," Keni said with some regret.

"So that's how it is." Li Yi nodded and had a rough understanding of the situation in this area.

Soon.

Keni took Li Yi to a sewage outlet. This sewage outlet was very large, a full three meters high, and could accommodate adult men to enter and exit freely. She pulled the flatbed cart and walked in naturally. She was used to the smell permeating the air and didn't feel it was unpleasant.

Seeing this scene, Li Yi couldn't help but think of his former self, living in the old city of Tianchang City, which was also filled with dampness and stench.

But compared to this, his living conditions seemed to be still good.

In the wide sewer, it wasn't just Keni living alone. After walking in, he found that many people lived here. They built a bed with metal, fixed it with nails on the wall, and formed a simple home.

And the further inside, the more people there were.

Li Yi glanced slightly. He discovered that the people living here were the poorest people, including the elderly, women, and middle-aged people with physical disabilities. It was rare to see children. Keni was considered relatively alternative.

However, his appearance attracted the attention of many people.

Pairs of numb eyes curiously and nervously sized up Li Yi secretly. They were very cautious and didn't even dare to look at Li Yi because it could be seen from Li Yi's armor and appearance that this was definitely not their kind. It was very likely a genetic warrior. But why would a genetic warrior follow Keni to this sewer?

Confused.

In fact, Li Yi had no purpose in coming here. He just had nowhere to go. He wanted to walk around and take a look to better understand this city and better understand World No. 6.

"In such soil, no wonder it will breed the existence of the resistance army. Residence tax is collected from such people. If they don't rebel, where is the way to live?" Li Yi looked at those people and thought to himself.

The sewer extended in all directions, but not every place was suitable for living. Some places had dangerous industrial waste water and poisonous gas, which must be avoided. Some places often had a large amount of sewage discharged, which couldn't be stayed in either. It wasn't easy to find a suitable place to settle down here. Not only did it require enough understanding of this place, but it also required you to act fast enough. Once someone else took the lead, you could only find another place.

Keni's home was located at the end of a sewer. She hung a small bed on the wall and built a platform with steel plates, on which various daily items and some parts that hadn't been sold were placed.

"This is my home." Keni said somewhat proudly: "This is the best place in this area. I moved five times before I found it."

Li Yi took a look. Indeed.

Compared to other places, it was relatively clean and tidy, and the smell wasn't so strong. Of course, good places naturally had many neighbors. Many people lived on this section of the road, appearing somewhat lively.

It was just that Li Yi's arrival made them very nervous, worried that this strange outsider would easily destroy the hard-won stability they had.

"Keni, tell me about Feicheng and your story." Li Yi found a position to sit down at this moment and asked. "My story? I am an orphan. Since I had memories, I lived in the sewer of Feicheng with my grandfather. I heard grandfather say that my parents used to be genetic warriors and had a relationship with the resistance army, so they were killed by the people of the Genetic Federation. Grandfather took me to hide here, but six years ago, grandfather also passed away. Later, I lived here alone. However, I took good care of myself. Usually, I can go to the scrap factory to pick up things to make money, and I can also run errands for people. I am very familiar with this place. Every time, I can always deliver things to the guests' hands the fastest."

Keni lowered her head slightly at this moment. Whenever she mentioned the past, she felt very sad. But when she talked about survival, she appeared very confident. Even if the situation was difficult, she was still optimistic.

Li Yi didn't speak, just listening.

For him, it might just be a story, but for Keni, it was her whole life.

Keni said a lot, especially about her grandfather, and also said some happy things, such as she was very lucky once and made a fortune of one thousand source coins. But later, it was robbed by the hoodlums of the Mama Gang. However, she was very smart and secretly left one hundred. During that time, she lived very happily and ate very full.

She also said some sad things, such as a sudden sewage discharge without regularity that washed away her home. She cried alone for several hours and finally spent half a month rebuilding the home little by little.

Also, for example, she went scavenging once, and when she came back, she was robbed by other scavengers. She couldn't beat the opponent, and the flatbed cart was robbed, so now she protected her flatbed cart especially well because this was the tool she relied on for survival. Without this flatbed cart, she couldn't pull things back from the scrap factory, couldn't make money, and might even starve to death in the end.

Also, for example, today, she was very excited because she saw an energy source that was forgotten to be dismantled from a car. If this thing was sold, it would be enough for her to live for half a year.

If planned well, she wouldn't have to worry about starving in the next few years.

Li Yi listened for a while, was silent for a moment, and finally asked: "Have you ever thought about changing all this?"

"Changing all this?" Keni blinked, appearing somewhat confused.

"It means no longer living in the sewer, no longer scavenging, having a good living environment, having a good future, having a normal life—in short, as long as you dream of getting things, they can all be realized," Li Yi said.

"I don't even have a citizen's identity. I am a black household, cannot own property, and I don't have a decent job. All this, I can't do," Keni lowered her head and said.

"Can't do and don't want to do are two different things," Li Yi said: "Are you willing to become a genetic warrior?"

"Genetic warrior?"

Keni's eyes suddenly lit up at this moment, but soon they dimmed again: "I am the bottom-most person in Feicheng, I will never have the qualification to become a genetic warrior, and genetic potions are very expensive. I can't afford them in my whole life."

"The miserable life has made your body and mind become inferior, but your soul shouldn't be cowardly because of this," Li Yi said calmly: "If you still have the courage to change all this, even if you bet your life for it, I can give you an opportunity to become a genetic warrior, just as a gift of fate."

"You have about a minute to think. After a minute, I will leave here to do some of my own things, and we might never see each other again in our lives. Compromise or resistance, it depends on how you choose."

He stood up slowly at this moment, his pair of pupils glowing in the dim sewer.

Afterward, Li Yi didn't linger but walked toward the road he came from.

Seeing Li Yi's departing back, Keni bit her lip, her expression changing, seemingly hesitating, seemingly thinking.

Not everyone has the courage to throw away a familiar life and embark on an unknown path.

"Keni, follow him. You are a descendant of a genetic warrior and should embark on the path of a genetic warrior. You are still young and have a future. You shouldn't stay in this sewer for your whole life. Even if you die in the future, you should die in the sunlight, not rot in the sewer."

At this moment, an old man sitting on a small bed nearby said in the tone of an elder.

Although the old man had been poor for a lifetime and didn't have much knowledge, he had lived to this age, and even if he didn't understand anything, he still understood some truths. The opportunity Li Yi gave was something many people couldn't seek in their whole lives.

And living like this, in fact, was not much different from being dead.

A word from the old man seemed to prompt Keni to make a major decision. She shouted loudly: "Yi, I want to become a genetic warrior, I want to change all this, I don't want to compromise."

This shout echoed in the sewer, seemingly passing through some gaps to the outside, drifting over Feicheng.

"Then you have to be prepared for death. If you don't have it, don't follow." Li Yi didn't stop his steps, saying while walking.

Keni was stunned for a moment and fell into a struggle again. But this time, she made a choice quickly. Then, without hesitation, she took out the energy source she found today, then looked at the beloved flatbed cart placed in the exclusive position, and finally tinkered with the energy source, then threw it toward her home.

The energy source landed and erupted with a burst of brilliant light.

Accompanied by the venting of energy, Keni's precious home and that beloved flatbed cart were all destroyed completely.

"Woo woo! I have nothing left." Keni wiped her tears, her whole body trembling with sadness.

Li Yi stopped his steps at this moment. He turned around and said: "I saw your determination, very good, follow me. I will let you truly live. In the future, you will be glad for this determination today."

Keni looked back at the flatbed cart that had been damaged and couldn't be repaired, finally wiped her tears, sniffed, and then ran toward Li Yi's direction.

The two soon left this sewer with turbid air.

If there were no accidents, they would never appear here again.

"What a dangerous character. There is a power in his words that bewitches people's hearts. Even I can't help but want to follow."

After the two left, the old man made an inexplicable exclamation.

In fact, it wasn't that Li Yi's words could bewitch people's hearts, but that the bottom of this world longed to seek hope and change.

Li Yi's appearance just happened to fit their inner hearts.

(End of chapter)