Chapter 357: Determination and Resistance

The scavenger girl Koni led Li Yi through the narrow alleys of Feicheng; she knew this place intimately—complex, labyrinthine alleys could never trap her, and if danger arose, fleeing into these alleys made it easy to lose pursuers, perhaps a survival tactic of the lower classes.

Yet the alleys always reeked of foul odors, the ground littered with industrial wastewater; walking here required great experience, or one might inhale a breath of poison and collapse instantly, and if no one rescued them, they would likely die here.

Li Yi had asked about this, and Koni said bodies were found daily in the alleys—some scavengers, others murdered citizens of Feicheng; the public security was poor, saturated with decay and chaos.

At certain alley intersections, he even saw some hoodlums.

Those hoodlums bore colorful fluorescent tattoos, dressed in garish hues like flickering neon lights, seemingly affiliated with some gang.

Koni feared these hoodlums; she always tried to lead Li Yi around them, avoiding entanglement or trouble.

Because the lowest-tier hoodlums loved to bully the lowest-tier people, while the powerful had no interest in them and never deliberately harassed them.

"Koni, stop—don't think you can run! You haven't paid your residence tax since last month; today you must settle it. Is that an energy source in your hand? Hand it over—it's not yours to possess."

Suddenly, as Koni passed an alley junction, a green-haired hoodlum recognized her, shouted out, and charged toward them with menace.

Faced with the gang member, Koni instinctively panicked and pulled her cart, trying to flee.

But soon, another hoodlum with yellow hair appeared at the other end of the alley, grinning as he blocked her path.

Originally, the two had intended to toy with Koni, seeking amusement in their dull lives.

But when they saw Li Yi behind her, their smiles froze—their eyesight may have been poor, but the aura radiating from Li Yi filled them with dread.

"Gene warrior."

The word instantly flashed in both their minds.

"Are there yellow-hairs in this world? If you don't want to die here, get the hell away from me." Li Yi spoke calmly.

The two no longer dared to tease Koni; terrified, they immediately turned and ran.

In Feicheng, gene warriors represented strength, order, and the power to kill such lower-class hoodlums at any moment; even the police would not pursue gene warriors for their actions, and instead would issue notices claiming the victims had stolen from gene warriors and thus deserved death.

"Whoa, Yi, you're so cool—they ran from you! They'll never dare collect residence tax from me again." Koni cried out excitedly.

"You're living in the sewers, and they still charge you residence tax?" Li Yi asked.

Koni said, "It's not the Gene Federation collecting it—it's the Mama Gang in this area."

"Mama Gang? What kind of gang name is that? So ugly." Li Yi said.

"The Mama Gang was founded by a female gene warrior named Hong Zhen; she adopted many orphans from Feicheng, and they affectionately called her 'Mama,' so the gang became the Mama Gang." Koni said.

Li Yi asked, "Why didn't you join this gang? It would protect you from being bullied."

"The Mama Gang only takes boys, not girls." Koni said, sounding regretful.

"I see." Li Yi nodded, gaining a rough understanding of the area.

Soon,

Koni brought Li Yi to a sewage outlet—large, over three meters tall, wide enough for an adult to enter freely. She pulled her cart and walked in naturally, having grown accustomed to the stench and no longer finding it unbearable.

Seeing this, Li Yi thought of his past life in the old district of Tianchang City, where dampness and foul odors also hung thick in the air.

But compared to this, his own living conditions had seemed relatively better.

Inside the wide sewer, Koni was not alone; as they walked deeper, they found many residents who had built beds from metal, hammering nails into the walls to form makeshift homes.

And the deeper they went, the more people they encountered.

Li Yi glanced briefly—he saw only the poorest: elderly, women, middle-aged people with missing limbs; children were rare, making Koni somewhat unusual.

Yet his arrival drew much attention.

Dozens of numb eyes, curious yet tense, stole glances at Li Yi; they were cautious, even afraid to meet his gaze, for his armor and appearance clearly marked him as not one of them—likely a gene warrior. Why would a gene warrior follow Koni into the sewers?

Confusion lingered.

In truth, Li Yi had no purpose here—he simply had nowhere else to go. He wanted to walk, to observe, to better understand this city and the Sixth World.

"In soil like this, no wonder rebel forces emerge. Even these people are taxed for housing—what choice do they have but to rebel?" Li Yi thought, watching them.

The sewers branched everywhere, but not every spot was suitable for living—some areas held dangerous industrial wastewater and toxic gas, to be avoided; others frequently flooded with sewage, unfit to dwell in. Finding a proper place to settle here was difficult, requiring deep familiarity and swift action—if someone else claimed it first, you had to search elsewhere.

Koni's home was set at the end of a sewer tunnel; she hung a small bed on the wall and built a platform from steel plates, piled with various household items and unsold parts.

"This is my home," Koni said proudly. "It's the best spot in this area—I moved five times to find it."

Li Yi looked—and yes.

Compared to other places, this spot was relatively clean and tidy, the smell less overwhelming. Of course, good spots attracted many neighbors; this stretch was crowded, lively.

But Li Yi's arrival made them tense, fearing this stranger might shatter their hard-won stability.

"Koni, tell me about Feicheng and your story," Li Yi said, sitting down. "My story? I'm an orphan. Since I could remember, I've lived with my grandfather in Feicheng's sewers. He said my parents were connected to the rebels, so the Gene Federation killed them. He hid me here, but six years ago, he died. Since then, I've lived alone. But I've taken good care of myself—I scavenge in abandoned sites for money, run errands for others. I know this place well—I always deliver items to customers faster than anyone."

Koni lowered her head slightly; whenever she spoke of the past, she grew somber, yet when discussing survival, she radiated confidence—even in hardship, she remained optimistic.

Li Yi said nothing, only listened.

To him, it was just a story. To Koni, it was her entire life.

Koni spoke at length, especially about her grandfather, sharing happy moments too—once, she got lucky and earned a thousand source coins, but the Mama Gang hoodlums stole them soon after. Still, she was clever—she secretly kept a hundred. That time, she lived happily, ate well.

She also spoke of sad moments—once, an unpredictable sewage surge destroyed her home; she cried for hours alone, then spent half a month rebuilding it piece by piece.

Once, while scavenging, she was robbed by other scavengers; she couldn't fight back, lost her cart. Now she guarded her cart fiercely—it was her means of survival. Without it, she couldn't haul goods from the dumps, couldn't earn money, and might starve to death.

And today, she was thrilled—she'd found a vehicle's forgotten energy source. Sell it, and she'd live half a year.

If planned well, she wouldn't worry about hunger for years.

Li Yi listened for a long while, then fell silent, finally asking: "Have you ever thought of changing all this?"

"Changing all this?" Koni blinked, puzzled.

"No longer living in the sewers. No longer scavenging. A decent home. A better future. A normal life—anything you dream of, you can achieve." Li Yi said.

"I don't even have citizen status—I'm a blacklisted person. I can't own property, I have no steady job. I can't do any of this." Koni said, head bowed.

"Can't and won't are two different things." Li Yi said. "Do you want to become a gene warrior?"

"A gene warrior?"

Koni's eyes suddenly brightened, then dimmed again: "I'm the lowest of the low in Feicheng—I'll never qualify to become a gene warrior. And gene serum is expensive—I could never afford it in a lifetime."

"Tragic circumstances have made your body and mind feel inferior, but your soul must not grow weak." Li Yi said calmly. "If you still have the courage to change this—even if you must gamble your life—I can give you a chance to become a gene warrior. Consider it fate's gift."

"You have about one minute to decide. After that, I'll leave to attend to my own affairs. We may never meet again. Will you yield—or resist? The choice is yours."

He slowly stood, his eyes glowing faintly in the dim sewer.

Then Li Yi turned and walked back the way he came.

Koni watched his retreating figure, bit her lip, her expression shifting—hesitating, thinking.

Not everyone has the courage to abandon a familiar life for an unknown path.

"Koni, go with him. You're the child of a gene warrior—you should walk the path of a gene warrior. You're young, you still have a future. Don't waste your life in these sewers. Even if you die, die under sunlight, not rotting in filth."

At that moment, an old man, lifeless and slumped on a small bed, spoke in the tone of an elder.

Though he had lived in poverty all his life and seen little, at his age, even without knowledge, he understood certain truths—Li Yi's offer was a chance few ever found in a lifetime.

And living like this was no different from being dead.

The old man's words seemed to push Koni toward a decisive choice. She shouted: "Yi, I want to become a gene warrior! I want to change all this! I won't yield!"

Her cry echoed through the sewers, slipping through cracks, drifting into the air above Feicheng.

"Then prepare yourself for death. If you're not ready, don't follow." Li Yi didn't stop walking as he spoke.

Koni froze, struggled again—but this time, she made her choice swiftly. Without hesitation, she pulled out the energy source she'd found that day, glanced at her beloved cart placed in its special spot, then tampered with the source and hurled it toward her home.

The energy source hit the ground and erupted in brilliant light.

As energy spilled out, Koni's precious home and beloved cart were utterly destroyed.

"Wahhh! I have nothing left!" Koni wiped her tears, trembling with grief.

Li Yi stopped, turned, and said: "I saw your resolve. Good. Come with me. I'll make you truly live. One day, you'll thank yourself for this decision."

Koni looked back at the irreparable ruin of her cart, wiped her tears, sniffed, then ran toward Li Yi.

The two soon left the foul, murky sewer.

As expected, they would never return.

"What a dangerous man. His words carry a power to seduce—even I almost wanted to follow."

After they left, the old man murmured strangely.

It wasn't Li Yi's words that seduced—they were the desperate longing of the lower classes for hope and change.

Li Yi's appearance perfectly matched their inner yearning.

(End of Chapter)