Chapter 6: The Kid

Nanhuangzhou is vast.

If viewed from high above, one can see the shape of its tectonic plate, an irregular oval surrounded on all sides by the great ocean.

Although it is separated from the Wanggu Continent by the Endless Sea and is more like an island-continent, its vast expanse is something many people could not traverse in a lifetime.

However, most of the places within it are difficult for the human race to enter, blocked off by the Truth Mountain Range that cuts diagonally across the entire Nanhuangzhou.

The southwestern part of the Truth Mountain Range is an extremely vast forbidden zone.

That area occupies nearly seventy percent of Nanhuangzhou; only the region northeast of the Truth Mountain Range is where the human race resides.

Even so, the number of humans is not small.

Within this northeastern region, there exist dense, star-like clusters of cities, both large and small, some sturdy and some simple.

Yet, the locations where these cities were built all avoid the various small forbidden zones within the northeastern region.

Given a choice, no one is willing to live around a forbidden zone, living in a crisis where danger could descend at any moment; only desperate people, driven by necessity and forced by life, gather together, eyes red, licking their blades to struggle for survival.

Thus, scavenger camps were formed, and such camps appear around almost every forbidden zone; looking across the entire human territory, the number of scavenger camps is quite complex and varied.

At this moment, standing on the mountaintop, what came into Xu Qing’s view was just such a camp.

Looking from afar, the camp is not very large, housing only a few hundred people.

Perhaps because it is early morning, smoke from cooking fires curls upward; although not as prosperous as a city, it is quite lively.

Faintly, sounds of shouting, cursing, hawking, and unbridled laughter intertwine, carrying far into the distance.

However, the dwellings that the Captain of Thunder spoke of as having value become increasingly simple in structure from the inside out, with the outermost ones basically being nothing more than tents.

As for the area not far behind the camp, it is a pitch-black jungle.

Mist swirls there, as if hiding terrifying existences.

Even though the sunlight in the sky is intense, it cannot fully shine inside, as if gods and demons reside within, coldly intimidating all directions.

It also looks like a black aberration on a human body, shocking to the eye while remaining clearly distinct from the other areas.

"How do you feel after seeing it?" the Captain of Thunder asked on the mountaintop.

"It's about the same as the slums," Xu Qing thought for a moment and answered truthfully.

The Captain of Thunder smiled, said nothing, and walked forward.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and followed behind the Captain of Thunder; the two walked down the mountain, getting closer and closer to the camp.

On the way, they encountered people returning from outside in twos and threes, their clothing similar, mostly dark gray fur coats.

Xu Qing noticed that when these people saw the Captain of Thunder, their expressions all revealed awe, and their eyes, mostly filled with curiosity, swept toward him.

This gave Xu Qing more guesses about the identity of the Captain of Thunder.

Just like that, when the sun was high, Xu Qing followed the Captain of Thunder into the plain at the foot of the mountain and walked into this scavenger camp.

The camp has no city walls, and the ground is very messy, with dust flying, dead leaves and trash visible everywhere, giving a sense of foul air.

And as they walked, the sounds heard earlier on the mountain reached Xu Qing’s ears more clearly.

Besides the simple buildings that came into view, there were also the numerous scavengers.

Some were as tall, burly, and overbearing as wild oxen, some were as thin as sticks with venomous eyes, and some were so old they seemed unable to open their eyes, yet no one dared to provoke them.

There were also some teenagers like him, huddled in corners, looking at the sky with lifeless eyes.

A portion of them were disabled.

Among them were quite a few people; when Xu Qing saw them, his eyes narrowed slightly, as the aura on those people made him feel the fluctuation of spiritual energy.

All sorts of people were there: some were trading, some were fighting each other, and some were lying on large rocks sunbathing.

There were also some who walked out of tents hung with bright feathers while pulling up their pants, lewd expressions on their faces.

As Xu Qing followed the Captain of Thunder into the camp, to an outsider, it seemed like walking into hell.

But apart from being vigilant inside, he felt nothing unusual, and even had a faint sense of familiarity.

"It is indeed very similar to the slums," Xu Qing muttered in his heart, his gaze sweeping over the tents hung with feathers, seeing what appeared to be pale figures inside.

One tent even had a young woman walk out in scant clothing, looking lazy, smiling and waving at Xu Qing.

"Don't look around," the Captain of Thunder glanced at Xu Qing.

"I know what kind of place that is," Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and replied.

The wrinkles on the Captain of Thunder’s face bunched into a dumbfounded smile; he said nothing and led Xu Qing through the camp until they reached their destination.

It was a huge wooden building located in the center of the camp, circular in shape, resembling a coliseum.

Along the way, Xu Qing had been observing, and he had already constructed most of the camp's map in his mind.

This was his habit; in many cases, familiarity with the environment can often change the situation of a crisis.

At this moment, he looked up at the coliseum-like building in front of him, noticing that besides the huge arena inside, there were many simple benches on the inner perimeter.

In addition, bursts of roars from ferocious beasts came from inside the building.

Around it were some row houses like wooden sheds, and a few scavengers with noticeably cleaner clothes were chatting outside the row houses.

With the arrival of the Captain of Thunder, a thin, middle-aged man soon wobbled out of the coliseum.

This person wore a long gown that distinguished him from the scavengers, had a three-pronged mustache, and also had spiritual energy fluctuations on his body; as he walked over, he pulled his face in a perfunctory manner, glanced at Xu Qing, and then looked at the Captain of Thunder.

"Newcomer?"

"The rules are already known," the Captain of Thunder said slowly.

"What's his name?" the three-pronged mustache asked casually.

"Just a little brat, where would he have a name? Just call him Kid," the Captain of Thunder said indifferently.

"Then come with me. Kid, you're lucky; there are already a few before you, and the show can start tomorrow."

The three-pronged mustache yawned and turned to walk toward the row houses.

Xu Qing glanced at the Captain of Thunder.

"Go on, I'll come to pick you up tomorrow," the Captain of Thunder looked at Xu Qing, his eyes filled with some expectation.

Xu Qing took a deep look at the Captain of Thunder, nodded, said nothing, and stepped to follow behind the three-pronged mustache.

Until they reached the row houses, the three-pronged mustache exchanged a few words with a scavenger nearby and turned to leave.

And Xu Qing was also arranged into the row house and told that he was not allowed to go out without permission.

The moment he stepped into the row house, Xu Qing saw four pairs of eyes from different positions in the room converge on him.

They were three teenagers of similar age to him and one young man, three boys and one girl.

The two boys seemed a few years older than him; they swept over Xu Qing, sized him up, and didn't pay any more attention.

As for the girl, she was a little younger than Xu Qing, huddled in a corner, with a huge scar on her face.

She looked at everything around her nervously and vigilantly, including the original three and the newly arrived Xu Qing.

As for the oldest young man in the room, he seemed to be a scavenger already and was just changing camps.

So, upon seeing Xu Qing, he curled his lip, somewhat dismissive, turned his gaze away, and stared at the girl in the corner with aggression, licking his lips.

But clearly, not having officially obtained the right to reside in the camp, he didn't dare to be presumptuous yet.

Xu Qing ignored them, found a spot near the door, sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, and meditated silently.

Time passed slowly; perhaps because Xu Qing’s arrival was too quiet, the three people in the row house, excluding the little girl, gradually ignored him and began to talk to each other.

Among them, the words of the two boys clearly showed an intention to curry favor with the young man.

The content of their conversation was mostly related to this trial.

Through their conversation, Xu Qing learned that this camp holds a trial every once in a while, once enough people wanting to obtain residency qualifications have accumulated.

The rules of the trial are very simple.

Because the camp master keeps many mutated ferocious beasts, the trial to obtain residency qualifications is to draw lots in public and fight the beast drawn.

Either live or die, each being the other's prey.

The living can take away the spoils and obtain residency qualifications.

The dead will have everything they are become food for the ferocious beasts.

And every trial will be held in this coliseum.

At that time, most of the scavengers in the camp will buy tickets to watch this bloody scene; while gaining pleasure from it, the camp master will also open gambling games to profit from it.

In this cruel world, human life is not worth much.

But if one cannot enter a city and cannot enter a camp, living alone in the wild, the risk of death is even greater.

Of course, the slums are also an option, but clearly, those who can decide to enter a scavenger camp all have their own stories of why they had to come here.

Xu Qing listened while meditating.

Until their discussion turned to the matter of the god opening its eyes many days ago, one boy suddenly spoke.

"When I came, I heard people say that you are a survivor of that catastrophe?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Xu Qing slowly opened his eyes.

Looking over, he noticed that the object of the boy's words was not himself, but the little girl in the corner.

The little girl’s body trembled, and she nodded silently.

Xu Qing’s gaze fell on this little girl.

Others only heard about it, but he had experienced it all, so he knew deeply that those who could survive the catastrophe and come here might not be as fragile and simple as they appeared to the eye.

Seeming to notice Xu Qing’s gaze, the little girl looked up at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing closed his eyes again and continued to meditate; he had to seize every moment to cultivate, as this was the foundation for him to live a little better.

Just like that, the night passed.

The next morning, accompanied by the chaos and clamor outside, the door of the row house was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

Sunlight spilled in, covering the body of the scavenger standing at the door; as his shadow fell into the room and shrouded the little girl in the corner, a cold voice came.

"Pack up and come with me; your good show is about to begin."

"Finally, the wait is over."

The youth in the hut, who seemed to be a scavenger himself, was the first to stand up, walking over with a smile to greet the person at the door.

The two boys quickly followed behind, Xu Qing was the fourth to walk out, and as for the little girl, she was the last.

The scavenger at the door seemed to know the youth; after laughing and cursing a few times, he ignored the others and led the youth toward the beast arena.

As they drew closer, the noise, the clamor, and the shouts rose one after another, growing increasingly intense.

By the time their group stepped into the beast arena, the surrounding sounds erupted all at once.

One could see that on the benches surrounding the beast arena, there were already over a hundred people present, both men and women, appearing like a circle of demons watching a good show together.

Their voices were very loud; the little girl's body clearly trembled, and the two boys also turned pale.

Only the youth looked toward the spectator stands with a hint of excitement in his eyes.

Then there was Xu Qing, whose expression did not change much as he began to observe the environment of the combat area within the beast arena.

"The area is not very large, not suitable for kiting; there is no cover, not suitable for hiding."

"The surrounding wooden boards are high, not suitable for drawing danger toward the spectator stands, but there are traces of several doors, suggesting other passages."

"So... either drag it out and use the shouting of those scavengers to startle the fierce beast, looking for an opportunity to strike, though it might also provoke the beast into a rage; therefore, a quick victory would be most advantageous."