Chapter 395: Something's about to happen

The human female still ended up bringing Zhang Jie into the vast Wasteland City.

「Treasure Chest! 」

Zhang Jie, who hadn't spoken much, suddenly let out a nervous-sounding howl; the movement was so great it made the nearby human female shudder.

Gazes were cast upon this place; the human female, feeling a bit socially anxious, quickly reached out and patted Zhang Jie on the head.

「Damn kid, don't shout nonsense! 」

Although the slap wasn't strong, it was enough to make a four-year-old human child wail loudly, yet it had no effect on Zhang Jie.

「Treasure Chest! 」

Zhang Jie let out a loud howl, even louder than before; the next moment he got a solid slap to the mouth, instantly becoming obedient, and his eyes cleared up.

「Hmph, you little troublemaker! 」

The human female, feeling proud, pulled Zhang Jie and walked away; afterwards, Zhang Jie finally understood what a Treasure Chest was.

Above the sky, a flying ship with a vastly different appearance from the ground was dropping huge containers one after another, like dumplings falling.

But Zhang Jie's eyes were not drawn to those huge containers; instead, the huge flying ship in the sky attracted him.

Zhang Jie saw such splendid colors for the first time, different from the dull yellow of the Wasteland; even if it were just a garbage transport ship, it was enough to brighten Zhang Jie's eyes.

「That! That! 」

「Not that, look at this! 」

The excited human female pulled Zhang Jie and quickly ran toward the landing point of the containers.

「Even scrap is graded good or bad; in this apocalyptic-like place, even scrap is divided into Three Six Nine Rank, letting those of the Three Six Nine Rank come to take it, and the human female somehow has some means to actually get first-hand scrap. 」

「Treasure Chest refers to this; according to the human female, the scrap quality inside this Treasure Chest is the highest, and besides, there are Treasure Chests that randomly drop in the wild; such a worldview makes you very curious. 」

「The human female picked out many strange things from here; this Treasure Chest seems to be an electronic mechanical product, and the human female is very happy, constantly muttering, 'I picked up treasure, I picked up treasure.'」

「And on this day, you began your own vocational enlightenment as a scavenger; the Treasure Chest was firmly etched in your heart, and of course, the flying ships in the sky also left you with lasting memories. 」

「'That's a flying ship, a cutting-edge creation of human wisdom.' That's how the human female described those things to you. 」

「'From the most ordinary flying ship to the ultimate gigantic giant flying ship, they are all built bit by bit from these scraps.' The human female tried to instill this concept using such a method. 」

「And the human female also mentioned something you're even more interested in: the 'Ship Humanoid Lifeform,' a technology unique to this civilization, an extremely powerful technology, a technology that makes you unforgettable once you hear about it. 」

「As the human female continually explained all this to you, you gradually gained a basic understanding of this world. 」

「Your civilization is one that has newly come into contact with the Star Sea, but in fact, you truly belong to a massive civilization that dominates countless star systems; you are merely one of the countless small civilizations absorbed into it. 」

「How vast the universe is; just listening to the human female's explanation makes you dizzy, yet you also yearn for the outside world, but whenever you bring this up, the human female always looks at you with unwilling and pitying eyes. 」

「At this time, you still don't know the meaning behind her gaze, and you're carelessly fantasizing about future days, only feeling that the human female seems to have some serious illness, completely unaware of what you'll have to face. 」

「Five years old: Unbeknownst to you, you're already five, and you've gradually come to understand the survival rules on the Wasteland. 」

「At the exact center of the Wasteland lies a Central City, the only place with order. 」

「There you have medical care, education, entertainment, and so on—things you cannot feel outside the city; of course, for your nominal mother, that is, the human female, none of this is a problem. 」

「She is far more knowledgeable than you imagine; she feels pity for those desperately wanting to enter the Wasteland's Central City, feels sorrow for those complacent living in the city, she often gazes at the starry sky as if she has something on her mind, and the next day she becomes carefree again. 」

「You've wanted to ask her about her story, but she always smiles and stays silent, adding the line 'Dead kid, don't think so much.' to brush you off, which makes you furious, so you try every way to mess with the human female. 」

「But in the process of messing with her, you realized she actually seems to enjoy it a bit, which instantly made you angry; fortunately, these little things haven't affected your relationship with her. 」

「Six years old: The human female somehow got hold of a huge pile of study materials, making you study every day to the point of misery; you really want to know how she got these from this Wasteland, but the answer shocks you greatly. 」

「It comes from another prosperous planet that is completely a different world from here, sent by that planet's Interstellar Express Company; she obtained these knowledge materials at great cost, and as for how great that cost was, she probably never intended for you to know. 」

「'As long as there's money to be made, they won't even let this Wasteland Star go.' That's what the human female told you, but you can't fully understand these things, and now you're more worried about the heavy daily study load. 」

「Fortunately, much of this is dry knowledge about electronic machinery; as someone who often opens Treasure Chests as a scavenger, this isn't boring for you, although you'd rather just go open Treasure Chests. 」

「Treasures that refresh in the wild often come with danger, and their quality varies; those that fall from the sky easily smash into something, like your cozy little home..... 」

「Cough, although this hasn't happened yet, it doesn't stop you from worrying about these things; after all, sometimes you can indeed see fresh tomato juice flowing out from the wild-refreshed Treasure Chest..... 」

「In short, this world is full of danger and surprises; to survive here, violence is necessary, and you, young as you are, will quickly realize this. 」

「That day, the human female went out to look for treasure; not knowing what happened, she hasn't returned for a long time, you're very worried, so you set foot onto the dark Wasteland..... 」

「It looks like something unexpected might happen... 」