Living in the Doomsday and Becoming an Immortal Alone

Misunderstanding?

Wang Jixuan, who had just decisively countered someone pointing a gun at his head, now looked slightly hesitant.

Several waitstaff, upon hearing the boisterous greeting from the manager Thomas, lowered their guns aimed at Wang Jixuan.

Wang Jixuan then slowly released the Bunny Girl he had pulled in front of him to block the bullets. She clutched her neck, coughing continuously, her eyes brimming with tears.

Wang Jixuan held up the fake revolver and pulled the trigger towards an empty spot on the ground.

Pop!

The muzzle shot out colorful ribbons.

"Hahaha!"

The 'old goat' Thomas laughed until he could barely stand.

"Cough, cough! Ugh!"

The tearful Bunny Girl, clutching her bruised neck, complained:

"I just wanted to celebrate for you... Why did you have to be so rough... It hurts so much!"

Wang Jixuan shrugged: "Reflex."

"Not bad reflexes!"

Thomas warmly called out, his flamboyant makeup and the stubble around his mouth creating a bizarre visual impact:

"Come with me. Originally, she was supposed to get you settled and give you some benefits. But now, I'll take you myself, hahaha! I told you, surprises can go wrong."

The Bunny Girl sniffled, her face a picture of grievance.

"This way."

Thomas walked ahead in high heels, still swaying slightly from side to side.

Wang Jixuan gave the Bunny Girl an apologetic smile and calmly followed.

They left through the back door, and a handcrafted car that looked somewhat bloated due to its heavy armor was parked in the alley. Daoist Wang mimicked and took a seat in the back.

'A self-moving chassis, it seems to utilize some kind of skilled magic, constantly drawing force from the ground.'

Daoist Wang evaluated this way.

Mu Liang had no memory of riding in cars; he had only seen them in textbooks and on screen.

Those small cars running through the streets were considered a significant emblem of the Golden Age of humanity.

Once inside the car, Thomas seemed like a different person, skillfully applying a face mask and reclining his seat.

The driver asked, "Where to today?"

Thomas said with his robust natural voice:

"Haven't had time to ask; there was a bit of a commotion inside."

"Where do you want to go, Zhou brother?

"The supplies your uncle paid for are enough for you to choose a gang leader's position from any of the seven major gangs; I will personally escort you there and help you get settled.

"I wouldn't recommend the Black Fire Gang though; they've recently gotten into some serious trouble, trouble big enough that they're about to shed their skin.

"When a gang sheds its skin, a lot of middle and lower-tier members die, and many black workers from their territories get captured to be scapegoats."

Wang Jixuan promptly asked, "Any recommended places?"

"Recommended?"

Thomas pondered:

"Black Fire Gang pulls in the most profits and opportunities; they deal with organs and blood, the most lucrative business in Lower City.

"Forget about the 47th floor and the 48th floor; those places are just for sending labor to expand the Fortress's outskirts, extremely dangerous and dry of profits. You've just come to Lower City and wouldn't know these things."

Wang Jixuan said, "My uncle has mentioned some things, but I don't quite understand."

"Which part don't you understand?"

"Lower City must exist, my uncle said so."

"Hahaha! Fuck, my face mask! This damn thing is outrageously expensive!"

Thomas, patting his large face, spoke rapidly:

"Is it so hard to understand?

"Upper City is for the soldiers, technology, societal infrastructure, and ample food, all for those soldiers with a sixty percent mortality rate who protect the Fortress.

"And those noble lords are taking advantage of these benefits too.

"Middle City is the comprehensive factory; Middle City and Upper City both enjoy protection from every law and statute of the Fortress, abiding by ancient legal principles.

"Every resident of Middle City gets a reasonable range of materials, food, electricity, clothes, shoes, belts, underwear, etc. They also have regular light entertainment events and sufficient medical resources. Children born there enter collective care institutions and are raised for free by the Fortress for six years, not to mention that damn enviable genetic matchmaking marriage.

"Upper City and Middle City actually perfectly constitute the ecosystem of the Fortress.

"But if the Fortress wants to generate more resource output, what should the Fortress do?"

Wang Jixuan thought deeply, then slowly shook his head: "I don't quite understand these things."

"Exploitation, a population that can be freely exploited, without needing to protect their human rights or care about the civilized laws of Upper City and Middle City."

Thomas's deep voice carried a sharp edge:

"That is the origin of Lower City; originally called the annex layer, it's the parts that started to be built downwards after the Fortress operated for several decades.

"The purpose of Lower City's existence is exploitation.

"Old Huang, drive further ahead, pick any street. Let our major client see the real residential areas of the lower levels, not this falsely prosperous garbage Joyful City."

"Right away, boss."

The elderly driver responded with a smile, started the car, and proceeded along the not-so-spacious street.

Armed militants were everywhere, but they all recognized the old goat's vehicle, so no one approached to cause trouble.

About two minutes later.

Dull lights appeared outside the window.

That was hundreds of tin shacks piled up like pigeon cages, surrounded by ditches of foul water. Of the several dozen streetlights here, only a third were functioning, casting a dim yellow light.

As his cultivation deepened with each passing day, Wang Jixuan's eyesight continually improved. At this moment, he could see many scenes that the drivers and the middleman Thomas couldn't see, as well as those... non-glamorous eyes.

"Come, look at them, let me show you that this is also part of a middleman's job."

Thomas calmly explained,

"You see them, surviving on the minimum intake, incapable of questioning the source of their sustenance. Staying alive is all that matters.

"A sense of despair surrounds them. If you offered them a job that allowed them to feed themselves and their families, even if it's only half a meal, wouldn't they work desperately? Wouldn't they volunteer for unpaid overtime?

"And even if they were beaten to death at random, died of illness, who would care? Because the rulers of Lower City are the gangs; the gangs don't take responsibility for them.

"It's troublesome for them to have children. They depend on people who know a bit about physiology, who are deliberately trained by the gangs.

"This is just the most basic exploitation.

"In fact, the entire system of Lower City is designed by the Upper City leaders' will; each of the seven major gangs has its own business.

"The major gangs of the 46th floor are Joy City and the Silver Party. Joy City serves as an entertainment locale for Upper and Middle City officials, facilitating their collusion and fortifying their cliques, catering to their desires, which are stronger than those of ordinary people.

"The Silver Party is a partner of Joy City. In addition to providing enforcers for Joy City, they also turn people into commodities. You see, the waitstaff in my shop are handsome, cute, and obedient, mostly bought from the territory of the Silver Party, with excellent obedience and very clever.

"The 47th and 48th floors are occupied by individual gangs, not because they are powerful, but because their industries require heavy physical labor, with miserably little profit.

"Our fortress now has four major expansion areas responsible for supplying the fortress with minerals and other resources. The main function of the gangs from the 47th and 48th floors is to supply the expansion areas with miners who work without wages, just like slaves.

"And the 49th floor houses three major gangs. It's the most crowded. Know why?"

Thomas eagerly posed the question.

Wang Jixuan answered, "Because the lowest level is farthest from Upper City?"

"That's partly the reason, the other part is, they can keep expanding their territory downward by digging tunnels."

Thomas winked proudly,

"The three major gangs on the 49th floor control different businesses; Wanli Gold controls liquor production, Black Fire Gang controls organs and blood, Hellfire controls the additives that can be included in tobacco."

Wang Jixuan was somewhat puzzled, "Liquor production?"

"Have you ever drunk alcohol?"

"No."

What Wang Jixuan meant was Mu Liang had never drunk alcohol.

Cultivators not only enjoy drinking, but they also like to add various spirit roots and grasses, and certain body parts of demon beasts to their alcohol.

Daoist Wang didn't prefer that kind.

Thomas looked out of the window at the streetscape, speaking in his rough, deep voice,

"Apart from that industrial alcohol concoction served in my shop, liquor production consumes a crucial resource, which is the food or fruits that humans can normally ingest.

"I grew up in the territory of Wanli Gold. If Wanli Gold didn't produce liquor but distributed the food resources they controlled instead, one-third of the people in Lower City could have an extra starch stick each day.

"This is just a hypothesis.

"Actually, all the gangs were consciously keeping most people in the Lower City barely alive, periodically distributing vitamins and anti-darkness medicine, which all came from the Upper City."

Wang Jixuan quietly pondered.

"This is the Fortress."

This charming uncle, Thomas, seemed somewhat melancholic as he looked at the streetscape, murmuring:

"This is the Fortress.

"Brother, what do you think is the most important thing in life?"

A few answers hovered on Wang Jixuan's lips.

Talent? Insight? Spirit Root? Perseverance?

The charming and melancholic uncle beside him already answered his own question:

"It's the place of birth.

"Born in Middle City, if it's above the 28th floor, you can enjoy complete protection, at most dealing with some bullying and harassment, below the 28th floor there's a risk of being kidnapped. Born in Lower City, most likely you end up like what you see here, if lucky enough to be good-looking or quirky enough, you might be pulled into Joyful City to work in the service industry, if physically strong, you might become fodder for the gangs, eventually killed by others. The ordinary, if not working in a gang's workshop, just lie here, and after death, their bodies are sent to the Refinery, not much difference between the two, the more you eat the more labor you do. If you're born in an aristocratic family in the Upper City, wow, you're really a lucky one.

"Struggling hard won't change much.

"Oh, right, if you're in Middle City, there's still a slight chance to change your fate—if you have decent physical health and the Fortress needs a lot of soldiers while reducing industrial population, you might normally enlist, fight to enter the Upper City as an officer.

"The upper echelon's soldiers are all quality individuals selected through genetic screening from the embryo stage.

"In Lower City, there's no chance at all, if the Fortress needs a large new force, it will initiate the Fortress War Protocol, and Lower City gangs can pull out fifty thousand young men and women at any time, implant chips in their brains, turning them into protocol soldiers, even if not dying in war, they're left with only a few years of life due to side effects.

"Never underestimate the will of the Fortress, it's cold, cruel, not merciful towards individuals, prioritizing the continuation of this tribe.

"Lower City gangs are controlling this will.

"Never forget, we are living in the last days of human civilization."

Thomas stretched lazily:

"This is your first lesson, as specified in the package, remember to write to your uncle later and give a good review... Okay, now choose, do you want to be a waiter on the 46th floor, or go to the 49th floor, brew wine, harvest organs, or manufacture chemical agents."

"Wine brewing," Wang Jixuan said softly.

Wanli Gold Gang and Black Fire Gang's territories bordered each other and often clashed, which was exactly his target.

Thomas said, "Wow, a rare choice, Wanli Gold has always been suppressed by Black Fire Gang simply because they have too little grease, the other two are massively profitable!"

"Isn't Black Fire Gang not an option?"

Wang Jixuan switched the focus swiftly, gazing into the uncle's eyes, revealing a hint of age's vicissitude:

"What about you? Thomas.

"I think, your life hasn't been smooth sailing, you must be a successful person in Lower City, how did you manage it?"

"Are you being polite?"

Thomas frowned, then sighed, staring blankly out of the car window.

He didn't want to talk, not really.