novelhk Chapter 174 Leaving the City
Chapter 174 Leaving the City
After walking for about half an hour, they arrived at a new city gate that looked to have been recently built. This gate was much simpler than the north gate of the inner city, and looked more like a checkpoint temporarily reinforced with large steel structures and thick steel plates. However, there were also armed guards vaguely moving in the guard posts on both sides.
Xu Xiaoyan noticed that the gate equipment commonly used for identity recognition and security checks in the base, the alloy gates with screens and sensor areas, seemed to have been moved here and become the official entrance and exit of this "fourth city".
"It seems the expansion speed of the Linchuan base is even faster than I imagined," she thought to herself. Behind this expansion lies a thirst for population and resources, which also means an intensification of internal management and class differentiation. Every door is a line of screening and separation.
Leaving the city required passing through a narrow passage resembling an old-fashioned subway gate. When it was their turn, Xu Xiaoyan saw Lu Hu, Xie Yingtang, and Wang Xiao, who were walking ahead of them, each bring the inside of their left arm close to a circular sensor area on the side of the gate.
"drop--"
"drop--"
"drop--"
Three short, soft beeps were particularly clear in the quiet, cold environment. The small screen above the turnstile, facing the guard post, seemed to light up briefly, and then the turnstile arm automatically lifted to allow passage. Lu Hu passed through first, followed closely by Xie Yingtang and Wang Xiao.
Next, it was Xu Xiaoyan's turn. She followed their example and brought her left arm, which had an identity chip implanted in it, close to the sensing area.
"Beep—" Another soft sound.
But this time, on the small auxiliary screen above the turnstile facing her, the information that popped up was different. It wasn't a simple pass prompt, but a clear line of green text: "[Central City ID A-7382-19, Verification Passed]".
Next to it is a simple but clear graphic symbol: a double-layered rhombus with a circle inside it, which is the official symbol of the "Central City" area of the Linchuan base.
Xu Xiaoyan was slightly taken aback. She had never paid much attention to the chip and the identity classification. She only knew that she was classified as having the "Middle City" access level. She had always lived in the outer city and had almost never used the exclusive facilities or access levels of the Middle City. Over time, she had almost forgotten about this distinction.
"You're actually from Midtown?!" Lu Hu, who was standing next to her, turned around as if to urge her to hurry up. His gaze inadvertently fell on the logo on the screen that hadn't been turned off yet. He couldn't help but let out a low exclamation, his voice filled with disbelief and even a hint of barely perceptible bitterness.
Xu Xiaoyan withdrew her arm, the turnstile lever lifted, and she walked out of the passage, looking at Lu Hu with some confusion. "What's wrong?" She really didn't think there was anything special about this identity, especially at a time like this when she had to brave the cold to go out of the city to pick wild fruits.
"What's wrong? Ha!" Lu Hu clicked his tongue, half sighing and half mocking, his eyes behind his goggles flickering with a complex mix of emotions. "I've been in this Linchuan base for over a year! I've been trying to earn points every day, working myself to the bone, doing all sorts of dirty, tiring, and dangerous jobs, and I still haven't accumulated enough to qualify for Central City! Just that 'contribution point' threshold alone has blocked so many people! Not to mention the other hidden assessments... People like you who were born in 'Rome' have it so easy, starting so much higher than us."
He clearly misunderstood, thinking that Xu Xiaoyan directly obtained the right to reside in Zhongcheng because of her status as a "native of Linchuan," and never considered that she might also be a later entrant who obtained a different assessment based on certain conditions.
Wang Xiao, standing to the side, opened his mouth, knowing that Xu Xiaoyan was not a native, and wanted to explain, "Sigh..."
He had barely uttered a few syllables when Xie Yingtang, standing beside him, casually took a half-step to the side, seemingly raising his hand to pat the snow off Wang Xiao's back, but in reality, he subtly tugged at Wang Xiao's arm.
"Uh!" Wang Xiao's words caught in his throat. He turned to look at Xie Yingtang with a puzzled and aggrieved expression. When he met Xie Yingtang's calm but clearly warning eyes behind his glasses, he seemed to suddenly understand something. He immediately swallowed his words back and awkwardly raised his hand to touch his nose, which was covered by a scarf. He mumbled, "...Uh, I mean, this weather is really scorching." Xu Xiaoyan took in this subtle interaction.
She went along with Lu Hu's misunderstanding, gave him a vague smile, and said in a flat tone, "Just lucky," neither admitting nor denying it.
Lu Hu muttered, "Luck is also a kind of strength," and then turned around and continued to lead the way, saying, "Let's go, there's still a long way to go."
Once you leave the relatively clear boundary of the fourth city gate, the traces of human activity quickly diminish, and the path under your feet gradually transforms from a snow path that has been repeatedly trampled and hardened like an ice track into a pure natural snowfield.
The snow was deeper, often reaching knee-deep. Lu Hu was clearly very familiar with this road. He no longer took any seemingly flat main roads or old highways, but instead led them into a dead birch forest, along the edge of a gully covered by snow, sometimes climbing over frozen, slippery slopes, and sometimes weaving through huge, ice-covered piles of rocks.
The road became increasingly remote, and the surrounding scenery grew more and more desolate. Apart from the sound of the wind, the only sounds were the monotonous and continuous crunching of the snow under their feet and their increasingly heavy breathing.
Xu Xiaoyan's heart pounded with the increasingly remote environment. She silently observed the surrounding terrain, possible cover, and escape routes. Her right hand unconsciously touched the handle of the knife in her backpack through her coat. The touch, transmitted through her gloves, brought a faint sense of security.
If it weren't for Xie Yingtang and Wang Xiao, two people she knew relatively well, in the group, she was certain she would have turned around and left immediately. Sea buckthorn was indeed a good nutritional supplement, but its value was completely incomparable to her current stable living situation.
Would she risk her life in an unknown and dangerous situation led by a stranger just to pick some potentially fresh fruit? If the risk-reward ratio was too high, she would rather give up the sea buckthorn and go back to eating compressed biscuits.
Xie Yingtang seemed to sense her subtle nervousness. When climbing a steep slope, he deliberately slowed down and waited for Xu Xiaoyan to catch up. He then whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Lu Hu is a ruthless man, but he values his reputation. He makes a living by spreading information and guiding people. If he ruins his reputation, he won't be able to survive. I've dealt with him four times, and he's been pretty reliable."
Xu Xiaoyan glanced at him, nodded slightly, and didn't say anything. She knew Xie Yingtang was cautious. The fact that he could say that meant that Lu Hu didn't have any major blemishes on his "business reputation" at the moment. But this couldn't completely eliminate her natural wariness of unfamiliar environments and unknown purposes.