Chapter 64 – The Main City

Chapter 64 – The Main City

All the shops in Phoenix Village had been constructed, and Cheng Yang instructed everyone to choose a secondary profession to specialize in. This matter couldn’t be delayed, especially for stone quarrying. After the territory upgraded to level 3, many buildings would require stone materials. Without a sufficient stockpile, it would be a disaster.

After arranging these matters, Cheng Yang summoned Ma Tao. Today, he planned to take Ma Tao to explore the main city of Xiangcheng.

Cheng Yang estimated that Xiangcheng City had already opened up some job transfer permissions to ordinary citizens. As long as he was careful, he wouldn’t expose his identity in the main city.

Just as Cheng Yang was about to leave, Niu Bing suddenly approached with Pang Shan. “Lord, I heard you’re going to Xiangcheng’s main city today?”

Cheng Yang was slightly surprised. “Yes, why? Do you want to come along?”

Niu Bing shook his head with a grin. “I’d love to, but I need to lead my team to hunt monsters. It’s Pang Shan who has a request.”

Pang Shan smiled apologetically. “Lord, could you help me look for my friend while you’re in the main city? I know this is a big ask, especially since many people haven’t even found their family members yet. But she’s very close to me, and she’s also a student at Xiangcheng University. I believe she’s been rescued to the main city. If possible, could you bring her to Phoenix Village?”

At first, Cheng Yang frowned. As Pang Shan said, many people hadn’t even rescued their family members yet, and here she was asking to save a friend. It did seem a bit presumptuous. But upon hearing the latter part, he realized she only wanted him to bring her friend back if he happened to encounter her. This was a simple favor, so Cheng Yang decided to agree.

“What’s her name?” Cheng Yang asked.

“Liu Xiyue, she’s my classmate,” Pang Shan replied.

“Liu Xiyue?” Cheng Yang was slightly taken aback. The name did sound familiar.

Niu Bing chimed in, “Are you serious? Liu Xiyue is the campus belle, a real beauty.”

Cheng Yang immediately recalled. Liu Xiyue was indeed the campus belle of Xiangcheng University, and quite famous at that. However, after a year of enduring the apocalypse, Cheng Yang had a different perspective on beauty. He smirked, “Beauty? In the apocalypse, beauty is a dime a dozen. A pretty face is worth less than an apprentice-level combatant. Never mind, if I happen to find her, I’ll bring her back.”

In truth, Cheng Yang had another thought. If he could find Liu Xiyue, he might also locate some of his former classmates. Although he was closest to Yu Kai and a few others in university, he had some rapport with most of his classmates. If he could find them, he wouldn’t mind bringing them all back to Phoenix Village.

With that, Cheng Yang set off with Ma Tao. Along the way, unless absolutely necessary, Cheng Yang avoided monster groups. The distance to Xiangcheng’s main city was only about ten kilometers. If not for Ma Tao’s slower speed, Cheng Yang could have reached it in half an hour. However, it took them over two hours to arrive at the city center.

“Lord, is that light barrier ahead the main city of Xiangcheng?” Ma Tao finally saw the massive dome-like light barrier covering the ground, his face filled with awe.

Cheng Yang nodded. “Yes, that barrier protects the main city. Ordinary monsters can’t pass through it, so the main city is relatively safer than the wilderness outposts.”

Ma Tao asked with longing, “Can Phoenix Village have such a barrier too?”

Cheng Yang smiled slightly. He sensed Ma Tao’s genuine identification with Phoenix Village from his words. This was a common sentiment among the combatants of Phoenix Village. Although it was only the tenth day since the apocalypse began, the pressure of survival had made the village’s combatants more united.

“I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think the barrier is that crucial. To survive in the apocalypse, defense alone isn’t enough. We must become strong enough. One day, we’ll uncover the root cause of the apocalypse and take control of humanity’s destiny,” Cheng Yang said firmly.

Although Ma Tao thought Cheng Yang’s vision was ambitious, what other hope did humanity have?

Ma Tao nodded immediately. “Lord, rest assured, our brothers are willing to stand by you through thick and thin.”

Cheng Yang said, “Good! Let’s go check out Xiangcheng’s main city now. Remember, observe more, speak less, and don’t give anything away.”

Ma Tao naturally agreed.

As they continued forward, less than a hundred meters later, a group of soldiers in military uniforms appeared ahead.

In Ma Tao’s previous experience, soldiers should be armed with guns. But these soldiers were either wielding large blades or holding wooden sticks, which looked quite bizarre.

However, at this moment, Ma Tao didn’t find their attire strange, as he wasn’t much better off himself.

The soldiers also noticed Cheng Yang and Ma Tao. An officer immediately called out, “Halt! Which militia group do you belong to? Why are you acting alone?”

Cheng Yang replied calmly, “Sir, we’re from the First Militia. We got separated from our team and are heading back to the city to regroup with our leader.”

The officer didn’t suspect a thing and smiled, “Ah, brothers from the First Militia. Go ahead then. But be careful on the way. There’s still a kilometer to the main city. Although the large monster groups have been cleared, small groups of twenty to thirty monsters are still common. Don’t get caught off guard.”

Cheng Yang replied respectfully, “Thank you, we’ll be careful.” With that, he gave Ma Tao a look, and the two quickly bypassed the soldiers, continuing toward the main city.

After the soldiers were out of sight, Ma Tao couldn’t help but ask, “Lord, what’s this First Militia you mentioned? Haven’t you never been to Xiangcheng’s main city before?”

Cheng Yang replied calmly, “My hearing is quite good. I overheard them discussing the First Militia earlier.”

Ma Tao didn’t question further and continued following Cheng Yang.

As they got closer to the main city, they encountered more people—both combatants and ordinary refugees. It was easy to distinguish them. Combatants wore distinctive gear and looked healthy, while refugees were ragged and malnourished.

Combatants left the main city voluntarily to hunt demonic beasts, while refugees were forced out to scavenge for food and supplies. Although the city’s rulers were somewhat merciful, providing daily rations, it was barely enough to keep them from starving.

To get more food, these refugees had to venture outside the city’s protective barrier into the ruins.

Whenever Cheng Yang and Ma Tao passed by these people, their eyes were filled with envy and fear.

Cheng Yang was used to this, but it was Ma Tao’s first time experiencing such a scene. In Phoenix Village, although there were ordinary refugees, they didn’t need to risk their lives outside the settlement for survival.

In the less than one-kilometer journey, Ma Tao witnessed several instances of suddenly spawned demonic beasts charging into refugee groups, killing several before distant combatants arrived to slay the beasts. Although the remaining refugees cheered each time a beast was killed, the dead were gone forever.

Seeing this, Ma Tao felt a pang of sorrow. His initial excitement about Xiangcheng’s main city began to fade.

“Lord—uh, boss, do all the ordinary people in the main city live like this?” Ma Tao almost slipped up but quickly corrected himself.

Cheng Yang gave him a warning glance and said, “From what I can tell, class stratification is already emerging in the main city. In such a short time, it’s impossible for everyone to undergo job transfers. So, those who transferred first naturally hold dominant positions. Once they get used to this superiority, they’ll likely impose strict limits on ordinary people’s transfers. You can guess what happens next.”

Ma Tao smiled bitterly. “Even in times like these, humans can be so selfish?”

He didn’t need Cheng Yang to answer; he already knew the answer.

Cheng Yang continued, “As for whether all ordinary people in the main city live like this, you’ll see for yourself once we enter.”

Ma Tao didn’t ask further and quietly followed Cheng Yang. His resolve grew stronger—he must bring his parents, wife, and children out of the main city.

When they reached the light barrier, Cheng Yang calmly stepped through. Ma Tao felt a bit nervous, but seeing many people passing through the barrier, he followed Cheng Yang.

“I didn’t feel anything at all,” Ma Tao muttered softly.

Cheng Yang chuckled. “That’s normal. This barrier only affects demonic beasts, not humans.” He didn’t mention that the barrier also didn’t stop mutated beasts. In his previous life, more than one main city had suffered heavy losses from mutated beast attacks.

PS: Please bookmark and recommend. The first update tomorrow will be delayed until evening to extend the new book period by half a day.