Bai Ye ate his fill, the food delivered to his doorstep tasting even better than he had imagined.
Then...
Bai Ye cut open the lizard's head and dug out a fist-sized brain.
This was the primary currency of the Ruined City. All mutated creatures produced a peculiar solidified brain matter during mutation, the most valuable part within them.
This solidified brain matter possessed extremely high nutritional value, essential for survival for both humans and androids.
Furthermore, it could be exchanged for fragments of the God Stone in the Ruined City.
Of course, the demand was high. For a creature like this giant lizard, Bai Ye would likely need to hunt a hundred of them to obtain a single God Stone fragment.
Bai Ye carefully stored the brain matter, wiped his hands, and prepared to leave. Just then, the sound of a motorcycle suddenly broke the silence behind him.
Bai Ye turned and saw a motorcycle parked by the roadside, with three men dismounting.
These must be the Chosen Ones.
The Chosen Ones were often easily identifiable by their attire.
Among the three, one wore a motorcycle jacket, but carried a ancient Chinese sword on his back and a Chinese Tang dao at his waist.
Another was dressed in hunter's gear, a submachine gun slung over his shoulder and a wooden magic staff in his left hand.
Their appearance certainly didn't suggest they were natives.
"Hey!" the man with the Tang dao called out to Bai Ye, "Who gave you permission to hunt here?"
"Hmm?" Bai Ye blinked, then chuckled, "Does this require permission?"
The three men exchanged glances. The first man asked, "Newcomer?"
Bai Ye considered it. "Yes, a newcomer."
The other gestured to the ground. "Areas A1 to A12 are our Ghost Fire territory. The mutated creatures here are ours. If you want to hunt here, you need our consent."
Ghost Fire?
Bai Ye tilted his head. Had he heard of such a faction in his past life?
No, he hadn't.
They didn't seem like a formidable force, but any Chosen One active in the Ruined City these days must possess some skill.
After all, this was supposedly a futuristic technological zone.
"Hey, I'm talking to you," the man stepped forward and shoved Bai Ye, "Did you hear me!"
Bai Ye snapped back to attention, casually producing the giant lizard's brain matter. "My apologies, here's the item. I won't hunt further. I intend to enter the city."
"Smart move," the man with the Tang dao took the brain matter, then added, "Pay the toll."
Bai Ye asked, "Toll?"
The other replied, "Passing through our territory, don't you need to pay a toll?"
Bai Ye couldn't help but let out a laugh. Looking at the man, he said, "Since I've given you an out, I think that's enough for today."
The three men paused, then burst into laughter. And then...
*Clang!*
The man in front of Bai Ye drew his Tang dao and pressed it against Bai Ye's throat. "You're giving me an out? Should I thank you?"
Bai Ye glanced at the Tang dao on his shoulder, then sighed. "You have no way out."
*Pfft!*
A bloody hole suddenly appeared on the man's forehead. He then fell backward, landing with a thud on the ground.
His two companions, still chuckling, suddenly found themselves splattered with blood.
Their laughter abruptly ceased.
They quickly recovered. One of them grabbed Bai Ye's collar and roared, "Do you know..."
*Pfft!*
Bai Ye had no intention of listening.
Electricity surged through his body, and the sound of tearing flesh echoed once more.
The man looked at his wrist in disbelief. His hand was gone. The shock was so profound that he didn't feel pain for a moment.
Bai Ye grabbed the severed hand, removed it from his collar, and tossed it aside. Then, he raised his hand...
*Pfft!*
Bai Ye formed his palm into a blade and casually swung it. The sound of surging electricity followed.
A bloody line appeared on the man's neck. His head tilted and fell from his shoulders, landing with a *thump* in the withered grass.
Only one remained. Bai Ye turned his gaze to him.
Fear flickered in the man's eyes. He instinctively tried to plead, "I..."
But in the very next instant...
Large arcs of electricity appeared around the man's body, zipping past him. Then...
*Pfft!*
The sound of flesh tearing suddenly rang out. Large wounds ripped open across the man's body, and the blood that sprayed out formed a mist of gore around him.
Bai Ye watched as the man fell, then stepped over his corpse.
"So, when you're given an out, you should take it properly!"
Bai Ye approached the three men's motorcycles. He casually picked one, mounted it, and rode forward along the street.
The Ruined City was vast, incredibly vast.
However, as its name suggested, most of the Ruined City had become ruins, with no inhabitants.
But mutated creatures did appear.
Therefore, the current Ruined City was roughly divided into three zones.
First, the outer border region, also known as the hunting grounds. Here, a large number of mutated creatures were active, serving as everyone's hunting territory.
Not only the Chosen Ones, but also natives frequented this area for hunting. The Ruined City was also called the Border City for this reason; these areas, teeming with mutated creatures, were known as the border regions.
Beyond the border regions lay the slums.
Two types of people lived here.
First were the powerless humans with unfortunate backgrounds. They had no android servants and had to rely solely on themselves, living in the slums and surviving by hunting mutated creatures.
Second were the renegade androids. Decades ago, the war between humans and androids ended with the androids' defeat. These androids went into hiding in the slums, posing as humans.
Above the slums was the affluent district, also known as the Castle District.
Most of the inhabitants of the Castle District were associated with the Rhine Corporation, the tech company that originally proposed the android project and was now the true power in the Ruined City.
To live in the affluent district, one had to be either affiliated with the Rhine Corporation or have close ties to them. Because the Rhine Corporation controlled a vast army of android soldiers, they held absolute military power.
Bai Ye's target was the slums. Of course, even if he wanted to go to the affluent district now, he couldn't. The guards there would refuse him entry unless he resorted to violence.
This was a crucial point. Although the Ruined City appeared to be a neutral zone, in reality, there were no neutral areas, nor were there any safe places.
...