Chapter 140: The Boss of the East District (Part 1)

This crystal was much larger than the one at Jincheng University, being an irregular block roughly the size of a basketball. Under the illumination of the surrounding lights, it emitted a dazzling radiance that connected directly to the protective shield at the top.

Surrounding the crystal were three diverse NPCs.

With his keen eyesight, Kong Zhe instantly recognized one as the general store owner, another as the weapon shop owner, and the third one was somewhat special—it was actually a Crystal Guardian!

Crystal Guardians were an extremely rare type of NPC. They did not sell anything to the Awakened. Their sole duty was to guard the Heritage Crystal!

They would intercept any attack charging toward the crystal and mercilessly kill anyone attempting to destroy it. This particular guardian was at Level 49. For a long time to come, it was safe to say that virtually no one could match him in combat, making the crystal here exceptionally secure.

Kong Zhe nodded. No wonder he hadn't seen a single soldier guarding the crystal; it was because of the guardian. Breaking the crystal here the way he had at Jincheng University was simply out of the question.

Beyond the grassy field before them, the surrounding spectator stands were packed tightly with tents. The original seats had all been dismantled, but the tents erected in their place were of noticeably better quality, and many colorful, luxurious tents could even be seen among them.

The people living inside these were individuals of higher status or members of various factions.

"Wow, it's so huge!"

Xiao Lei tightly grasped Kong Zhe's hand, unable to hold back her exclamation of awe at the scene before her. Her mouth remained wide open in wonder for a long time.

"What is it, Xiao Lei? Have you never been here before?"

Kong Zhe smiled and asked her.

Xiao Lei slightly adjusted her hood to reveal her delicate face, nodded at Kong Zhe, and whispered softly, "My older sister never let me go out before. I've only ever seen a place this big on television!"

"Aren't there just way too many people here?"

Xue Feifei approached carrying Tuan Tuan, frowning involuntarily as she looked at the bustling crowd shoulder to shoulder in front of them: "Aren't there so many other places outside? Why is everyone crowding in here?"

Crowded scenes like this were the absolute last thing Xue Feifei liked to see.

Dong Cheng, standing nearby, offered a wry smile and provided an explanation.

"None of us want to squeeze in here either, but the residential buildings outside might look spacious, they've actually been occupied for a long time by various private minor factions. Furthermore, those people are vicious criminals whose psychological states warped after the apocalypse, taking pleasure in murder. Men who go outside practically don't survive the night before being dismembered, and women have it even worse—some are toyed with until they die, while the pretty ones are seized outright and sold as slaves... In here, we have the management of the four major organizations, so at least people can't kill each other at will. But if something happens to you outside, nobody cares at all."

"Th-this chaotic?"

Xue Feifei covered her small mouth in astonishment. The apocalypse had only just begun a few days ago, and cases of casual murder were already happening?

"Well, just bear with it for a bit!"

Kong Zhe shrugged and said casually, "We aren't going to be staying long anyway."

In truth, they wouldn't just be staying a short while; according to their plan, as soon as tonight passed, they would immediately leave this cursed place.

As Kong Zhe was thinking, he suddenly heard a commotion from behind. Turning his head to look, he discovered to his surprise that Yang Fang had led her group of students inside.

Since most of them were female, walking together as such a large group formed a striking and beautiful scenery that drew sideways glances from everyone around.

This actually surprised Kong Zhe slightly. With so many people, where on earth did they get the funds for the city entry fee?

However, upon immediately catching sight of Yang Fang walking at the very front, Kong Zhe understood.

At this moment, Yang Fang's expression was somewhat haggard, and a major portion of the full set of equipment she previously wore was now missing.

Needless to say, she had undoubtedly used those pieces of equipment to pay the entry fees for her students. Equipment prices were still quite high during this period. Even the most inferior equipment could sell for at least one gold coin, and the food a single gold coin could buy was enough to feed a family generously for a week.

Yet this was merely killing the goose that laid the golden eggs; only by growing stronger oneself could one survive better in the end times.

Yang Fang had actually brought a group of students devoid of any combat power to this wretched place? Even though food wasn't lacking here, still...

Kong Zhe could not help but shake his head helplessly. Obviously, the other party lacked experience and had just walked right in so carelessly. He had already noticed that as they entered just now, quite a few people around them were wearing malicious grins.

Here, if they continued to live by the mindset they had held back at school, then without a doubt, their fate would be extremely tragic. It would have been better if most of them were boys, but as it happened, they were all youthful and attractive young girls.

In the new world, being pretty was sometimes not a blessing, but rather a crime!

However, Kong Zhe had no intention of lending her a helping hand; after all, they were merely passing acquaintances. Furthermore, he currently had a death prophecy hanging over his head and was barely able to look after himself—how could he possibly have the time to worry about others?

"Let's go!"

Taking advantage of the distraction caused by Yang Fang and the others drawing the crowd's attention, Kong Zhe waved his hand, and the few of them silently vanished from the spot.

The few of them intentionally concealed their presence, making them look like ordinary people. As for the females in the group, Xiao Lei kept herself completely bundled up, Xue Feifei let her messy hair cover most of her face, and Tuan Tuan, the remaining member, was a genuine toddler. Consequently, not a single person paid them any mind.

Of course, saying no one paid attention was only true for the vast majority of ordinary people. In this massive structure, there were still individuals—people lurking within the shadows—who had noticed the arrival of their group.

Beneath the stadium, inside a quiet, pitch-black room illuminated only by a few shafts of light filtering through the skylight at the top, the space was faintly brightened.

By virtue of this dim light, two figures could barely be made out inside the room.

At a certain moment, a harsh beeping sound suddenly rang out from one of the figures.

The two froze for a moment, and then both instantly sat up straight.

One of the men, sporting a hairstyle with blown-out curls, produced an instrument-like device from his person. At that moment, it was displaying a red dot and a green dot, much like a detector. The piercing alarm sound was originating precisely from this device.

"Hahaha, have they finally arrived... Hiss!"

Gazing at the dots of light on the dashboard, the man suddenly burst into frantic laughter. Because he laughed too violently, he aggravated a wound on his right arm, causing him to grimace in pain instantly.

"Damn it!"

The man cursed fiercely, yanked his entire right arm off, and slammed it down heavily onto the table with a loud metallic clatter. Under the illumination of the light, the fractured limb revealed its true nature—it was actually a prosthetic mechanical arm.

"My, you really are wasteful. Do you have any idea how many contribution points it cost us just to graft this arm onto you?"

A sharp female voice came from beside him, accompanied by the faint slapping sound of rubber boots against the floor.

"No matter how many contribution points it cost, at the end of the day, this isn't my real arm! It creeps me out to use it!"

The man shouted angrily, veins bulging on his face. Then, seeing the instrument in his hand, he suddenly sneered, his voice turning bone-chillingly cold: "Just wait... sooner or later, I'll settle the score for this severed arm!"

...

Dong Cheng led Kong Zhe and the others to his dwelling. Given his status, he naturally had no qualifications to live in the spacious and clean spectator stands; his residence was located in a corner on the east side of the stadium.

His family consisted of only an elderly woman. Upon seeing Dong Cheng return, the old woman wept tears of joy. Dong Cheng had been away for so long that she had even feared her son might never come back. Now seeing him return safely, she felt an overwhelming sense of having cheated death.

"Th-this is the residence you mentioned?"

Xue Feifei pointed at the small shack before her, her brows furrowed in a frown.

Dong Cheng had previously claimed he had a place to stay and could let them use it. However, upon arriving here, Xue Feifei discovered that the so-called dwelling was merely a small storage room cleared out near the pitch, with a total floor area of less than four or five square meters and a ceiling height of not even a meter. One had to stoop just to sit inside. Leaving aside what it smelled like, there was currently an elderly person resting inside, which made her feel deeply uncomfortable about the prospect of kicking them out.

Tuan Tuan in her arms still kept her eyes tightly shut, her face retaining a slight pallor. Xue Feifei felt somewhat anxious; Tuan Tuan clearly needed a comfortable place to rest properly, but the spot Dong Cheng provided left her profoundly disappointed.

Dong Cheng looked somewhat embarrassed, his face turning red under Xue Feifei's questioning gaze. He knew well that he had essentially deceived them earlier for the sake of food.

Actually, it wasn't quite a deception; this place was already vastly superior to those tattered rag tents. If not for the fact that he used to be neighbors and fairly close acquaintances with the boss of the East District, and the other party had spared him this tiny space out of past relations, he wouldn't have had it.

This place naturally felt like heaven to him, but he understood in his heart that the few people in front of him would certainly look down upon such quarters.

"I, I..."

Just as Dong Cheng was growing flustered and helpless, Kong Zhe patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't be nervous, we aren't going to snatch your home away. As compensation, however, you need to do something for me!"

"What is it? Just name it!"

Looking into Kong Zhe's profound eyes, Dong Cheng swallowed hard before speaking with firm determination: "You saved my life and helped me so much. Go ahead and say it—as long as it's something within my power, I'll do my utmost!"

"Relax, I'm not asking you to walk to your death!"

Seeing his resolute expression, Kong Zhe smiled and answered with a different question: "If I wanted to join one of the factions here, which one do you think is better?"

...

Half an hour later, Kong Zhe, accompanied by Xue Feifei and Xiao Lei, arrived in front of a luxurious private suite on the east side of the stadium.