Chapter 17

Chapter 17: I’m Just a Newcomer
The locomotive carried the two of them through the towering and profound spaces of the city, descending from the interlaced and staggered elevated highways, entering the industrial-laden southern district.
Massive steam pipes could be seen running parallel, extending and winding past rows of dimly lit low buildings, like tangled threads that appeared chaotic yet possessed a hidden order.
From time to time, surging steam, like the breath of whales, gushed out from both sides of the road.
At first, Xiao Xiao’s nostrils caught only the scent of heated rust and dull steam, mixed with unidentifiable chemicals, filling the air with a sense of danger.
The entire old southern district gave the impression of desolation and decay, with bankrupt and abandoned factories visible everywhere. The street lamps were few and far between, making the entire district appear much darker than other areas.
On the tall brick walls, exaggerated and vivid graffiti was painted, but beneath the graffiti stood groups of idle drifters loitering about.
Some of them had cigarettes dangling from their mouths, others clutched bottles of alcohol, gathering in small groups or squatting alone in dark street corners. Whenever a new face appeared, countless hollow eyes would stare over.
This was the most dangerous district in the city, and a breeding ground for countless thugs, prostitutes, and criminal masterminds.
In Xiao Xiao’s memory, this place had already become notorious four years ago. Order had collapsed here, and even the Security Bureau didn’t dare to casually come here to arrest people, unless they sent large contingents of personnel.
He couldn’t help but withdraw his gaze.
Here, making eye contact with anyone could potentially spark unnecessary conflict.
It was Ruanruan who seemed quite at ease in such an environment. She even stopped beside a railing where she could brace herself against the ground.
She took out a small electronic device and observed it for a while, then accelerated and left before the unfamiliar faces around her could approach her.
Behind them, a barrage of curses quickly erupted, mixed with the chaotic sound of beer bottles smashing against the ground.
Ten minutes later, the soft rumble of the motorcycle brought them to a place that seemed desolate even by the standards of the dilapidated old district—apparently the edge of the city.
Here there were only vast stretches of abandoned factories, sprawling endlessly, their dark hollows like corpses lying prone on the ground. Occasionally, a single dim light glowed outside a building’s entrance, standing lonely and trembling in the thick darkness of the night.
“The anomalous radiation was discovered somewhere around here…”
Ruǎnruǎn stretched her foot to brace against the railing beside her, raised her left wrist, and swiped across the display screen on it.
Xiao Xiao maintained the quietness of a newcomer and did not disturb her.
Clicking in from one’s own mailbox, one could also see a map with special markings, which should be a hint provided by the task issuer.
This also made Xiao Xiao feel somewhat strange: he had already understood that his role as a messenger of these “outsiders” was to clear out those mutated creatures in this city.
However, at first he thought the city would directly issue him a “task,” but later he discovered it didn’t quite seem that way.
At the very least, if this city were to issue tasks, it would absolutely never give itself another opportunity to pick and choose, to search for suitable events…
According to Soft’s explanation, even the task levels were merely something all the outsiders had collectively summarized together.
Then, who was it that issued the tasks?
The email sender, that person whose name was “Karma”?
Who is he then? The leader of the outsider organization?
Just as they were thinking about it, not far away on the street, two people who looked like drunks stood up and tentatively walked over to near where they were. They didn’t say anything, just lingered there with flickering eyes.
After observing for a while, they slowly shuffled over, their gazes sweeping across Xiao Xiao and Ruan Ruan in scrutiny, and asked: “What are you doing?”
Ruan Ruan looked up at them and smiled, saying: “We’re asking you about something. In this area, have you heard of any strange occurrences or anything like that?”
“Is someone missing, or something else?”
“……”
The two men saw Ruanruan’s soft smile and their eyes lit up. Unnatural smiles spread across their faces as they walked closer, their hands reaching toward their lower backs: “Just the two of you?”
“Little sister, those two headlights of yours are quite pretty…”
“……”
Ruanruan frowned slightly and instinctively reached toward the bag in front of the motorcycle, but hesitated for a moment, thought of something, and withdrew her hand instead, elbowing Xiao Xiao who was sitting obediently beside her.
“Oh?”
Xiao Xiao was taken aback for a moment before understanding.
This older sister said that this time she came, she wouldn’t worry about anything and would handle everything herself.
So, it’s starting now?
Thus he looked up at these two people, a trace of contemplation flashing across his eyes, and then suddenly pulled out a gun and fired a shot at the leg of the person in front.
“Bang!”
The sudden gunshot startled Ruanruan in front, causing her to shudder and whip her head around.
She saw Xiao Xiao holding the gun steadily in his hand, not even glancing at the person clutching their leg and lying on the ground. Instead, he smoothly swiveled the gun barrel to point steadily at another person’s face.
His voice sounded very polite: “I’m asking about something. In this area, have you heard of any strange occurrences?”
“Any missing persons, or anything else like that?”
“……”
“Ah ah……”
Only after he asked this question did the two people before him react. One of them hugged his leg and let out a scream like a slaughtered pig.
The other one faced the dark muzzle of the gun, his face instantly turning deathly pale, and his pants gradually became wet.
Xiao Xiao’s face remained calm as he moved the gun barrel up and down slightly, saying: “You still haven’t answered our question……”
“I… I don’t know…”
The uninjured person’s legs trembled, and with a mournful expression, he fumbled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed it over: “This… people often go missing around here… My… my wife ran off with someone…”
“Oh.”
Xiao Xiao had grown accustomed to waiting at the dock. He casually pulled a cigarette from the pack and tucked it behind his ear, then cast a sympathetic glance at him and asked patiently, “Is there anything else?”
“I… I really don’t know…”
“Think about it some more…”
The person being held at gunpoint was nearly in tears when he suddenly remembered something. He carefully pointed toward a derelict factory area: “Oh, yes, that… that place over there…”
“There are legends of people disappearing there all the time. Everyone says… they say there’s a… a warehouse there that eats… eats people…”
“……”
“A warehouse that eats people?”
Xiao Xiao was taken aback and turned to glance at Ruan Ruan, only to see her nod gently.
So Xiao Xiao also turned to look at this person and said warmly, “Thank you, then it’s fine. Come home earlier in the future and drink less alcohol, and your wife might come back.”
“Oh right, take this one on the ground with you too. He’s quite badly injured, find a decent clinic for him.”
“……”
“Y-yes… yes…”
The man’s face fell as he desperately dragged the person with a gunshot wound to the thigh off the ground, stumbling and running away.
Xiao Xiao watched them disappear into the distance, then put away his gun and cast an inquiring glance at Ruan Ruan, as if wanting to know how well he had performed.
Ruan Ruan looked at his composed and handsome face, remained silent for a long moment, then said: “All they did was ask for directions, and you fired a gun?”
“They have bad intentions…”
Xiao Xiao explained honestly: “When they came closer just now, they were already reaching for their weapons… I didn’t get a clear look, but they might have even been carrying guns.”
“You opened fire just because of a ‘might’?”
Soft’s eyes grew even more puzzled: “You didn’t even hesitate?”
“Because it’s good for all of us.”
Xiao Xiao said: “I’m just a newcomer with limited combat experience. They’ve already come right up to us, and if they suddenly draw their blades and rush at me, with my terrible marksmanship, I might end up killing them…”
“Or I might even get injured by them in an unexpected moment.”
“It would be better to fire a shot first. This way, we avoid killing the two of them, and we can still question them for information…”
“……”
Ruǎnruǎn looked surprised: “So you’re saying you have good intentions?”
“Of course…”
Xiao Xiao’s face was full of composure. Wasn’t what he did the most correct choice?
Besides, this was a foreign land full of monsters. Even if he really did kill someone, what of it?
“Well then, you truly… have unlimited potential…”
Ruanruan was persuaded and sighed helplessly, turning her head to look at the abandoned factory buildings in the distance, where the two people had mentioned the “man-eating warehouse” was located.
Her expression quickly became somewhat serious: “What are you planning to do?”
Xiao Xiao thought for a moment, jumped down from the car, glanced toward the warehouse in the distance, then gripped the gun tightly in his hand and strode forward.
Ruanruan followed along, watching him move ahead, her curiosity growing even stronger: “Are you just going to go in like this?”
“What else can I do?”
Xiao Xiao stopped in his tracks and looked at her with surprise, saying, “I’m just a newcomer with no experience…”
“You haven’t even arranged a single military training session for me…”
“……”
“Alright, alright, I’m just here to observe you this time. Do whatever you think is best…”
Ruanruan didn’t know how to answer, so she could only wave her hand and firmly stood at a position two or three meters away from Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao also thought for a moment and realized he really didn’t know anything else, so he still walked straight forward.
Taking a deep breath, he thought to himself: “I really need to focus this time. If I mess up, my points……”
“……No, points aren’t important. What matters is that it would be really embarrassing.”