Chapter 66

When Zhuochuan was about to gather some people to enter the civilization evolution scenario together, an unexpected event occurred.

"Old Zhuo, this is Xu Mingzhi. There's an extremely urgent matter. After seeing this message, come to the school immediately." The communicator in the living room rang.

Zhuochuan was taken aback when he saw the message. In the past few months, this was the first time he had seen Old Xu leave a message with such urgency and formality.

He knew something extremely urgent must have happened. He hurriedly packed up and was about to leave.

"Master, take me with you," Dahuai quickly followed, hopping along. He had the same access to the information Zhuochuan had just seen.

Zhuochuan grabbed Dahuai's ear and lifted him up, making Dahuai twist his head.

Zhuochuan didn't have time to worry about much. He stood by the roadside and had already called for an autonomous car.

The autonomous car, which usually seemed to arrive quickly, felt particularly slow today. If it weren't for the rule that private cars were not allowed in the underground tunnels, he would have regretted not having a car of his own.

Although an autonomous car arrived after just twenty seconds, Zhuochuan still thought it was too slow. He and Dahuai got in and immediately said, "To my school, as fast as possible."

"Understood," the autonomous car immediately started, and after issuing a voice warning, it sped up.

On the ten-minute drive, which Zhuochuan usually spent dozing off, he was thinking non-stop today. Old Xu's urgent message must be about something very important; otherwise, he wouldn't be so anxious.

What could have happened to make Old Xu, who had been living a relatively peaceful life, so anxious?

To be honest, in the underground reserve citizen society, apart from everyone striving to become a citizen, there were very few other things to worry about. Unlike in modern society, where people strive for better living conditions for their descendants, in the underground reserve citizen society, improving living conditions is not difficult; it just requires some labor. There's no need to worry about illness, aging, children's education, or marital issues. There is no modern marriage system here, and having children is not the responsibility of reserve citizens.

The inheritance of reserve citizens is controlled by the Earth Mother, who manages reproduction and upbringing to ensure that every reserve citizen is born with the best physical condition and receives the best basic education. Once they have the ability to live independently, they are placed in the underground society with basic living conditions and allowed to develop freely. This usually happens at the age of twelve. In the modern world, many students of this age can already live in dormitories and take care of themselves, let alone in the new underground reserve citizen society, where the crime rate is zero and various accidents are rare.

While considering various possibilities, Zhuochuan watched the rapidly passing street scenes until the autonomous car entered a vertical tunnel and quickly ascended to the level where the school was located.

After getting out of the car, Zhuochuan almost ran into the school.

At the school gate, a silver-colored guide robot was already waiting.

"B47995, please follow me to the school's high-level meeting room."

This was the first time Zhuochuan had been invited to the school's high-level meeting room, which was not open to students. This detail alone indicated a subtle rise in his social status.

However, he didn't have time to dwell on this. He followed the guide robot closely, with Dahuai hopping along behind him, not missing a step.

...

In the not-so-large high-level meeting room, all kinds of meeting equipment were available. In front of the oval table, more than ten people were already seated.

When Zhuochuan was brought in by the guide robot, everyone who was seated stood up and looked at him.

Zhuochuan immediately noticed Old Xu among them, and he saw that dozens of white hairs had appeared on his head, which was particularly noticeable.

Zhuochuan and Old Xu had known each other for a long time, and he naturally knew Old Xu's age: 109 years old. In the modern world, this would be the age of a centenarian, but in this world, it was still considered middle-aged.

The aging of people in the new world is measured by the aging of their souls. For most people, the soul begins to age after the physical age of 120 years. By modern standards, 109-year-old Old Xu was equivalent to a 35-year-old.

Old Xu, who had never had a single white hair before, now had white hair after a short absence. Zhuochuan could imagine how urgent the matter must be.

"Old Zhuo, come sit here," Old Xu called out, and the others also sat down. It seemed that he had convened this meeting.

After sitting down, Zhuochuan looked around and realized that he didn't recognize anyone except Old Xu. However, he could tell from their facial details that their ages were similar to Old Xu's.

Old Xu's introduction confirmed Zhuochuan's guess.

"This is Ross, 115 years old."

"This is Liu Yue, 107 years old."

...

One by one, Old Xu introduced more than ten people, mentioning their names and ages.

Zhuochuan looked at each of them, nodding in greeting, and they returned the gesture. Their faces were as serious as Old Xu's, and some even showed signs of fear in their eyes.

After the introductions, Old Xu's next words made Zhuochuan understand what they were afraid of.

"Two days ago, the Human Union held the final vote on a proposal among the citizens. He Qiang informed me of this news in advance and then willingly accepted the punishment, leaving a message for me to take care of myself."

Old Xu's face showed a complex expression. He had some grievances with He Qiang, thinking that after the latter became a citizen, he gradually distanced himself, reducing communication and often not responding. But this time, He Qiang was willing to accept punishment to warn him and prepare him. It seemed that their past friendship was now completely exhausted.

Zhuochuan's face turned serious. He had no grievances with He Qiang. The latter had helped him out of respect for Old Xu and also because of his own potential. It was only natural that he didn't continue helping him later, especially under the pressure of higher-ranking citizens. He still needed to repay the previous help.

Zhuochuan didn't interrupt Old Xu but focused on listening.

"The proposal is that all underground reserve citizens over the age of one hundred must obtain a certificate from Hell City before using the hospital's atomic-level body repair equipment. The content of the certificate is..."

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