Chapter 63

Qingchen stood on the helipad, the air turbines of the floating car stirring up a tumultuous wind.

Suddenly, in the distance,

A light rail was traveling through the sky between the cities, the dense windows glowing white, like a white celestial horse.

More astonishingly, it was passing through the dense buildings.

It wasn't passing through the gaps between the buildings, but rather, holes had been dug through the bodies of the high-rise buildings, and the light rail was passing through them as if through tunnels.

The city took on a mysterious aura.

"Why stay in Prison No. 18 if you can come out anytime?" Qingchen suddenly asked.

"Because the prison is quieter? You'll see soon enough," Li Shutong didn't answer directly.

When the waiter turned to lead the way, Qingchen asked in a low voice, "It's already one o'clock in the morning. Is the restaurant still open?"

Li Shutong glanced at him, "In this city of lights, life is just beginning."

"Do people not need to sleep? Don't they have to work tomorrow?" Qingchen was puzzled.

"Before, the Qing family discovered the unique effects of neural interface technology, which can simulate neural waves outside the brain, helping people enter deep sleep, and just a few hours a day is enough," Li Shutong explained.

"Does this technology have no side effects?" Qingchen asked again.

"Of course it does," Li Shutong said, "After using this technology for a month, even if you want to sleep in, you can't."

"That's a bit tragic," Qingchen sighed, though he worked hard, he occasionally enjoyed the pleasure of sleeping.

Li Shutong said to Qingchen, "Technology is a double-edged sword, no one knows whether it brings blessings or curses to humanity. For example, the Li family once developed genetically modified fast-growing forests, corn, and soybeans, which resulted in large areas of land being unable to grow plants thirty years later. The Kashiwa Group, which was originally a thriving livestock industry, found that after genetic modification, the genetically modified livestock lost their ability to reproduce after three generations."

While humans continue to enjoy the fruits of technology, they are also constantly suffering from the backlash of their intelligence.

Li Shutong continued, "When humans don't need to sleep as long, their productivity hasn't really increased, but it has caused a void in their spiritual world."

Of course, Qingchen felt that the surface world had not yet suffered such a severe backlash, possibly because they were not as radical as the inner world.

At this moment, Qingchen saw a huge flower boat flying between the buildings below, decorated with lanterns, but exuding a strange aura.

He couldn't understand the totems on the boat at all.

Li Shutong followed his gaze, "Don't look. It's the Mechanical God Church's parade boat. Every second it sprays liquid oxygen and methane, it uses the blood and sweat of its believers."

Li Shutong's expression was expressionless as he spoke.

The two sat in a luxurious and exquisite restaurant, and a well-dressed waiter placed a plate of braised pork in front of Li Shutong.

There was only one pair of chopsticks.

"Where's mine?" Qingchen was puzzled.

"You're wearing a mask, you can't eat," Li Shutong said indifferently, picking up a piece of braised pork.

Qingchen: "..."

After a while, Li Shutong looked up and smiled at him, "Are you hungry?"

"A bit," Qingchen said.

Li Shutong then called the waiter, "Bring him a bowl of fried sauce noodles."

"Sure, Mr. Li," the waiter responded politely.

Even though the Sunlight Pavilion had never made fried sauce noodles before.

When the noodles were ready, Li Shutong dismissed everyone and then said to Qingchen, "Take off your mask and eat the noodles."

Qingchen mixed the noodles while looking out the window.

This should be one of the tallest buildings in City No. 18. Looking around, only two other buildings in the distance stood alongside it in the sky.

"Those are the buildings of the Qing family and the Li family," Li Shutong explained.

Qingchen looked down, and the dense buildings were connected by sky bridges, making the entire city resemble a galaxy, with the lights and neon lights being the stars in that galaxy.

Occasionally, a floating car would fly by, its turbine flames like shooting stars.

At one moment, Qingchen, on the 88th floor, felt as if he were in the vast and magnificent expanse of the world.

"Is this the most beautiful scenery in City No. 18?" Qingchen asked.

"The Eternal Tower is built on six buildings, and it is only because of those six that it has its current height and beauty. If you don't consider the graffiti, urine stains, sewage, and crime on the lower buildings, then this is the most beautiful scenery," Li Shutong said, "Today I'm showing you the most beautiful. If there's a chance, I can show you the ugliest side of this city."

Li Shutong pointed to the side, "There's a telescope by the window, specifically for diners to enjoy the scenery. You can take a look."

Qingchen walked to the telescope.

He saw the endless flow of vehicles on the ground and the crowds playing and laughing.

Someone was painting strange but trendy graffiti on the wall, and the white smoke from barbecue stalls and the flags of izakayas were fluttering in the wind.

Suddenly, he saw two black helicopters slowly landing on the square platform below. More than twenty combat team members jumped out of the cabins and rushed into the Eternal Tower in tactical formation.

Two mechanical dogs ran quickly beside them.

These people were armed with weapons that Qingchen couldn't name.

Clearly, they were coming for Li Shutong.

Qingchen turned to look at Li Shutong, who smiled calmly, "Eat first."

"Okay," Qingchen focused on eating his noodles.

This time, Li Shutong became interested, "Aren't you afraid?"

"Teacher, it's the first time you've taken a student out to see the scenery. You wouldn't let the student die halfway, or you'd be a very irresponsible teacher," Qingchen said matter-of-factly.

Li Shutong's hearty laughter echoed.

He was really starting to like Qingchen more and more.

At this moment, the more than twenty combat team members in the building split into two groups. One group took the elevator to the 87th floor, while the other entered the safety escape通道 and began searching upward on foot.

Outside the Eternal Tower, two Black Kite-01 armed helicopters ascended again.

They slowly circled around the 70th floor of the Eternal Tower, ready to provide heavy fire support at any time.

In a temporary military base further away, more than ten armed helicopters and floating boats had just taken off.

Even further away, the Qing family's 'Land Cruiser' giant floating boat began loading new solid fuel tanks with the busy logistics personnel.

All of this was like a net, gradually tightening.

Just as the net was tightening, in the communication channel, the team leader of the combat squad calmly said, "Stop, check the charging status of your mechanical limbs and report back to me."

After saying that, he signaled the tactical team members in the safety escape通道 to enter a silent state, briefly shutting down all communication systems.

After confirming that the sound wouldn't be transmitted back to the command center, he calmly said, "Mr. Chen has instructed that if you want to leave here alive tonight, don't shoot. Remember, don't drag anyone down."

"Team leader, I don't understand," a combat team member was stunned.

The team leader said, "You'll understand later. Repeat, no shooting. Repeat, no shooting."

But before they could reconnect their communication devices, a shadow silently landed among them on the stairs.

Fierce and powerful.

...

Third update