After his best friend left, Meng Chao leaned against the railing on the roof and watched the sun set in the west.
The stars of the Other World were even larger and denser than the sun on Earth.
The rosy clouds were gathered together, forming a dazzling scene. The sky and city turned into a red sea.
A building towering into the sky stood at the center of the red sea.
The alloy used to make it had rare metals from the Other World fused into it, and its malleability and resistance to pressure was largely increased, which allowed the tower to break the maximum height of the skyscrapers on Earth. It looked to have torn through the sky and reached the universe.
Sparkling lights surrounded the tower. They entered and exited it like bees in their hive.
The lights were all superhumans.
The mighty building which stood out like a sore thumb was known as Supernatural Tower, and it was the headquarters of the Superhuman Association.
Neat rows upon neat rows of buildings that resembled pyramids and forts surrounded it.
All of them were as sturdy as gravity dams. They could withstand the mightiest charges from monsters.
Between the buildings were countless black dots scaling walls or flying over roofs.
Those were normal citizens who had just finished work.
They did not have enough resources, and space was lacking. There were few private cars and taxis in the Dragon City.
The normal citizens had ample strength, and their bodies were agile. Even if they had to run long distances, they were not much slower than public buses which had to stop at every station.
There were also 3D mobile gears, which were made using the principles of bionics, and they resembled the limbs of monsters.
When a person put them on, they could jump much higher, and the gear could even secrete gas. With a light jump, a person could rise ten to twenty meters, and traveling at forty to fifty kilometers per hour was not a problem.
In the distance, tamed Giant Sandworms arched their backs and spat out stones like tunnel-boring machines to build Subway No.12.
Further into the distance was the edge of the city. It was covered by fog.
It was like a tall, gray wall that covered the sky and sun. It completely blocked all that was beyond it.
Before, Meng Chao had not liked the fog.
He felt that it sealed up Dragon City and prevented Earthlings from expanding their territory outwards and slaughtering their way through the four corners of the world.
He did not like the city before his eyes either.
Dragon City's houses were built too closely to each other, the streets were too crowded, and the pressure to cultivate was too great. He could not see mountains and seas, and he felt a little aggrieved.
He was just like any other teenager. He had read too many books and watched too many movies related to Earth.
In his dreams, he saw blue skies and white clouds. The air was clear, it was peaceful, and the world was beautiful. He saw a world where the people lived free without worries.
He longed for everything on Earth.
Mountains, seas, farms, rivers, and streams.
The high school students there only needed to go through two classes of physical education per week, but they could go through more than ten language and mathematics classes.
The adults only needed to work for eight hours a day, five days a week, and they could earn a lot of money, live in huge houses, and take vacations constantly. They could eat pure, green, unpolluted, and tasty dishes that did not have their genes changed.
It was so beautiful that it was like heaven.
Then, in his nightmare, he saw the real Other World after the fog disappeared.
He saw how Supernatural Tower and the city was destroyed when a meteor shower rained fire on them.
It was only at that moment that Meng Chao realized just how adorable everything before him was right now.
His eyes started stinging without his knowledge.
Earth was a hometown they could not return to, and the nightmare was a future that had yet to come.
What stood before him was his only home right now.
As Meng Chao faced a future that he could not predict clearly and a danger that was about to come, he was nervous, excited, impulsive, and a little lost.
At that moment…
[Reckless Bull Technique is spreading among normal citizens. Dragon City's overall fighting strength has increased. Increased contribution points by 1, 3, 2…]
The strange flame shone before his eyes, and the string of contribution points surprised and delighted him.
'It's Feixiong, he's teaching the study group.
'By the looks of it, even if I don't personally teach them and it spreads out indirectly, I can be considered to have contributed.
'Even though the contribution points are much lower than when I personally teach, I'll get a lot of points in the end even if I gather them bit by bit. As more citizens become stronger, I'll become stronger as well. We'll definitely survive this Other World.'
In an instant, Meng Chao felt that his waist was no longer sore, his legs were no longer hurting, and his memories were cleared. His vision and hearing also became slightly better.
Even the red school emblem on his chest became brighter.
His contribution points increased up to thirty-nine.
'The feeling of contributing to society is so good,' Meng Chao thought happily.
At that moment, the buzzing sound of propellers spinning in the air reached his ears.
More than ten armored flying ships tore through the sea of clouds like a mighty fleet through the waves. They descended in the city.
They lacked fuel to fly, and the crystal engines were too clunky. On top of that, Dragon City was surrounded by fog, so they were rather limited when it came to the height and range at which they could patrol. Supersonic fighting jets had long since been sealed up in the underground weapons garage.
Dragon City's air force was mainly made of armored flying ships which were clunky, slow, but had mighty firepower.
When crystals were shattered, spirit energy would gush out, and it could propel six propellers forming three rows to spin at high speed.
The crystals released a large amount of spirit energy which could fill up air sacs to maintain the floating power of the gigantic objects.
Some spirit energy, however, still spilled out from the gaps in the air sacs. They let out sizzling sounds, and the armored flying ships looked like steel demons that rode on clouds.
The armored flying ships let down loudspeakers and made an announcement to all of Dragon City.
"All citizens please take note, this is the newest information from the city's weather forecast station. Tonight, the fog will descend upon us and monsters will ambush the city.
"We predict that the monsters will mainly appear at the steel factories in the north.
"The Survival Committee will now announce the 93rd order on New Era Year 55. Steel Dragon Organization is to immediately begin Grade One war preparations. Ninth Sand Region and River Bank Region are to begin Grade Two war preparations. The other regions are to begin Grade Three war preparations. All citizens, please obey the laws, be on guard, and be prepared to fight against our enemies.
"Remember that we are the expediary force from Earth. Earth is with us. Dragon City will definitely win!"
The weather forecast was the law.
Instantly, the footsteps of all the students, workers, and white-collared workers inside and outside the school, the streets, and alleys became faster.
'There's a monster attack tonight?' Meng Chao's heart froze.
He quickly flung his bag behind his back and rushed downstairs. He got out of the school and hurried to the public bus stop.
The 3D mobile gears were too fast, and their jumping power was too high, which made it easy for accidents to happen. Buying and wearing them required licenses.
Meng Chao was still two months away from becoming eighteen years old, so he did not have the right to get a "3D traffic license". He could only take public transportation.
Since a monster attack was coming, the efficiency of the city's operating speed instantly increased by a large margin. Soon, the public bus arrived.
The public buses in this era also used spirit energy to move. They had a huge crystal engine, and they looked as if they were hunchbacks. They were known as turtle buses.
They also coughed up spirit gas while making moaning sounds, just like ancient steam trains entering a train station.
The fuel of public buses were the lowest grade crystals. They were filled with impurities and could not produce much energy. The spirit gas they produced contained the smell of garlic, and it stung the eyes.
The passengers standing at the bus stop began coughing.
'Dad, Mom, Sis!'
Meng Chao rubbed his eyes and eagerly squeezed his way into the bus.
Blessed Heavenly Garden was one of the public rental housing areas which could be seen everywhere in the old city.
The Monster War had gone on for thirty years, so most of the buildings which had transmigrated from Earth had been destroyed.
The Survival Committee imitated war forts and created many new apartments which could not be destroyed.
Their main function was defensive, so comfort was a second priority that the citizens could choose to take or reject.
The main layout in Blessed Heavenly Garden was a 60 square meter apartment with two rooms and one living room. It might sound like it was pretty good, but in their world, housing apartments and office buildings had to reserve a lot of space to set up machine guns, anti-aircraft missile spots, and sanctuaries.
The breadth of the walls was also three times that of the past. Each wall was a bearing wall.
Hence, the shared public area was also twice the size of the apartments on Earth.
The saleable area was at most thirty square meters, and each room was as small as a bird's cage.
Since there was a necessity to protect the city and to develop the Other World, the Survival Committee encouraged people to procreate. While the population increased, the facilities in small regions aged, and buildings that went against the rules and regulations popped up one after another, and their environment became even worse.
Polluted water flowed everywhere, and foul smells filled the air. Pipes which were not maintained for years leaked, and spirit gas made sizzling sounds, as if there were one hundred sirens installed.
But the residents could not bear to buy high-grade crystals for their houses. They used cheap goods that were of the same level as the crystals used for public buses.
They were full of impurities, and the area smelled. The entire region was covered in spirit gas of various colors, and it looked like the whole street was being roasted.
The armor on the walls of the resident apartment building was mottled from when it had been corroded by acid spit by the monsters, which made it look even more messy and strange.
All the citizens in this area wanted to leave Blessed Heavenly Garden.
The adults were free, and they loved to lecture their children. "Why aren't you focusing on cultivating? You only know how to memorize Tang and Song Dynasty Poems. What's the point of all those? When will you get into college, become a superhuman, and live in a commercial house that's 120 square meters wide? Our ancestors on Earth are about to roll in their graves!"
Meng Chao stood at the entrance of the market, but he did not grumble about the smell. Instead, he recalled the memories from here fondly.
'I'm finally back home!'
He heard friendly and familiar voices in the market.
"Sand Snail meat. They're recently fished up from the river! Look, they still bite!"
"Fresh Demonic Halberd pork! Go home and feed your children with this pork, and they'll get full marks for every subject! They'll kill monsters with each punch! Second Uncle, would you want one?"
"Why is the Iron Armored Rhinoceros meat today so expensive? Young Si, don't lie to me. The news mentioned that the army has just encircled and cleared an Iron Armored Rhinoceros' nest. They had to bring back at least a few thousand tonnes of beef. No matter what, you should sell it slightly cheaper!"
"Jade Fruit! Newly developed Jade Fruit from the genetic farm. They're even tastier than the melting peaches on Earth! You'll taste their juice in every bite, and they're very sweet. If they're not ripe and sweet, I won't take your money!"
People hustled about, and the area was filled with life.
Meng Chao smiled.
In a slightly greedy manner, he sucked in a breath of the aroma that came from the cooked food stall before he moved through the market and entered Blessed Heavenly Garden.