Su Mo gazed at the sumptuous food before him, gradually sinking into memories.
In the year he turned eight, he and his grandfather still lived within the high walls. In his memory, there were only brand-new, opulent houses inside the high walls, and the environment was extremely beautiful, even the air was fresh.
But suddenly one day, his grandfather covertly sold off all their assets and fled the high walls under the cover of night, adopting a pseudonym.
The reason was simple, he didn't know whom he had offended, but there were often people loitering and peeping outside his home.
His parents had already died in a car accident, a matter that had long troubled his grandfather, not to mention the strange incidents that had occurred over the years.
Worried that something might happen, they had fled.
In the end, they settled here and accumulated a large number of properties.
And every year on his birthday, his grandfather would bring him to Zhao's Restaurant for a meal.
As for that so-called high wall, it was the barrier separating the rich from the common folk, having been in existence for over a hundred years.
Two hundred years ago, this world had suffered a devastating nuclear war, with a massive loss of lives, and the land, air, and oceans were all contaminated with radiation.
By the end of the war, nations weathered by disaster finally recognized that there would be no victors at war's end, so they shook hands in peace and established a loose Federation System to discuss and resolve international conflicts.
They explicitly rejected war and embraced peace as their tenet. Conflicts that could be talked through would never lead to physical confrontations. If a resolution couldn't be achieved through dialogue, other methods, including virtual gaming confrontations, were employed.
Therefore, the gaming industry was highly developed in this world.
However, the shadow of war was not easy to erase. Although the world was at peace and all countries worked together to remediate the environment, the lingering radiation, like a festering sore, plagued everyone.
All wildlife and marine life had radiation levels exceeding safety standards, and almost no one consumed them.
But thanks to the explosive advancements in technology, artificial synthesis technology made a breakthrough. Starch could be synthesized in large quantities, and livestock such as pigs, ducks, cows, and sheep could be rapidly produced through hormone cultivation.
As for vegetables, they could be grown using soilless chemical cultivation, but because green plants accumulate pollutants, non-polluted freshwater had to be used for cultivation.
As a result, the common folk could not afford these.
An era in which everyone consumed meat arrived, with meat products being the cheapest. Pollution-free vegetables and artificially cultivated, pollutant-free ingredients became the most elite offerings.
At the same time, with the arrival of the Great Peace, the wealth disparity soared, giving rise to countless wealthy individuals and financial magnates.
The contradictions between different social classes grew increasingly severe.
To prevent unnecessary conflicts and significantly reduce anxiety, jealousy, violence, and crime, all the wealthy and financial magnates gathered in the centers of each city and built high walls. They lived within these walls, enjoying the finest things in the world, and would not step outside unless there was something special.
The commoners outside, unless there was a special occasion, would not enter the high walls, which eased the tensions between the two extreme classes considerably.
But this also led to a technological gap between the two, a whole era apart.
The purpose of the high walls was not only to restrict the activities of both sides but also to self-regulate the financial class, strictly forbidding them from randomly reaping the "crop" of people beneath them.
For the external common folk, the state also provided extensive welfare, with education for all citizens being free. Of course, there were still differences in quality, which directly affected one's chances for future development.
In this era, everyone was assigned work, but thanks to technological advancements, physically heavy tasks had been largely replaced by machinery and artificial intelligence, making most jobs easy with decent pay, enough to support oneself with a little left over. However, getting rich was out of the question.
Since most people's working hours were fixed at four hours a day, even if you wanted a part-time job after work, you wouldn't find one because they were rare.
There were so many technological products in this world that the money left over was simply not enough to cover expenses.
People who had finished work and had nothing to do, to prevent them from wandering the streets and becoming a source of unrest,
thus nations vigorously promoted various forms of entertainment, including gaming.
...
At that moment, a roaring sound of engines bursting forth!
Boom!!!
Three fairly decent second-hand sports cars drifted stylishly and came to a halt at the entrance of Zhao's Restaurant.
Following that, a young man with an explosive hairstyle dyed bright gold, wearing a floral shirt, got out of the car and threw a wad of cash at an old man collecting parking fees.
"Keep a good eye on my ride, make sure no one scratches it, 'cause I can't afford it!"
"You got it!"
...
After finishing his words, the young man walked into Zhao's Restaurant with a bunch of his underlings.
"Brother Zhang Wu, choosing this restaurant was absolutely the right call. This place has the best taste around here; the babe will definitely be satisfied later."
"Alright, boss!"
Zhang Wu shouted boisterously.
"Here we are, here we are."
Uncle Zhao came over smiling, welcoming them.
"I've heard the dishes here are not bad. The university next door is about to close. My girlfriend will come here to eat. What delicacies do you have?"
"Beef, lamb, pork, burgers, fried chicken, sea fish—we have it all!"
After listening, Zhang Wu smacked his lips, dissatisfied, and said,
"What, is it all meat? Don't you have any vegetables?"
"Oh boy, where would we get that stuff?"
Uncle Zhao replied with a laugh.
At that moment, Zhang Wu casually glanced at the food on Su Mo's table next to him, his eyes lit up and he said, "What about those over there?"
"Uh, those were specially ordered by others a long time ago; we really don't have any."
"What a letdown, give me one of each signature dish."
"Of course, no problem."
Uncle Zhao quickly agreed.
Zhang Wu gave Su Mo another cursory glance. This kid was a bit strange, daydreaming in front of such great food.
He then found a spot and sat down.
Not much later, a very fashionably dressed female student walked in, calling out in a delicate voice,
"Brother Zhang."
"Ah, Xiao Wen, you finally came. I've been waiting for you half the day."
Zhang Wu stood up, his mood was very delighted as he stretched out his hand to pull the girl to sit beside him.
"I just got out of school, and I rushed straight here."
Xiao Wen replied with a bit of a complaint.
"Brother understands. Look, I ordered such a big table full of delicious food waiting for you. Come on, tell brother what you want to eat, I'll get it for you."
Zhang Wu asked attentively.
"Ugh, why is it meat every day? You're almost making me fat, I want to eat vegetables."
Xiao Wen complained somewhat unhappily.
"Ah, I know veggies are delicious, but the problem is they are scarce and bloody expensive."
Zhang Wu quickly coaxed her.
"What do you mean? Aren't people over there eating them? How come they're suddenly gone?"
"They reserved it a long time ago, how could we find it so quickly? Be good, next time brother will prepare it for you."
"I don't want to wait, I want to eat vegetables now. Didn't you say you mix very well around here, that you can manage everything? How come others can eat what they want, and I can't?"
Xiao Wen threw her chopsticks aside and turned her face away, looking very angry.
The underlings beside them looked at their boss in astonishment. They knew their sister-in-law had a tough temper, but they didn't expect her to embarrass the boss publicly.