He got out of the unmanned car and quickly walked into Jun Garden, heading toward his home.
All along the way, he remained alert, discreetly observing his surroundings.
This was not just a habit left over from surviving the apocalypse, but crucially because the "current order level" was only 0.3.
He didn't understand.
In this life, his social environment was supposedly one with legal order, yet the "order level" was only 0.3?
The order level solely reflected whether his life was stable and peaceful.
After the apocalypse in his previous life, he had been stuck around 0.2 for a long time, given that there were crises everywhere, whether overt or hidden, and his life could never be peaceful or stable.
And now it wasn't even better than in the apocalypse?
Such a low order level made him feel as if there was a huge stone hanging over his heart, never allowing him to let his guard down.
But he had no way to move to a safer place, so he could only be as careful as possible.
Once back home, Lin Qing habitually entered his house in the dark. As he walked into the bedroom, his phone screen suddenly lit up and began to charge automatically.
The bedroom was half-bright, half-dark, with all the light coming from outside the window.
Instinctively, he looked up, and his eyes were captivated by the scene outside the window.
There lay the Sleepless City.
The distant skyline was composed of towering skyscrapers and sleek, massive buildings, adorned by vibrant, colorful billboards and light shows twinkling atop the city. Even from the outer edges of this city, the view was clear and vivid.
Even if the night swallowed half the planet, it could not flood over the banks built by the city's lights.
This was the most dazzling "urban circle" by the coast in 2120.
Lin Qing had been in this era for a month, so naturally, it wasn't his first time seeing this scene.
What attracted him was the highest central part of the urban circle, where a massive holographic projection was playing.
It featured a distinguished-looking white-haired man, who resembled Earth people, but with a vertical third eye halfway open on his forehead. His pupils seemed to spark with electricity, giving him an indescribable air of mystery. Amidst thousands of lights, he sat above the city like a colossal deity, basking in the adulation of countless people.
Just sitting and talking there was enough to make one hold their breath.
Although located outside the urban circle, Lin Qing could not hear what this white-haired, three-eyed man was saying, but beneath the massive projection, rows of vivid holographic subtitles continuously appeared.
"… My Intelligent Star Group has always been optimistic about Earth's future, which is why we continue to develop more urban circles. By increasing investments, we hope to see more elite talents like the founders of Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall…"
Lin Qing opened his camera app, enlarged the subtitles to thrice their size, and slowly read them out loud.
Then, somewhat trance-like, he put down his phone.
"Earth has indeed already integrated with extraterrestrial civilizations…"
"After experiencing the apocalypse, has the new civilization really developed this quickly?"
He muttered under his breath, then slightly lowered his gaze to look at the dim, dilapidated district below the window.
It was also the year 2120.
Most of the buildings here retained last century's appearance, with mottled walls and peeling paint, having endured years and the apocalypse, only to be left behind by time, purposelessly lingering.
The remaining neon lights flickered weakly, intermittently brightening and dimming, as if narrating their once glorious past.
This district was like an orphan of time, forgotten by the swiftly developing city.
Lin Qing was well aware that the dazzling urban circle was merely an unreachable mirage, and the run-down district before his eyes was the reality of his life.
As for joining Star Sky, Star Sky Mutual Assistance Association, genetic optimization technologies, high-tech intelligent living…
What did any of that have to do with him?
Compared to the superior, developed environment of the urban circle, places outside the urban circle were essentially like slums.
Not only was security management weaker, but there were also a mix of people moving around, making nighttime robberies and break-ins common here, with gangs entrenched everywhere, creating considerable chaos.
Moreover, with an order level of only 0.3, there was definitely more than just the surface-level disorder.
Certainly, there were some more serious hidden dangers.
"There's definitely something wrong with this era…"
Lin Qing felt an uneasy sensation of walking on thin ice, "I can't wait for danger to find me before I think of dealing with it… I need to gain the ability to protect myself as soon as possible…"
He was accustomed to thinking of danger even in safety, preemptively dealing with potential crises.
Perhaps to others, this seemed like paranoid delusion, but without this mindset, he wouldn't have survived the apocalypse for so many years.
"Ding."
Suddenly, Lin Qing's phone emitted a light sound.
It was a WeChat message.
[Cousin: There's an emergency operation tonight with a high level of danger, so don't come, I've already asked for leave on your behalf]
Lin Qing thought for a moment and replied with an okay.
Then, he put down his phone and slightly shook his head, "The moment there's a dangerous operation, she just gets me leave."
Cousin Chen Yanan was the captain of the Patrol Team in the Xiao Shan District Patrol Bureau.
Since his parents had died in the line of duty, his cousin and her family had always taken care of him, treating him even better than a real sister would.
After he turned eighteen, he could no longer receive the monthly relief fund of one thousand yuan, so his cousin used her authority to get him into the Patrol Team as a temporary Patrol Officer.
In this era, the government had purposefully separated the "Patrol" system from the public security systems.
Its main function, besides cooperating with the police in maintaining public order, was to search for "suspicious anomalies."
However, the work of the Patrol Team was mostly very relaxed.
All Lin Qing had to do was coast through his days, and he would earn a salary of two thousand six hundred yuan each month.
Even though there were no benefits or social security, this job, being easy and well-paid, was still pretty good.
Moreover, anytime there was a dangerous operation, his cousin firmly refused to let him participate and would have already arranged leave for him before he could even report for duty.
Because of this, his predecessor often felt embarrassed.
Lin Qing, on the other hand, thought it was excellent.
He was a senior high student who had snuck into the Patrol Team, had no formal appointment or benefits—why on Earth would he risk his life for a mere two thousand six hundred yuan a month…
"But after I become official, it can't be like this anymore," Lin Qing sighed softly.
The best prospect he could think of right now was to become a Patrol Officer.
It not only meant backing from the World Government but also many benefits, such as the chance to learn Chaoyang Martial Arts for free and even the possibility to learn "Combat Skill."
For ordinary people who were not talented enough to be recruited by Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall, this was the best way to enhance their skills quickly.
Most importantly—
The profession of Patrol Officer matched well with his Talent, "Entropy."
He could only pre-utilize one skill at the moment, which was quite limiting—this was due to his low Order Level. Otherwise, pre-utilizing even just one more skill would have made things much easier.
Moreover, his cousin Chen Yanan was the captain of the Patrol Team in the Xiao Shan District Patrol Bureau, so he had a bit of a background.
"First become an official, then rise to the Patrol Department, and obtain the right to carry a firearm," Lin Qing had long planned this, which was a goal he could achieve in the near future.
As long as he mastered the "Sunrise Training Method," both becoming official and rising to the Patrol Department were not difficult tasks.
"Time to study."
Lin Qing opened the Patrol Major book on his smartphone that had been prepared in advance and quickly flipped through it.
There was a written exam for promotion to the Patrol Department, and it was quite troublesome.
Initially, his cousin had taken over a year to pass; she had only barely managed it through earning extra points for commendable actions.
However, this type of examination wasn't hard for him.
In his past life, before the apocalypse broke out, he was just a high school student. After awakening as an Entropy, he mulled it over and pre-utilized the systemic memory training method to master "Memory Master."
Although he hadn't reached the stage of photographic memory, if it came to humanities subjects, he could definitely be a top student.
Normally, it would take over a decade to train from scratch to become a Memory Master; he had spent two years just to finish mastering it afterward.
Unfortunately, Lin Qing had not had the chance to shine in the college entrance examination when the apocalypse had struck.
The skills pre-utilized by an Entropy seemed to be permanent, for even in this life, he had not lost the ability of Memory Master.
With this kind of learning ability, he was confident he could pass the Patrol Major exam in at most a couple of months.
Time ticked by second by second.
"Buzz—"
Suddenly, his phone vibrated, and the caller ID showed "Cousin."
This late at night, why was his cousin suddenly calling?
Lin Qing was puzzled and answered the call immediately.
"Hello, Cousin?"
"What? How could cousin be…"
"Xiao Shan District People's Hospital? Okay, I'll head there right away."
After ending the call, Lin Qing couldn't help but frown slightly.
"A temporary operation tonight… Cousin has been seriously injured and is in the emergency room?"
Although it was already one in the morning, he couldn't just stay at home with his cousin in such a critical condition.
He went to the coat rack, thought for a moment, and decided not to take the temporary Patrol Officer's black uniform but picked up an old jacket next to it instead.
This district became unsafe at night, a time when darkness thrived.
Although the Patrol Team had official backing, as a temporary Patrol Officer with no formal appointment or enforcement power, not even a single star on his shoulder, the local hoodlums and criminals were not intimidated by his uniform.
Being alone even made him a more likely target for bullying; it was better not to wear it.
He put on the jacket, hid his face with the collar, donned a hat, then took a bone-cutting knife from the kitchen and stealthily slipped a fruit knife into his pocket.
After arming himself out of habit, Lin Qing finally left his home.