Kromi couldn't help but glance at Qianlong again, his eyes filled with admiration.
"Hyberian is a pioneering ship that escaped from the fallen Hyperion Star. We are searching for suitable planets to inhabit. By the way, I need to tell you something: most of the areas we passed through have been invaded by alien races. This means that apart from Hyberian, you have no other place to settle." (Note: Due to the urgent escape from Hyberian, only the mech troops were able to protect some royal members, researchers, and a portion of refugees boarding the ship, leaving everything else behind. They set sail with nothing, relying on scavenging to survive, which was truly pitiful. Originally, Hyberian was just a cargo transport ship, later modified.) The people present, including the pirates, were stunned, their faces showing shock.
Three days later, Qianlong opened his eyes. He still felt as if he were dreaming, lying on a very hard metal bed, staring up at the metal ceiling.
The room was quite cramped, about seven square meters, with no independent bathroom, just a bed and a table—this was all the furniture. There was a light on the ceiling and a ventilation duct.
Although he had been taken in, he had effectively become a bottom-tier citizen.
Hyberian was a massive interstellar mothership. According to Kromi, Hyberian was about 80 kilometers long and 25 kilometers wide, housing over 20 million people.
Moreover, the entire mothership was not entirely a living area, so one could imagine just how overcrowded Hyberian was at this moment.
The living area was divided into five zones: A, B, C, D, and F. Each zone had different resources available.
Qianlong was currently in the lowest tier, Zone F, which was specifically designated for housing wandering interstellar refugees. According to the captain of Hyberian, the mothership, in a sense, was like a person that needed fresh blood to be injected.
Of course, Hyberian did not support idlers. Once taken in, one had to find work to support themselves. There were two types of currency on Hyberian: Credit Points and Star Coins.
Qianlong was somewhat confused; he could understand Credit Points, but why were Star Coins still usable? Hadn't Kromi said that the areas they passed through had basically fallen?
This had been puzzling Qianlong. Additionally, Hyberian had been drifting in this boundless universe for over two hundred years, which meant that the alien races had somehow crossed the Felas Defense Line long ago.
When Hyperion Star fell, it was also attacked from the rear, so Hyberian had no choice but to fly towards the Felas Defense Line to seek help.
In other words, the spaceship was heading towards the front lines.
However, due to the vast distance, separated by several star domains, and limited technology, they could not establish contact. Not to mention natural interference and other reasons; without specialized equipment, there was basically no hope.
The technology used by the Hyberian mothership was quite good, powered by solar energy and Energy Crystal Stones. As for supplies, part of it relied on the mothership's internal circulation system and production areas, while another part was scavenged along the way.
The technology for synthetic food was already very mature; producing as much as needed was not a problem. However, there was one crucial issue: synthetic food required energy to produce.
The small space Qianlong lived in was not free of charge. According to the policies on the spaceship, he could use it for free for three months, and during those three months, he could enjoy a certain amount of free water resources and other public resources. After that, if he wanted to continue using it, he would need to pay, such as 100 points or 100 Star Coins per month, both of which were equivalent.
There was a knock on the door, and Qianlong opened it in confusion.
He saw Kromi standing at the door, displaying what he thought was a very nice sunny smile.
Milo followed Kromi, holding a box in his arms.
"Hey, kid, aren't you going to invite us in?"
"Please come in," Qianlong replied.
Kromi walked in, looked around, and said, "How's it going? Getting used to it?"
"Pretty good," Qianlong answered.
"These synthetic foods are for you," Kromi gestured for Milo to put the box down.
Milo placed the box on the nearby table.
"Didn't the spaceship already send supplies?" Qianlong couldn't help but look at Kromi.
Kromi replied nonchalantly, "This is also from the spaceship. Hurry up and find a job, even if it's just asking for one. If you find a job, you can survive on this spaceship; otherwise, you'll just starve to death, and your body will become fertilizer."
Qianlong hesitated and asked, "Why are you telling me all this?"
Kromi yawned, "No particular reason. Since you're alive, just live well. I won't chat with you anymore; I have to go to the next place. It's really a troublesome job."
After saying that, Kromi got up and walked out.
After seeing the two off, Qianlong looked at the small box of Nutrition Bars, falling into silence.
The spaceship had already sent rations for seven days; this small box probably contained a month's worth. The spaceship wouldn't be that generous; this could only be a gift from Kromi.
Qianlong took a deep breath; he needed to go out and look for work. He had hit a wall in the past two days.
The technology of Bellock Star was nothing compared to Hyberian; even if the refugees who fled here had some skills, they were of little use.
Qianlong stepped outside and closed the door.
At a glance, all he could see were densely packed metal buildings, with connecting passages between each building. Looking down, he couldn't see the bottom. Qianlong's room number was F2-65-345-214.
F2 represented the second subdivision in Zone F, 65 represented the 65th building, 345 represented the floor number, and 214 was the room number.
During the day, residents of Zone F could cross into Zone D, but after seven o'clock, they had to return. The mothership operated on a 24-hour system, with the Intelligent Optical Brain controlling an artificial sun to alternate between day and night, simulating the most suitable living conditions for humans.
Qianlong walked towards the passage leading to Zone D. There were relatively more job opportunities in Zone D compared to Zone F, but the competition was also fierce. As for the pay, one shouldn't expect too much; finding a job at all would be quite good.
There were many others with the same idea. Qianlong even saw some familiar faces—refugees who had been settled on the spaceship with him.
Many of them smiled at Qianlong, and he smiled and nodded in response.
Soon, Qianlong arrived at a fork in the road, where the paths led to different subdivisions in Zone D.
This time, Qianlong planned to try his luck in Zone D1.
There was a checkpoint at the entrance connecting Zone D and Zone F. Anyone wanting to enter Zone D had to go through some instrument checks. In a way, this could be considered discrimination, but it wasn't entirely unreasonable; after all, living conditions in Zone F were poor, and new refugees frequently arrived. Although there had been a health check before boarding the spaceship, who knew what might not have been detected? Routine checks were still necessary.
Qianlong walked to the checkpoint and queued with the crowd.
The inspection passage was quite spacious, and the flow of people was very fast.
Soon, it was Qianlong's turn. He walked into a specialized inspection archway.
As he stepped in, he could feel different colored lights sweeping over him.
"Identity verification passed."
"Qianlong."
"Fifth-tier citizen."
"Physical condition: healthy."
"Mental state: healthy."
Qianlong listened to the cold mechanical voice as he passed through the inspection passage.
(End of Chapter)