Chapter 161 - Li Ling Gege

"Did she just leave us like that...?" Zhihao questioned in disbelief. 

Li Ling looked at the card carelessly before tossing it into his pocket with a shrug and smiling as he looked at Zhihao, "She did."

"...." Zhihao was silent for a minute as he wondered what he was supposed to do next. 

They had originally separated from the others because they were going to look for more Ribots but now they were here, a place where people could care no less about the so-called Ribot and Ribix war a.k.a., the war that Zhihao and Li Ling were trying to fight and win for these exact people! 

At this exact moment, Zhihao suddenly remembered that he didn't need to worry about what he was supposed to do next, after all, he wasn't the leader in this level. He had handed over those duties to his beloved boyfriend. 

Zhihao grinned cheekily as he looked back at Li Ling and asked, "What's the plan?" 

"..." Li Ling took a minute to respond, "That's a good question." 

"..." 

Li Ling smiled even brighter than Zhihao as he turned his head and continued to walk inside the place called Utopia, "Why don't we just explore this place for a bit?" 

Zhihao nodded as he followed after the man, "What about collecting Ribots?" 

"Not a priority," Li Ling shrugged it off as unimportant, but in reality, this Utopia exploration was the real unimportant task, however, Li Ling was going to prioritize it because of Zhihao. 

He could see it in Zhihao's eyes; the curiosity and enthusiasm. 

Since A-Zhi wanted to explore, Li Ling would also want to explore!

Zhihao, "Are you sure we have the time?" 

Li Ling smiled as he poked Zhihao's forehead, "You're thinking too much about it. Let's just collect some data by exploring, okay?" 

Zhihao nodded as he heard the words 'collecting data'. If they were going to use the excuse of collecting data, Zhihao would be able to feel a bit more at ease and would not drown himself in guilt. 

Li Ling saw the change in Zhihao's expressions and chuckled as he continued to walk away with Zhihao eagerly following behind.

This city for refugees, or rather, party for refugees, called Utopia, was an odd place. Like the house made out of candy from Hansel and Gretel, it was a bit too sugar-coated and weird. 

The people who passed by them, all had a ridiculously happy face. They were smiling and grinning from ear to ear as if they had won a lottery or something. Not only were they a bit too happy but they were also super nice, kind and polite! 

If someone bumped against the other and caused an injury, they would both constantly apologize to each other, the complete opposite of what happened in the real world. If someone bumped against another in the real world and caused an injury, they would not stop at a fight, they would straightaway take it to court and sue each other. 

This place was like the sugarcoated society that could only be seen in a children's movie about princesses and their happily ever afters. 

Zhihao would be lying if he said that he didn't like this place. He indeed liked the technology, the colors, and the overall lively atmosphere, however, the people creeped him out. 

From seeing plotting humans who cared about no one else but themselves, to suddenly meet such kinds of humans who would care about nothing and live their life freely, it was a drastic change that Zhihao couldn't get used to. 

The smile on their faces looked honest; it didn't look like they were acting or forcing themselves to smile or laugh. It genuinely looked as if they were happy or had inhaled a bit too much of laughing gas. 

A lady, around the age of 20 or something walked up to them and asked, "Are you guys new here?" 

She had a wide grin on her face as her eyes formed two little crescents. 

Li Ling nodded his head as he answered, "We are new." 

It seemed that not everyone here recognized the faces of Captain Burn and Captain Liv and it was only natural that they didn't. Who knew how long it had been since they saw the two Captains? 

Rei had probably recognized them because of their suit, however, at this moment, they weren't wearing the suits so it was even more difficult for the people to recognize them. 

The lady opened her eyes and beamed, "That's great to hear! Welcome to Utopia!" 

"Who are you?" Zhihao asked a bit rudely, even though he didn't mean to be rude. 

The lady chuckled as she heard this rude response. It didn't look like she was offended and on the contrary, it looked as if she was actually happy to hear his response. 

This was exactly what Zhihao was talking about! The people here were a bit too happy and kind!! 

They creeped him out! 

"Would you want me to give you a tour of the place?" The lady asked with the same warm smile. 

Before Zhihao could say anything, Li Ling nodded as he spoke up first and asked her, "Is it for free?" 

The lady snickered, "It'll take you a few survival points." 

Zhihao thought that since Rei had already left, he might as well just use this lady to get his answers, "What are survival points?" 

"You don't know?" The lady tilted her head as she added, "Survival points are the bonus points you are given for surviving in this world! They are the currency used to buy products and services." 

"Oh..." Zhihao seemed to ponder over it for a bit before he questioned, "How do you get survival points?" 

"You win them." 

"Win?" 

The lady nodded as she eagerly answered, "If you want to earn survival points, you sign your name in any one of the teams and go above to Metropolis. If you come back alive after completing the mission you were given, you get survival points." 

"Excuse me... What?!" Zhihao was confused as he heard this. 

"If you want to earn survival points, you sign your name in any one of the team and go above to Metropolis. If you come back alive after completing the mission you were-"

"No, I understand that," Zhihao interjected, "But what do you mean missions?" 

"It depends upon the team with which you are signed in with. Different teams get different missions. Some go and collect food to bring back here and some go collect weapons or other necessary resources."

Zhihao furrowed his eyebrows as he heard this, "But... Why?" 

If they needed to bring food and weapon here since this was a city why not just manufacture all their needs here? Why go back to Metropolis and bet your life on some useless mission like this?" 

"Food can only be produced and kept above ground." 

"Huh?" 

"Any type of food stored in Utopia would rot away in just a few hours." 

"How?" 

"Oyi~ That's too many questions!" The lady took out a lollipop and stuffed it into Zhihao's mouth as she added, "This is Utopia! You should enjoy!" 

Zhihao frowned as he took the lollipop out of his mouth and before he could say anything further, he felt Li Ling's hand wrap around his mouth, obstructing him from asking further questions. 

Li Ling smiled as he looked at the lady, "Thank you for helping us!"

"No problem," She beamed. 

Li Ling, "We'll pay you with survival points, why don't you take us to explore the city?" 

The smile on her face widened as she heard this and Zhihao was almost blinded by her aura of happiness as she exclaimed, "Great!!" 

The lady turned on her heel as she started taking them on a tour right away without wasting any further words. 

Zhihao looked at Li Ling as Li Ling removed his hand from Zhihao's mouth, "What are you doing? We need to collect information." 

Li Ling pursed his lips as he took the lollipop from Zhihao's hand and looked at it for a minute before throwing it away, "Do not eat things that other people give you." 

"Eh?" Zhihao was left stunned as he stared at Li Ling's moving back that seemed to get further and further away from him. 

Only after a solid minute of realization and with the sound of Li Ling chuckling did Zhihao react. 

He ran and caught up to Li Ling, "Were you jealous right now?" He asked with a dazed expression as if he could not believe it. 

Li Ling said nothing and simply kept on walking as if he hadn't heard the question. "You got jealous! You definitely got jealous! Gege, this is not the time to get jealous!" 

Li Ling broke out laughing as he questioned with surprise, "Did you just call me Gege?" 

This time it was Zhihao's turn to act as if he could not hear the question. 

Li Ling was amused by this reaction, "You called me Gege! You definitely did!" 

Zhihao's lips unconsciously turned upwards as he heard this. He had definitely called him Gege1 on purpose but was he going to admit to that? No way!!