Ming looked at the spider lying on the ground, already exhausted. He shook his head and set off in the direction of Jingcheng. Without a doubt, it must have been exhausted by Merlin.
Walking on the road and looking at the brand-new environment, he had to admit, with the increased population in the district, the environment had also changed. What used to be concrete ruins had completely transformed, with small courtyards stretching all the way to the capital, or rather, with the capital at its center, post-apocalyptic district 109 was now a large residential area taking shape.
People were coming and going on the street, but no one paid much attention to a man in a white coat. After all, in the post-apocalyptic world, everyone dressed in various outfits. At this time, everyone was heading towards Jingcheng.
"I'm going to drink a few more cups of my homemade fruit wine today~"
"You crushed the fruit, mixed it with some water and alcohol, and you have the nerve to say that."
"There will be a group wedding at today's celebration, I hope they can be generous for once~"
"..."
"A wedding?"
Ming overheard the conversations around him but was not surprised. Nobody knew what the future held, and many people lived with a carpe diem attitude.
When he arrived at Jingcheng, he noticed that it seemed to have been expanded, but it still could not accommodate tens of thousands of people. Therefore, the venue was on a newly opened square south of Jingcheng.
"Hey! Where's the band? You've practiced the music, right? Make it cheerful, no moping! What? You're getting 50 gold coins for playing for a day, how can you be at a loss?"
"Hey, you there, can you blow the horn? If not, find a replacement! Can't you even handle this?"
"Where's the gong beater? Call them over for me right now!"
"..."
Ming looked at the bustling crowd around him and found many unfamiliar faces. It seemed that a lot of people had joined District 109 while he was away.
"Hey bro, come and help me lift this table."
At this moment, a man with short hair and stubble, with a tattoo on the back of his hand, patted Ming's shoulder.
"Eh~"
Ming did not refuse. He had already planned not to reveal his identity yet, intending to give the four guys a 'surprise'.
Mostly, he wanted to play some fun with them. Damn this childishness. He then helped the stubbly man, Reniel, lift one end of the large table towards the venue.
"Hey buddy, you don't look very sturdy, but you're quite strong. You're one of the recent merges, aren't you? Are you a barrier master?"
Reniel took a look at the man opposite him. Sunglasses, mask, his face completely obscured.
Ming nodded, "You have a good eye."
"Do I need to say it? It's because I can read people that I hang around with Mike. He's a good guy. I'll introduce you to him someday."
Reniel grinned. When they killed the shared enemy, Mike had just patted him on the shoulder and said he was brave, nothing more.
But he still felt it was something to be proud of, and he would boast about it whenever he met someone. "Hey, you know, Mike patted me on the shoulder and said I was great. Mike isn't someone who pats just anyone on the shoulder."
Every time Reniel thought about it, he would be happy for a while. He said to the man helping him with the table: "By the way, my name is Reniel."
"Alright~"
"Hehe~ Good, good brother, I'll take care of you from now on."
Reniel was happy. After all, he had been in District 109 for some time and didn't have any real friends, let alone being respected by anyone. He thought the man before him was quite good.
He grinned and asked, "What's your name?"
"Me?"
Ming thought for a moment, realizing it was time to come up with a name again, which was indeed a bit difficult for him. He opened his mouth and said, "Call me Handsome."
"Handsome? That's a really good name...umm....."
"Yeah~ I think so too."
"~"
After a while, Reniel and Ming put down the table, and the former led the latter to the shade of a tree. He took out a crumpled box of cigarettes, took a bent one for himself, and after rummaging around for a while, finally took out a straight one and handed it to the man beside him, "Come on, let's take a break. We're in no hurry to get back to work~"
"Thanks, but I don't smoke much."
"Well, that's a shame~"
Reniel retracted his hand, carefully put the cigarette back into the box, and lit the one in his mouth.
Ming slowly withdrew his hand. Life was like this, wanting to try, but the heavens did not provide the opportunity~
He looked at the bustling crowd ahead and asked, "How many people are getting married today? Why such a big occasion?"
Reniel said, "I'm not sure, probably dozens or even hundreds of pairs."
Ming nodded, "What about you?"
Reniel took a deep puff and exhaled a smoke ring, "I'm just here for the wedding banquet."
"…"
The atmosphere became silent for a moment.
Ming could see the loneliness in the man beside him through the swirling smoke. He had solved the mystery, this was a single dog.
"I had a girlfriend in my original district, but then she left with a mutant and went to Mutant City 003. All the mutants in the world are settling there, she must be quite happy~"
Reniel finished speaking and flicked off the ashes, saying, "Well, with over 60,000 people in our District 109, you and I will eventually find a wife."
"Yes~ Yes~"
Ming leaned against a tree trunk and sat down. After so many days of absence, the district's population had already reached 60,000. David was really good at merging territories. However, it was true that having people could drive the economy, and a strong economy could provide stability. He seemed to have grasped this principle well.
A moment later, the gathering began. Reniel led Ming to a dining table in a corner. People around nodded and exchanged greetings with each other. Luckily, he didn't see any familiar faces, which made Ming feel relieved.
At this moment, a person in a red suit walked out onto the distant stage.
Reniel nudged Ming with the back of his hand, "Look at the ostentation of our district's big bank president David, so rich, not to mention the strong ability to make money."
"Yeah~ Yeah~"
Ming nodded, looking forward to today's feast. Since it was free, he was determined to eat as much as he could, especially considering the amount of work he had done earlier.
As for David, let him be cocky for now. He'll settle accounts with him later.
"Look at how succinct his speech is. Oh, the one who's going up to speak now is our district's Chief Justice, impartial and unyielding. He doesn't care about personal feelings at all. Don't be fooled by his kind and gentle appearance. When he gets tough, everyone is scared."
Reniel pointed with his chin.
Ming looked over, it was Hawkins, the tree-man. There was a flower blooming on his hand again. The pink teddy bear would love it.
Noted. He'll pluck it off later to make a flower crown.
"Mike is up there. Look at his tall and upright figure, like a war god. Once, when our district's people were robbed in the area, Mike went there alone and killed more than 20 people. It was terrifying. Since then, no one doesn't respect him."
As Reniel spoke, his eyes were full of admiration. He wanted to become like that.
Ming glanced at Mike in the distance. He was indeed bulkier than before and looked a lot sharper. But he was not good at speaking.
"Look at our logistics officer, still so low-key. You should have seen his puppets, right? He can control ten puppets at a time, all of them are king-level, and there's a five-star king-level one. That's really impressive. I've always thought he's the strongest in our District 109."
After saying that, Reniel took out a cigarette roll and lit it, exhaled a puff of green smoke, and said, "It's hard to imagine how strong the boss of these four bigwigs must have been. Unfortunately, he died young."
"Yes~"
Ming nodded, "I'm a bit hungry."
"Hungry?"
Reniel exhaled a smoke ring and beckoned to the people at their table, "Come on, everyone take out your own food and start sharing the meal."
"..."
Share?
Ming was taken aback. What's going on? Do you have to bring your own food to a wedding?
What kind of crappy wedding is this~
Are they kidding? They don't even provide meals?
Damn it!