Chapter 2 - 2 The Oppressive World

Chapter 2: Chapter 2 The Oppressive World

"This world is simply terrifying..."

Stepping out of the house, breathing in the morning air tinged with a hint of cow dung, Tao Yu sighed again.

He had thought that being an office drone in his previous life was miserable, but considering the people in this world, there was a sense of speechlessness that made him look to the skies, wondering how he had managed to survive before.

Every day involved feeding the cows, cleaning cow dung, milking, and fixing hooves, not to mention weeding and doing various farm chores.

All the spare time was spent practicing survival and combat skills in preparation for Awakening Day, and to this day he still couldn't fully recognize the characters of this world, making him semi-literate.

The hard-earned produce of the farm, which had nothing to do with his family's earnings, was regularly collected by the company, leaving only some food for subsistence as a 'gift.'

If it weren't for his parents having relatively stable jobs, earning a total of three hundred units of Yuan Force to subsidize the household each month.

Relying solely on himself, his third brother, sister-in-law, and younger brother, even working day and night was hardly enough to feed the family.

Not to mention saving up for equipment and supplies for Awakening Day.

Besides that, his parents also had to find ways to continuously increase their cannon fodder weight, employing various methods to keep them from being conscripted by the company.

And after turning eighteen, he too would be included in this hierarchy, also needing to find ways to continually increase this weight, unless something 'fortunate' like what happened to his third brother occurred...

Under the invisible threat to life, the level of vicious internal competition had already broken through the skies.

Gazing into the distance, a gray haze known as The Grey Mist Wall sealed off the periphery completely, the dense, churning fog occasionally revealing shifting shadows within.

A faint layer of bluish mist kept this gray fog at bay.

Turning around, he could see the towering, mottled walls of the Inner City.

The city wall seemed to be patched together from various materials, with all sorts of metal and concrete structures, marked with signs of filling and repairing; one could also see a distribution of watchtowers and Autonomic Gun Turrets along the wall.

Through glimpses beyond the wall, one could see some of the towering buildings in the Inner City, with exaggerated neon signs flickering, and the same sense of patchwork at the tops of the buildings.

It had somewhat the style and technological feel of 21st-century architecture, yet also a stark contrast like something out of a trash heap.

Looking up, one could see a giant city floating in the sky, its base dropping a blue light that seemed to protect the land below from the Grey Mist.

Below the majestic base of the Floating City, a series of greasy, oil-smudged pipes connected the Inner City to the Outer City and various other places, transporting goods upwards for the big shots in the city to enjoy.

The Floating City, Inner City, Outer City, and outer Grey Mist were distinctly separate, representing several drastically different living environments.

Turning back to look at his own home, the dilapidated farmhouse mainly pieced together from asbestos sheets, metal plates, and compressed boards, with a few bricks added for structure, and the surrounding farm that didn't belong to them but needed their care, Tao Yu felt oppressed.

Atop the roof was a crude Autonomic Gun Turret with traces of rust and the smell of machine oil, occasionally creaking as it turned itself around.

This Autonomic Gun Turret was the most valuable and expensive item in the house, able to discern Grey Mist monsters from a short distance and attack automatically, an item of enhanced Yuan Force that was not found in every household.

Although the Outer City was also under the protection of the Flame of Civilization from the Floating City, monsters from inside the Grey Mist would still occasionally attack.

"He got lucky and met a noble who helped him undergo mechanical augmentation, and his strength has not only been retained but increased."

Envy appeared in Tao Long's eyes. Their younger brother was also talented, but it was just a pity not to have such fortune. Otherwise, serving a noble would be fine.

"Alright, let's go over there; he should have just returned as well."

Hong Xia, coming from the kitchen, carried out a big chunk of smoked meat. After brushing off some of the blackened areas, she also stepped out.

Looking at the smoked meat, the scrawny Tao Yu also swallowed hard; it was indeed cruel, in this world, there were indeed people who could not afford meat.

Recalling the delicacies of his previous life, even though his family's circumstances were average, as an only child he at least had the freedom to eat meat. Now in this world, meat was a luxury saved for days when their food was improved.

Even that, by outer city standards, was considered decent living conditions!

Tao Yu did not object to visiting affluent relatives, nor did he have the inexplicable pride of a transmigrator; after living in this world for eighteen years, all his pride had been worn down.

His parents were veterans who had lived in this kind of world for decades, and following their advice now would not be wrong.

Moreover, Tao Yu had a good impression of his cousin Uncle Hu, who had the talent "Predictive Eye" (Grade C), possessing a strong ability to predict.

This ability was even stronger than the "Dynamic Vision" of the same level. Its value at Grade C could be compared to Grade B Dynamic Vision.

He used to be the best off among the relatives; he had left the combat sequence due to injury, but there had been some contact over the years, so the relationship was rather good.

Before the injury, he had taught the third brother, and after the injury, Tao Yu's family helped his in return. So, there was mutual assistance between them.

This relationship was even closer than that of other direct uncles, aunts, and cousins.

Tao Yu's own shooting practice was done through his intervention, saving a lot of expenses for bullet consumption.

For Tao Yu, who had lived in a peaceful period in his previous life, preparing as much as possible for the Awakening Day with only a sixty percent survival rate was naturally the best course of action!

A sixty percent survival rate didn't mean that every person had a sixty percent chance to survive, but rather that those with better preparations and a higher survival rate would skew the average. Tao Yu did not want to be part of the averaged statistics...

...

"Haha, Long, why are you being so polite? Ah Yu is so skinny, he needs to eat more meat to get stronger."

Uncle Hu was a short, stout, and well-built man with dark skin. When Tao Yu saw him again, the man had replaced his originally severed arm with a punk-styled mechanical arm, which even turned his left shoulder completely mechanical.

Although the mechanical arm reeked of oil and shone with a polished gleam, wear and tear were still visible, suggesting it was at least second-hand but a good fit for Tao Hu.

After receiving the smoked meat, Uncle Hu squeezed Tao Yu's shoulder with his oily mechanical arm and then spoke up,

"People awaken every day; it shouldn't be a problem for me to arrange for today."

At this point, Uncle Hu paused, then continued,

"However, I've heard that the children of two important figures will also participate today, so there are some things I need to mention in advance..."