Deep in the Living
Chapter 231 - 220 Dark Side

Chapter 231: Chapter 220 Dark Side

**High-Risk Activity**

Please arrive on time at Huo Lai Apartment (abandoned, awaiting demolition) at [00:00], and proceed to Room 710 within half an hour to find and watch an old VHS tape.

Requirement: The replier must sit within a two-meter radius to watch, and closing their eyes for more than 5 seconds at a time is not allowed.

After the viewing, leave the apartment and make a reply post at [06:00].

*There is no need to upload the video; cameras are installed inside and outside of the apartment, allowing the website administrators to verify your visit.

*This high-risk activity rarely appears, and if no one replies, it will reappear after a week.

*Do not disclose any information by any means, and only the replier is permitted to go to Huo Lai Apartment alone.

Reward: 180 Fear Beans & a mall redemption voucher.

...

As Luo Di successfully posted his reply, his attention peeled away from the computer screen, and intense hunger compelled him to dash downstairs in search of food.

However, this time he did not crave brains with such fervor—perhaps because he had already absorbed the Pseudo-Person’s pituitary from the lake; it was just plain hunger.

Conveniently, there was a noodle shop right at the bottom of the building, and it was also run by Huaxia people.

A full jin of beef noodles, with an extra jin of beef on the side, plus servings of side dishes for three. Even the last drop of soup was polished off—leaving several burly men with protruding bellies at the adjacent table completely stupefied.

"Ahh... coming back to life.

Can’t keep doing this in the future; it’s too damaging for the body. I’ll need to carry some food with me when I go out at night or eat something like instant noodles before returning to the rental, to stave off hunger. The use of pituitary abilities brings about considerable physical exhaustion."

Exiting the shop, Luo Di looked at his wristband—it was only seven o’clock.

Moon City is well within reach during these few hours, and the most direct way to learn about it would be to find the local Investigation Bureau or Mercury Hotel, which would instantly provide comprehensive information.

But,

Luo Di was not interested in this so-called comprehensiveness, or rather, the sense of security that comes with directly piercing the unknown and reaching the destination.

He was currently enjoying the feeling of exploring the unknown.

Once heading to the Corner in the future, there would be no one like the Investigation Bureau to furnish all the information; the ability to explore the unknown is very important.

On reflection, the designation of "Special Commissioner" granted to Luo Di by the General Administration also had this intention in mind; they hoped he could handle matters independently without relying on the Investigation Bureau.

Most importantly, the level of proficiency Luo Di had achieved allowed him this capricious behavior. Gaining experience and pleasure through exploring the unknown, and gradually filling his pituitary on this journey, was Luo Di’s idea.

He returned to the building where his rental was located.

The landlord couple had just had a simple dinner and were ready to head to the Earth-Moon Tunnel exit to pick up passengers when they opened the door and saw Luo Di standing outside.

"Young man, have you eaten yet?"

"Just had a meal."

"That’s good. We noticed you didn’t really go out much during the day. If you hadn’t eaten, you could have had some noodles with us."

Luo Di cut to the chase and transferred five hundred yuan to the old couple right there.

This was a significant sum for the couple; sometimes they might not even make that much in ten days during the slow season.

"What’s this for, young man?"

"You two don’t have to go to work tonight. I have some matters I’d like to inquire about. May I come in?"

"Please come in~ Old man, hurry up and open that can of tea leaves!" With a look, the old woman prompted the old man to brew their best tea leaves, then led Luo Di into the house.

The rental was a one-bedroom, one-living room layout, just like Luo Di’s.

It was cluttered with a large amount of sundry items, creating a very compressed space, and the sofas and such were obviously already many years old.

Also, Luo Di noticed a portrait of a deceased young person hanging in the living room.

A cup of hot tea was quickly prepared, and the old couple, having accepted the money, sat down opposite him with formality.

They put on a very professional look, as if they were prepared to give a sufficiently detailed answer that was deserved for such an unexpected question.

"Just a casual chat would do. I just have some questions about Moon City."

"Ask away, we’ll answer everything we know."

"It’s my first time coming here as a traveler, and there were many ’residents’ on the same train. What’s their situation approximately?"

The old man smiled helplessly, "Speaking nicely, they’re residents; speaking unpleasantly, they’re exiles. We, an old couple, were also exiled here, back when there were three of us, we lived in Earth City.

Actually, there’s nothing we can’t talk about.

Our son was unworthy, couldn’t study well nor did he work diligently; even when arranged a job, he still often caused trouble. In the end, he even became a Pseudo-Person.

After all, he was our son~We didn’t reveal this immediately, but the Capital City found out soon after.

As a Pseudo-Person, our son was taken away, and within half a year, we received news of his death.

We were stripped of our residency rights in the Capital City for harboring a Pseudo-Person and were soon exiled here. We’ve been quite lucky, managed to live here for over a decade, and even obtained ownership of this old building, besides, we bought a rickety car for ferrying passengers; life is bearable."

"So, people who break the law or rules in the Capital City are sent to Moon City and become its residents?"

"Roughly, but not necessarily for breaking the law.

Some who can’t get along in the Capital City also have no choice but to come here. Anyway, the residents living here more or less couldn’t fit into the Capital’s circles, living day by day as best as they can."

Luo Di nodded and continued to ask, "Moon City’s management of Pseudo-People seems very lax?"

The old woman beside him immediately started to complain: "Lax is an understatement, it’s practically unmanaged. This city is set up to imitate the outside world, not only the day-night cycle, but even the most basic Investigation Bureau is absent.

Humans and Pseudo-People live together in this city, maintaining a very delicate balance.

My old man has ferried quite a few passengers. Sometimes, he would encounter passengers with obvious Pseudo-Person traits, but they have no interest in us, two old folks."

"No Investigation Bureau? Humans and Pseudo-People coexist?"

Luo Di originally thought Moon City’s management of Pseudo-People was lax, but it turns out to be a completely unmanaged state, no wonder websites specifically set up a Moon Zone and easily interact with Pseudo-People.

He even suspected that many Pseudo-People had registered accounts on 4hs, specifically using offline activities to hunt for prey.

The old woman waved her hand, "Only Moon City dares to do this. After all, it’s right next to the Capital City, and with the super-fast transport mode of the Earth-Moon Orbital, personnel can travel back and forth in less than ten minutes.

Even if there are too many Pseudo-People here, they don’t dare to wreak havoc, not to mention actual killings in public.

This is because the deterrence from the Capital City always looms over this place.

Rumor has it, the [full moon] that appears every night is a monitoring tool of the Capital City; the moonlight falls on most parts of the city, and as soon as any Pseudo-Person dares to cause trouble within, the Capital City might send someone to deal with it.

We witnessed it once, five years ago.

There was a major riot in a mall that caused the death of hundreds.

The Capital City immediately dispatched personnel, and with only two individuals, they suppressed the unrest in minutes and publicly executed the group of Pseudo-People on the streets. Since then, there have been no major casualty incidents.

The closer to the Earth-Moon Orbital, the safer it is.

As long as one lives a normal life, there’s basically no need to worry about the threat of Pseudo-People."

"I see..."

Luo Di had completely understood the operation mode of Moon City, and also roughly guessed the true purpose of establishing this satellite city.

It’s like the Eden hidden beneath Mingwang City. In a way, this Moon City also serves as a [Dark Side], only this dark side is well-known and justifiably exists.

Luo Di sipped his tea, musing:

"But, does this balance, formed through the Capital’s deterrence, truly represent stability? Could some places that even the Capital’s light can’t illuminate have already become rotten and festering?

Using the pretext of failing the assessment and arranging me here as a Special Commissioner, is it to have me peer into the dark side of the Moon?

To verify my true capability?

Anyway, I should still start with the cultivation of my pituitary as the premise and slowly explore using the posting method on the website."