Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 948 I Swear by Time

Chapter 948: Chapter 948 I Swear by Time

Shangguan Xi quickly adjusted his mood, and said solemnly, "Certainly, I’ll do it well! But Brother Xu, is there something fishy about Teacher Ai?"

"Not sure yet, that’s why I need to go and see myself," Xu Huo said. "Don’t follow too closely to avoid being noticed. You can use the communicator to contact me, if you can’t reach me go to No.1 Canopy Pillar and wait for me."

The Canopy Pillar was those branch-like urban supports.

"Don’t worry about how I handle things," Shangguan Xi patted his chest and then turned into the next street.

As he watched him leave, Xu Huo then boarded an express shutter within the city, from the station information this shuttle would pass through the incineration plant.

The incineration plant was specifically used to burn the bodies of the Aliens.

Although electronic devices had not become commonplace on every city street, paper media still circulated. Information from newspapers indicated that when W37 was first built, there were three incineration plants in the city, not only for burning Alien corpses but also for special incineration of Mutant Plants and the native residents who died due to infection.

Later, as the strength of Base City increased, the city cleaned up the Mutant Plants and the infected people and then closed two of the incineration plants. Now, only one remains in the southeast corner, mainly for processing discarded Alien materials.

In other words, the Aliens brought into Base City would, in one way or another, most likely end up in this place.

The live samples delivered by the players were no exception.

Though according to Gao Xiaoyan, living Aliens were first sent to the laboratory for research, whether the samples could survive for long, or whether there were any personnel related to the instance background inside the laboratory remained uncertain. Besides the samples needed for experiments, the lab of Base W37 City, which had started to accept infected residents and had researched the virus that once took down ten base cities, would not store many bodies; thus, the successful delivery of an Alien to Base City would probably also end up at the incineration plant.

Gao Xiaoyan’s attitude toward living Aliens was strange; she initially did not reveal any intention to kill the Aliens and even seemed indifferent to the conditions of the Aliens. Considering that Base W37 City housed so many regular residents, even if players were immune, for the sake of these ordinary residents, she should have been more concerned about an Alien that could potentially spread the virus—unless she had understood the situation from the beginning.

It was also possible that she was monitoring the Alien, but then intending to kill it before entering the city seemed contradictory.

Killing the Alien prematurely and not allowing their bodies to be brought into Base City appeared like a robust interdiction, but in practice, she loosened her grip after a simple confrontation and did not send anyone to pursue. The defense on the Base City side continued as usual... Although it seemed like a sudden incident, the attitude of Base W37, as represented by Gao Xiaoyan, underwent several subtle shifts during the process, which aroused curiosity.

According to Xu Huo, either this Alien, dead or alive, was inconsequential to Base W37 City, or it was imbued with other significance, which Base W37 City knew about and allowed.

He was more inclined to the latter option. After all, the overt use of the Alien was for vaccine research, but in reality, it served as a virus carrier, and its role in W37 was quite evident.

The origin of such a virus outbreak was also the laboratory, but now, W37’s laboratory was probably already taken over by the players, which was why Xu Huo decided to head to the incineration plant first.

"...recently, an influx of players has led to potential conflicts, so we urge citizens to limit their outdoor activities as much as possible and seek help from the Law Enforcement Team if needed... A sanitation procedure will occur in one minute; all citizens please take precautions," a Law Enforcement Team’s patrol vehicle passed by the express shuttle.

"Do we need sanitation every day?" Xu Huo struck up a conversation with an old lady sitting next to him, "Hasn’t W37 mastered the method to cure the disease?"

The old lady, toothless, spoke a bit unclearly but responded enthusiastically: "No, no, it treats the symptoms, not the root cause. Being infected is like having a chronic disease, you won’t die from it."

"But it’s better to avoid getting it, to prevent outsiders from infecting the residents. The government has to drive around disinfecting every day."

That seemed like a standard operation. Xu Huo looked outside the window, "It seems there aren’t many sick people on the streets."

One of the infection’s consequences was blotchy skins, and Base W37 City hadn’t been accepting infected individuals for a short period, yet there were no visibly infected individuals wandering the streets.

"Those people need to go to quarantine and get treated before they can come out," the old lady said smilingly: "It’s on the east side in the experimental fields. When you pass by, you can see many people working inside."

Xu Huo feigned surprise, "I’ve heard that this virus contaminates plants and soil!"

The old lady got a bit annoyed, "Who told you that? I’ve never heard of it spreading to crops. What you’re saying is discriminatory and exclusionary. If it escalates, how are those poor people supposed to live?"

"I heard it through the grapevine, just curious is all, madam, don’t be upset," Xu Huo smiled, "Actually, I’m asking for a friend who wants to bring his family here, but he’s worried they might not be accepted."

"Our government is good," the old lady smiled again, "They’ve opened up new experimental fields. Tell your friend to come; anyone who can contribute to Base City can enjoy government benefits. This city will grow larger and larger, and before long, walking out you might see fertile fields just like on the way back!"

The old lady’s enthusiasm engaged another elderly passenger: "I have to take this ride every other day. 37 has improved a lot compared to before. At first, we couldn’t even get enough to eat, now once every three or five days we can have a fruit. Fruits are luxury goods in other Base Cities, and money might not always buy them!"

"I love fruits too!" a girl about ten years old, swinging her mother’s arm, exclaimed, "Mom, can we buy a banana today? We haven’t bought any for a long time, and if we bring one home, dad and sister can eat too."

"Let’s see if there’s a discounted price later..." her mother, appearing a bit weary, gently nodded.

These trivial, warm daily moments represented that the city had embarked on the right path, and both inside and outside of the vehicle, all residents held hope for the city, looking forward to the future.

Suddenly, a siren sounded from the direction of the city center, and a speeding vehicle darted through a "Y" shaped intersection. As the lights turned on sequentially beneath the train, static projections began to play in the air, with few ads among them but mostly government-published current affairs. The female mayor’s voice echoed in every corner of the city:

"This city has suffered through war, hunger, and disease, but amidst hardships, we have survived. Each footprint bears the tears and blood of those who died and those living. We keep moving forward in search of hope, not only to dispel the darkness but to create a bright future."

"I swear upon time, from birth to death, I will coexist with this city!"