Life Game In Other World
Chapter 567: Storm (Big - for Monthly Votes)

Chapter 567: Chapter 567: Storm (Big Chapter for Monthly Votes)

"Look over there, fireworks!"

A girl sitting in the front seats excitedly pointed outside the window.

"Yeah!"

The boy sitting next to the window also looked out eagerly.

"Those houses over there are so low, what place is that? Watching fireworks there must be amazing," she remarked.

With her hand on the back of the front seat, the girl tilted her head to look out the window. Skyscrapers rose one after another, and she could only catch a glimpse of the splendid fireworks through the gaps between the buildings.

"Let me check,"

the boy said as he raised his wristband which seemed like he was checking a map app. After a while, his tone dropped, and his previously perked shoulders sagged. "That’s the villa district of Saint Lote District."

Saint Lote District was where the wealthy of Vitland City congregated and also where most major conglomerates had their headquarters in Vitland.

The girl turned back and seemed to sense the change in the boy’s mood. She leaned slightly against him, "It’s okay, we don’t need to buy a house there. We can just go near there to watch fireworks in the future."

She noticed a somewhat despondent and bewildered look in the boy’s eyes as she pulled out a large canvas bag with a Welme Hospital advertisement from under the seat. "Some things, if you’re born with them, you have them; if not, you’ll never have them,"

she murmured, reaching into the bag and pulling out a piece of steak, "Let’s cook steak tonight when we get back. A sister from my workshop recommended it to me—Nolanka Group’s synthetic steak. Although I haven’t really heard of this brand, it’s said to taste pretty good—just like real meat—and it’s cheap too."

The boy stared blankly at the girl, the brilliant fireworks reflecting dazzling colors in her dark pupils.

He opened his mouth to say something, but a mechanical female voice from the bus’s speaker system interrupted him.

"Hazel Station has arrived."

The bus gradually came to a stop.

"Dummy, it’s our stop,"

the girl glanced at the surrounding buildings, grabbed the bag with one hand, and seized the boy’s hand with the other, rushing him towards the opening bus doors. "We still have ten minutes to transfer at half-price. If we miss it, they’ll deduct an extra 50 federal coins."

As they hurried off, two youths dressed in simple denim work clothes boarded the bus.

"Standard card user."

"Standard card user."

The harsh, repeated announcement of the mechanical female voice echoed in the bus.

In Vitland, public transport companies mostly featured contactless payment. As long as one’s wristband was linked to the transit app, the special identity chip in the wristband would trigger an automatic charge on the user’s account upon boarding.

This contactless payment system was exclusive to credit cards. Credit cards that had signed cooperation agreements with the transit company received additional fare reductions.

The bus doors closed, and the vehicle started moving again.

The two youths took a look at the somewhat empty bus and sat down not far from He Ao’s slanted front.

The youth sitting on the outside appeared to be watching some news. His earphones were poor-quality and leaked sound.

With He Ao’s current hearing, these sounds were just one more piece of background noise in his ears.

"On the 24th, the Mayor of Dawn City, Christos, who pushed for the bill to ’further increase the coverage range of accidental injury insurance and raise the insurance amount’ in Dawn City, saw it suggested for amendment by the city council, which essentially meant the bill did not receive direct approval from the council.

"Christos stated he would modify the bill and continue to submit it for the city council’s decision.

"This is already the second bill this year that the Mayor of Dawn City has failed to pass directly through the city council. The previous bill was about raising the minimum wage, which was passed after being amended, but the increase in wages was significantly less than what was originally proposed.

"Ever since the Mayor implemented the medical reform in Dawn City last year with shocking and forceful measures that astonished the whole Federation, all his actions have been under pressure from financial conglomerates.

"Currently, Christos’s Ruling Alliance still maintains a majority in the Dawn City city council, but recent developments suggest that there has been a split within the Ruling Alliance.

"According to internal information from the Dawn Daily, the conservative faction within the Ruling Alliance believes that Christos’s actions have been too radical since the medical reform, and that excessive restrictions and penalties on conglomerates could lead to unforeseen consequences.

"On the other hand, the radical faction feels that Christos’s actions have been too conservative and have not adequately punished the conglomerates, failing to improve the originally poor situation in Dawn City.

"The recent inability of Christos’s bills to pass directly through the city council of Dawn City also seems to be affected by this split.

"If Christos and his Ruling Alliance lose control of the Dawn City council, this ambitious Mayor is very likely to become a lame duck, obstructed at every turn. As the midterm elections of the Federal Assembly draw near, the situation in Dawn City could become even more complex."

······

"What are you watching?"

Next to the young man, a companion sitting by the window leaned over, looking at the young man’s bracelet.

"A news broadcast from Trison TV about Dawn City,"

The young man said quietly, taking off his headphones.

"Dawn City?" The window-side companion raised his tone slightly, looking puzzled at the young man, "That’s across the whole Federation from us, it takes a whole day on an airship. Why care about them?"

Then he sat upright, leaning against the window, and began to open the video app, scrolling through his own bracelet, "Cheer up, man. Work is tiring enough, why bother with complex issues after hours?"

"True," the young man put away his bracelet and then seemed to think of something, "The midterm elections are coming up soon, who are you planning to vote for Senator?"

"Ned,"

The companion said without hesitation.

At this moment, the bus was passing by a huge billboard with Ned’s election poster plastered on it.

"Why?" the young man was taken aback, the neon light from Ned’s election poster shining on his face, "That guy hardly ever fulfills his campaign slogans."

"Well,"

The companion lifted his bracelet, showing the projection on it to the young man next to him.

From He Ao’s angle, he could see the screen on the bracelet clearly.

It was a curvaceous and beautiful female blogger sharing videos from her life,

"I really like this blogger. She says she thinks Ned is pretty good and that she will vote for Ned, so I’ll just go along and vote for him too."

"What?" The young man was startled, "But what if that guy is a jerk?"

"Who cares," the companion leaned back against the window, "Aren’t all these old men running for Senator jerks?"

He watched the video on his bracelet, then asked casually, "How about you, who do you want to vote for?"

"Dasanc,"

The young man flipped his bracelet, showing an electronic campaign poster and introduced it with some excitement to his companion,

"He’s really young, not even forty yet, and he’s worked in the Industrial District before. He has promised that if elected, he will commit to pushing for employee welfare improvements like raising the minimum wage and enhancing employee safety protections throughout the Federation."

"Our factory is so dangerous; just the other day in Workshop 15, that guy got caught in the machinery, and not even a whole bone was left behind. If we could have an accident insurance like the one in Dawn City, at least our families would have some security if something happens to us,"

"Sounds good," his companion leaned against the window, scrolling to the next video, "but when these Senators are campaigning, isn’t every single one of them full of hot air? This Dasanc..."

"It’s Dasanc."

The young man corrected his companion’s pronunciation.

"Dasanc," the companion turned off his bracelet, sat up straight, and looked into the young man’s eyes, "how do you know he’s not just another bastard?"

The young man looked slightly stunned.

"Cheer up," the companion shrank back, "no matter who gets in, the result is the same. The old guys in the City Council won’t care about us, neither will the Federal Assembly. Anyone who appears before us has been cherry-picked by the consortium. These people are all the same, just pick the one that looks right and vote for them."

The young man gazed blankly at his companion as the bus passed by Ned’s campaign billboard and arrived in front of a huge mall screen.

On this screen, Ned’s campaign advertisement was also playing.

He looked up to see Ned’s confident, self-assured smile in the advertisement and suddenly felt a sense of mockery.

The young man slumped back into his seat, resting against the chairback, his gaze fixed forward.

This bus was an unmanned one, slightly cheaper than those with drivers. There was no driver’s seat at the front of the bus, just a vast, enormous windshield.

Through this windshield, the young man could clearly see the high-rise buildings flickering with neon lights ahead.

Everywhere were Ned’s campaign ads covering every advertising space, large and small.

The cheerful, rhythmical campaign music, specially designed, now seemed like grating laughter echoing in his ears.

He glanced at the poster on his bracelet, slowly turned off the bracelet, and sighed softly.

"If only Christos were our Mayor."

His companion looked up at him, watching the introduction video about Christos’s accident insurance bill on his own bracelet screen and slowly turned off the bracelet too.

He sighed softly as well.

For the rest of the journey, there was a prolonged silence.

The two young men in their somewhat rough work clothes got off at the next stop.

The passengers on the bus came and went, but it maintained a relatively quiet atmosphere.

Before getting on the bus, He Ao had bought a cloth cover on the street to wrap up his bone axe and wooden box; after boarding, he leaned against the window, holding the cloth-covered items and watching the road ahead of the bus.

The number of passengers on this route was not large, and it was not rush hour.

This bus route was one of the longest in Vitland City, spanning across Plante District, Saint Lote District, and North Vitland District.

It would pass by the old Industrial District of Plante, several civilian districts, through many prestigious private schools in Saint Lote, and finally back to North Vitland District, passing the City Council building, the residence of the Mayor of Vitland at Eranster Palace, and Vitland University.

This route was not just an ordinary bus line; it was also an important sightseeing route in Vitland. Many budget travelers chose this bus route to see most of Vitland City’s sights for the least amount of money.

And since it was a sightseeing route, this route’s pricing was different from other bus lines.

Vitland’s ordinary buses came in two types: the cheaper, unmanned yellow buses, and the more expensive, driver-operated blue buses.

The prices were 1 federal coin and 1.5 federal coins respectively.

Of course, one could also opt for a monthly pass. The price for a monthly pass on the yellow bus is 75 federal coins, while it is 97 federal coins for the blue bus. During the month, one could take unlimited rides.

For both types of buses, within one hour of boarding, passengers can transfer to another bus at half price. However, yellow bus passengers can only transfer to another yellow bus, while blue bus passengers can transfer to either a blue or yellow bus, though the price is still calculated at half the fare of the blue bus.

The line that He Ao was currently on had some slight differences from regular bus routes.

The fare for boarding and alighting within the same district was the same as that for a regular bus. For instance, if one got on in Plante District and also got off in Plante District, the fare was the same as that of a regular bus, either 1 or 1.5 federal coins.

But if one traveled across districts, an additional half-fare ticket would be charged for each district crossed.

For instance, the yellow bus He Ao was taking had a base fare of 1 federal coin. He boarded the bus at an old industrial area station in Plante and was heading all the way to North Vitland District. Since he crossed two districts, a full-price ticket was added, making the ticket fare 2 federal coins.

But this wasn’t Jess’s first time on this route. During his high school days, Jess often took this bus home.

However, Jess had never taken the 2 federal coin fare before, as he used to board at Trison High School in Saint Lote District and alight at his home in North Vitland District, crossing only one district. Therefore, only one half-fare ticket was added, making the ticket fare 1.5 federal coins.

As the bus gradually neared the edge of Plante District, there was a noticeable change in the faces of the passengers.

The number of workers’ faces dwindled, and there was a gradual increase in students, all of whom were traveling from Plante District to Saint Lote District for school.

Some private middle and high schools offered boarding services. For those students who lived too far from home, they stayed at the school, returning home only on weekends.

Today was Sunday, and they needed to make it to school the night before so they could catch the early classes the next day.

Naturally, not every student from an ordinary family could afford such boarding services. Even four-person or six-person dorms were not cheap.

Of course, compared to the high tuition fees of private schools, these boarding fees didn’t amount to much.

Some schools would offer partial boarding fee waivers to students with particularly excellent grades to support their education and improve the school’s college placement rate.

But such students were, after all, in the minority.

Therefore, students who attended private schools in Saint Lote District typically did not come from poor families, even if they lived in Plante District.

These students usually wore uniforms that were clean and tidy, and some had made personalized modifications to them.

Besides the students, some young professionals in formal attire also boarded the bus.

They were heading to Saint Lote District for their nighttime shifts at companies. Although they worked among the posh high-rises, their salaries were not enough to afford the rents nearby these towering buildings.

Thus, they mostly lived in Plante District, where rents were lower, but the safety and living environments were worse.

Every day, their commutes to and from work often took several hours by bus or subway.

The students chatted about the latest pop idols and the influential figures at school, while the working folks dozed off against the seats, browsing news or videos on their wristbands.

The bus moved slowly forward, with people getting on and off.

He Ao passed by the old residential areas, the bustling corporate towers, the magnificent assembly building, and finally reached the vicinity of Vitland University. He alighted at the North Gate of Vitland University.

A few hundred meters ahead from the bus stop, there was a tranquil block of apartments.

This was where Jess’s parents lived, and where Jess had grown up from childhood.

Clutching the fabric cover, He Ao’s form blended into the night as he approached these apartment buildings.

This also happened to be the place where Jess’s mother had taken her own life.