Chapter 4
Adventurous
The red-haired guy found himself wearing a gray camouflage uniform with a military backpack on his back. The surrounding space vibrated, and the sound of the spaceship's engines roared in his ears. From the dim red light, a person appeared before him and laughed:
- What are you thinking, red-hair? Hey, you're the deputy squad leader, you have to look happy for the brothers, right?"
Instead of answering, the red-haired guy fell silent. He focused on the dagger in his hand, as if sharpening it with his gaze. He felt this body was not his; from the movements of his limbs to the sensations, everything was pre-set. The person continued to laugh:
- After this mission, let's have a great meal, okay? I'll pay! We'll buy more wine, more beer, eat everything we can, and drink everything we can. We'll drink until we fall asleep, as if we'll never wake up. When you really wake up, you'll know you're free. Yeah?
A few answering laughs rang out. The red-haired guy was not alone; there seemed to be many people around him. He remained silent. Although he couldn't see the speaker's face, he felt it was familiar and even knew why he was the "vice-captain." Before he could think further, he suddenly heard a loud explosion. Looking out the spaceship's window, he saw a pitch-black sky filled with the flashing cannonballs. The person yelled to the red-haired guy:
- You lead the team forward! Meet at Outpost 1! Remember?
The red-haired guy lowered his head:
- Understood, captain!
Then he pushed the backpack on his back and jumped from the spaceship. A cold wind cut deep into his skin, and pouring rain washed away his reason. The sight of the battlefield, like a sledgehammer, struck his eyes. Cannonballs flashed and whizzed past, the various spaceships fought in the night, and hundreds of armored vehicles plowed through the battlefield. Explosions, a rain of bullets, thousands of people advanced, thousands of people fell, and tens of thousands of bodies were buried in the bloody mud.
Is this real or a dream?
The red-haired guy wakes up with a start, his head hitting a hard object. He covers his forehead and curses:
- Ancestors of Eternity!
He rubs his forehead, blaming himself for his house being too small. It's called a "house," but in reality, it is a rickety, makeshift mess of wooden boards, a mattress with exposed springs, and a ragged cotton blanket with its stuffing bulging out. Its width is just enough for a person to have to bend down to get in and out. In winter, it is bone-chillingly cold, and in summer, the steaming heat feels like it wants to boil a person lying inside. A true doghouse.
The house is located on a street piled with uncleaned old furniture, its surface grimy and sticky with garbage, leading to many other intertwined streets. Between the abandoned apartment buildings are layers of makeshift homes with rusty tin roofs. This is a place with no national holidays, no sunlight, and no trace of civilization. People often call it the Garbage Market.
"Honored guest, please don't mind, this is just a city garbage dump!" - That's what guides always say when tourists get curious about the Garbage Market. No one knows exactly what it is or when it appeared. They only know that it is located in the eastern part of the White Eye District, completely separate from the city. The poor, a large group of homeless people, criminals, gangs - all the dregs of society stagnate in the Garbage Market.
Year after year, it exists like a festering boil on the smooth skin of Flying City. There are many suggestions to remove it, but everything returns to its original state. When there is nothing else to condemn or belittle, the media often digs up problems from the Garbage Market to criticize the government of Snowsun X.
Cold air seeps into the alley, and the red-haired guy shivers. In the Garbage Market, the temperature is always lower than outside. He curls up, breathing raggedly in the stinking blanket, and thinks about the dream he just had. Over the past few months, he can't sleep because he has dreams every night.
Who is the captain? Why is he the deputy squad leader? How did that battle end? The questions bind the red-haired guy's mind. Every time this happens, he takes out his rank badge to look at it, using it as an answer. He focuses on his rank badge; in his eyes, a line of small black text is reflected:
Vo Phong. Earth Element. Deputy Squad Leader.
Who am I? - he asks himself.
Five years ago, the red-haired guy woke up in the center of the Garbage Market. Like a crying baby born in its parents' arms, he was born from the waste with its thick, foul odor. He knew nothing about himself, didn't understand himself, and didn't even know his name or age.
For a time, he thought he was truly born from the waste. All he had was a military uniform and rank badge. Not caring who the rank badge belonged to, the red-haired guy called himself Vo Phong. Since then, Vo Phong has been working as a petty thief. It's hard to describe his life in two phrases: "steal, earn money" and "steal, get beaten". He has lived like this for five years.
However, today, Vo Phong has the luxury of eating and drinking to his heart's content. The wallet he stole this morning is full of money. A wallet full of money! - he grins. If he spends sparingly, he won't have to work for three months or run to old man Lap to beg for food. But Vo Phong dreams of more. He wants to go somewhere, anywhere, as long as it's far from the Garbage Market and spacious enough for him to run around comfortably. "Flowing Cloud Kingdom? Or the various countries on The Oldwest Continent? Or maybe the Eastern Land, that side is very fun too! Or the Snow Land, but it's very cold there!" Vo Phong hesitates.
But first, Vo Phong needs to exchange the money. The thick stack of bills in the wallet can't be spent in the Garbage Market. This place has its own rules.
Vo Phong leaves his den and walks on the sticky, trash-filled streets. Countless people stand, sit messily on the sidewalks or in their dens as narrow as doghouses; they sleep soundly, immersed in dreams of eating well and dressing well. On a street corner, some people huddle together to watch a holographic projector - this kind of machine is very popular in Dream Heart and is used in almost every field: television, information technology, digital management, network management, etc.
An oval-shaped machine with an electronic eye emits green or blue light beams; images appear in those light beams and float in mid-air. The projectors that people are watching are damaged in many places, and the images are often noisy. Between the broken light beams, a male announcer delivers a passionate speech:
"... Luc Chau Princess makes an appearance at the National Day ceremony, leading the public to believe she will be holding a birthday banquet. However, a government spokesperson states that the princess refuses to mention the matter. Perhaps the people of Skyborne Empire will have to wait another year for a birthday party. Many letters have already been sent to the princess, hoping she will change her mind..."
Vo Phong looks back at the princess, continues to walk forward, and when he thinks of her, his heart grows a little muddled. Having lived in the Garbage Market for five years, he has never had this kind of feeling.
Walking through the winding streets, he stops in front of a small shop, patched together with corrugated tin, wooden boards, and canvas to a state of messy entanglement. This shop has no proper door, only a window and a long table for fast food extending out, or at least that's what it used to be.
Now, the table doesn't serve food; its owner isn't a chef, and no one comes here looking for food to fill their stomachs. It's a store specializing in currency exchange. From the messy tarpaulin, a flickering sign sticks out: Money Exchange Counter. Vo Phong taps the table, and it rumbles:
- Change money! Change money!
The sound of the tapping spreads, startling the sleeping counter boss behind the table. The guy lifts his head, revealing a listless, middle-aged face that is red and smells of alcohol. The guy yawns a few times, mutters some curses, stretches his arms, and wakes up. Wherever he moves, the sounds of machines clatter and hiss, because half of his body is made of machinery and wires instead of flesh and bone.
Exactly how, Vo Phong didn't know, but he heard that many years ago, the counter boss was swept into a garbage recycling machine. When he was pulled out, the left half of his body had been completely crushed. The guy had to undergo surgery and was fitted with a biomechanical machine to continue living. No one knew what the guy's name was; everyone kept calling him by his profession, which gradually became his name.
- Over here, over here! Money Exchange here! - The counter boss, looking drunk and speaking incoherently, rustles his mechanical arm as he scratches his greasy, matted hair - Oh, is that you, Red-Hair? What do you want to change?
As the money-changing guy speaks, he opens the holographic projector. A green light appears on the currency exchange price list. The price list is as follows:
100 gold coins = 1 barrel of gold
100 barrels of gold = 9 barrels of diamonds (exchange rate on March 27)
Luminous Matter: Do you really have Luminous Matter?
In the world of Dream Heart, gold is the most common currency; both banknotes and coins are used. The coins are called "gold coins"; although they look like gold, they contain very little of it. From one barrel of gold and up, paper money is used for exchange. Diamonds can also be exchanged for equivalent paper money, but it's not very common. The rarest is Luminous Matter.
Vo Phong has never seen Luminous Matter, and has only heard that it is worth a fortune. In the Garbage Market, paper money is hard to use because no one has enough coins to give as change, so people have to go to the Money Exchange Counter to get coins.
- What do you bring me? Oh, so much money! - Money Exchange guy instantly perks up - Then The Eternity protects you today, doesn't it? Interesting! What do you plan to do with this money? New clothes? Food? Lock-picking stuff? I have it all, let's make a deal!
The counter boss places a stack of bills in the money-counting machine. Vo Phong thinks for a moment, then says:
- Give me a plane ticket. You know, I don't have an ID card, and no one from the Garbage Market has one. Without an ID card, I can't go to another country. Can you help me?
Money Exchange guy scratches his butt, making a rustling sound, and his mechanical arm clatters. He thinks for a bit, and answers:
- It's tough! It'll take time. This amount of money is more than enough to make a fake ID and cover a plane ticket. But once you're in another country, how do you live? Sneaking around again? You need a new ID, a new identity. And this amount of money still isn't enough.
The red-haired guy freezes, unprepared to think that far ahead. Just waiting for that, the counter boss lunges forward:
- Let's make a deal, alright? You sell a few things, I pay you, and you'll have enough money to get out of here with a fresh start. How's that sound?
Money Exchange guy pushes out a small bag of red and blue pills. Vo Phong knows it's a stimulant, but it seems to have been refined to be more complex than the type he usually sees. The counter boss continues:
- Take it to the Entertainment District, 7th Street. You'll find a lot of customers. During the Sacred Envoy and Sacred Envoy's Guardians' recruitment season, warriors show strong interest in these things. The stimulants make them more formidable, more powerful. What do you say? Will you do it, Red-Hair?
Vo Phong exhales. If he steals something, he gets a few meals' worth of jail time. But dealing stimulants is not so simple, especially concerning the selection competition for the Sacred Envoy and Guardians. If he is caught by the police soldiers, he will spend the rest of his life in prison. The red-haired guy holds a pile of gold coins and smiles:
- Candy? Hell no. I'm not dumb enough for that. What a clever uncle! Do you want me to die early?
Money Exchange blows out a breath, lips flapping and spitting everywhere:
- Bored-to-death mom, Red-Hair! You bored-to-death mom!
Vo Phong shakes his head and laughs as he leaves. In fact, he is hesitant. If he makes one "candy" delivery trip, he will change his life forever. He is fed up with the Garbage Market to the neck.
A moment later, he stops in front of an old man who lies sleeping against a wall. The man's torn clothes are sticky with garbage, his hair is greasy and smelly, and a half-eaten piece of bread rests on his abdomen. The red-haired guy reaches out to steal the bread, but the old man gets up and punches and kicks him without stopping. The old man hits him while shouting curses.
- Old geezer's ancestors! It's me!
The old man stops hitting, looks down, and upon seeing red-hair, he immediately laughs, his stress relieved:
- Oh, red-hair? Why not speak up? I thought it was some rogue!
The old man laughs loudly. Vo Phong mutters curses. A moment later, the two sit side by side as if nothing happened. Vo Phong has several lumps on his head. The old man breaks the bread and gives him a piece as an apology. He snatches the bread, grumbling:
- If I had grabbed a brick just now, you would have…
The old man laughs as he pats his head, giggling:
- Even the stubborn ones down in the Lower Tier still fear me — a puny guy like you can do nothing to me?
The old man tilts his face up in challenge. The red-haired guy laughs, quietly nibbling on his bread. The two met five years ago through a beating. At that time, Vo Phong was almost beaten to death, and the old man had his nose smashed by a thrown brick.
Afterward, their relationship became what could be called "friends." The old man called Vo Phong "Red-Hair," and Vo Phong, hearing others call the old man "Teacher Teaching," began to call him that as well.
Thanks to Teacher Teaching, he knows everything about the Garbage Market, understanding how to survive in that filthy, harsh place. Several times, Vo Phong longs to explore the outside world, but Teacher Teaching has always advised him to wait a little longer.
Until recently, After the red-haired guy had adapted to life, Teacher Teaching finally let him go to Flying City, accompanied by countless instructions and advice. The old man cares a lot about Vo Phong.
- I've already told you, "go up" to the capital less often! The surface people don't like tunnel rats like us - The old geezer says this as he rudely chews on the bread - Without an ID card, without fingerprints, you expect to find a decent job? Listen, in the Lower Tier region, the Thirteenth Floor needs people to work. Recycling plants, normal physical labor jobs. You should go down there, I'll give you a recommendation. Why don't you say anything? But these days, you rarely talk and rarely smile? Oh, or are you missing a girl? Seriously, are you still a virgin?
- Heh heh! I've been down to the Tenth Floor before, old man! Which guy here hasn't been to a Tenth Floor brothel? - The red-haired guy grins obscenely - I'm thinking about something else.
- What is it?
He doesn't answer and looks up. In his eyes, there is no sun, no clouds, and no weather changes. Those eyes reflect a huge, rough, expansive metal ceiling that spreads everywhere, with phosphorescent crystals stuck to it, emitting what is called "light". Here, that ceiling is the sky for the residents of the Garbage Market.
Vo Phong continues to squint, looking behind the apartment building at several circular holes, each about a hundred meters in diameter. From the holes, waste and garbage pour down like waterfalls and release a foul stench. Only when Flying City is bright and sunny can you catch a glimmer of light from above; otherwise, it's as dark as a bottomless abyss.
From the First Floor to the Ninth Floor—where he currently is—there are such holes everywhere, sending out tons of garbage every half day. After five years living with Tier 9, he's already used to that scene. The residents of the Ninth Floor and the Garbage Market are no strangers to this scene.
- Here I can't see light, nor can I feel the wind. - Vo Phong sighs - Trash gets dumped here every single day — you see that, don't you? We live at the bottom of the toilet; the people on the ground lift their butts and shit on our heads. They dump the dirtiest things here, forcing us to clean them up. I've smelled the stench of garbage for so long, so I'm fed up! I want to go to many places and meet many people. I don't know if this journey will be useful, but I want to go. Maybe something good will happen? Make money!
The old man snorts and breathes heavily:
- Uh, uh! I've been hearing you blabber on and on! So, you want to leave the Garbage Market? Then where are you going, red-hair? How will you make money? Without an ID card, the police soldiers will send you to prison. Listen, red-hair, listen to me! Stay here, you're still safe and can make money—if you know the method, you can make a lot of money. I can train you. You should know, the deeper you go into the Garbage Market, the more power you get. The Garbage Market is also called the City of Resentment; its leader is…
- ...The Son of Heaven of the City of Resentment, right? - The red-haired guy laughs loudly. - I'd rather dream of becoming the Emperor of the Skyborne Empire!
The old man chuckles:
- Ah, right! You're just a useless and stinky brat! But, if you struggle and add my wise guidance, you will find a good position. Haha! Listen, Red-Hair, if you want to live better and earn more money, you must fight. In the Garbage Market, don't people have to step on others' heads to live?
Vo Phong shakes his head with a laugh:
- Thanks. But I don't want to live here, and I don't want to step on others. How should I put it, old man? I'm very grateful for you, but I don't belong here. I need a new beginning.
The two look at each other, and for a long time, neither speaks. In the distance, several holes rumble as they randomly dump waste. The garbage piles up messily, the waste stacks on top of each other, and the chaotic churning makes the sound of metal and scrap metal rubbing against each other. Under the metal ceiling, a hazy phosphorescent light spreads. People stumble as they continuously rummage for food in the trash, then they fight and curse, spitting out vicious words. They are like a symphony that makes those who plan to leave want to leave even more and makes it impossible for those who want to stop others to offer advice. Finally, Teacher Teaching speaks:
- Then I won't stop you; go on, red-hair! But remember to come back with a beautiful girl. It must be a beautiful, proper young girl—not a bunch of blue-eyed, red-lipped women from the Tenth Floor!
The two laugh loudly, and after the laughter, there is a long silence. Teacher Teaching puts his hand on his chest and gives a long, sleepy yawn:
- Enough, get lost, Red-Hair! You've been chattering too much from then until now! You want to go, but why are you sitting here with me? Get lost, hurry up and get lost! Get out of the Garbage Market for me!
The old man closes his eyes, and in less than three breaths' time, snoring sounds out. Vo Phong laughs. Teacher's farewell has no emotion, but Vo Phong isn't angry. That's just how the residents of the Garbage Market are. He tosses a gold coin into the old man's hand to say goodbye:
- That's enough to buy a whole basket of bread! I don't believe in The Eternity, but... may The Eternity protect you. The next time I see you, I hope you're still breathing.
Vo Phong looks at the old man for a moment, then turns and leaves. Behind him, the old man lifts his half-closed eyes and watches the red-haired guy. People from the Garbage Market never say a kind word to each other. The old man's gray, cracked lips move, and he silently blesses him in his heart:
"Good luck, Red-Hair. May The Eternity protect you."
The dream of changing his life drives the red-haired guy. He plans to leave the Garbage Market immediately, but he doesn't understand why he has returned to his old ways. The twisting, winding streets lead to the Money Exchange Counter. Seeing him, the Money Exchange guy laughs:
- That's right, red-hair! That's it! To motherfucking hell with everything, get rich!