Chapter 141

Chapter 141: The Earth’s Wastelands (14)

Translator: Sigma Editor: Sigma

The three of them had strode deeper into the village . On their way, Feng Bujue asked Hank about the situation of the Deity Guarded Village while Wild Trace Sword Shadow kept silent and listened to them .

Hank wasn’t a tour guide so he couldn't introduce the village’s customs . However, the way Feng Bujue delivered his questions was skillful . He subtly guided Hank to tell him in details some useful information .

The residential area in the Deity Guarded Village had been divided into four sections . The outermost section, which was nearest to the entrance, was the slum . Hank dwelled there . The only family member he had now was his mother, a woman in her 50s, working in a laundry room . Everyday, she worked for 10 hours, and she got only one day off each week with the pathetically low wage .

Hank could earn a little bit more working for the Scavengers . Nonetheless, every time he went out, he could possibly never return . His father and some of his brothers were all Scavengers, whose ends were all violent death .

The Scavengers squads worked on finding useful materials in the sinister environment of the Old Earth . Exploring the ancient ruins wasn’t a regular mission as their daily task was to collect the naturally grown resources outside the Deity Guarded Village and bring them back . They were mainly ores, vegetation, and the polluted water, which they could treat to use .

With the inventions like the [Anti-gravity Launching Device], this work didn't demand many of personnel . The Scavengers just needed to pack the object, ‘lift’ it up, move it to the storage inside the Shark Cabin and drop it there .

This work didn't look too difficult, but in fact, the danger factor was pretty high . On the Old Earth today, despite the constant black sand storm, some species of ferocious animals still survived . And, inside the tropical forest, swamp and coastal area, it was where the mutated animals claimed their territory . To mankind, both the environment and the creatures were considered as fatal threats .

In the outskirts, half of the families there had the same situation with Hank’s . The time the villagers had received their education there was just three years . In the first two years, they would learn how to read and do basic math . In the third year, they would study some knowledge related to their working fields . From the age of 10, they had to survive on their own labor . Then, their whole life would start to stick with heavy labor work or dangerous jobs . However, as long as they followed the rules and fulfilled their tasks, it wasn’t a big problem to fill their stomachs .

Crossing the first section, they came to Section 2, which was the biggest area here with average population, the farming area .

The style of housing and streets here was a little bit different from the peripheral section . They grew some kind of plant that looked like corn, however, the corrugated leaves of these plants weren’t green, but a gold, shining hue .

There were some tuberous plants growing from the muddy soil whose leaves had a warm coffee color and they could smell its aroma from a very far distance . Feng Bujue asked Hank what those plants were . The other answered him ‘Cough Rice and Sweet Fruits’ . They were the main meal of the villagers . These two agricultural plants must have been created and named by the former villagers of the Deity Guarded Village . Anyway, there was nothing like that on Earth before .

Life of the people in the farming area was better than the first section . Their living standard was more comfortable, and the colors of their costumes weren’t the same . Each family was in charge of a farming lot . The harvest they collected was strictly controlled . All must be handed over to the village as they couldn’t even keep one grain of rice . The family’s income would be based on the amount they had submitted to the village .

Generally speaking, their lives didn’t have many risks . The ratio between working and resting wasn’t too harsh . Moreover, people in the farming section had an opportunity to receive further education . In case one family had two sons, they could choose the one who was good at studying to continue his schooling with a ‘Higher Education’ . If they could graduate, they would have a chance to enter Section 3 .

Section 3 was the place of the technical staff . The population there was small as the number had been maintained to roughly 300 . The most outstanding among them were the ones who ‘publicly’ improved science and technology in the Deity Guarded Village . The ones who were a little bit less talented could become the engineers or managers . When they retired or suddenly lose their ability to work, they would be in charge of teaching .

Residents in this section were mainly were brain-workers with positive incomes and a stable life . The living space for one of them was enough for a whole family who lived in the outskirts to take shelter . The color of their costume was white, indicating their relatively high social status .

Section 4 belonged to the ‘Consecrators’, or where the nobility lived . Their houses looked luxurious to the villagers, however, in the Deity Guarded Village, even the families of the consecrators had to wear uniforms . This wasn’t up for negotiation . In the whole village, the ones who could wear anything they want were the members of the Cobains . Everyone knew how the Cobains looked like as they could see their pictures everywhere . Since childhood, villagers had to learn about the heroic history of the Cobains’ members; moreover, they had to learn some flattering songs about them .

Basically, consecrators didn’t need to work as their lives had been favored already . The ingredients of the dishes on their dining table were what the Scavengers had exchanged their lives for, which a normal villager could never have a chance to taste during their whole life . The water they used was the kind that could be drunk directly while the water the villagers had was the polluted water taken from outside and was ‘filtered’ before use .

The Consecrators’ mission was to protect the ‘Son of God’, and the ruling regime of the Cobains . Whether their children were talented or not, they had a duty of receiving the best education with more knowledge . Some among them, who were smart enough, would receive some shares of the secrets only the Cobains knew .

The managers and the management board of all the sections in the Deity Guarded Village consisted of the consecrators or their relatives for generations . In some fields, even if they knew sh*t about the expertise, they could always take the top positions . Well, anyway, they just needed to find some guys from Section 3 to be of their assistance . Moreover, being the assistants, they had to ask for opinions from the stupid manager on every simple thing . If they conducted it on their own, they would have to bear a serious charge .

Crossing through the four sections, laying in the deepest place of the village was the Shrine .

There were patrol teams walking on the streets of the first three sections . Although there weren’t many people in Section 3, the patrolling there was even stricter . Normal people couldn't enter Section 4, except for the ones wearing the consecrator costume and holding a pass . The procedure for others to enter the area was complicated .

The patrol members weren’t in charge of Section 4 and the Shrine as they had special guards for those areas . All guards had to pass through strict screening and selection . Guys like Hank, who came from the peripheral area, would never have a chance to enroll to the force . At least, they had to be the guys that came from Section 2 or Section 3, who were eligible to join the guard force… Such holy mission of protecting the consecrators and the Son of God, how could they be so careless?

"Ahead of us is Section 3," said Hank when they came to the junction area between the second and the third sections . "We should stop here . Section 3 has more patrols, what if we got…"

"Go on," Feng Bujue said resolutely and decisively . Along the way, they were asked by several patrols, but Feng Bujue had used the same excuse to pass them all . Hank was nervous every time .

"Hey! Hank, is that you?" a female voice called out for Hank all of a sudden .