Early the next morning, Nan Yue prepared to set out for the digital city. Her school only taught how to complete missions and how to be a competent scavenger.
Descriptions of a scavenger's life were scarce. Ordinary people only knew that if they were outstanding enough, they could go to the higher city states, but as the day of her departure arrived, Nan Yue realized she knew nothing about the digital city.
In just one day, Nan Yue could hear people discussing her as she walked down the street.
However, they only knew her name and not what she looked like, so her movements remained unaffected.
The streets were lined with uniform buildings, each looking as if they were carved from the same mold. There were snack shops and inns, and occasionally one or two bubble tea shops, though business didn't seem to be booming.
Scavengers in the Nameless City didn't have much extra money to enjoy life.
The city gate was located north of the school. When Nan Yue arrived, she found the guards to be very strict. If she hadn't possessed an ID card, she wouldn't have even been able to reach the base of the gate.
It was only upon arriving here that Nan Yue realized the Nameless City, where she had lived for twenty years, really was a city. At the edge of the urban area, there truly were walls that towered into the clouds, separating them from the outside world.
Nan Yue looked up. The dark gray walls had no gaps and seemed to have no end. She wondered if they completely encased the Nameless City.
Perhaps because she had been standing there for a long time, a guard explained it to her.
"These walls are high. You won't be able to see the top."
Nan Yue gave a soft acknowledgment. "What's outside the walls?"
In the Nameless City, she had never seen blue skies or white clouds. The sky above was always a hazy gray, which she now realized was likely the top of the city walls.
But she had seen them during her mission. Although she couldn't go outside her grandmother's house, she could see through the window.
The sky had been blue, and there was sunlight.
"Outside? Outside is horror and pollution. Since you've obtained an ID card for the digital city state, you should be well aware. Those things we purify in missions are the eerie worlds condensed from the horrors outside."
"So the outside is even more terrifying than the mission worlds."
The guard sighed. "Let's not talk about that. Congratulations on qualifying for the digital city state. Please select the city state you wish to go to."
She could choose a city state?
Nan Yue looked over. The departure point was a place emitting a white glow, with an electronic screen beside it where she could select her destination.
At that moment, the electronic screen displayed Nan Yue's basic information. Her points were blurred out, and the only options available for selection were the digital city states. Higher-level states were displayed as black garbled code.
City State 1, City State 2...
There were many digital city states, with the numbers going all the way up to City State 103.
For the first time, Nan Yue realized how vast the outside world was. There were so many city states that the scavengers of the Nameless City could never hope to reach.
Nan Yue knew nothing, and the guard was only a part-time scavenger who had yet to qualify for the digital city state himself, so he couldn't offer any advice.
After a moment's hesitation, Nan Yue lightly tapped City State 66 on the screen.
As the white light flashed, Nan Yue prayed in her heart that this lucky-sounding number would bring her good fortune.
The teleportation took only a second. When Nan Yue opened her eyes again, the scene before her had completely changed.
Streets were bustling with the clamor of people, filled with various small shops. People on the street were hurrying along, and she could occasionally see girls walking while holding bubble tea.
Even the teleportation point was crowded.
The entry and exit points were together, and Nan Yue saw many people queuing up, waiting to leave the city.
The vast majority were waiting to be teleported to other digital city states.
"Move it! What are you standing there for?"
The attitude of the guard here wasn't as good as the ones in the Nameless City. Nan Yue had dithered for a moment and hadn't moved out of the way in time, so he reached out and gave her a shove.
"There are a lot of people teleporting. Don't block the way."
"Oh, forget it. Look at her, she's a trash person."
It was the first time Nan Yue had heard someone use that term, and she felt an instinctive surge of resentment.
"Who are you calling a trash person?"
Although Nan Yue didn't like interacting with people, it was because of the thing inside her and the fear of hurting others, not because she was a coward.
On the contrary, because her horror threshold was so high, she wasn't even afraid of the monsters in the missions, let alone a human.
The guard hadn't expected someone from the Nameless City to have such a temper, and he laughed on the spot.
"You don't know? Everyone from the Nameless City is a trash person. Only trash stays stuck in the Nameless City."
Some people nearby stopped in their tracks. Scavengers from the Nameless City arrived every day, but most were nervous, self-conscious, and curious.
For them, saving enough personal points to come to a digital city state was no easy feat. Usually, if they were mocked, they would just let it go. Most people instinctively acted submissive when arriving in a new place.
Nan Yue looked at the guard expressionlessly. "I really didn't know that everyone from the Nameless City was a trash person."
"Then where did you come from?"
Nan Yue pressed him step by step, giving the guard no room to speak.
"You didn't come from the Nameless City? I wasn't aware that there were people whose birthplace wasn't the Nameless City."
The guard's expression changed. He had been in the digital city state for so long that he had forgotten he had also climbed his way up from the Nameless City.
Those who could make it here were too proud because they had seen the vast majority of their peers left behind in the Nameless City.
Consequently, their pride inevitably made them forget that they also hailed from the place they looked down upon.
"You've been out for a few years and already forgotten where your roots are? To disparage your own birthplace... I think you're the real trash."
Nan Yue didn't look at the guard again after saying this. She left the city gate under the gaze of the crowd, leaving behind a man whose face was flushed with anger and humiliation.
Nan Yue walked a long distance before the feeling of being watched faded. She began to observe her surroundings; this place was indeed much livelier than the Nameless City.
There was even a small shopping mall in the center of the city, which contained clothing stores, restaurants, and even an entertainment room.
Feeling like a country bumpkin entering the city, Nan Yue went into a clothing store to take a look. A beautiful piece of clothing cost 50 points, and a full set of new clothes would cost 120 points.
Nan Yue frowned. Was the cost of living this high? The monthly salary of a Special Grade Teacher in the Nameless City was only 80 points, which wasn't even enough to buy a single piece of clothing.
Nan Yue found everything novel. She wandered the mall for most of the day before finding a place to eat.
She had a bowl of City State 66 specialty rice noodles for 3 points. Nan Yue ate happily.
This was the first time she had eaten a meal that wasn't provided by the school.
"Boss, can I ask you something? Are there any cheap inns nearby?"
The man making the rice noodles was a plump, cheerful fellow. Hearing Nan Yue's question, he looked her up and down before answering.
"Just arrived from the Nameless City, right? Little girl, let me give you some advice. The cost of living in the digital city states is high. You've just arrived, so don't go wasting your points on food and drink."
Since it wasn't peak dining hours, the boss sat down across from Nan Yue.
"It's my first time seeing a newcomer from the Nameless City spending points at a snack shop."
Rate on N.U.
