City A

There were also many thuggish-looking people loitering nearby, and they clearly didn't look like good people.

When Nan Yue and Zhu Xi Ning first walked over, she could clearly feel several malicious gazes fixed on them.

Those gazes quickly dispersed once they saw Gu Xiang Kai behind them.

"Those are drifters. They usually hang around the teleportation points to prey on newcomers."

"Their usual tactic is to beat someone up and only let them go once they've transferred a sum of points."

Gu Xiang Kai had spent a long time in the digital cities and was well-acquainted with all sorts of characters from the underbelly of society.

But by the same token, he was just as famous.

While waiting in line, Nan Yue heard some quiet discussions.

"Look at that handsome guy. He's totally my type."

"Don't point. He's the famous Mad Dog from City State 66. He's a suicidal fighter."

"Really?! I love him even more now!"

"...??"

"Hey, isn't that Mad Dog? He actually formed a team?"

"Who would dare team up with him? I heard Thief Liu from the west side tried to target him once and got three ribs broken. Later, he entered a mission and never came out."

"Mad Dog actually teamed up with two women. Is it because they're pretty?"

"What, do you look down on women? Don't you know that gentle-looking woman is also the famous Mad Woman? I heard she's terrifying when she curses people out."

"We're all scavengers here. Everyone knows that when women in missions get serious, they're even scarier than men."

"Stop talking! He's looking over!"

Gu Xiang Kai's face was full of irritation, the veins on his forehead throbbing. He couldn't exactly go over and beat them up, so he could only endure it.

Naturally, Zhu Xi Ning had to add fuel to the fire.

"Mad Dog? You're quite famous."

"Shut up!"

"Mad Dog, Mad Dog, Mad Dog!"

"Mad Woman!"

Nan Yue had a headache.

When it was finally their turn, Nan Yue stepped forward and swiped her ID card. This time, even more information was unlocked.

Above the 103 digital city states were the 26 letters.

The surrounding crowd quieted down slightly. Many people moved through the digital cities, but most were just traveling between different city states.

Few newcomers came from Nameless City, and even fewer people went to the higher city states.

Everyone knew the world had always been tiered. If viewed as a pyramid, their digital city states were only one level higher than the bottom-tier Nameless City.

They could mock newcomers from Nameless City, but they couldn't do the same to those from the higher city states.

While some would always feel resentful and say a few words, most people still admired the strong.

There were also 26 letter cities, which happened to match the basic characters of another language taught in textbooks.

The other two teammates had no objections, so after thinking for a moment, Nan Yue chose the first one.

City A.

The teleportation was fast. The surrounding noise vanished for a second before becoming lively again.

Nan Yue's first impression was that this city state only had a half-wall, about ten meters high, with nothing above it.

It was pitch black outside, but above them were blue skies and white clouds.

The attitude of the guards at the teleportation point was also much better. Seeing Nan Yue looking around, one patiently explained.

"The blue sky and white clouds above were artificially created by the Purification Center to keep everyone in a good mood."

Nan Yue watched for a while. Indeed, the clouds in the sky barely moved; they looked a bit fake if you stared for too long.

"Then outside..."

Nan Yue pointed toward the darkness beyond the transparent high wall. "Is that the polluted land?"

The guard nodded. "Yes. If it weren't for our predecessors fighting bloody battles, our city states wouldn't have such good conditions."

"So we must also fulfill our duties and work harder to purify the world."

Nan Yue nodded. The guard politely bid them farewell. The queue here wasn't very long, and everyone was very civil, lacking the chaos of the digital city states.

Gu Xiang Kai stepped out of the teleportation point and picked at his ear with a finger. "So this is the letter cities."

Nan Yue felt something was odd. After thinking about it, she realized why it felt so discordant.

What the guard said was correct. All of them lived for the Scavenger Project, and they were very aware of this.

Every scavenger possessed a certain sense of honor and responsibility, which was originally fine, but after experiencing the chaotic digital city states, this way of speaking felt strange.

To be honest, Nan Yue hadn't truly experienced the dark side of the digital city states, but Gu Xiang Kai had. He had spent many years struggling in the west side of the city, firmly rooting himself through blood and fists, so he knew the world's true colors.

For Gu Xiang Kai, the most real world should be the digital city states, where the innocence and naivety of Nameless City were stripped away to reveal the first glimpse of true cruelty.

As for the city states further up, the underlying colors weren't so pure anymore. As abilities grew stronger, disguises began to appear, making it hard to see one's true face.

This was also why Gu Xiang Kai had been to the letter cities before but left quickly.

The task of gathering information was left to Gu Xiang Kai. After exchanging a few cigarettes, he had a rough idea of the city's layout.

"This place is divided into north and south districts. Public security isn't bad in either. The south district is more prosperous, while the north district is quieter."

Nan Yue pondered for a moment. For her, it didn't matter where she rested outside of missions, but ensuring the others got sufficient rest was the most important thing.

"Let's go to the north district and look for a place to stay."

The other two had no objections. This city state was much larger than the digital city states; it wasn't practical to try and see the whole city just by walking.

Fortunately, there was a city-loop line. Nan Yue had taken a bus in Everpeace Apartments, but this was her first time using public transportation outside of a mission.

When Nan Yue boarded, she noticed there was no place to insert coins. The driver could tell at a glance that they were new and gave a gentle smile.

"The city-loop line is free. Any scavenger who comes to City A can ride it."

There were many seats on the bus, and it was about eighty percent full. The three found seats in the same row, with Gu Xiang Kai and Nan Yue separated by the aisle.

Nan Yue noticed that after they boarded, some passengers only looked twice before looking away, indifferent.

Others were sizing them up, seemingly evaluating something.

"Hello, are you scavengers who just arrived in City A?"

A boy who looked quite young sat down in front of Nan Yue, a perfectly measured smile on his face.

"Is there something you need?"

The boy didn't seem to feel Nan Yue's defensiveness as he pulled out a business card and handed it over.

"My name is Cuckoo. You can ask me about anything in the letter cities. Five points per question."

"If you need to buy or sell tools, you can find me too. I can give you the lowest price. If I don't have the tool, I can go look for it. If I find it, I won't charge based on the seller's price; just give me 20 points as a reward."

Nan Yue understood. He was essentially an information broker. It was her first time meeting one, and she found it quite interesting.

"This is my personal ID. You can add me even if you don't need anything now. Contact me anytime."

"Is there someone like you in every city state?"

Cuckoo nodded. "Yes. There are five of us like this in the letter cities. We don't live in a fixed city state, so our information is very broad."

The boy flashed a smile. "That'll be five points."