Lei Lie followed Black Rat down the stairs, walking along the corridor.
Along the way, he saw everything inside the building.
Though the corridors were simple, they were clean and tidy.
Though the tenants were dressed in rags, their faces didn't bear the numbness and despair common in the apocalypse; instead, there was something he hadn't seen in a long time—
Hope.
An old woman poked her head out of a nearby room and shouted to the children playing in the hallway, “Don't run too far! The cafeteria will be serving food soon!”
Two young men squatted in a corner, repairing a worn-out desk lamp with scavenged parts. They chatted as they worked, occasionally letting out low chuckles.
An injured middle-aged man was supported by a companion as they walked out from the direction of the medical station. Though he still limped, his face was filled with relief. “That medicine really works... The effect is obvious after just one use!”
Lei Lie watched all of this in silence.
He had lived in the Outer City for many years and had seen too many so-called “gathering places.”
They were either dens of exploitation under gang control or refugee camps that were like a pile of loose sand, liable to collapse at any moment.
But this “Terminal Station” was different.
There was order here, there were rules, and there was the dignity of survival.
And then there was that unfathomable Landlord.
Lei Lie thought of Su Wan’s eyes—that calm, nonchalant gaze that seemed to pierce through everything.
Such a person, such a place—
It was ten thousand times better than his precarious existence in the Outer City, where he never knew if he would see tomorrow.
Black Rat walked in front, his heart actually racing with anxiety.
Although he had told Lei Lie “this way,” his legs were trembling.
After all, the person following him was a Level 3 hunter, a figure who could walk tall anywhere in the Outer City. If Lei Lie truly turned hostile, someone with Black Rat's Level 1 strength wouldn't even have a chance to run.
But so what?
No matter how powerful such a person was, weren't they still well-behaved in front of the Landlord?
Didn't they still bow their heads and admit their mistakes?
Black Rat recalled his own petty thoughts when he first arrived at the Terminal Station; the memory of being punished by Su Wan using the domain rules was still fresh in his mind.
He touched the scar on his face. After that incident, he had been completely won over.
Now, seeing the Level 3 Lei Lie also submitting, he actually felt a strange sense of balance in his heart.
Reaching the first floor, Black Rat was about to lead Lei Lie toward the side door when Lei Lie’s voice came from behind him:
“Wait.”
Black Rat was startled and turned around, feeling a bit nervous.
What did this lord want now?
Lei Lie stood in the corridor, his gaze passing through the gap in the side door to see the vagrants still waiting in a long line outside for registration.
The eyes of those people were the same as the people inside the building—filled with a longing for the Terminal Station.
He suddenly spoke, “I want to see the Landlord.”
Black Rat’s scalp tingled. “Mr. Lei, the Landlord said to see you out. You...”
Lei Lie interrupted him, his tone firm. “I’m not leaving. I want to sign the contract and become a tenant here.”
Black Rat blinked, not reacting for a moment.
Lei Lie looked at him with a frank gaze. “I’ve thought it through. A place like the Outer City can't compare to this... Following a figure like the Landlord is nothing to be ashamed of.”
After saying that, he added another sentence: “Take me to see the Landlord.”
Only then did Black Rat snap back to his senses. The expression on his face became somewhat complicated, somewhere between relief and speechlessness.
He cleared his throat. “Well... Mr. Lei, the Landlord has already left.”
“Her meeting times are fixed. When you left just now, she also departed.”
Lei Lie was stunned.
Black Rat pointed at the vagrants lining up outside and said respectfully,
“If you want to become a tenant, you have to go over there, line up, and register anew. These are the rules set by the Landlord. It’s the same for everyone.”
Lei Lie looked at the long, winding dragon of a line outside and fell silent.
As a Level 3 hunter, where in the Outer City would he not be looked up to?
Now, he actually had to line up with these ordinary vagrants, wait to be scanned by a robot, and wait to sign the contract he had just rejected...
However, thinking of Su Wan’s eyes, thinking of the hopeful people in the building, and thinking of his life after returning to the Outer City—
Continuing to live a life on the edge, continuing to be used as a tool, continuing to not know if he would live or die tomorrow...
He stepped forward and walked toward the line.
Black Rat stood in place, watching Lei Lie’s tall figure silently merge into the line of vagrants. Mingling among those ragged and gaunt people, Lei Lie honestly followed the line as it moved forward.
Black Rat suddenly felt like laughing.
A Level 3 hunter, instead of living a carefree life in the Outer City, ran here to line up as a tenant and did so willingly.
But then he thought about it and couldn't laugh anymore.
Because he completely understood.
He raised his hand and wiped the cold sweat that had appeared on his forehead at some point.
Walking this path with Lei Lie just now had soaked his back.
That was a Level 3 expert, someone who could crush him with a flick of a finger.
Yet such a figure could only bow their head before the Landlord.
“Damn,” Black Rat muttered. “The luckiest thing in my life was taking that job from the girl Ah-Lan, and the best thing I ever did was shamelessly staying here.”
He glanced at Lei Lie in the queue, turned around, and went back to his work.
As Su Wan expected, it didn't take long...
【System Notification: Tenant “Lei Lie” has completed the contract signing and has officially become a member of the Terminal Station Shelter.】
【Detected the appearance of the first Level 3 Ability User in the tenant lineup, triggering a hidden system rule—】
【Ability User Resonance Evolution Protocol!】
【Rule Description: Once the shelter possesses an Ability User of a certain rank, the system will unlock the purchase authority for the corresponding rank of 【Basic Ability Strengthening (Hidden)】 potions.】
【Potion effects are linked to the tenant's rank and can assist the host in rapidly increasing their strength.】
Su Wan’s spirits lifted, and she immediately pulled up the System Mall.
Sure enough, next to the original 【Basic Ability Strengthening (Advanced)】 category, a new entry glowing with a dark gold light appeared—
【Basic Ability Strengthening (Hidden)】.
Clicking into it, two potions were displayed side by side:
First: 【Mental Condensation Potion (Level 2 Late Stage Version)】
Description: A rapid-enhancement potion specifically designed for Level 2 Early Stage Mental-type Ability Users.
After consumption, the user can safely absorb the medicinal power with system assistance, stably increasing their strength to the Level 2 Late Stage.
Price: 35,000 Points
Stock: 1
Second: 【Mental Condensation Potion (Level 3 Advancement Version)】
Description: An advancement potion containing powerful mental energy. It can assist Level 2 Late Stage Mental-type Ability Users in breaking through bottlenecks to advance to the Level 3 Early Stage.
Price: 80,000 Points
Stock: 1 (Not Activated)
Activation Condition: The host must personally kill a Level 3 or higher Ability User (any faction, any method). Purchase authority will automatically unlock after the kill.
Su Wan’s gaze fell on the gray icon of the second potion, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
Rate on N.U.
