The drug district naturally doesnât just have six Mechanical Cities.
In fact, places like settlements outside cities, slums, Radiation Zone dwellings, forest wildmen, and garbage disposal areas are also populous areas.
In past corporate wars, many companies won by surrounding cities from the countryside using such tactics.
In fact, the first stop when Gao Gong transmigrated back, the Iron Sand Desert, is a place like this.
Such places are scattered all over this planet; they are the technological diaspora, the world of exile, the kingdom of savagery, the grassroots of rebellion, and the homes of radiation.
In a forest
Some Radiation Beasts are freely foraging.
The radiation intensity determines the level of a Radiation Beast, and in this forest, the radiation content is not high, so most Radiation Beasts are between F and E levels.
This level of Radiation Beasts is also called Radiation Wildlife, Mutated Wildlife, because they have many wild animal traits; after preliminary processing, their meat is edible.
âWhooshâââ
An arrow viciously strikes a spotted deer, the deer collapses, and the other deer scream and scatter in panic.
Soon, a figure emerges from the bushes, first pulling out the arrow, then skillfully bleeding and cutting the meat.
Mutated Blood Deer, besides the radiation blood, other parts are edible.
Soon, several figures appear from behind, looking around.
"Old Zhang, is it done yet?"
"Almost there, almost there, Iâll showcase my skills later. Two hundred and fifty years ago, I was the barbecue prince."
"Forget being a prince, these days, without a lick of cumin, what kind of barbecue can you do!"
"What do you know? Lately, Iâve gathered many low-level Radiation Plants, dried them, ground them into powder, and mixed them; the effect isnât bad."
"Damn, if I had known, I wouldnât have cryogenically frozen. What a lousy era! When I was alive, installing a prosthetic body was illegal, but after revival, I found out everyoneâs modifying like crazy, even modifying their genitals, so damn perverted."
"Stop complaining, just get by. At least your cancerâs cured, isnât it?"
Old Zhang stood up, revealing a face of a man in his thirties, wearing faded, almost white jeans, a leather jacket patched with beast fur, and a mechanical bow slung over his back.
The others came closer, dressed similarly.
This type of outfit was common in the early days of civilization, just normal urban youth attire, but now it feels out of place.
These people are called many things: modern people, fridge people, transmigrators, ancient patients, and a shared nicknameâ
âFutureists.â
The so-called âFutureistsâ chose the âhibernationâ technology due to some incurable disease, and hibernated for a hundred, two hundred years.
When the time came, they woke up from âhibernation.â
These people hoped future technology could heal them.
Then they woke up, only to be shocked findingâ
What the hell, the country is gone!
What the hell, humans are almost replaced by Bionic Men!
What the hell, humans have been modded to be almost inhuman!
What the hell, city folks are freaks!
These âancientsâ couldnât adapt to Cyber Era life, so they chose self-exile, relying on some âancientâ mechanical skills to live a rural life in this low-radiation area.
The only good part might be that after the âglobal catastrophe,â those people who managed to survive, their âincurable diseasesâ miraculously healed.
"Old Xuu, have you developed the homemade soap yet? My scalpâs been itching a lot lately."
"Almost there, almost there."
"You said âalmost thereâ last time."
"Rubbish! Do you think itâs easy these days to find non-mutated limestone? Last time, I washed my wifeâs hair, accidentally mixed in some radiation water, and it washed all her hair off. She almost killed me."
"So your wife, Nanhai Divine Nun, didnât shave to become a nun, huh?"
"Nonsense! She didnât become a nun!"
This group of people didnât notice at all that not far away, on a tree branch, a White-eyed Crow was watching them, its anthropomorphic gaze thoughtful. In its pupils, there was a barely visible red mark on the backs of these peopleâs heads.
Then, it flapped its wings, flying out of the tree crown, following the forest until it reached a mountaintop, landing on a manâs shoulder.
Then it shook its wings, shaking off all its feathers, and after turning into a small meaty chicken, its body went limp, collapsing into a mass of meat, burrowing into Gao Gongâs shoulder.
Thus, what happened before seemed as if Gao Gong had experienced it firsthand.
"As expected, according to the monitoring of the Super Eye Crow, the âBiochemical Brain-Machine Virusâ has already spread from the city, reaching various settlements."
"The question now is, we still donât know how this thing is spreading."
Gao Gong soliloquized.
"Even ancient people can get infected, which at least indicates it doesnât target certain genes."
He pondered further:
"If this continues, it wonât be long before these people rebel."
âFutureists,â one of the rebellious factionsâ key forces.
Donât underestimate these âancients.â They have a trait, ancient heritage excavation +200%.
With the addition of their past memories.
They are the ultimate grave-digging tool!
For example, some ancient nuclear arsenalsâthey know where they are.
And there are some ancient forbidden transformation sites, only their genetic codes can unlock them.
Stored inside are experiments that were extremely dangerous and terrifying in ancient times, and theyâre no less terrifying now.
When these people canât take it anymore, theyâll ignite a blaze.
"Hmm?"
Gao Gong suddenly reacted, his shoulder twitched, and the C-level Radiation Beast, the Super Eye Crow, grew out again, its bird body quivered, shaking off a ring of fledgling feathers.
But before it could fully grow, Gao Gong grabbed the bird, turning it over.
On the back of the birdâs head, a faint âblood markâ appeared.
"Boss," the âHost Brainâ looked at it in disbelief, panic-filled: "This thing can even infect Radiation Beasts?"
"Yes."
Gao Gong gently squeezed, turning the crow into a mass of flesh again, reabsorbing it into his palm, leaving only a slender âmetal plug.â
"At least we know that part of the opponentâs Biochemical Brain-Machine is metal, it absorbed âMicro Metalâ from organisms, a type of Bio-Mechanical."
Bio-Mechanical falls under the âBiotechnologyâ Professional Knowledge Chain.
"Boss, if even Radiation Beasts have been âBrain-Machine Transformedâ by them, who can stop them?"
"Theoretically speaking, probably no one," Gao Gong said softly.
But in reality, thereâs this freak, the âDark Girl.â No matter the type of brain-machine, the more widespread it is, the easier it is for her to invade.
"Letâs go, prepare to make a move."
"Prepare for what?" The Host Brainâs spirit lifted.
"Prepare to take them down."