Infinite: Starting from Infiltrating Other Spaces

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There weren't many people on the street, and most of them looked tired and walked quickly.

"This place is called the Ash Street area. You should be quite familiar with it, sir, right? After all, it's the closest area to the company."

Little Tina pointed to the brick and stone buildings in the area and said.

"I'm not familiar with it. I've always lived in the company, so I'm more interested in the outside world."

Li Xia lied without batting an eye. In fact, the company's smart devices could access a large amount of information, but he simply couldn't do so.

Especially in the period following the RS-012 attack, if I did that, I would be as conspicuous as a firefly in the night.

It's like openly telling others that you have a problem.

"Have you always lived at the company?"

Little Tina's eyes held undisguised envy. She clicked her tongue and said forlornly:

"Actually... my dad used to work for the company too, and back then I could even get some of Chris's little cakes..."

"Your dad? Isn't he an employee anymore?"

"Yes, he's dead."

The air fell silent for a moment. The three children looked at Tina, who seemed to be talking about something very ordinary, and felt an indescribable feeling welling up in their hearts.

"Where is that woman who was just inside?"

Li Xia had already guessed the answer.

That's my mother.....

Tina straightened up again: "My mother taught me how to be a prostitute. She said that if you can't survive, you should be a prostitute. It's not shameful. As long as you survive, there is hope."

She slowly lowered her head again and whispered, "But one day a customer hit my mother, and afterwards she could only lie there, unable to move..."

The three boys remained silent for a while, then couldn't help but curse in the team chat:

"What is this company doing? With their technological level, feeding everyone should be a piece of cake, right?"

Based on what they saw inside the company, they speculated that the company's technology level was extremely high. Technologies such as carbon dioxide-based starch synthesis, artificial meat, and hydroponics were child's play.

It's far more advanced than the technology of reality, after all, it's a world where you can try to play by the rules.

But they coldly confined the scope of utopia to within the company, treating those outside the company like livestock, completely disregarding them.

Moreover, the company's hierarchical structure was extremely strict, resembling an insurmountable iron law, comparable to the feudal era.

No, it should be said that it is much stricter than in the feudal era!

"Didn't the company offer any compensation? I remember there should be compensation for an employee's death, right?"

"No—they said Dad died from a work error, so there's no compensation..."

Little Tina sighed:

"But Uncle Silby is very kind. Our room was given to us by Uncle Silby, although he also comes to visit Mom often."

But at least they gave us a room; otherwise... we would have had to go back to the back alley..."

Li Xia paused in his tracks: "Who is Silby?"

"My dad's boss! He's the one who brings me meat pies from Old Giss's, but he hasn't come in ages..."

A cold glint flashed in the eyes of the three children. There was no compensation, no superior, and Tina's mother was a frequent visitor to...

Tina didn't understand, but they did.

There was no compensation; it was just swallowed up by that son of a bitch!

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

First update!

Chapter 4 Back Alley

Li Xia paused briefly, but didn't reveal anything further; she simply made a mental note of Sylby.

The entire Liuhui Street is not very big. According to Tina, most of the people who live here are family members of company employees.

Employees have single dormitories on-site, but if they want to bring their family members to live with them, they must be at least a supervisor.

According to the company's thirteen-level structure, the supervisor is at the P6 level, while Li Xia is at the second level, second only to the boss.

That's why so many families live here, and only they can afford the rent.

Yes, the houses here can't even be bought or sold; they can only be rented from the company or from other tenants at a high price.

Even so, houses here are still extremely sought after, because companies only hire employees from Flowing Ash Street!

Absolutely not! Recruiting in back alleys!

In order to move inside the walls and live a paradise-like life, they would never leave as long as they could stay here.

However, according to Li Xia's guess, such recruitment opportunities would most likely be consumed internally and become a succession system, so the number of positions released would be quite limited.

They are basically only offered for extremely dangerous or very poor jobs.

It's used to appease the outside world; it's human nature, and it's unavoidable.

Tina quickly led Li Xia to the end of Liuhui Street. She stopped there and hesitated for a moment before saying:

"Sir... I think you might want to change your clothes. The area in front isn't very friendly to company employees..."

Not very friendly?

"Pah! You corporate dog! Come crawl into your dad's crotch! Hahahaha!"

Just across the door, several people with rotten teeth and covered in sores were lying on the barbed wire, laughing maliciously at them.

The guards at the gate drew their batons and rushed forward without hesitation, giving the men a thorough beating.

Screams and wails echoed from above, but neither the passersby on Liuhui Street nor the poorly clothed vagrants in the back alleys watched indifferently.

Numb, lifeless, as if all emotions have been lost, just an empty shell standing here, surviving on instinct.

Even so, the refugees lying on the ground, writhing and wailing like maggots, looked at Li Xia with a chilling malice.

Actually, it was Tina who felt a chill, while he felt nothing.

The guards, exhausted from beating him, put down their batons, straightened their hats, and, panting, walked to Li Xia's side. After bowing, they said:

"Sir, someone as respectable as you should stay away from this garbage dump. It's inhabited by scum, robbers, thieves, murderers..."

All human sins can be found here; they do not know how to revere the glory brought by the Primordial Order.

They certainly won't be grateful to the company for allowing them to survive, so for your safety, it's best to stay far away.

Li Xia nodded: "Thank you, but there's a survey at the company that involves this area, so I hired a guide to collect some data."

Research? Back alley?

The guard looked at Li Xia with a clear hint of sympathy:

"Well, buddy, looks like you have a not-so-good boss. He didn't even send you any bodyguards when he went here to do research."

Listen to me, if you really insist on going in, I suggest you go to Mrs. Gerson's shop and find the most tattered secondhand clothes to change into.

It can significantly increase your chances of survival.

Thank you for your suggestion.

Li Xia looked at Tina beside her. The girl looked young, but her suggestions were very pertinent.

“I know that store, let me take you there.”

Little Tina turned around and waved:

"That place specializes in selling secondhand clothes. They're very cheap, and sometimes you can even find some good stuff there if you don't mind the bloodstains and dirt on them."

When Li Xia came out of the store, he was a completely different person, looking almost exactly like the old internet celebrity "Brother Sharp".

His clothes were like those of a refugee, so he wasn't afraid of the back alleys, but if he wanted to understand something, standing on high ground wouldn't help.

For example, you have to actually go inside to see its true appearance.

When he returned to the entrance, the guard looked him over carefully for a few moments, then silently let him pass, only whispering "good luck" as he went.

All three regions operate on a system of easy exits and strict entry, resulting in near-one-way circulation.

After crossing the door, Li Xia noticed that Tina suddenly became tense, her eyes warily scanning her surroundings.

Li Xia sniffed and frowned almost imperceptibly; the air here was completely different from the previous two areas.

The lingering smell of rust and mildew permeated the air, and the low shacks and small buildings made of old shipping containers leaned precariously toward the sky.

The muddy ground was riddled with small pits filled with murky, foul-smelling muddy water, and many people sat listlessly at the entrance of the shack.

Her hair was knotted in strands, or tangled together, sticking out like a hedgehog's quills.

Their bodies were covered with a tattered cloth, or they wore nothing at all, revealing their extremely thin bodies, like stick insects.

They huddled at the entrance of the low, dark shack, their bodies covered in large patches of varying shades of discoloration, whether from festering sores or muddy grime.

Those eyes were lifeless; just looking at them was enough to send chills down your spine.

Occasionally, some people who are dressed neatly will scrape their boots off the muddy roofs with disgust.

If anyone gets in their way, they kick them aside without hesitation. They are incredibly strong, and each kick sends blood splattering everywhere, but these people are like wooden stakes.

Even when kicked and bleeding from his mouth and nose, he would only try to shrink back into the shed without making any other move.

These people had fierce eyes, wore hats with the brims pulled low, and had something resembling a gun hanging from their waists, or were simply holding weapons.

"These are hunters..."

Tina whispered to Li Xia, "They're all fearless; they go to the outskirts and wilderness to search for supplies and then bring them back to exchange for money."

The company will recycle what they find.

"hunter?"

Li Xia repeated the sentence, and Tina looked at him in surprise. Suddenly remembering that he had always lived in the company, she explained:

"They all received gene enhancement injections. They need to receive at least two injections to be eligible to join the Hunter Guild and be called low-ranking hunters."

Through Tina's somewhat confused narration, Li Xia learned about another group active in the back alley: hunters.

In the back alley, not everyone is content to live in the mud forever.

They also longed to escape this kind of life and live a better life.

Thus, a brand new profession was born: the "hunter".

They would hunt the occasional monsters that appeared in the suburbs, or venture deep into the wasteland to search for pre-apocalyptic relics.

As long as the items brought back are of sufficient value, the company will offer a generous price, allowing one to rise to the top and become a person of high status.

But being a hunter isn't so easy.

The most basic requirement to become a hunter is to have received at least two injections of gene enhancers.

Gene enhancers are not only expensive, but also have a high mortality rate, and the more gene injections administered, the higher the mortality rate.

Therefore, the organization that sells enhancers creatively proposed a "pay after injection" service: as long as you can pass the organization's basic test and confirm that your physical condition is up to standard, you can get an injection of enhancer first.

If you survive, you can apply for a second shot.

If they don't survive, their bodies will be recycled to pay for medicine.

The lucky ones who survive both injections will become low-level hunters, but they will also be burdened with an extremely high loan, plus interest.

These low-level hunters must constantly venture deeper into the wasteland, or have enough luck, to barely keep up with the pace of repayment.

Only the luckiest individuals can pay off their loans or save up enough money through frugality to purchase the third-level gene injection.

If the third injection is successfully administered and the individual survives, the loan will be immediately reduced by a portion, and their status will be upgraded to Level 2 Hunter.

The higher the level, the lower the loan amount; if you can reach the fourth or even fifth level, not only will the previous loans be reduced or waived, but even the money you have already paid will be refunded.

At this point, one can be considered a "superior person".

Above the fifth-level hunter are the legendary "title hunters".