The Ghost whispered in Yue Shi's ear with a sigh, "Over the years, due to various anomalies, the population of quite a few second- and third-tier cities in Zhongzhou has plummeted. People migrating has led to local governments relocating, but while people can leave, the cities cannot."
Yue Shi nodded, understanding immediately.
The people were gone, but the city's buildings, factories, power stations, water supply systems, and underground pipe networks all remained in place.
Population migration took away mobile assets, but real estate could not be moved. Especially in those cities where supernatural incidents had broken out, the citizens couldn't manage an orderly retreat. They often received sudden evacuation notices and were stuffed into trains bound for safety zones before they even had time to pack their bags.
Furniture, appliances, vehicles, electronics, cash, jewelry, and precious metals in safes—everything left behind remained in the empty, abandoned cities.
So, in the eyes of some daring individuals, these abandoned cities were literal mountains of treasure.
The group from earlier was headed to an abandoned city to scavenge. To put it bluntly, they were 'picking through trash,' but to put it nicely, it was 'treasure hunting.'
Parts for high-end bionic prosthetics, chips and circuit boards from high-tech products, even intact industrial equipment, luxury goods warehouses, clothing warehouses, and food warehouses with long shelf lives...
These things were all very valuable.
If they were lucky enough to slip into a wealthy person's residence that hadn't been cleared out during the evacuation, the items inside were enough to turn a commoner into a member of the middle class overnight, allowing them to live a comfortable life.
Of course, this 'treasure hunting' activity also came with risks. The contamination and abnormal creatures in the abandoned cities could kill these hunters at any time.
But as long as their luck wasn't too bad, a single trip through an abandoned city would usually yield significant gains. Consequently, a 'treasure hunting' craze had been sparked.
However, this era of getting rich through scavenging wouldn't last long. After all, the resources in those abandoned cities would eventually be stripped bare.
Yue Shi looked away and continued walking forward.
Passing through a crossroad, he heard cheerful music coming from a distance.
Following the sound, he saw a red archway set up at the entrance of a hotel. The arch was decorated with balloons and ribbons, and a large sign stood beside it: 【Congratulations to Mr. Zhang and Ms. Li on their Marriage】.
A few people stood at the entrance setting off firecrackers—actual, exploding firecrackers that showered sparks and filled the air with smoke.
In an era like this, it was rare to see someone willing to hold such a traditional wedding.
Yue Shi walked over and stood on the periphery of the crowd, glancing inside.
The groom was somewhat thin, wearing a dark suit with a perfectly straightened tie. His smile was genuine, and his eyes were crinkled into slits.
The bride's white wedding dress was a short style without a long train. The design was a bit dated, but it was undeniably white.
The groom held her left hand, while her right hand rested unconsciously on her lower abdomen. Her belly was slightly rounded; it looked like a shotgun wedding.
There weren't many guests. No one seemed to care about the wedding itself; after paying their wedding gifts, they were all just waiting for the feast.
There was also a small banner next to the hotel entrance that read: 【Company X Mechanical Member Congratulates the Couple on a Century of Harmony】, followed by a line of small text and a contact number.
Yue Shi's forehead was lined with black streaks. This was truly crude—an advertisement for a mechanical member at a wedding.
He wondered how far the technology for those mechanical members had advanced by now.
His gaze didn't linger on the advertisement. He looked at the newlyweds, caught sight of the bride's slightly rounded belly, and suddenly murmured, "People are still willing to have children these days?"
It wasn't mockery, just pure confusion.
In a world like this, the common folk struggled to survive. It was hard enough just to stay alive themselves; adding a child meant their burden would undoubtedly double. Food, clothing, housing, education, medical care—which of those didn't cost money?
Moreover, this child would grow up to face a world filled with contamination and abnormal creatures, an era where they could be swallowed by a disaster at any moment.
In such an environment, was bringing a child into this world an act of mercy or cruelty?
As Yue Shi stood there, watching the couple enter the hotel surrounded by guests, a strange sense of déjà vu suddenly washed over him.
It was an indescribable familiarity, as if he had seen this exact scene before.
He thought for a moment and understood immediately.
In the former World in the Book, the original inhabitants of that world had lived under the shadow of disaster as well. Supernatural entities ran rampant, mental contamination was everywhere, and one could be consumed by an anomaly at any time.
But everyone would mysteriously forget their pain and fear after a disaster. They would happily continue their daily lives, marrying and raising the next generation, exactly like this couple today.
From a biological perspective, an environment like an apocalyptic wasteland was unsuitable for reproduction.
Resources were scarce, mortality rates were high, and individual survival was difficult, let alone raising offspring.
Yet they had made decisions that defied their instincts, marrying when they reached the right age and having children within the year.
And all of this was because of one person—the former Minister of the Investigation Bureau headquarters, who possessed the Authority of Oblivion. He could make everyone who experienced a disaster forget their trauma, protecting the people from being crushed by pain or swallowed by despair, ensuring they didn't lose the courage to live.
When the World in the Book was destroyed, that Minister had come to the Deep Red Continent along with Yue Shi.
The corners of Yue Shi's mouth curled into a faint arc. Perhaps his old acquaintance was doing quite well for himself these days.
The more chaotic the world, the more his power was needed. Making the people forget their pain to maintain basic stability—that ability was unique.
...
Zhongzhou, an underground containment facility.
Heavy metal doors stood every few meters, each bearing a red danger sign with a line of small text underneath.
【Unauthorized Access Strictly Prohibited】
In an office, the emergency phone on the supervisor's desk suddenly rang.
The supervisor picked up. "Hello."
A hurried voice came from the other end: "This is the Central Command Center. Fifteen minutes ago, an anomaly occurred in Liushu Town on the outskirts of Pingcheng."
"The anomaly type is preliminarily determined as 'Memory Devouring,' and the area of effect is expanding. We have confirmed fifteen residents have completely lost their memories, with their behavior regressing to that of an infant. Over thirty others are experiencing varying degrees of memory blurring and cognitive impairment."
The supervisor frowned deeply. "Are there signs of spreading?"
"Yes. Centered on Liushu Town Central Primary School, the anomalous zone is expanding outward at a speed of approximately two hundred meters per hour. All electronic devices within the zone have failed, communications are cut, and three surrounding villages and towns have already initiated emergency evacuations."
"Severity level?"
"Tentatively C-rank, but if the expansion continues to accelerate, it could escalate to B-rank within two hours. Therefore, we need to deploy the containment object, the Knocking Ghost."
"What about the application procedures?" the supervisor asked.
"They're in progress, but time waits for no one. The command center wants you to start preparations on your end. The authorization will arrive within ten minutes."
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