Chapter 6: The Kid
South Phoenix was a big place. Seen from high above in the sky, it was roughly elliptical, and surrounded by ocean on all sides. It was separated from the Revered Ancient mainland by the Sea of Endlessness, and thus was almost like an island. However, it was big enough that most people wouldn’t be able to walk from one end of it to the other in their lifetime.
Furthermore, most locations on the landmass were places difficult for humans to enter, and were blocked off by the Mountains of Truth, which bisected the main landmass diagonally.
Southwest of the Mountains of Truth was a vast forbidden region that made up about seventy percent of South Phoenix. Only the areas northeast of the mountains were inhabited by humans.
Despite that, there was a huge human population.
The northeast was filled with a vast array of cities, both big and small. Some were huge places with mighty city walls, others were little more than villages. Regardless, the cities were built away from the forbidden regions.
Nobody who had a choice in the matter would choose to live in constant danger. Only fugitives and outcasts would do so, and the places where they gathered were dog-eat-dog camps filled with constant violence.
Just about every forbidden region had a scavenger basecamp near it. Sometimes more than one.
From the mountain peak he stood atop, Xu Qing had a good view of the basecamp below. It didn’t look very big, and if he had to guess, the population was in the hundreds.
It was early morning, but the smoke of campfires rose high into the air, and the place already seemed bustling. Even from this distance, he could hear shouting, cursing, bargaining, and unscrupulous laughter, all mixed together.
As for the ‘housing’ Sergeant Thunder had mentioned, it got more and more simple going from the center to the periphery. On the edges of the camp, the ‘houses’ were nothing more than tents.
On the other side of the camp, some distance away, was a pitch-black jungle, filled with swirling mist and, presumably, terrifying monsters. Even though the sun shone brightly, it wasn’t strong enough to pierce the darkness of the jungle. The color reminded Xu Qing of the black mutation blotches that would appear on people, which was a shocking and ghastly thought.
“What do you think?” Sergeant Thunder asked.
Xu Qing thought for a moment then said, “Seems like the slums back home.”
Sergeant Thunder laughed, then started walking down the slope.
Xu Qing looked away from the basecamp and focused on following Sergeant Thunder. The two of them climbed down the mountain and headed straight toward their destination.
Along the way, they encountered a few people coming and going. Most of them dressed similar to Sergeant Thunder, with their clothing being primarily gray leather. Xu Qing noticed that everyone who saw Sergeant Thunder looked at him with respect. And when their eyes shifted to Xu Qing, they became curious. Now more than ever, he wanted to know who this Sergeant Thunder was.
It was late morning by the time they finished crossing the plain and headed into the actual basecamp. There were no city walls, and the streets seemed to be laid out without any plan in place. The place was dusty, with dead leaves and trash gathered everywhere. The whole place seemed random and chaotic.
The sounds Xu Qing had heard from the mountain were now all-encompassing.
There were plenty of structures to see and also lots of scavengers. Some were like Cruel Ox, tall and burly. Some looked emaciated and sinister. Others looked like they were either drunk or asleep, but at the same time, seemed threatening. And there were even youngsters like Xu Qing, who kept out of the way and stared blankly at the sky. A small number were deformed or mutilated.
As Xu Qing walked along, his pupils constricted as he noted spirit power fluctuations coming off of many of the people.
There were individuals of all sorts, some of them shopping, some fighting, and others just enjoying the sun.
He saw a few men emerging from special tents decorated with brightly-colored feathers. As they pulled up their pants, lecherous grins covered their faces.
Xu Qing mused that, to an outsider, this place would probably seem like hell. However, though he felt the need to remain on guard at all times, this place actually made him feel at home.
It really is like the slums, he thought, glancing at the tents with the bright feathers, and the fair figures inside he could barely make out when the tent flaps parted. In fact, at one point a young woman in revealing clothing stepped lazily out from one of those tents, spotted him, and beckoned him over.
“Keep your eyes to yourself,” Sergeant Thunder said.
“I know what that place is,” Xu Qing said, looking away.
A surprised smile appeared on Sergeant Thunder’s wrinkled face, but he didn’t say anything. He just led Xu Qing further into the camp. Along the way, Xu Qing paid close attention to everything, hoping to form a mental image of the general layout of the camp. That was his usual practice. He liked to be familiar with his surroundings. That way, things were less dangerous.
Eventually, they reached a huge wooden structure set up in the middle of everything. It looked like some sort of arena for fighting beasts. Surrounding the open area in the middle were numerous simple tables.
He also heard the growls and cries of beasts.
There were some townhouses set up next to the arena as well, outside of which were a few scavengers who looked a bit more clean and well-dressed than the others.
Only moments after he and Sergeant Thunder arrived, a very thin man ambled out.
Unlike the scavengers, he wore a long robe and had a mustache and goatee. He also emanated spirit power fluctuations. After glancing dismissively at Xu Qing, he looked at Sergeant Thunder. “A newbie?”
“He knows the rules already,” Sergeant Thunder replied.
“What’s his name?”
“He’s a puny kid. Why would he have a name? Just call him… the Kid.”
“Fine, come with me. You’re lucky, Kid. There are a few others who signed up before you. We should have enough people to hold the event tomorrow.”
Yawning, the goateed man turned and headed toward one of the townhouses.
Xu Qing looked at Sergeant Thunder. The old man looked back with an expression of both hope and expectation. “Go. I’ll come back and get you tomorrow.”
Xu Qing looked him in the eye and nodded, then turned and followed the goateed man.
They stopped outside the townhouse, where the goateed man introduced Xu Qing to the scavengers there, then turned and left. Xu Qing was instructed to go inside and not leave without permission.
Upon entering, he saw four pairs of eyes turning in his direction from different parts of the room.
Three of them were young men, the other was a girl.
Two of the young men were probably a few years older than him, and they both glanced at him casually before looking away.
The girl was younger than him, and had a huge scar on her face. She was huddled off in the corner, looking around nervously. Apparently, she had arrived recently, just like Xu Qing.
The oldest young man seemed to already be a full-fledged scavenger, but had recently moved basecamps. Given his status, he looked at Xu Qing with a slightly mocking smile. Then his eyes shifted to the girl, and he licked his lips. However, given he didn’t yet have full status in the camp, he wasn’t going to do anything out of line.
After scanning the room, Xu Qing ignored everyone else, found a spot near the door, and sat down to meditate.
Time passed slowly and steadily. Perhaps because of Xu Qing’s uneventful entrance, the three young men eventually started chatting. The girl remained quiet by herself.
It was obvious that the two younger men were trying to suck up to the older one. For the most part, their conversation revolved around the upcoming trial.
Based on what he heard, Xu Qing determined that the basecamp would have trials like these every so often, when there were enough people gathered who wanted residency status.
The trial was very simple. The camp owner would gather a number of mutant beasts, and the combatants would draw lots to fight them. There were two possible outcomes: either you lived, or you died.
If you lived, then your reward was a residence permit. If you died, then you became food for the beasts.
Obviously, the trials took place in the arena outside.
When the time of the trial came, the scavengers in the camp would buy tickets to watch the blood-soaked event. They had a good time, and of course, the camp owner would open a betting hall. Everyone benefited.
In this brutal world, lives weren’t worth as much as money.
That said, people who didn’t qualify to live in cities, and also didn’t qualify to live in scavenger camps, would have no choice but to try to survive in the wilds. And the chances of dying were even greater there.
Of course, the slums were always an option, but the people who chose to come to the scavenger camps always had a story to explain their choices.
Xu Qing sat off to the side, meditating cross-legged, and simultaneously listening to the conversation.
One topic that came up was the most recent instance of the god opening his eyes.
“When I arrived,” one of the younger men said, “someone told me you were one of the survivors. Is that true?”
Xu Qing slowly opened his eyes.
When he did, he realized that the young man who had just spoken wasn’t looking at him, but rather, the girl in the corner. Shivering, she nodded in response.
Xu Qing looked at her more closely.
The other young men had only heard about what happened, but Xu Qing had lived through it. Therefore, he knew full well that anybody who survived and made it to this camp couldn’t possibly be as weak as this girl seemed on the surface.
Noticing Xu Qing’s gaze, she turned to look at him.
He closed his eyes again and started meditating again. He wanted to spend every moment possible in cultivation; that was his best chance of staying alive.
And thus, the night passed.
The next morning at dawn, after the chaotic clamor of the camp arose, the doors of the townhouse slammed open. Sunlight spilled in, silhouetting a scavenger standing in the doorway. His shadow spread through the room, covering the girl in the corner.
“Get your things together,” he said coldly. “It’s time for your performance.”
“It took long enough,” said the oldest young man, the one who was already a scavenger. Smiling, he walked out of the door and offered greetings to those outside.
The other two younger men hurried to follow him. Xu Qing was the fourth out the door, and the girl was the last.
It seemed the scavengers outside were familiar with the oldest young man. They joked and laughed, ignoring everyone else as they walked toward the fighting arena.
As they got closer, they heard raucous shouting and yelling. By the time they entered the arena, the sound was overwhelming.
There were at least a hundred people gathered at the tables, including men and women, like a horde of devils here to watch the show. The loud noise caused the girl to tremble even more, and the two younger men went pale in the face. Only the older young man seemed excited.
Xu Qing, meanwhile, didn’t have any dramatic change of facial expression. He simply studied his surroundings.
This place isn’t very big. There’s nowhere to hide or run away to. I can’t let the fight drag out. The wooden sides are too high to take the fighting out into the stands. I see some marks that are probably for doors. And there’s a full-on passageway over there. I suppose… I could try to buy time and hope the screaming audience intimidates the beast I’m fighting. Then again, the shouting could whip the thing into a rage. I think the best thing will be to end the fight quickly.