"Hehehe..."
"Hehe..."
"Heh..."
"Damn it, I can't sleep."
"No, no, I need to hypnotize myself. One sheep, two sheep...one dumpling, two dumplings..."
"Oh crap! I still can't control myself! Cancer cells have mutated and replicated in the body to this extent! Who would have thought, after leaving that wretched place, I'd still manage to get this stuff."
"Look at what luck I have, tsk tsk, I've hit the jackpot!"
"Damn, nope. I still need to sleep."
"One bowl of dumplings, two bowls..."
Ren Zhong did not know that after he left, Sun Miao's sleep pod echoed with the eerie laughter for a long, long time.
...
In the reception hall on the ground floor of the town government building, Ren Zhong and Zheng Tian met the mayor of Starfire Town.
The mayor, named Ma Dafu, was short and chubby with a wrinkled face, his medium-length silver-black hair slicked back neatly.
At this moment, Ma Dafu was looking at Ren Zhong with a serious expression, his face written with impatience.
"Name?"
"Ren Zhong."
"Age?"
"23 years old."
"What brings you to Starfire Town?"
Ren Zhong thought for a moment, "Employment."
Ma Dafu's frown deepened, "Forgive me for being blunt, but you're not an official citizen. If you're just here for a short visit or a stopover, I personally have nothing more to say. But if you plan on working and even staying here long-term, then I advise you to give up that notion."
Ren Zhong glanced at Zheng Tian beside him and asked Ma Dafu tentatively, "Is it because of the Pu Cha?"
"Of course. The temporary wild resident quota in the town is already overfilled. You won't be able to obtain official citizen status within three months, so out of a responsibility to you, I suggest you plan ahead and leave early to avoid bad luck when the time comes and don't say I didn't warn you."
Ren Zhong nodded, "I understand."
"That's good. Your identity is now registered. You now have the status of a temporary resident of Starfire Town, but your rank is last place, you should understand what this means."
"Thank you, Mayor."
...
Ren Zhong and Zheng Tian walked side by side out of the town office.
Zheng Tian glanced at the wrist watch, saying, "It's almost legal sleep time. We need to hurry to the communal sleep pods. You're new here and unfamiliar with the place, so I'll take you there. I've already reserved a sleep pod for you, but I haven't applied for a formal wrist watch lease for you. If you want to rent one, you'll have to handle it yourself tomorrow."
Ren Zhong nodded, "Thank you."
Zheng Tian moved closer and blinked playfully, looking innocently charming, and said, "No need for thanks. We're friends, helping you with small favors is expected."
You have to admit, her cute doll face coupled with such an endearing expression is highly deceptive.
Ren Zhong nodded with an even more naive and sweet expression than hers, "Mm, you're thoughtful. We are friends."
"Alright, let's hurry up and go."
Zheng Tian grabbed Ren Zhong's arm and quickly pushed him forward, heading exactly in the direction that the lower-class wild residents had gone earlier.
With their bodies touching, Ren Zhong's movements appeared a bit stiff.
Zheng Tian acted carefree yet was quietly observing Ren Zhong's state.
Heh, still shy, seems like a beginner.
The somewhat awkward Ren Zhong remained internally calm.
He was quietly thinking, if given a choice, he actually didn't want to continue engaging with Zheng Tian's group.
They had just met for less than half a day and were still far from being friends. Being overly attentive without any reason can either mean treachery or manipulation.
Especially having seen Zheng Tian's cold-blooded side, he increasingly felt that she was dangerous.
To continue entangling with her felt like courting disaster.
Unfortunately, being new and without anyone else to rely on,
Comparing it to relying on others even more unfamiliar and unknown, it seemed better to maintain contact with Zheng Tian's group for now to thoroughly understand the environment before making other plans.
The communal sleep pods were located at the corner of the high wall at the town's outskirts, a flat square.
Twenty-five large rectangular shapes, resembling giant coffins, were stacked neatly in the center of the square.
Z-shaped steel ladders folded up the sides of the rectangular shapes.
Each shape was twenty meters high, divided evenly into ten layers, each two meters high.
Each layer contained ten long, narrow rooms.