The edge of the Safe Zone was a severely underdeveloped area.
Lagging in all aspects, it wasn't just reflected in the streets and the gathered crowds.
For example, the education that the United Government valued most.
The daily curriculum for the senior year at Ju'an School was filled with tedious ancient human history and outdated scientific theories.
These subjects were once the stepping stones for academic success before the apocalypse descended.
But in today's world, they had completely lost their significance.
There was only one way to turn one's fate around.
Awaken a Sequence Ability.
Only by possessing a Sequence Ability could everything be changed.
Yet, the courses related to Sequence Abilities were not even touched upon in this backward school at the edge of the Safe Zone.
In the impoverished outskirts of the Safe Zone, it was almost impossible to find traces of Sequence Ability Users.
The teachers were ordinary people too, without the opportunity to receive related education, so how could they teach the students?
Qin Siyang, although not fully aware, believed that the Safe Zone had been established for ten years, and the awakening of Sequence Ability Users had a five-year history.
The United Government must have courses for Sequence Ability Users, but they had not yet reached Ju'an School.
The lack of knowledge about the current world system made Qin Siyang see no future here.
Courses related to Sequence Ability Users were not only set up for awakening them but could also be offered to ordinary people.
Because the birth of Sequence Ability Users would inevitably give rise to many industries, creating numerous job opportunities.
After learning, ordinary people could engage in a wide range of jobs upon graduation.
The platform and resources at Ju'an School were at the lowest level of the Safe Zone, leaving students with very narrow paths.
Either they competed for the few pitiful spots in the college entrance examination.
Or they hoped for a miracle, awakening a Sequence Ability and becoming a Sequence Ability User.
But for five years, the students of Ju'an School had seen no such miracles.
The only hope for the students sitting in the classroom was to get into the college set up by the United Government for ordinary people, and then work as clerical staff after graduation.
But judging by the school's past performance, Qin Siyang, who was only around the hundredth rank in his grade, was miles away from getting into the college.
In his previous life, working taught Qin Siyang a lesson: don't make futile efforts, just go with the flow, and don't make things difficult for yourself.
Qin Siyang only waited for lunch and dinner time to get extra portions at the cafeteria, using them as weekend meals.
Having not written a single assignment, he was reprimanded by teachers of all subjects.
Li Jingwen and her besties were also scolded.
Li Jingwen's besties always copied her homework, and Li Jingwen's homework was all done by Qin Siyang.
Now that Qin Siyang stopped his simp services, an entire chain of operations was disrupted.
Throughout the day, Li Jingwen occasionally cast resentful glances at Qin Siyang, but he remained indifferent.
And Li Jingwen's close friends were all giving her advice.
Qin Siyang was Li Jingwen's simp, and they could benefit from it too.
For example, asking Qin Siyang to help buy things or get meals, which he never refused.
Now that Qin Siyang stopped simping, their benefits were affected too.
"Jingwen, don't worry, maybe Qin Siyang encountered something that put him in a bad mood."
"Yes. You see, he's been in a daze, maybe he got some shock."
Li Jingwen was a bit worried: "What should I do then?"
"Today, when I compared answers with Zhou Yang, I said I was sick and didn't have time to do the homework, but he said he couldn't tell I was sick.
"My grades... you know, doing homework myself is too hard."
"Zhou Yang's uncle recently awakened a Sequence Ability. If I could be with Zhou Yang, it would help you all a lot!"
Li Jingwen's bestie had a change of expression: "For your happiness, we must think of a way!"
Her bestie's attitude gave Li Jingwen a sense of satisfaction. She was the first to know about Zhou Yang's uncle awakening a Sequence Ability. This made her believe that her relationship with Zhou Yang was already very close.
However, the variable brought by Qin Siyang made her a bit annoyed.
With Li Jingwen's words, her besties became even more proactive in coming up with ideas.
They believed that if Li Jingwen could climb up the social ladder, they could benefit from it too.
"Jingwen, how about this, after school, you stop him and say..."
When school ended, Qin Siyang left all his books on the desk.
His backpack was filled with food.
Today, he shamelessly took extra food at the cafeteria. Auntie Zhang didn't scold him and gave him whatever he wanted.
He had secured his meals for the weekend, including late-night snacks.
He planned to sleep near the Safe Zone exit over the weekend with his backpack full of food.
As soon as a Sequence Ability User returned from hunting gods, he would try his luck.
Secretly getting stronger, slowly developing, and finally finding a chance to leave this godforsaken edge of the Safe Zone!
Just as he was happily heading home, Li Jingwen suddenly appeared, blocking his way.
Qin Siyang frowned at her, full of confusion.
Li Jingwen put on an adorable expression: "Qin Siyang, I reflected on myself today and asked my heart. Actually, I do have feelings for you. It's just that we're still young..."
"Get lost."
Qin Siyang coldly interrupted her before she could finish.
Then, as if avoiding a pile of dog poop, he disdainfully walked away.
Leaving Li Jingwen standing there, stunned.
She never expected her lowering herself would lead to such a result!
Had Qin Siyang really changed?
She stood there for a long time, feeling lonely as she left.
Qin Siyang returned home, took a cold shower, and went to bed.
He originally planned to go to the Safe Zone exit tonight.
But since he hadn't rested well the previous night, his body felt tired, so he changed his plan.
He decided to rest at home tonight and head out early the next morning.
Sleep!
In the morning, the alarm clock woke Qin Siyang.
Saturday had arrived.
He opened the curtains, and although it was still dark outside, it was indeed seven in the morning.
Qin Siyang quickly had breakfast and prepared to set off.
He glanced at the calendar.
[Blue Star Calendar, January 2, 2010]
[Gregorian Calendar, Saturday.]
[Xia Calendar, Year of the Ox, November 18, Suitable for burials]
"Suitable for burials? Seems like today's Xia Calendar has nothing to do with me."
Due to the lack of sunlight, the temperature outside the Safe Zone continued to drop, becoming extremely cold.
Qin Siyang wore several layers of thick clothing and left with his backpack full of food.
There were many exits in the Safe Zone, and the nearest one was only a ten-minute walk from Qin Siyang's home.
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However, this Safe Zone exit wasn't large, and there weren't many gods outside, so usually, no God-Hunting Squad would set off from here for days.
Fewer squads meant fewer opportunities for him.
Qin Siyang decided to head to the largest Safe Zone exit near his residence — the No. 114514 Safe Zone Exit.
In the Safe Zone, only the larger exits had numbers, making it easier for Sequence Ability Users to communicate and locate hunting missions.
The smaller the number of the Safe Zone exit, the more gods there were outside.
Thus, more Sequence Ability User squads gathered at those exits.
The No. 114514 Safe Zone Exit seemed to have a relatively high number, but it was better than having no number at all.
There would be Sequence Ability Users gathering there.
This knowledge wasn't taught in school or textbooks. Qin Siyang learned it during a half-hour online session yesterday from a popular science post on the Godslayer Camp forum.
He chuckled to himself, "The apocalypse is indeed different; going to school is not as good as going online."
"Ah, but going online is too expensive and doesn't include meals. School is free and provides two meals."
"If only the advantages of school and the Internet cafe could be combined."
Qin Siyang pondered for a moment and then said, "Forget it, in the end, I should thank the United Government for the free tuition and meal policy."
It would take Qin Siyang more than two hours to reach the No. 114514 Exit, but he was full of energy.
He was filled with anticipation for his future.
That Safe Zone exit held the hope of escaping his current fate.
As he traveled along the road, he saw only dilapidated housing, most of which had already collapsed. The roads were covered with rubble and dust due to neglect.
To navigate through these collapsed buildings and stones, he often had to climb up and down, leaving him breathless.
The journey was long, but Qin Siyang saw very few living people. Occasionally, there were one or two passersby, but they were in a hurry and not residents of the area.
Four years ago, for some unknown reason, several pieces of the anti-aircraft glass here suddenly shattered. The anti-aircraft glass was the barrier preventing gods from entering the Safe Zone. Once the glass shattered, the residents here lost their only protection.
Many gods took advantage of the situation, launching an attack on the Safe Zone.
To prevent the situation from escalating, the United Government urgently dispatched a Sequence Ability User army to eliminate and drive away the invading gods, then had an engineering team quickly repair the anti-aircraft glass.
Fortunately, the United Government acted promptly, and no large gods entered the Safe Zone, or the consequences would have been unimaginable.
However, the incident still caused significant losses. The original residents either died in the attack or moved away.
The United Government repaired the Safe Zone's defenses but did not rebuild the streets and housing here.
Once an unsafe incident occurs, people will no longer trust the safety of the area.
Even if the infrastructure is rebuilt, no one would want to move in.
The United Government simply didn't waste any effort on it.
The lack of people put Qin Siyang at ease. At least he didn't have to worry about anyone stealing the food in his backpack.
Most graduates from Ju'an School couldn't find a job to make ends meet, which also made the security here quite poor.
For Qin Siyang, having no people around was far more reassuring than having people.
Finally, Qin Siyang saw a blue sign two people tall, with the words "No. 114514 Safe Zone Exit" painted in white.
"Finally here."
As he approached the No. 114514 Exit, he intended to take a look at the situation but found it surrounded by a crowd for some unknown reason.
To understand what was happening inside, he had to find a higher spot to observe carefully.
At first glance, he saw the protective gate of the exit.
It was his first time at a numbered Safe Zone exit and his first time seeing the gate of a numbered Safe Zone exit.
The gate was seven or eight meters wide and three or four meters high, seemingly made of a special alloy, looking very heavy.
The protective glass on the gate had many layers, so many that he couldn't even see through it to the outside of the protective area.
In front of the protective gate stood a dozen people wearing transparent helmets and orange-white striped thermal suits.
A thermal suit cost more than two silver coins, an astronomical figure in Qin Siyang's world, affordable only for Sequence Ability Users.
Since the establishment of the United Government, currency was no longer based on individual nations but was unified into copper coins, silver coins, and gold coins issued by the United Government.
Although called copper coins, silver coins, and gold coins, to support the large-scale use in Safe Zones worldwide, these currencies were not pure precious metals but various alloys.
Among them, copper coins were the least valuable because they were not only cheap to produce but also mixed with various other metals.
Generally, the price of ten thousand copper coins equaled one silver coin, and the price of a thousand silver coins equaled one gold coin.
However, due to the low production cost of copper coins and the varying proportions of other metals mixed in by different mints, it usually took about twelve thousand copper coins to exchange for one silver coin.
Silver coins, to Qin Siyang now, were like a fortune in his previous life, unattainable.
It seemed that they were the Sequence Ability Users gathered at this exit.
Those wearing thermal suits were in the minority. Besides these dozen people, there were over a thousand ordinary people like Qin Siyang, wrapped tightly, gathered here.
Qin Siyang was puzzled about what these people were doing.
Wasn't it supposed to be only Sequence Ability Users gathering at the exit?
At this moment, two Sequence Ability Users wearing thermal suits took off their helmets, seemingly having completed a hunting mission and preparing to return.
The surrounding hundreds of ordinary people immediately swarmed forward.
"Officers, would you like to rest a bit? We have excellent foot baths!"
"Officers, I have exquisite dishes here!"
"I have a high-end apartment for you to stay in for free! Just take a few photos with me!"
"Officer, my daughter is unmarried, and upon seeing your heroic appearance, she decided she would marry no one but you!"
"Officer, do you want a wife? If you already have one, I can be the concubine, no need for a title!"
The crowd surged forward madly, yet they tacitly maintained a distance of more than a meter from the two Sequence Ability Users.
The two Sequence Ability Users seemed accustomed to such scenes and didn't linger much, eventually choosing a high-end restaurant and a comfortable hotel before leaving.
The owners of the chosen establishments showed excited, glowing faces.
Qin Siyang watched the crowd's reaction, dumbfounded.
He knew Sequence Ability Users were highly sought after in this world, but he hadn't expected such a scene.
Ordinary people hoped to latch onto a Sequence Ability User to escape their miserable current fate and live in a more comfortable place.
They all strived for a leap in social class. Unfortunately, many might never achieve it in their lifetime.
Thinking of this, Qin Siyang felt grateful for his fate and once again strengthened his resolve.
"The heavens have already given me a chance, I must seize it."
He wanted to weave through the crowd to get closer to the remaining dozen Sequence Ability Users, but he was immediately pushed aside.
"Brat, go to the back of the line! Why are you pushing forward?"
Qin Siyang said, "I'm not here to find Sequence Ability Users, I won't compete with you for business."
He only wanted to see if there were any godly remains left in front, having no interest in the Sequence Ability Users.
But his intentions were not believed by others.
Upon hearing Qin Siyang's words, the people around him laughed.
"Who are you fooling? Everyone trying to push forward says that."
Qin Siyang had no choice but to wait on the outermost edge.
The protective gate of the Safe Zone exit opened repeatedly, with Sequence Ability Users coming and going, and the crowd of ordinary people gradually dwindled.
By evening, Qin Siyang finally reached a position near the front.
However, unlike others, whenever a Sequence Ability User returned from outside the Safe Zone, he focused not on the Sequence Ability Users but on the destination of the godly remains in their hands.
They took out the remains for inspection by the verification personnel. Qin Siyang didn't know why, but these remains were all spherical.
In the end, the spherical godly remains were all taken away by the verification personnel beside them, and he didn't manage to pick up a single one.
Just when Qin Siyang thought he would leave empty-handed today, another team returned from outside the Safe Zone. One Sequence Ability User checked his haul and finally threw an ear covered with many worms to the side.
"Probably fell into the backpack during the fight, dirtying my bag," he complained.
Qin Siyang's eyes lit up at the sight of the worm-covered ear, preparing to discreetly collect it.
However, a cleaner swept the ear into a dustpan and turned away.
What was going on?! Even the cleaner was taking away his chance?!
Unwilling, he immediately followed the cleaner away from the Safe Zone exit.
The cleaner didn't realize someone would be so interested in the trash in the dustpan. He walked to a street corner, dumped the ear into a filthy trash bin, and turned to leave.
Qin Siyang watched from the shadows until the cleaner was out of sight. Once the cleaner was gone, Qin Siyang approached, intending to retrieve the ear from the trash bin.
But just as he was about to move closer, he saw a uniformed personnel approaching, glancing at the godly remains in the trash bin, then taking out a notebook to jot something down.
Qin Siyang frowned, "Even the godly remains in the trash bin are recorded? Is this really trash?"
But the Administration Bureau personnel didn't pay much attention, leaving after recording.
Once he was gone, Qin Siyang quickly ran over. Opening the trash bin lid, a strong smell of blood hit him.
However, when he saw the scene inside the trash bin, he was stunned.
There were many godly remains inside!!
Qin Siyang's eyes widened, his heart pounding.
"Is this... a gluttonous feast?!!"