AWITTGABAGIWOBAFOAP Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Invitation to the Game “Song Ningwan, let’s cooperate.”…

Even in the dim light where everything blurred, one could see the child’s lustrous, soft golden hair.

His heart pounded!

Like tearing through layers of mist before his eyes, glimpsing the outline of the truth.

“Cry again and I’ll kill you!” The scarred man scratched his head in annoyance, surveying his surroundings with a cold gaze.

His eyes landed on the frail Pulan.

“Allen, don’t cry, Daddy’s looking for us.” Pulan eagerly tried to see the child clearly, but the iron cage clattered as it was pushed open from the outside.

—

Upper Trash District’s rules were paramount. Temporary residents had to leave Upper Trash District according to the stipulated time, or the badge on their chest would turn red from green.

Song Ningwan didn’t notice this, but was instead violently and bloodily thrown out.

The border tunnel led directly to the service station, as desolate as he remembered.

His chest heaved violently, and he faintly heard footsteps approaching. Song Ningwan laboriously raised his eyes and saw a familiar face.

The cat who lured him to the deathmatch arena—Robo.

“Yo, how’d you get thrown out?”

The circumstances of their reunion weren’t pleasant. Song Ningwan didn’t have the strength to raise his wrist, nor did he expect the other party to lend a hand.

“Didn’t you read the rules? Your temporary residence is only for two days. Exceeding even a minute or a second will result in forced expulsion.” His work uniform was spotless, and his demeanor was as meticulous as ever.

“My child isn’t in the deathmatch arena.” Song Ningwan endured the pain and turned over. “You lied to me.”

Robo’s expression shifted unpredictably. “Oh? You mean you actually went? No way, you went to a place like that and came back alive.”

After muttering to himself, he was startled by Song Ningwan, who was covered in blood with scarlet eyes.

“You can’t blame me. Children who are snatched and trafficked are indeed thrown into the deathmatch arena. If you still can’t find them there, there’s only one possibility, they were caught by *that* place.”

Song Ningwan: “What?”

“I advise you not to inquire about it casually.” Robo smiled. “That place is far more complicated than the deathmatch arena.”

Ding—

The communicator rang, intermittently, the signal was very poor.

Robo took out the communicator from his pocket and fiddled with it. Song Ningwan’s perspective couldn’t see the screen’s content, but the green light was imprinted on Robo’s ever-changing face.

Confusion mixed with bewilderment.

“Interesting, the main city area made a big blunder. The gods on high sometimes make mistakes.” Robo browsed the forum with great interest, his tone slightly playful. “Eternal Night was stolen, that’s an A-class mech, who other than an S-class Mechanical Engineer could pilot it?”

Eternal Night…

So familiar, he felt like he’d heard it somewhere before.

“Hehe, just a self-directed and self-acted show, you don’t actually believe someone could pilot Eternal Night, do you?” Robo interrupted Song Ningwan’s wandering thoughts, put away the communicator, and caught sight of the hand grabbing his trouser leg from the corner of his eye. He took a step back, realizing he couldn’t shake it off.

“What are you doing?”

Song Ningwan used the leverage to stand up, blood seeping through his clothes and flowing into his trouser legs, a stench permeating the surroundings.

Tilting his head, he coughed violently, his throat hoarse and dry. Song Ningwan reached out his hand, his wrist was grasped in the other’s palm, and pulled forward.

A low chuckle echoed in his ear, “Stealing in front of me, aren’t you being too presumptuous? Although I’m just a cat, my claws can still scratch people until their skin peels.”

Song Ningwan frowned and retreated until his back touched the hard tunnel rock wall. His wrist was also released.

“Robo, I want to make a deal with you.”

“A temporary resident who’s been expelled, what qualifications do you have to make a deal with me?” Robo reverted to his usual nonchalant and impatient demeanor. “Don’t tell me you’re going to give me some Contribution Points. You should know by now that in Upper Trash District, power is paramount.”

“Yuri, is that enough?” Song Ningwan wiped away the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth, tore off a piece of cloth from his outer garment, wrapped it around his waist and abdomen a few times, and tied it securely.

The wound temporarily stopped bleeding.

“Oh? What did you say?” Robo naturally stepped forward wanting to help, but was stopped by the arm with its exposed flesh.

“I know Commander Yuri. As long as you lend me the communicator, you can get what you want.” Song Ningwan’s pale face was no different from when they first met, except he was more fragile. His pride was still upright.

Such a person couldn’t have been born in a war-torn, hierarchical place.

Robo took out the communicator, twirled it in his hand a few times, and smiled slightly, “I’m very curious where you were born. But it doesn’t matter if you don’t tell me. After all, this is personal privacy.”

“I’m from the main city area.” Song Ningwan revealed a look of dismay, his eyes filled with stories, weathered by storms and snow.

“Looks like you weren’t lying. You’re not a vagrant from Lower Trash District after all. The courage and daring to venture alone into the deathmatch arena isn’t something everyone has.”

“The main city area is paradise, why would you abandon it to go to Lower Trash District? I’d really like to know. If you can tell me, I’ll lend you the communicator.” Robo rummaged in his pocket, found a treatment injection, and threw it to Song Ningwan, who was unsteady and could only lean against the wall.

Song Ningwan caught it, and without a word, jabbed it into his arm, until the liquid flowed into his blood vessels. He pulled out the needle and exhaled. “Upper Trash District is a paradise on earth, do you feel it? Are you happy?”

As soon as he said this, accompanied by bursts of laughter, Song Ningwan picked up the other party’s communicator and immediately entered Yuri’s communication information.

Beep—

After a long silence, Robo yawned listlessly, staring at the scene.

Song Ningwan dialed again, and the call connected.

A stern face appeared in the mid-air screen, his eyebrows sharp, his eyes commanding respect with a single glance.

The commander was in a simple room, without any extravagance. However, unexpectedly, an old man stood behind Yuri and made eye contact with Song Ningwan through the holographic screen.

No one spoke for a moment.

“Mr. Song, what’s the matter?” Yuri frowned. He was almost about to click on the link to find out S’s true identity, but was interrupted by Song Ningwan’s two calls.

“My temporary residence expired, and I was kicked out by the city management.” Song Ningwan cleared his thoughts and stated logically, “I want you to give me permanent residency rights, and my child may be in Underground City, and someone is withholding information. I’m very disappointed in the legion.”

“Withholding information?” Yuri murmured. Only then did he notice Song Ningwan’s wounds and bloodstains, leaning weakly against the wall.

“Mr. Song, there is no entanglement between the city management and the legion. Those are their unilateral actions. I will negotiate with the city management to handle this matter. I hope you can give me some time.” After Yuri finished speaking, he noticed the cat in the camera and reverted to his usual condescending attitude: “If the cat bothers you, you can deal with it as you please. Even if it dies, no one will care.”

Robo reacted and knelt on one knee, “Commander.” He didn’t expect Song Ningwan to actually know Yuri, the famous and formidable commander of the Upper and Lower Trash District legion.

Yuri rose to prominence with his iron-blooded methods, intelligence, and ability to adapt to circumstances, and would eliminate any threat as soon as he encountered resistance.

Such a majestic legion commander would actually bow down to Song Ningwan, a person of unknown origin.

Song Ningwan glanced at Robo kneeling on the ground, and raised his eyes expressionlessly, “Besides the deathmatch arena, *that place* is also capturing children. I want to know where *that place* is?”

Yuri glanced at the Lower Trash District Director and motioned for him to leave. With a click, the Lower Trash District Director closed the door and left.

Only when the room was empty did Yuri speak, “The city management privately organized underground excavation activities, taking in poor, homeless rats or ants, to explore the Ancient Earth Era ruins above ground.”

Song Ningwan could see a hint of disbelief flash in Robo’s eyes.

Ancient Earth Era ruins above ground.

He had only heard of archaeological digs underground. Exploring above ground felt very strange. The underground was a cyberpunk high-dimensional architecture, so was the surface only wasteland and viruses?

“You can completely have Young Master Yinlun order the rescue of the child, it’s much more convenient than you going yourself.” Yuri said.

“The commander’s implication is to ask what my relationship with Yinlun is, of course I can tell you.” Song Ningwan paused. “Just like I said before I left, he’s my enemy, but also a good student who loves to learn. I admire Yinlun’s thirst for knowledge, his madness, and his mechanical engineer’s foundation and talent. But from a standpoint, he can’t be my student, we are enemies after all.”

“Just like Upper Trash District will eventually be submerged by the sea, subverted, and a new country will be revived.”

“That’s outrageous.” Yuri no longer pretended to be obedient, but inadvertently raised the corners of his mouth, maniacal and fervent. “Song Ningwan, let’s cooperate. Although you only have courage and seem useless. But I admire your arrogance…”

“How about this, I’ll give you a chance to join the above ground exploration organization. If you can turn the city management bureau upside down, let the sewage gush out of the sea, I’ll give you a chance to enter the game.”

Song Ningwan suppressed the madness in his eyes, and didn’t agree.

Instead, he looked towards the depths of the tunnel, the long road leading to the earthly paradise—Upper Trash District.

“The deep sea will not be stained, but will turn the turbidity into part of itself. And to conquer the ocean, one must Jingwei fill the sea.” Song Ningwan’s pupils were deep, saying the hidden thought in his heart.

“As long as there are enough resources, there will be no social phenomenon of monopoly.” If S-class Mechanical Engineers were as common as hairs, then why would Beilin dominate Upper Trash District?

Perhaps Song Ningwan didn’t expect that in the future, both Upper and Lower Trash Districts would be merged into one because of his initiative, becoming the head of the four regions, and also the region with the most SS-class Mechanical Engineers.

Because when the youth is strong, the nation is strong.

The many children he took in would enshrine that transcendent streamer who disappeared in the torrent of the times as a god.

Yuri nodded and looked at the cat sweating profusely, “Take Mr. Song to the city management bureau, I’d like to see what he’s capable of. By the way, you must do your best to protect his safety, otherwise, he will hurt you to death. If the cat is disobedient, how to punish it is also a problem.”

“I understand, Commander!”

Until the holographic projection disappeared, the cat, who had been tense all over, breathed a sigh of relief and knelt on the ground blankly.

“Robo, you should know my name, I’m Song Ningwan. If nothing unexpected happens, your life and death will be in my control.”

Robo didn’t say anything, and looked down at the ground, “Yes, sir.”

Hopelessness and helplessness were manifested in the same pair of desperate eyes.

The law of the jungle.

Such were the laws of the world.

“I’m ordering you to do one thing now.”

Robo was extremely obedient, without resistance, “Yes.”

Song Ningwan: “Look at me.”

He raised his eyes and stared at Song Ningwan’s chin, without overstepping the boundaries.

Song Ningwan hooked his index finger, and Robo crawled over on his knees.

“Now, resist me.”

His voice brooked no refusal, and Robo’s back stiffened, somewhat at a loss, “What?”