Chapter 10: The Night Watchman and the Strange Slumber
"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 hell! I still can’t control myself! Cancerous cells that have proliferated and mutated to this degree inside the human body! Damn, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that after leaving that cursed place, I'd end up with something like this."
"Look at my luck, tsk tsk, I’m going to strike it rich!"
"Damn, no. I still have to sleep."
"One bowl of dumplings, two bowls..."
Ren Zhong had no idea that after he left, Sun Miao's sleep pod was filled with sinister laughter for a long, long time.
…
In the reception hall on the ground floor of the town government, Ren Zhong and Zheng Tian met the mayor of Spark Town.
The mayor's name was Ma Dafuo, a short and stout man with a face full of wrinkles and medium-length hair streaked with silver and black, slicked back neatly.
Ma Dafuo looked at Ren Zhong with a serious expression, his face betraying impatience.
"Name?"
"Ren Zhong."
"Age?"
"Twenty-three."
"Why did you come to Spark Town?"
Ren Zhong thought for a moment. "For work."
Ma Dafuo's brows knitted even tighter. "Forgive my bluntness, but you’re not a registered citizen. If you’re only here for a brief visit or to rest, I have nothing to say. But if you want to work or settle here long-term, I advise you to give up on that idea."
Ren Zhong glanced at Zheng Tian, and probed, "Is it because of the census?"
"Of course. The quota for temporary wastelanders in the town has already been greatly exceeded. You won’t be able to obtain formal citizenship in three months, so out of concern for you, I advise you to plan ahead and leave early. Don’t blame me if you run into trouble later."
Ren Zhong nodded. "I understand."
"Good. I've registered your identity. You're now a temporary resident of Spark Town, but your rank is the very last. You know what that means."
"Thank you, Mayor."
…
Ren Zhong and Zheng Tian walked out of the town government side by side.
Zheng Tian glanced at her wristwatch. "It's almost time for the mandated sleep period. We have to hurry to the central sleep pods. You’re new and unfamiliar with the area, so I’ll take you. I’ve already reserved a pod for you, but I didn’t apply for a formal wristwatch rental. If you want one, you’ll have to do it yourself tomorrow."
Ren Zhong nodded. "Thank you."
Zheng Tian leaned in and blinked, her expression innocent and bright. "No need for thanks. We’re friends, helping you is only right."
He had to admit, her cute, doll-like face paired with her guileless expression was extremely deceptive.
Ren Zhong nodded in an even more naive and innocent manner. "Yes, you’re very thoughtful. We are friends."
"Alright. Let’s go."
Zheng Tian took Ren Zhong’s arm and pushed him forward at a brisk pace, heading in the same direction as the other wastelanders had before.
Their bodies touched, and Ren Zhong’s movements were a bit stiff.
---
Zheng Tian seemed carefree, but in reality was quietly observing Ren Zhong’s state.
Ha, shy, so he’s a novice.
Ren Zhong, though appearing somewhat uneasy, was actually calm inside.
He thought to himself, if he had a choice, he wouldn’t want to be involved with Zheng Tian’s team any longer.
They’d only just met for less than half a day, still far from friendship. Unsolicited kindness always hides ulterior motives.
Moreover, he’d seen Zheng Tian’s cold-blooded side; now he felt she was increasingly dangerous.
Staying tangled with her felt like bargaining with a tiger for its skin.
Unfortunately, he was new here, with no one else to rely on.
Better to stick with Zheng Tian’s team for now, get thoroughly familiar with the environment, then make plans.
The central sleep pods were located under the corner of the high wall on the outskirts of town, in a flat plaza.
In the center of the plaza were twenty-five rectangular blocks, shaped like giant coffins.
Steel stairs folded in a zigzag up the side of each block.
Each block was twenty meters high, divided into ten floors, each two meters tall.
Each floor had ten narrow rooms.
Ren Zhong followed Zheng Tian up to the fifth floor of one block, walked onto the balcony, and entered a room near the stairs.
Inside, ten iron beds lined both sides, the space between them barely a meter wide. On one side, five beds a meter and twenty wide, head to toe.
"This is my bed. Han Yu and the others are lined up inside from mine, they’re already asleep." Zheng Tian patted the flat bed on the left side, then pointed to the opposite side. "That’s yours. We wash up in our own houses, but you don’t have one yet, so make do tonight and think about it tomorrow. Sleep early."
"Alright."
Zheng Tian called out again, then lay down on her bed, slapping the wall.
A square opening clicked open in the wall, like a hidden compartment.
She reached in, pulled out a wristwatch, put it on her right hand, then lay flat and ignored Ren Zhong.
The wristwatch had an alloy wire, one end attached to the dial, the other linked to the compartment, resembling a security tether in a phone store.
Ren Zhong quietly examined Zheng Tian’s wristwatch. Its design was similar to Dr. Sun Miao’s, also round-faced.
He looked around and noticed everyone else in the room wore the same watch on their right hand.
This must be the rental watch Zheng Tian and the mother-son pair mentioned earlier; he wondered how it differed from his own.
He’d have to try it tomorrow.
Ren Zhong stopped thinking, lay down, and pulled the thin blanket from beside him.
But he quickly threw it aside.
The blanket smelled strongly; who knew what monsters had used it before.
Ren Zhong tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
There was no door.
Twin moonlight shone through the doorway onto the alloy floor, reflecting like frost.
By the moonlight, Ren Zhong glanced at Zheng Tian opposite.
Her eyes were gently closed, seemingly deep in sleep.
Ren Zhong sighed inwardly; she slept well. If he remembered right, within thirty seconds of lying down, her breathing became steady.
Taking advantage of this rare peace, since he couldn’t sleep, Ren Zhong began to analyze the situation again.
---
From the moment he started interacting with Zheng Tian’s team at dusk until now, after hours of effort, he had gained a rapidly deepening understanding of this new world.
But he still didn’t understand why everyone without their own sleep pod had to gather to sleep here.
He felt uneasy.
What was the reason?
Didn’t anyone find this inconvenient?
Was poverty a reason to forego privacy?
Didn’t they have their own houses?
If it was to foster camaraderie, that seemed far-fetched.
Was there real danger?
Danger so great they didn’t dare sleep at home, forcing them to gather here?
Earlier, climbing the stairs, he’d seen armed guards on each balcony, nervously scanning the surroundings, clearly on alert.
Ren Zhong couldn’t figure it out.
Time ticked by.
Unnoticed, it was already 1 a.m.
He still couldn’t sleep.
Suddenly, harsh light flooded in through the doorway.
Immediately followed by deafening explosions, one after another.
"They’re here! Prepare for battle!"
Ren Zhong heard anxious shouts outside.
His room was close to the stairs.
The armed guard’s shout felt almost next to his ear.
"Reporting to the Night Watch Captain! Three Level-One Night Wolves spotted under Pod Thirteen! Requesting Mobile Squad support! Requesting backup!"
Next came a barrage of kinetic gunfire, like a thousand firecrackers.
Ren Zhong’s heart raced, his face changed, and he sat up abruptly in bed.
He’d suspected this before, back at Sun Miao’s, and now his conclusion was confirmed.
In this world, trouble really did come during sleep.
He wanted to go out and see.
But then he realized Zheng Tian, Chen Han Yu, Wen Lei, and the others were all lying still in bed.
Their eyes remained closed, breathing steady, oblivious to the chaos outside, as if dead.
Outside, fierce battle raged, danger seemingly at hand, yet the doorless room felt eerily tranquil and harmonious.
Nothing could wake them?
Ren Zhong was bewildered.