Chapter 6 The sky is big, the earth is big, but the heart of Tao is the biggest!

“Mu Liang, are you alright? It’s me.”

A man’s slightly breathless voice came through the crack in the door.

Mu Liang, the original owner of this body, also had friends… even if only one.

Wang Jixuan’s remnant soul had recovered some sensory ability after his previous meditation. He could clearly perceive that only one person was standing outside the door.

—Once his cultivation surpassed the Qi Refining Realm and entered the Gathering Spirit Realm, he would be able to re-condense his spiritual sense. With spiritual sense, he would be able to vaguely perceive objects through walls.

Wang Jixuan waited for a moment, put the simple spiked club he had modified back behind the door, released the inner lock, and opened the door a crack.

A thin, small young man appeared before him.

This guy was named Lou Zhuang, usually called ‘Malu’ by others. Like Mu Liang, he was also a pitiable wretch, needing to spend 2 food portions daily to buy emergency food, which he gave to the local hoodlums in this area.

These hoodlums would take the emergency food to the Lower City to sell as a commodity, thereby obtaining various rare items.

Incidentally, even these hoodlums needed to perform their own jobs in the Middle City.

So, often, victims like Mu Liang and Lou Zhuang not only had to contribute their food portions but also perform extra labor not part of their regular jobs.

‘They are all unfortunate souls. This Daoist will certainly find a way to vent Mu Liang’s anger later.’

Wang Jixuan sighed inwardly, then showed a slight smile, widening the door crack.

“Come in.”

“Mu Liang… are you okay?”

Lou Zhuang carefully stared at Wang Jixuan’s neck, where there were still some bruises.

“I heard them say you went to the infirmary, and that you were carried there by emergency responders.”

Wang Jixuan quickly reviewed the details of Mu Liang and Lou Zhuang’s usual interactions, shrugged, and said in a tone mixed with helplessness and despondency: “I tried earlier, but I couldn’t… I still ended up burning the bedsheet at the last moment.”

“That’s very difficult. It’s good that you’re okay. I mean… um… do you want to eat something? It’s almost breakfast time. If you’re okay, how about we go eat something together?”

Lou Zhuang’s smile was a bit unnatural.

He had his hands in the pockets of his faded jeans, his gaze somewhat evasive, and continued:

“I’m not very good at comforting people. How about I treat you to a starch bar?”

Wang Jixuan secretly thought it was troublesome, and smiled amiably: “Then I’ll be taking half of your food portion.”

“It’s nothing, I don’t eat much anyway.”

As Lou Zhuang turned, he saw the cardboard box placed in the corner of the single bed, the clothes inside the box, and the silver-white circular holographic music player.

“Mu Liang, what are you packing your things for?”

Wang Jixuan simply explained: “I want to move the bed.”

“I thought you were moving out. Changing areas is a good way, a way to escape… How about we go eat in another area…”

Lou Zhuang stammered a bit.

Wang Jixuan watched him with a smile. Lou Zhuang pursed his lips and swallowed, his smile a little forced.

“Hmm?”

“I mean… your music player is great. Can I borrow it for a day later?”

“You can, but that’ll be three starch bars.”

“You really have the potential to be a vampire capitalist!”

Lou Zhuang complained with feigned annoyance, then lowered his head and quickly walked out of the alloy door.

Wang Jixuan’s eyes flickered slightly. Before stepping out, he casually took both the new and old room cards, and slipped a thin metal tube, repeatedly polished by Mu Liang, into his jacket sleeve.

Malu was very off today.

…

In the regional divisions of the 76th Fortress’s Middle City, each floor housed anywhere from six thousand to twenty thousand people, with the resident population of each floor determined by the scale of industrial and agricultural land.

The Thirteenth Floor housed thirteen thousand people, with relatively more residential areas.

Although the Fortress had been operating beyond its limits for over one hundred and twenty years, its facilities were old. Apart from a few facilities like the 【Compartment Infirmary】 and 【Emergency Food Vending Machine】 that were standard in every ‘capillary’ street and maintained a high operational rate, most equipment was in a state of constant repair and barely functional.

For example, surveillance cameras that should have been ubiquitous in every corner of the Middle City now only had one-third functioning normally.

Areas with dense surveillance cameras were naturally peaceful;

The darkness and squalor of the Middle City were interspersed in the gaps between these peaceful zones.

Wang Jixuan compared the route in his memory and found that they were indeed walking towards the area’s cafeteria.

Lou Zhuang made small talk: “Mu Liang, I remember you’ll be eligible for gene matching next year, right?”

Gene matching: Fortress citizens of levels three, four, and five would receive gene matching recommendations from the Fortress’s intelligent control center on their twenty-fifth birthday. At that time, a fertility officer would visit, delivering a confidential letter containing the official Fortress-recommended ‘opposite sex most likely to produce high-quality offspring.’

The fertility officer would provide emotional counseling, conduct lectures on reproductive posture, impart knowledge on physiological hygiene, and teach some dating tips.

Young couples who successfully married through gene matching could enjoy certain benefits, such as each person receiving +1 for their three types of quotas, a portion of citizen upgrade points, and so on.

This was an important measure to prevent incestuous marriage, and also the recognized marriage method for over seventy percent of citizens in the Fortress.

—Although according to a survey, among young unmarried citizens in the Fortress, those labeled as sexually open-minded accounted for fifty-five percent.

“Yes,” Wang Jixuan nodded, “What about you?”

“I still have two more years,” Lou Zhuang pouted, “I really hope to get through it soon. After getting married, we can apply for a sixteen-square-meter double room, and most double rooms are in areas with good security.”

Wang Jixuan nodded, then suddenly asked: “Did Rotten Fish and them come looking for you?”

Lou Zhuang immediately looked to the side: “No, they didn’t look for me.”

“You don’t have to be so afraid,” Wang Jixuan comforted him, “You’re almost bleeding dry… As the saying goes, evil cannot triumph over good. As long as we find more people who have been bullied by them and unite, we can certainly settle old scores with them.”

Lou Zhuang looked at Wang Jixuan with great surprise.

He asked in a low voice: “Didn’t you say before, according to the psychology book you read, that once you choose to retreat after being bullied, you’ll never have a chance to resist again…”

“People’s views can change.”

Wang Jixuan smiled, his eyes sweeping over the entrance to the ‘capillary’ street they had just passed.

Two young men appeared behind them. They were wearing tight leather pants and jackets, with many rivets on their clothes, and their hairstyles were wilder than the last.

Wang Jixuan suddenly stopped.

The two young men behind him walked straight up. One of them raised a hand to press down on the back of Wang Jixuan’s head.

“You f*cking move! There’s still surveillance here!”

Wang Jixuan simply tilted his head and turned his body, his movements casual and fluid, but the other party pressed down hard on empty air.

Bang!

The dull sound of an elbow strike vibrated in Lou Zhuang’s ears.

The young hooligan’s face was flushed, his eyes wide with effort. The stuffiness made him gasp for breath, and the pain from his ribs caused veins to bulge on his forehead.

Lou Zhuang and the other hooligan were clearly stunned.

What… what was going on…

Daoist Wang’s elbow also ached at this moment.

However, Wang Jixuan didn’t give the other party a chance to retaliate. He twisted his body, chopped with his hand, and a hand-knife struck the face of the hooligan next to him. The latter, bewildered, was knocked back two steps, and only after two seconds did he clutch his nose and start screaming.

“Holy crap! Ah! My nose! My nose! I’ll f*cking kill you!”

Wang Jixuan smiled at Lou Zhuang and kicked him.

Lou Zhuang couldn’t dodge. His thin body fell backward, his back hitting hard against the rusty pipes lining the corridor. His face, contorted with pain, showed areas of light and shadow in the dim light.

“Mu Liang, don’t hit me, they forced me… they said they wanted to talk to you…”

“You and I are even from now on.”

Wang Jixuan said with a cold face, feeling a sense of relief in his heart.

So-called Mortal friendships were truly fragile.

He turned to leave, but then heard the grating sound of metal pipes dragging on the concrete floor.

Shadowy figures appeared in the passage ahead, at least sixteen or seventeen people.

There were many disused water pipelines in the Fortress. Those alloy metal pipes, dismantled before being officially recycled, became the most common weapons and equipment everywhere.

Wang Jixuan secretly thought it was bad.

His current strength was only slightly higher than that of an ordinary Mortal. Even if he quickly knocked down a few people with the help of the Hercules Charm, he would fall into a coma due to expending too much soul power.

However, he was not the type to beg for mercy when faced with a strong opponent.

Cultivating the Dao was all about maintaining a clear Dao Heart and unobstructed thoughts. If he were to kneel and beg for mercy in such a situation, he would likely leave behind a Heart Demon in the future, hindering his cultivation.

That would be even more unbearable than being killed outright!

He quickly pondered countermeasures in his mind, several incantations already on the tip of his tongue.

The two hooligans who had been beaten now regained their courage, cursing and clenching their fists, eager to fight.

The leading young man carried a baseball bat on his shoulder, his hands wrapped halfway around the bat, looking lackadaisical. He called out:

“Mu Liang? What the f*ck did you do? To make a big shot from the Black Fire Gang personally send word for me to cripple you and bring you down.

“You’ve got guts, why didn’t I notice before?

“Tell us, you pushover, how did you end up in their hands?”

A smile suddenly appeared in Wang Jixuan’s eyes.

It wasn’t that he remembered the leading man’s name was ‘Stinky Fish, Rotten Shrimp,’ but rather, the other party’s posture was a bit… too convenient for him to capture.

“I didn’t do anything.”

Wang Jixuan made his thighs tremble, instinctively showing a tendency to retreat.

These hooligans, relying on their numbers and the impression of weakness Mu Liang had left on them in the past, didn’t care about the two guys who had just been beaten.

The group slowly pressed forward.

Wang Jixuan suddenly said: “Perhaps it’s because I know a Security Squad leader, I think his name is Zhou Zhengde.”

The leading hooligan froze for a moment, frowning as he asked: “What? Who?”

“I mean, Zhou…”

Whoosh!

“Five Peaks and Eight Seas, within the Cavern of Grand Profundity! Let me roam freely, my Dao cultivation is natural!”

Wang Jixuan turned around, his figure rushing out like a leopard, quickly chanting incantations in a low voice!

Almost instantly, his soul power was directly used to enhance himself. In a flash, his body transformed into a bolt of lightning, rushing out seven or eight meters, and he ran wildly back the way they came!

At this moment, he even broke the limit of human explosive speed before the cataclysm!

The hooligans were collectively dumbfounded.

This person was just in front of them a moment ago…

The leader, Rotten Fish, his lips trembling a few times, cursed loudly: “Chase him! What are you standing there for! Go kill him!”