Chapter 640 Coastal Metropolis (Thank you to 回放假期 for the Silver Alliance reward!)

"I want, want some candy?"

"Just a new blanket would be nice!"

"Really? Professor... then, then I want a new outfit!"

"Dean, can we really choose?"

At the Chu Yao warship, near the gangway, Su Zhou, surrounded by a large group of children, squatted down, carefully listening to what gifts they wanted, and recording them all in his heart.

The man who took the initiative to ask the children what gifts they needed originally thought he would hear some exaggerated requests, such as the knight's sword that many local children liked.

But Su Zhou didn't expect that the children of the orphanage were so practical even with their wishes. They didn't dare to have any gifts that exceeded their common sense. Even asking for a little candy and clothes, things that didn't seem like 'necessities,' would make them feel fearful and uneasy.

"Clothes, candy, some spare potions, and flowers to plant."

Standing up, Su Zhou repeated the children's wishes. He nodded: "Because the flowers planted in the orphanage didn't have time to be brought out? That's my mistake, little Moxi. This time, I'll definitely bring you a pot of flowers just like before."

Of course, in addition to these gifts that were still within a normal range, Su Zhou also received some more special requests.

Isabella, the girl who had a fever before and was cured by Su Zhou, timidly made a wish to him: she hoped Su Zhou would pick her up and spin her around, which was her father's favorite game to play with her.

She had never dared to ask for it before, after all, the dean was indeed very busy. Although the girl wanted to, she was really too embarrassed.

As for now, as the dean, Su Zhou had a duty to fulfill.

Picking up the light little girl and spinning her around on the deck of the Chu Yao warship amidst her laughter, Su Zhou left the gangway of the Coastal Metropolis with Gasha and Loya.

Gasha carried a metal box on his back that looked quite heavy. This was an unbearable burden for ordinary teenagers, but for the black-haired boy with dragon blood, it was at most a warm-up exercise. He had actively requested this task from Su Zhou.

As for Loya, holding the list of goods that Su Zhou was going to buy this time in the Coastal Metropolis, he waved goodbye to his companions behind him, making a few funny faces.

Just like airplanes in his previous life, mobile cities and various differently sized mobile warships could not be perfectly connected. The port staff used a 'boarding bridge'-like gangway for connection. The entire port of the mobile city was a recessed semicircle, with steel passages extending from it, directly leading to the warship deck.

Surprisingly, the gangway was automatic, just like an elevator. As long as one stepped on it, there was no need to walk, and the rotating steps would carry people forward.

"It's the privilege of the VIP channel."

Lightly sighing, Su Zhou couldn't help but nod: "It seems that the industrial level of the Aeon Continent is quite good. When I was in Avend City, I was focused on killing that noble and didn't seriously observe the technological level of this world."

"Thinking about it carefully, being able to create such behemoths as mobile cities, the technology can't be too bad."

The Coastal Metropolis is a super-large mobile city, and its landing port is essentially a hollow hill cast in metal. This is an impossible task to complete without the assistance of powerful transcendentalists, and in fact, that's exactly the case.

The creators of the Coastal Metropolis were a couple of Tianlong (Celestial Dragon) noble and Winged Human noble. Because of a love affair not allowed by their families, the two young people took their respective family fortunes and ventured into the Aeon world. They eventually chose the three-way zone in the southeast as the place to start their careers, and carried out more than a hundred years of construction.

During this process, they repelled swarms of Origin Energy beasts, fought against the pursuers sent by their families to clean up the mess; they defeated all the enemies who coveted their wealth, and directly faced natural disasters, becoming disaster-level powerhouses in times of crisis, and finally established the greatest mobile city in the southern continent in a barren land.

Their descendants adhered to the principles of 'equality and co-prosperity' and 'trust and tolerance', ruling the Coastal Metropolis and passing it down to this day.

This mobile city has three layers of protective walls, sixteen outer districts, eight inner districts, and two core cities. It is divided into land structures and marine structures, with an overall area three times the size of Avend, with nearly ten million people living directly in it, and a large number of uncounted people temporarily residing in the outer districts.

Counting the other mobile cities attached to it, it probably has more than thirty million people dependent on it, a scale comparable to the imperial capital of the Asmode Empire.

Su Zhou is currently in the eleventh district of the land structure.

Leaving the automatic gangway is equivalent to leaving the scope of the port. The sound of people became louder, and a large number of port workers were working hard, operating machinery, and even manually carrying various supplies, presenting a busy scene.

Here, there are even many Origin Energy-powered engineering vehicles and forklifts, making slight earth-shaking noises.

In order to facilitate visiting merchants and tourists, there is a passage in this busy port that leads directly into the city. Su Zhou scanned the overall structure of the port and then directly led the two children towards the city.

Dawn needed to be stationed on the warship, so it was naturally impossible to leave easily. And Flint, as the only combat force other than Su Zhou and Dawn, naturally couldn't allow the warship to be unguarded, so he stayed behind to accompany Seneca and Aunt Daria to look after the children.

As for Gasha and Loya, their cultivation path was very smooth, and their talents were indeed excellent, but limited by their past experiences and family backgrounds, it was difficult for them to understand some broader concepts and things.

For example, Gasha didn't even understand how big the 'world' really was, and had no concept of distance or territory.

This is also a common problem for most children who only live in mobile cities.

This wouldn't do.

Whether it was to save the world or destroy the world; whether they were future Demon Kings or saviors, they should at least have some understanding of the land beneath their feet.

Su Zhou planned to take them out to see the world and see its vastness.

At the end of the passage leading to the city were several city guards. They wore full body armor, even with special anti-gas respirators, and had heavy metal purifiers on their backs, which could almost be used as shields.

After checking the credentials that the Winged Human receptionist had given Su Zhou earlier, they solemnly saluted and returned to their original positions, continuing to check the subsequent pedestrians.

There was no extortion, nor hints of bribery. In Professor Svetelei's memory, this was almost impossible to happen—too many people wanted to be city guards because it was too easy to squeeze a little profit from this profession.

Su Zhou noticed that one of the two guards was a Demonic-Modified.

Only the mask and armor concealed his features, so no one knew.

The Coastal Metropolis was indeed a bustling metropolis.

The outer districts alone were already bustling with people. Streams of people from all directions traveled through the streets between the high-rise buildings, and various strange vehicles drove in the center of the avenues.

According to the previous Winged Human receptionist, the Coastal Metropolis's large trading center was located at the junction of the inner and outer districts, and the Coastal Auction House, which held the year-end auction, was located in the second core city by the sea.

What Su Zhou had to do now was to use the perfect metal he had created to mortgage at the auction house in exchange for some cash to buy some urgent supplies.

Because it was early winter, most people were dressed very warmly and couldn't see their respective characteristics. Following the crowd, Su Zhou led Loya, who was curiously looking around, and Gasha, who seemed too calm and was on guard against possible dangers in the surrounding crowds, into a wide avenue.

As the crowd came and went, Su Zhou noticed some quite interesting things.

That was, there were indeed a large number of Demonic-Modified walking on the streets, just like normal people.

In other mobile cities on the Aeon Continent, Demonic-Modified were not allowed to enter the inner districts. They needed to give way to ordinary people on the streets, hiding to the side. If they encountered nobles, they had to kneel down and step aside. Even touching their shadows was considered blasphemy and would be beaten to death.

But in the Coastal Metropolis, it was not like that.

Su Zhou led the children, walking and observing the city.

He noticed that most of the Demonic-Modified were wearing armor, or clothing that seemed extremely tight. A considerable number of them also wore equipment similar to gas masks.

At the same time, most of the city guards who were patrolling the streets, maintaining order, and preventing disputes and quarrels were also Demonic-Modified.

If the ratio of ordinary people to Demonic-Modified was about ten to one, then the number of Demonic-Modified in the city guards accounted for six out of ten.

Guard regiments, city guard armies, patrol guards, and guards in front of each store... a considerable number of Demonic-Modified held these grassroots armed positions.

They acted and worked with confidence.

Unlike their counterparts who were discriminated against in the outside world, the Demonic-Modified in the Coastal Metropolis were friendly and kind. They would respond to tourists who asked for directions, and would also greet familiar residents around them. Apart from those masks and clothes that were probably set up to avoid Demonic-Modified contagion, they were no different from normal people.

Demonic-Modification does indeed spread, but if it is not direct Origin Energy contact, or negative-distance contact, the possibility of transmission is less than one in ten thousand.

Simply relying on breathing and skin contact, it is basically impossible for a normal person to become a Demonic-Modified, just like there are also children in the Hope Orphanage who do not have Demonic-Modification disease. They have been with a large number of Demonic-Modified for three or four years, but are still healthy.

But in the Coastal Metropolis, most of the Demonic-Modified voluntarily put on respirators that could isolate Origin Energy fluctuations, as well as thick clothing.

By paying this almost negligible sacrifice, they gained the right to communicate normally with normal people.

"At least in terms of life, they have dignity."

Su Zhou looked back and forth, confirming that this was not a special situation, but a norm. He nodded: "The Coastal Metropolis is indeed beyond my expectations."

"It's hard to imagine..."

Even Gasha couldn't help but mutter to himself. As a fellow Demonic-Modified, he looked at the people walking on the street, revealing an envious look: "We can... walk on the street openly..."

"There will be such a day, the entire Aeon world will be like this."

Su Zhou nodded slightly, and then continued to move forward.

The Coastal Metropolis and Avend City were indeed different. The people here, even in the outer districts, mostly did not worry about their livelihoods, and the buildings were basically tall and solemn buildings. Even the lodging inns and restaurants seemed extremely luxurious, and even had a bit of the shadow of Earth's metropolis.

No, rather, with a permanent population of ten million, the Coastal Metropolis is one of the top metropolises even on Earth.

On the road, Su Zhou admired this city of brightly lit streets and flourishing businesses that would make people forget that the Saint's Day was about to be extinguished. The two children were even more dazzled and needed to hold onto Su Zhou's clothes to ensure they didn't get lost.

However, the more prosperous the city, the more likely accidents were to occur.

Just as Su Zhou was about to reach the junction of the inner and outer districts, suddenly, a roar-like curse came from afar, followed by waves of violent Origin Energy fluctuations, and a crowd of people retreating in panic.

Obviously, due to some arguments and conflicts, a battle between professionals had begun.

"Damn it, how dare you, you son of a bitch, say my goods are not good? You can search the entire Cliffside Sea and you won't find any Origin Energy pearls purer than these!"

"Robert, you Demonic Moon fart, you beast's feces. Even if I were blind in both eyes, I could see that yours are just ordinary black clam pearls coated with a layer of Origin Energy film - okay, there are a few real ones, but you plan to sell me this kind of garbage? I'll be damned!"

"Slandering me? I won't let you shut up completely today..."

The shocking sound of the dispute came from the trade market not far away. It seemed to be a common drama of a swindler being exposed and fighting with the exposer.

Su Zhou and his group, including Loya, who was already hiding behind Su Zhou, all looked curiously in that direction.

——Since they were already here, they should always watch a show.

So, the group of one old man and two young boys went against the current and went to watch the show.

Coincidentally, there were also many people who believed they had good strength and chose the same action, watching the direction of the market from a distance.

"Robert is the head fisherman over at Cliffside Sea. He's not bad, and his power is great. The surrounding fishermen will listen to his orders and form fleets to go out to sea to fish. There are even a few seafood farms. There's no need for him to make fake goods."

"The one over there seems to be Batol, right? I remember he's a pretty famous wandering knight. How did he get into a fight with Robert?"

"Hey, Batol has an adopted daughter who has Demonic-Modification disease and needs Origin Energy pearls produced by black clams as the main medicinal ingredient to relieve the symptoms... you understand, right? Concern makes you confused."

Faintly, such discussions could be heard.

Su Zhou looked up. Inside the market, most of the other merchants had already run away. The two people who were arguing were now furious. The rough-faced fisherman and the knight who looked worried were scolding each other, and the subject of their exchange had quickly progressed from each other's immediate family members to their great-grandfather's cat.

The anger became more and more intense. Their Origin Energy intertwined, setting off a blue-purple storm in the center of the market. One counter after another was frozen and then melted, and a terrifying impact was about to erupt.

"Stop, you are not allowed to disrupt market order!"

At this moment, a stern shout sounded.

Accompanied by hurried and heavy footsteps, a team of Coastal Metropolis guards patrolling the area arrived at the scene.

"Crap, damn it, there are always guys like this who have strength and become arrogant!"

The captain at the head, seeing the two people who were about to fight, naturally knew that this battle could no longer be calmed down with words. Wearing full-body armor and an anti-gas helmet, he pulled out the long sword at his waist. Brilliant sky-blue light flowed on the sword. The almost materialized light even made the two professionals who had already started fighting couldn't help but look sideways.

"Don't interfere!"

"You are not strong enough, don't throw away your life!"

Obviously, they all knew the difference between fighting in private and fighting that resulted in the death of a Coastal Metropolis guard. But now, the two arrogant people would never stop, so they planned to open their mouths and let the other party retreat wittily.

But before that, the patrol captain had already swung his sword.

Su Zhou narrowed his eyes.

He saw that behind the patrol captain, a phantom of a roaring orca vaguely appeared—although it was only for a moment, it was indeed the Mind Light (心光) that only those in the Mind Light Realm would have!

And the strength of this patrol captain was only in the Spirit Radiance (灵辉) high stage!

"Demonic-Modified..."

The man murmured to himself, his eyes becoming serious: "Catalyzing their Demonic-Modification symptoms, forcibly raising their strength - this is exchanging their lives for strength!"

Everything happened in an instant. As the patrol captain drew his sword and slashed out, a sky-blue water wave 'clang' passed through the streets and markets, setting off a storm and raging waves. The rapid wind rushed towards the onlookers, and Su Zhou's white hair was blown backwards.

Facing this sword light, the two people who were fighting changed their expressions at the same time. They immediately gave up on each other, retreating and avoiding this attack.

A sword mark nearly a hundred meters long extended from in front of the patrol captain to where Robert and Batol were before.

The street was silent.

Until the captain retracted the accessories in his hand, emitting a clear hum.

"You two, come with me to the Inspectorate to accept punishment for disrupting the market!"

At this moment, the patrol captain's voice was extremely loud, and his aura was even more intense. The two people who were originally angry and irrational changed their expressions, but in the end, they did not refuse strongly. Instead, they glared at each other fiercely, said a few harsh words, and then obediently followed the patrol guards to the Inspectorate.

The farce ended quickly.

"That sword was so powerful!"

"Aunt Yelena seems to be able to unleash this sword too, and even more easily!"

"But Aunt Yelena is in the Mind Light middle or high stage, and she must be stronger than that armored uncle!"

Loya and Gasha lowered their heads and whispered, while Su Zhou narrowed his eyes.

He stared at the direction where the patrol guards and the two criminals left, and exhaled.

"That guy, erupted his Demonic-Modification ability, urging the Demonic-Modification disease to deepen and temporarily gain power... indeed, he did gain the strength to suppress those two troublemakers, but he has to pay at least twenty years of his life."

Su Zhou's expression was solemn, and his tone was puzzled: "If there is no way to reverse it - according to the sigh in the patrol captain's heart, there should be no way to reverse it - if he erupts like this two or three more times, the Demonic-Modification disease will really catalyze to the extreme, and his soul will be polluted and die."

"Is it worth it?"

"What's not worth it?"

Next to him, a certain Winged Human professional who was watching the show with Su Zhou heard Su Zhou's murmur. Obviously a local, he flapped his wings and said indifferently with a smile: "You don't know how generous the Coastal Metropolis's compensation for the dead city guards and patrol teams is! Good heavens, ordinary people can't earn that much money in ten years! The children also have preferential treatment!"

"Many Demonic-Modified take a fancy to this and deliberately take advantage of the worsening of their disease to erupt and suppress those tricky guys. This way, whether they die on the spot or not, the subsidy is definitely given."

"It's a rotten life that's about to die anyway. Being able to exchange it for the money for the next ten years, isn't it worth it?"

Speaking of this, the Winged Human professional's gaze towards the direction of the patrol team even revealed an envious expression: "It's clear that these Demonic-Modified are taking advantage, but the higher-ups seem to not know it, and keep recruiting these Demonic-Modified... They are powerful when their strength erupts, but so much subsidy money is flowing out, isn't it too much of a loss?"

"Is it really a loss?"

Just as the Winged Human was about to continue complaining, Su Zhou's leisurely voice sounded, interrupting his words.

The man narrowed his eyes. After looking around the entire city, he nodded thoughtfully: "Suffering losses... is a blessing."

"If you don't let others feel that they are suffering losses, how can you attract people who like to take advantage..."

"Let's go, Loya, Gasha, we will continue to the core city."

He shook his head, ignoring the Winged Human professional who was stunned behind him, frowning and thinking about what stupid logic 'suffering losses is a blessing' was, and walked towards the center of the inner city.

This time, Su Zhou did not continue to walk, but called a Origin Energy-powered car for transportation.

On the way, he talked to the driver about the situation of the Coastal Metropolis, as well as the history related to the city, the status of the Demonic-Modified in it, and the views of other normal people on the Demonic-Modified.

Everything was about the same as what Master Flint said—because it was originally a city created by a couple of different races in love, the Coastal Metropolis was open to any race, and even treated Demonic-Modified equally, thus making it the city where all the Demonic-Modified with strength on the entire Aeon Continent were most willing to settle down.

In addition, because of the strict protective measures, the Coastal Metropolis, with fewer infection chances than other industrial cities, was also loved by normal people.

And their views on the Demonic-Modified were mostly the same as the previous Winged Human professional. They did indeed treat them equally, and would even envy some of their advantages... but they were far from wanting to become Demonic-Modified for the sake of these small advantages.

"You are very talkative, old sir!"

When getting out of the car, Su Zhou and others had arrived at the core city of the Coastal Metropolis, an area full of high-rise buildings, which was more like a modern city on Earth.

The driver with a full beard gave Su Zhou a thumbs up sincerely. It was the first time he had seen a tourist who could talk him dizzy—good heavens, he seemed to know everything, as expected of an elder who had lived for so many years.

And Su Zhou, who had mostly fabricated his experiences and even wanted to say 'thank you for the invitation', was also quite happy to wave goodbye to this driver brother after obtaining a lot of information he wanted.

Then, he turned his head.

A small building that was not very tall compared to the surrounding dozens of stories high buildings, and had ordinary decorations, without any extravagant or ostentatious style, appeared in front of Su Zhou.

[Auction House]

There were no extra prefixes, only the three words Auction House.

Several welcomers in uniforms were waiting in front of this small building. One of them seemed to notice the credentials carried by Su Zhou, and immediately strode forward, and said in a very respectful, but also confident and proud tone: "Please come in, distinguished guest."

"The Coastal Metropolis welcomes you!"

Thank you 回放假期 for the Silver Alliance reward! This is considered 10 more updates, a total of 100,000 words, and the subsequent updates will be made up later.

I originally wanted to celebrate with 10,000 words today, but I went out for lunch and had no plan, it was too much of a surprise, so I can only have a big chapter tomorrow!