Blood Neon

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

East City

"Yo~ whoosh!"

Taking advantage of the empty surroundings, Lin Ying tossed the last few pieces of clothing she had—each once belonging to different owners—into the green used clothes recycling bin all at once.

The girl rested her hand against her forehead and let out a long breath, then looked up at the sun overhead.

She had already checked the time once earlier on the way here, so based on her biological clock and the sun’s position, she estimated it was already a little past eleven.

After all this fuss, she had finally completed the handling of these clothes. This whole matter was nearly wrapped up now.

So, what should she do next? Lin Ying pinched her chin.

There was still a task in her list that involved going to a mobile phone shop to fence stolen goods. But after glancing at the sun in the sky, the girl felt that—since it was getting close to noon—grabbing a meal first might be a better idea.

Not to mention, by the time she reached her usual fence, chances were they’d be eating lunch too.

Just going by what she wanted in her heart, Lin Ying had no intention of pushing herself so hard.

After all, with no survival pressure, no job, and no family responsibilities weighing on her, there was no reason for her to pack her schedule so tightly.

She would just go with the flow.

.

So, after briefly confirming her location, Lin Ying left the residential complex tucked in the alley and headed toward the main road.

With autumn deepening, the roadside trees—once lush and green—were gradually being tinged with new colors.

Walking on the sidewalk, and glancing upward, she saw that the tall London plane trees had already been painted in broad swathes of yellow-green, like some poor soul on the verge of becoming a new bleached blond—announcing the arrival of autumn.

At this hour, most of the pedestrians on the street were hurrying home. She saw many students in matching school uniforms, walking or cycling, goofing around in groups of three or five, creating quite a lively scene.

As for the attire people wore during this season, it was nothing if not varied.

From the short-sleeved “children of the wind,” to average folks wearing long-sleeved tees and pullovers, to those afraid of the cold already bundled up in full trench coats and gloves.

Though it was technically already autumn, the midday sun near the end of September still had quite a sting to it. With the autumn equinox approaching, standing directly under the blazing sunlight around noon could still give one the illusion that summer hadn’t yet passed.

Lin Ying had also chosen to walk along the sunny side of the street, happily basking in the warmth of the sun’s rays, praising the sun.

Though certain traits of hers—dark as night—made her feel a bit uncomfortable in bright environments,

Her body also had this mysteriously cold-blooded phenomenon. Even though she was already wearing quite a bit, Lin Ying still felt a persistent chill. This naturally made her more fond of the full-body warmth that came from sunbathing, like a hot drink in winter, warming her from the inside out.

So, compared to the discomfort brought by the sunlight, the warmth it provided far outweighed it.

It was a case where the positives slightly outbalanced the negatives.

.

To return to Downtown from here, she needed to head west, passing through a long underpass-style overpass.

The eastern side of the overpass—the area just past the urban village—was commonly referred to as East City. It used to be the location of the largest state-owned enterprise residential community in the area.

But sunset industries always reached their end. One of the largest steel factories in the province, once located here, had gradually been phased out with the passing of time.

Demand had dropped, supply outpaced it, production capacity was reduced, and profits had dwindled.

This once-thriving community gradually lost its inner vitality as the steel giant that had supported it aged and declined.

And purely from a housing perspective, being far from Downtown did nothing to increase the appeal of these old buildings.

Far from most offices and companies, far from the better schools, far from the newly built shopping complexes...

This area had only one middle school, and in recent years, the student population had been shrinking, with the quality of teaching steadily declining.

So, generation after generation of young people who had grown up here, instinctively left once they matured—not that they never came back to visit, but no one was going out of their way to buy a new home here.

The remaining residents gradually shifted to mostly retired elderly and the children they looked after. The most typical street scene now was elderly folks chatting in groups, and elementary school students just let out of class, being picked up by their grandparents.

That said, watching a few old grandpas huddle around a small stone chess table, directing their armies with confident, booming voices, did still carry a certain vibrant charm.

And the cheers and jeers of the “dog-headed military advisors” spectating nearby added a special kind of flavor to the atmosphere.

Lin Ying felt it was really no different in essence from when she was a kid, watching a bunch of people crowding around one or two kids playing arcade games, everyone chattering noisily and having a blast. It just went to show—boys never truly grew up.

However, along the way, she didn’t actually see many people playing chess. Clearly, with noon approaching, most of the elderly had already gone home.

The few remaining were sitting on the short cement walls by the roadside greenery, sunbathing with dazed expressions as they stared blankly at the flow of traffic—evoking a strong sense of life nearing twilight.

But in truth, whether using a cane or a walker, any elderly person still able to come outside and bask in the sun was already doing relatively well physically.

Some could only sit in a wheelchair, hugging a cane, under the care of their equally aged children. On clear days, they would be pushed outside, a felt hat on their head and a blanket over their legs, to soak up a little sun for half an hour or so, before being pushed back inside.

Like airing out a quilt at a set time every day.

—And that was already considered decent physical condition.

As for those whose faces no longer appeared outside at all, they could only slowly decay indoors—until one day, their names were printed in black ink on white paper and posted near the entrances of these thirty-year-old buildings as obituary notices.

To be trapped inside one’s own skin, doing nothing but watching it slowly rot... that must be quite terrifying.

.

Following the narrow sidewalk, she passed through the overpass and walked two more blocks before reaching the central part of the city.

The core of this overpass was two elevated railway tracks that crossed over the road.

As a steel corporation, it naturally needed its own railway.

Back in the day, these tracks must have carried cargo trains constantly—bringing in coal and ore, and shipping out crude or refined steel.

But during all the time Lin Ying had come through this area, she’d only ever seen a freight train or two pass by.

.

The sidewalk design here gave off a distinctly inhuman feel—sudden, steep, and narrow steps that went up and down constantly, making it tiring for the girl to walk.

True inhuman design—was that supposed to be a dark joke?

Lin Ying silently grumbled to herself.

The streets here were lined not only with residential buildings but also with small two- or three-story structures. Most of the ground floors were storefronts, though a few businesses operated on the second floor.

A series of old, cheap signs were fixed to the walls, giving each little rundown shop a unique sense of era.

As Lin Ying leisurely tilted her head while strolling past one storefront after another, she saw a black internet café with a faded Pepsi sign, a spring roll shop with a barbecue grill at the entrance, an all-you-can-eat bone stew place charging eighteen yuan per person but with barely any customers, a tutoring center offering writing, math olympiad, and English lessons, a tobacco and liquor store that doubled as a secondhand gift buyer with a “for transfer” sign, a small corner store with ads for SIM card recharges and Qb sales scrawled on the door...

A big-plate chicken restaurant had smartly opened directly below the black internet café. Watching the servers go in and out nonstop, delivering bowls of cheap noodles upstairs, it seemed business was booming.

Lin Ying, on the other hand, noticed a rather inconspicuous little mobile phone shop next to it.

What to do when you stumble upon a dungeon halfway through your journey?

After thinking it over—"since I’m already here"—she observed the place for a moment, then decided to go in.