Hunter of Mysterious Creature

Chapter 702 15: Tower Crane

As for the efficiency of doing things in Chunming City, if the main system claims to be second, probably no one dares to claim first. Sun Hang had just said these words when, in less than twenty seconds, a brand-new, unmanned floating car sped into the thermal vent path and stopped in front of him.

Sun Hang got into the car, then waved to Xue Yue, who was still standing dumbfounded on the side.

Xue Yue hesitated for a moment before climbing into the back seat of the floating car.

Sun Hang hadn't even touched the steering wheel of the floating car when it started up again, speeding the two of them toward the exit of the thermal vent path.

"This is my first time... riding a floating car..." Xue Yue's ten fingers gripped tightly onto the edge of the car window, his face showing a mix of nervousness and excitement.

"You've never ridden a floating car even once?" Sun Hang was taken aback—for Chunming City is a "vertical" city, so floating cars are an extremely important mode of transportation in the city. To facilitate the citizens' travel, with the focus of support from the Federation Government, many car companies have launched floating cars at various price points, with the cheapest being reduced to around two hundred thousand dollars a car, roughly comparable to mid-range cars.

Even families that couldn't afford to buy a floating car could choose to rent a public floating car. Floating car rental points are almost everywhere in Chunming City. Although the rented floating cars are unmanned and can only travel along preset routes without allowing for the fun of driving oneself, the rental price is low enough to be almost the same as taking a taxi... For someone who has lived in Chunming for many years, Xue Yue's saying "first time sitting in a floating car" really surprised Sun Hang a bit.

This guy... has he become this frugal?

"I run really fast... so I usually just use my legs to get around," Xue Yue explained, "As for those high-level areas, I rarely go there, plus there are free public elevators... Floating cars are too expensive, just the starting fee is enough to buy a pound of pork..."

"It's a pity you didn't have a legal identity before, otherwise with your physical condition, you could have become an athlete and wouldn't be in this miserable state," Sun Hang said.

"Infected and those with special abilities are banned from participating in regular sports events," the main system immediately replied, "If an athlete is found to have used strange object powers during a competition, the minimal punishment is a lifetime ban, and as for using strange objects directly to compete, that precedent hasn't appeared in Federation history yet."

"I was just joking," Sun Hang said with a face full of black lines, "This AI really lacks a sense of humor... far worse than Pei Zongjun."

"My database stores the full memories of the previous controller, Pei Zongjun. If you require, I can simulate a Pei Zongjun personality to interact with you," the main system responded.

"Forget it, simulated things are meaningless," Sun Hang sighed, "but you probably use this simulated personality to continue maintaining the illusion that Pei Zongjun is still alive, right?"

"Yes," the main system replied, "To ensure stability of the situation, the news of Pei Zongjun's death cannot be made public for the time being."

As the floating car neared the exit of the thermal vent path, the surrounding environment gradually brightened. The diamond-shaped lattice sliced the sunlight projected from the sky into numerous small blocks, which fell on the floating car's windshield.

"This sunlight... looks real enough to be mistaken for the real thing."

Sun Hang looked toward the exit and saw the clear, cloudless sky and the sun hanging in it—with the windshield's filter, the direct sunlight wasn't harsh in the least; rather, it brought an incredibly gentle feeling, like a brand new, warm towel gently brushing over the skin, immersing every pore in a warm sensation...

However, the sky is fake, the sun is fake, and the sunlight is also fake.

Due to the stacking of upper structures, Chunming City's skyline area that can see the true sky only accounts for a mere seven percent... The remaining ninety-three percent of areas where people look up and see the sky and sun are actually holographically simulated images.

When Sun Hang first arrived in Chunming City, he asked Yang Qi if going through such great lengths to create a fake sky and sun was overly extravagant, but Yang Qi told him "it's all necessary."

For the citizens of Shuzhou, who lived under the eternal night for months, this statement resonated deeply—for humans, the sky and the sun are not directly necessary for survival, but if one goes too long without seeing these things, the incidence rates of various physiological and psychological diseases can increase exponentially, and social stability becomes extremely fragile and vulnerable.

Imagine, every time you look up at the sky, it's a night that no one knows when it will end, or a cold, oppressive steel and concrete construct. Living those days, day after day, year after year... doesn't just imagining it make it feel much harder to breathe?

The floating car exited the thermal vent path, once again basking in the "sunlight"—even though the "sunlight" wasn't dazzling, Sun Hang habitually squinted his eyes.

Vaguely... he seemed to feel something was amiss.

Sun Hang jerked his head around and saw a tower crane's hook hanging right above the floating car, with hundreds of bundled steel rods dangling from it.

Why is the tower crane's hook carrying steel rods? Isn't today a rest day? Could it be that the crane operator left halfway through a job when work hours ended? Are the safety officers on this construction site blind?