Chapter 107 - 91: Jiang City

Chapter 107: Chapter 91: Jiang City

Atop the city walls, an even larger silhouette was faintly visible—perhaps the launch system for long-range heavy artillery. The entire Jiang City Shelter was like a super-fortress, armed to the teeth and perpetually ready for an apocalyptic war!

"So this is Jiang City?" Xu Mo muttered to himself, the shock he felt beyond words.

The firepower of the Sixth Forward Base had already made Xu Mo feel the insignificance of individual martial strength, but compared to this true titan of war before him, the forward base seemed like nothing more than a toy outpost.

For the first time, Xu Mo viscerally felt the terrifying, world-altering power human civilization could unleash when facing an existential crisis—the power to forge a great wall of steel. An individual’s prowess truly seemed insignificant before this crystallization of collective wisdom, this pinnacle of industrial military might.

Just as Xu Mo’s heart was surging with emotion, a deep, powerful roar echoed from the sky. He looked up to see two sleek fighter jets, emblazoned with the Jiang City military insignia, streaking over the city at incredible speed and leaving faint contrails in their wake.

They seemed to be on a routine patrol, or perhaps returning after completing a reconnaissance or deterrence mission. This was yet another confirmation that the Jiang City Shelter possessed a systematic, modern military force far beyond anything he had imagined.

Reining in his turbulent emotions, Xu Mo restarted his vehicle and drove toward the enormous, tunnel-like city gate at the base of the wall.

A long line of vehicles snaked toward the city entrance, but everything was orderly. All the vehicles and pedestrians waited in silence. No one caused a commotion or tried to cut in line. The atmosphere was solemn and oppressive.

When it was Xu Mo’s turn, he found the entry inspection wasn’t particularly complicated, but it was extremely rigorous. He presented his Identity Card [Jiang City: 802561]. The guard at the gate inserted it into a reader, and a screen immediately displayed his basic information and photograph. The soldier carefully compared the photo to Xu Mo, then glanced at his obviously modified SUV with its brand-new windshield and waved him through. "You’re good. Go on in. Obey the Inner City regulations." He wasn’t asked to pay any fees.

After driving through the nearly hundred-meter-long, brightly lit tunnel of the city gate, its walls thick enough to be suffocating, Xu Mo officially entered the Jiang City Shelter.

However, the sight that met his eyes made him pause in surprise once again.

Unlike the "futuristic city" of towering skyscrapers and perfect order he had imagined, the area behind the gate looked more like a vast, crowded, yet surprisingly clean and lively shantytown.

As far as the eye could see, there were mostly low-rise buildings. Some were crudely constructed from bricks and wooden planks, but most were shelters cobbled together from all sorts of scrap materials: sheet metal, plastic panels, old shipping containers, and even the chassis of junked cars.

These structures were packed together, forming a maze of intricate alleyways. However, interspersed among the low buildings were some clearly newer, more uniform brick-and-tile houses. Though not tall, they looked sturdy and built to last.

Unlike the atmosphere at the Sixth Forward Base, where everyone carried a gun and the air was thick with tension and a predatory vibe, this place felt vibrantly alive. The streets were lined with all kinds of shops. Food stalls sent up clouds of steam, tailor shops displayed finished garments, general stores were stocked with daily necessities, and there were even a few children chasing each other playfully in a nearby clearing.

Most pedestrians here walked at an unhurried pace. Though their clothes were simple and their faces weather-beaten, their eyes lacked the feral vigilance and hostility so common in the outlying bases. In its place was a tranquility that came with daily life.

Some people were armed, but far fewer than at the forward base. Moreover, most of them just carried a saber or a pistol. Someone like Xu Mo, who had been decked out in full gear with a long rifle slung over his back at the forward base, would have stuck out like a sore thumb here.

’This is Jiang City?’ Xu Mo was puzzled. This was a far cry from the core area he had envisioned.

But on second thought, it started to make sense to him. ’The Jiang City Shelter has a population of over eight hundred thousand; it’s impossible for everyone to be crammed into the original core. This is probably a later addition, a peripheral zone... what they must call the "Outer City."’

’The survivors taken in from all over, along with the people working in basic agriculture, crafts, and the service industry, most likely live here. Meanwhile, high-risk tasks like combat and exploration have probably been pushed out to the twelve forward bases, like Base Six.’

’The forward bases are the Shield and the Sharp Sword, and this... this is the relatively safe home front.’

Sure enough, after Xu Mo drove another two or three kilometers inward along the main road, another city wall loomed ahead.

This wall wasn’t as majestic as the main, outermost one—it was only about thirty meters high—but its sturdiness and defensive fortifications were not to be underestimated. Soldiers patrolled atop it, and another checkpoint stood at its base.

Xu Mo realized this must be the "Inner City." The Jiang City Shelter had clearly expanded, growing outward from its original core to create the vast Outer City he had just passed through.

Driving up to the checkpoint at the Inner City entrance, Xu Mo saw that the inspection here was significantly stricter. After checking his Identity Card again, the soldier shook his head. "Sorry, sir. Your residency permit is for the Outer City. Non-resident vehicles are not allowed in the Inner City without a special pass."

Xu Mo understood. As the core area, the Inner City was bound to contain more important institutions and potentially sensitive facilities. Restricting vehicle access was a necessary security measure.

"Can I go in on foot, then?" Xu Mo asked.

"Yes, you can enter on foot with your Identity Card. The Inner City has public transportation," the soldier replied.

Xu Mo nodded, not pressing the issue.

Following the directions, Xu Mo found a larger and more strictly managed "Official Vehicle Rest Area" near the Inner City gate. He paid a fee of five Contribution Points to have his SUV securely stored. Then, he sorted through his gear. He disassembled his AWM sniper rifle and left it in the vehicle, along with the AK-47, keeping only his pistol and Mountain-Cutting Saber at his waist.

Once that was done, Xu Mo shouldered his pack and walked toward the Inner City entrance.

After passing through another check on foot, Xu Mo finally stepped into the true core of the Jiang City Shelter: the Inner City.

The moment he stepped through, Xu Mo felt as if he had crossed another invisible boundary.

The scene before him was a stark contrast to the chaotic but lively "shantytown" style of the Outer City. The streets were wide and clean, flanked by sturdy buildings that were mostly five to ten stories tall. Though the architectural styles varied, they were clearly repurposed buildings from the old era, and the overall layout was neat and orderly.

The Inner City’s roads were quite spacious, with no trash piled carelessly on the streets. The pedestrians’ clothing, while not glamorous, was universally neater and more presentable. Their expressions also held a greater sense of composure and... was that an indescribable air of superiority that came with being an "inner-city resident"?

The militant atmosphere was even fainter here, replaced by a much stronger sense of solemnity and order. He occasionally saw patrols in uniform marching past. The shops lining the streets were also more "high-end," with dedicated weapon shops, apothecary stalls, and even stores bearing signs like "Ancient Tome Recovery" and "Technology Repair."

The air was thick with an atmosphere entirely different from that of the Outer City.

Xu Mo stood on a bustling Inner City street, gazing at the urban scenery before him—a sight both familiar and strange—and for a moment, he was utterly captivated.

These scenes, so ordinary before the apocalypse, filled Xu Mo with an intense nostalgia. It made him recall something he’d overheard pedestrians saying while he was driving earlier. They referred to the time before the end of the world as the Golden Age.

’That’s right,’ he thought. ’Compared to the apocalypse, it really was a golden age!’