Chapter 24: Entering the City
After about half an hour of climbing uphill, the carriage finally drove off the treacherous mountain road.
The wheels rolled onto a wide avenue paved with stone blocks, which would lead everyone to the front of Zion City.
Notably,
Black lamp posts stood at equal intervals on both sides of the road. These were not oil lamps, but [electric lights].
"They actually have electric lights here?"
Since coming to this world, Yi Chen had been curious about the era he was in.
The small wooden cabin in the cemetery had an old-fashioned telephone that could only contact the caretaker, and there were no other electrical appliances... This led Yi Chen to speculate that this world was in an era not long after the Second Industrial Revolution.
But after he left the cemetery,
He didn't see any electrical equipment in the outside world,
People used oil lamps and candles to get light.
Even the vehicles sent by the organization were horse-drawn carriages, not internal combustion engine-driven cars.
This made Yi Chen even more confused,
Now on the road leading to Zion City, facilities related to [electricity] appeared again, making him unsure of what was going on.
"Could it be that due to the disease transformation, some backward areas failed to keep up with development and remained in the pre-industrial revolution era? But that's not right either. If they had remained there, telephones shouldn't have appeared in the cemetery.
Could it be that the telephone was brought over from the organization by the administrator?"
"Gray Zone."
Little Grape suddenly interjected into Yi Chen's thoughts, giving a key phrase.
"What do you mean?"
"According to the memories blended in my mind,
The humans here once entered an [Electric Age] for a period of time, replacing steam power with highly efficient and convenient electric power... Unfortunately, under the influence of the disease transformation, electricity was not fully developed before being 'divided and restricted'.
Because Gray Zones are scattered throughout the world, expanding and proliferating at all times.
Any substance within the Gray Zones will be affected, and [electricity] is no exception.
When electric wires pass through Gray Zone areas, the electric current flowing through them will be affected, turning into a disease transformation medium.
Light bulbs illuminated by electricity will affect individuals' skin through light radiation,
Affected telephones will transmit strange noises and whispers from the receivers, gradually influencing people's thoughts.
Television sets will even display some blurry and strange images, spreading disease transformation through visual means.
Therefore,
The development of electric power was completely suppressed, and human technology was forced to retreat to the steam age,
However, in some relatively safe large cities, such as the Zion City you're about to reach, there must be power plants inside, maintaining the city's electricity supply and the development of related technologies.
That's probably how it is."
"Even electric currents can be affected by disease transformation? What exactly is this so-called [disease], and what is its origin?"
"My memory is incomplete, so I can't answer this question... Moreover, even among you humans, probably no one can answer it. You should be able to gradually learn about it through exploration and pursuit of knowledge in the future."
Just as Yi Chen's doubts were increasing, and he wanted to continue chatting with Little Grape,
The carriage stopped,
Edmund's voice came:
"Mr. William, don't doze off~ We've arrived at Zion City.
Next is a very important evaluation and award ceremony, which relates to whether we can officially join the organization, as well as the subsequent treatment issues."
"Alright."
Stepping down from the carriage, there was no city gate as expected,
Instead, two tall, black towers with Gothic spires stood before them, their surfaces outlined with vertical ribs.
Between the towers was a narrow, cramped, and dark passage,
This was the only road leading into the city,
On both sides of the towers were continuous black high walls, mainly featuring spires and vertical structures.
Gargoyle-like statues were set at equal intervals on top of the walls, adding another layer of eeriness to the already gloomy exterior wall structure.
Rather than calling it the outer wall of a city, it was more like a Gothic city wall with military characteristics.
"William, come quickly!
We still need to pass through this gateway used for isolation, detection, and purification before officially reaching the interior of Zion City."
"Mm."
A total of 19 candidates were sent here for evaluation,
Everyone lined up in a relatively orderly manner to enter the narrow gateway between the towers,
The gateway had a barrel-vaulted ceiling and ribbed framework, with classically decorated wall lamps on the pillars on both sides.
Not far in,
A man in gentlemanly attire, holding a curved walking stick and wearing a white mask, blocked the way.
Secret passages appeared on the walls on both sides of him.
A mature and deep voice came from under the mask,
"It's very gratifying that so many newcomers have passed this relatively difficult evaluation.
However, before you set foot in Zion, you must undergo a thorough physical disinfection.
Gentlemen to the right,
Ladies to the left,
Upon reaching the [Disinfection Room], please remove all your clothing within a short time.
If after disinfection, it is still detected that you have disease transformation substances remaining on your body exceeding the index, or if you have symptoms of infection, you will be directly cleared."
Yi Chen followed at the end of the men's queue, arriving at an enclosed space.
The blonde Edmund was the first to strip completely naked.
When Yi Chen took off his clothes, he unexpectedly found that this body of William Behrens was quite good,
Although slightly thin,
Four abdominal muscles were faintly visible, and the body fat percentage was also controlled within a normal range.
About half a minute passed,
Spray-type pipes extended from the walls in front of and behind everyone, and even from below their bodies and above their heads.
A highly pungent pale yellow liquid was sprayed out under high pressure,
Directly scouring everyone's flesh, some of the severely wounded candidates were even rolled over several times by the spray.
Yi Chen tried his best to stabilize his body.
"Chlorine water? It seems to be mixed with something else..."
After the scouring ended,
A strange sense of being scrutinized quickly swept over everyone's body, as if detecting something.
Buzz! There was a slight tremor in the air, and a young man sitting against the wall suddenly disappeared.
"Disappeared just like that? What kind of technique is this?"
Yi Chen was quite surprised, as he had been maintaining a state of mental focus... yet he hadn't seen anything just now.
Everyone put their clothes back on and returned to the previous gateway corridor.
After the disinfection process, the number of people was reduced to [17].
Everyone continued to follow the gentleman wearing the white mask, walking towards the exit of the gateway.
As they stepped out of the gateway,
The radiance of the morning sun instantly fell upon everyone,
At the same time presenting to all a special city full of Gothic revival atmosphere, surpassing conventional construction styles.
[Zion City]
Streets with intersecting upper and lower structures, connected by arched bridges.
Various winding and undulating neighborhood paths,
As well as churches, guild buildings, or noble mansions set up in mid-air through special construction methods, using pillars, spiral staircases, or large staircases.
In some aspects of architecture, it had already surpassed the world Yi Chen lived in before.
The gentleman guiding the way placed his top hat on his chest and bowed slightly to everyone,
"Welcome to the headquarters of G&D, the world's sanctuary - Zion.
I am your temporary guide, Jeff Peterson.
Please continue to follow me to the [God Skin Mansion], where you will receive different levels of 'Skin-of-the-Gentry' based on your performance in the evaluation.
Please do not leave the group to go elsewhere during the journey, otherwise, it will be considered as voluntarily giving up the 'bestowal of skin'."
Upon hearing this special term,
The blonde Edmund, as well as most of the candidates, showed eager looks in their eyes and became excited... it seemed that all the dangers they had experienced along the way were worth it.
Although Yi Chen's expression remained unchanged,
His inner heart was also gradually becoming turbulent, he really wanted to know what kind of reward his 'big gamble' would bring.
(End of Chapter)
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