Ling Ling choked on a cough as she opened the window and whispered, "Why don't they just drive out these Mexicans?"
Xiao Hei felt a bit embarrassed. He carefully snuffed out his cigarette, clamping it between his ear before saying, "Hey, whether it's arms dealers or the middle-class noble families, they all need those Mexicans as cannon fodder, slaves, even as food for livestock when necessary. They're all rations, you know. I've heard the higher-ups are running some terrifying experiments, human trials or something, so every day about a hundred Mexicans disappear. Isn't that normal?"
They were soon approaching the underground black market Xiao Hei had mentioned, but first, they passed through the slums.
Jing Shu sat in the truck, staring at the pitch-black, filthy mess outside in a daze. The polarization in America was disastrous, totally different from what she'd imagined. It looks like getting supplies and food wouldn't be easy because a lot of the resources are guarded with heavy firepower—otherwise, those people wouldn't still be alive now.
Robbing wasn't an option. From what Xiao Hei babbled on about, America's strategic food reserves and the stocks held by the major grain merchants would be enough to feed the country for ten more years. That's just because exports were cut off before the apocalypse hit and crops were grown during it.
America also wasn't short of oil. Secretly, they'd fought small countries and grabbed a ton of oil. But now, with the civil war over and the country reunited, that oil's been divided among the governments and warlords.
The ordinary people, though, don't get to see a drop of it.
Jing Shu couldn't help but admire developed countries. Before the apocalypse, they wasted energy at many times what they used. But what can you do? When you have so much stuff, this is the third year of the end times, and the supplies are still this abundant and held tightly by the military and grain merchants—it's really something to envy.
She was looking forward to Yang Yang's plan—to have them bring the supplies themselves. She just had no idea how he was going to pull it off.
"Look, this place is the slum where I live. It's where you'll be staying these days," Xiao Hei said, pointing to rows of low houses outside. Some were temporary shacks made of steel sheets, some were century-old dilapidated buildings, and others were so old they were about to collapse.
Everything was broken down and filthy, with a stench that made the air thick and suffocating.
The so-called slums were originally two rows of small villas on both sides of the road, but after the flood left people homeless, many broken shacks and huts were added. The surrounding area was covered in green algae stains from years of rain erosion, with huge bugs crawling openly.
The place was dirtier and messier than a newly built housing block in China. Houses sat so close they touched, with hollow, watchful eyes peeking out.
Ling Ling showed a scared expression. "Can't we live somewhere else? I saw lots of empty houses on the way."
Besides the city center, America only had scattered small one- or two-story villas because of its vast land and low population. But after the flood in the second year, most were destroyed, filled with mud, sand, and bugs, making them extremely dangerous.
Xiao Hei shrugged and explained the reason before adding, "Hey, in the city center, you cute angels won't be allowed in without their permits. You'd just be low-class slaves. Only 'official mercenaries' are allowed to live near the black market underground, so you've got to finish the mercenary test quickly if you want to move out of the slums. The villas on both sides of the slums are nice—but damn it, better not live in them. No legal protection, and once you pay the rent, you'll easily get targeted."
America was always a dangerous place no matter where you went.
Meanwhile, Yang Yang tenderly held the ID in his hand, leading the moving monk, a confused Hao Yunlai, and the expressionless Zhen Nantian to the busiest part of the city. They soaked up American culture, watching stylishly dressed women throw flirtatious glances at them. The monk scratched his head. Did the lady want to say something to him?
Hao Yunlai couldn't help but marvel, America's great and mighty. Even in the apocalypse, the whole city was still lit up bright and looked beautiful. He even caught the smell of roasted chicken—so good. Plus, lots of pretty girls were batting their eyes at him. Were they into this Asian cutie?
"Then let's start showing our strength here. But first, let's enjoy America's luxurious life."
Meanwhile, broken-looking women with barely-grown hair dressed in rags kept batting their eyes at the truck. They looked like scary aliens, trying to get the attention of the guys inside. The few men watching the scene almost jumped out of their skins.
Just then, a man handed some half-black bread to one woman and pulled her away. What happened next was a done deal.
As the truck passed, many eyes followed it, clearly curious about what was inside, probably comparing weapons and power.
The slums were huge and crowded.
Jing Shu's eyes were caught by an enormous spider. She swallowed hard. Imagine the spider marinated, deep-fried with egg wash and bread crumbs until golden, the crispy legs smelling irresistible. One bite, with the crunchy shell and tender meat, made you unable to stop. She shook her head hard. She was already rich enough to afford any food she wanted, so why was she still interested in this?
The truck sped across the entire slum, finally reaching the underground black market. Jing Shu hadn't expected it to be a literal underground market, just a nickname.
The truck entered a huge cave guarded by armed men checking IDs at the entrance.
"Hey, it's me. I'm bringing rookies for the test. We'll be out by tonight," Xiao Hei said as he handed over two black breads, and their group smoothly got in. They'd heard outsiders without credentials were executed on the spot at night, so no one cared much.
The slums were on the outskirts—far out but on higher ground, so even at the end of the second year, this underground black market hadn't flooded. Instead, it had gathered surrounding slums.
"Hey, did you know this underground black market used to be a huge gold mine? Sacramento started out because they found gold here and grew into what it is today. After the gold was mined out, they developed other things. Now, the mine was converted into a giant underground warehouse during the first year, and that became an underground city."