out of time

Chapter 6 Children
Nanhuangzhou is huge.

If you look at it from a high altitude, you can see the appearance of its plate, which is an irregular oval, surrounded by the sea.

Although it is far away from the Wanggu Continent and across the endless sea, it is more like an island land, but the scope is so vast that many people cannot complete it in a lifetime.

It's just that most of the places in it are difficult for the human race to step into, and they are blocked by the Truth Mountains that run diagonally through the entire Southern Huangzhou.

The southwest of the Truth Mountains is an extremely vast forbidden area.

It occupies nearly [-]% of the area of ​​Nanhuang Continent, and only the northeast area of ​​the Truth Mountains is the residence of the human race.

Even so, the number of human races is not small.

In this northeastern region, there are many large and small cities densely packed like stars, some of which are strong and some of which are simple.

However, the places where these cities were built avoided the small restricted areas in the Northeast region.

Given a choice, no one wants to live around the forbidden area, in a crisis where dangers will befall at any moment, only desperadoes will gather together under the pressure of life, red-eyed, licking Struggling to survive with a knife edge.

As a result, a scavenger camp was formed, and there were such camps around almost every restricted area. Looking at the entire human race area, the number of scavenger camps was very heterogeneous.

Standing on the top of the mountain at this moment, what Xu Qing saw was such a camp.

From a distance, the camp is not very big, and it looks like hundreds of people live in it.

Perhaps it was because of the early morning, the smoke from the kitchen was curling up. Although it was not as prosperous as the city, it was still very lively.

There were faint voices of scolding, cursing, hawking, and unscrupulous laughter, intertwined and spread far away.

It's just that the valuable house that Team Lei said, from the inside to the outside, the structure is getting simpler and simpler, and the outermost one is basically just a tent.

As for the camp not far behind, there is a pitch-black jungle.

There was mist, as if hiding a terrifying existence.

Even if the sky is full of sunlight, it can't fully reflect it in. If there are gods and demons included, it will indifferently shock all directions.

It is also like the black alienation point on the human body, which is shocking and distinct from other areas.

"How do you feel after seeing it?" Team Lei asked on the top of the mountain.

"It's almost like a slum." Xu Qing thought for a while and answered truthfully.

Team Lei smiled and walked forward without saying a word.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and followed behind Team Lei. The two went down the mountain all the way, getting closer and closer to the camp.

On the way, I also met people returning from going out in twos and threes. They were all dressed similarly, mainly dark gray leather jackets.

Xu Qing noticed that after seeing Team Lei, these people all showed awe in their expressions, and most of their eyes turned to him with curiosity.

This made Xu Qing have more guesses about Team Lei's identity.

In this way, when the sun was high, Xu Qing followed the Lei team into the plain below the mountain and into the scavengers' camp.

There is no city wall in the camp, and the ground is very messy, dusty, dead leaves and garbage can be seen everywhere, and it feels a bit smoky.

And as he walked, the sound heard on the mountain before was heard more clearly in Xu Qing's ears.

In addition to the simple buildings, there are also many scavengers.

Some are as tall and burly as a remnant ox, some are as skinny as wood and vicious, and some are so old that they can barely open their eyes, but no one dares to provoke them.

There are also some young people like him, huddled in the corner, looking at the sky blankly.

Some of them are disabled.

There are still many people inside, Xu Qing closed his eyes slightly after seeing it, the aura of those people made him feel the fluctuation of spiritual energy.

All kinds of people, some are buying and selling, some are fighting with each other, and some are lying on the boulders to bask in the sun.

There are also some who walked out of the tent with bright feathers hanging their trousers, with expressions on their faces that are still unfinished.

Xu Qing walked into the camp with Lei Squad, in the eyes of outsiders, it seemed as if he had entered hell.

But apart from being vigilant in his heart, there was nothing unusual about him, and he even had some vaguely familiar feelings.

"It's indeed very similar to a slum." Xu Qing murmured in his heart, his eyes swept over the tents with feathers, and he saw figures of white flowers inside.

There was even a half-naked young woman walking out of a tent, smiling and beckoning to Xu Qing with a lazy look.

"Don't look around." Team Lei glanced at Xu Qing.

"I know where it is." Xu Qing looked back and replied.

The wrinkles on Team Lei's face formed a dumb smile, and without saying anything, he led Xu Qing through the camp until they reached their destination.

It was a huge wooden building in the center of the camp, in a ring shape, like a Colosseum.

Xu Qing was observing along the way, and he had already constructed most of the map of the camp in his mind.

This is his habit. In many cases, familiarity with the environment can often change the situation of a crisis.

At this moment, he looked up at the Colosseum-like building in front of him, and noticed that in addition to the huge field, there were many simple benches inside.

In addition, there were roars of ferocious beasts coming from inside the building.

There are some wooden shed-like row houses around, and a few scavengers who are clearly dressed cleaner are chatting and laughing outside the row houses.

Following Team Lei's arrival, a thin middle-aged man staggered out of the Colosseum.

This person was wearing a long gown that was different from that of scavengers, with three beards on his face, and he also had psychic energy fluctuations on his body. When he came, he pulled his back perfunctorily, glanced at Xu Qing, and then looked at Team Lei.

"Newbie?"

"The rules are already known." Team Lei said slowly.

"What's your name?" Sanjihu asked casually.

"A little boy, if there is any name, let's call him a child." Team Lei said lightly.

"Then come with me, kid, you are lucky, there are already a few in front of you, and the show will almost start tomorrow."

Sanjihu let out a sigh of relief, turned around and walked towards the row house.

Xu Qing glanced at Team Thunder.

"Go, I'll pick you up tomorrow." Team Lei looked at Xu Qing with some expectation in his eyes.

Xu Qing took a deep look at Team Lei, nodded, and followed Sanjihu without saying a word.

When they got to the front of the row house, the Sanjihu explained a few words to the scavengers on the side, then turned and left.

Xu Qing was also placed in a row house and told not to go out without permission.

The moment he stepped into this row house, Xu Qing saw four pairs of eyes in different positions in the house, converging on himself.

Those were three teenagers about his age and a young man, three men and one woman.

The two teenagers seemed to be a few years older than him. At this moment, they glanced at Xu Qing and looked them over without paying attention.

As for that girl, she was a little younger than Xu Qing, huddled in a corner, with a huge scar on her face.

She watched everything around nervously and vigilantly, including the original three people and the newcomer Xu Qing.

As for the oldest young man here, it seems that he was a scavenger, and now he is just changing camps.

So when he saw Xu Qing, the corner of his mouth twitched, a little disapproving, he turned his eyes aggressively, stared at the girl in the corner, and licked his lips.

But obviously he has not officially obtained the right to live in the camp, so he dare not act presumptuously now.

Xu Qing ignored them, found a place near the door, crossed his legs and closed his eyes, and meditated silently.

Time passed slowly, perhaps because Xu Qing came too quietly, gradually the three people in the row house except the little girl ignored her and started talking to each other.

In the words of the two teenagers, it was obvious that they intended to please the youth.

Most of the content discussed was related to this trial.

Through their conversation, Xu Qing knew that the camp would hold a trial every once in a while, when enough people wanted to obtain residence qualifications.

The rules of the trial are simple.

Because the owner of this camp has kept many mutated beasts in captivity, the test for obtaining the residence qualification is to draw lots in public and fight with the drawn beasts.

Either live or die, each other's prey.

Survivors can take away their loot and obtain residency qualifications.

For the dead, everything about them will become food for the ferocious beasts.

And every trial will be held in this Colosseum.

At that time, most of the scavengers in the camp will buy tickets to watch this bloody scene. While gaining pleasure from it, the camp owner will also start a game of gambling to make a profit.

In this cruel world, human life is worthless.

But if you are not qualified to enter the city and cannot enter the camp, and live alone in the wild, the risk of death will be even greater.

Of course, the slums are also an option, but obviously those who decide to enter the scavenger camp have their own stories of having to come here.

Xu Qing listened while meditating.

Until they were discussing, when talking about the opening of the gods' eyes a few days ago, a young man suddenly spoke.

"When I came here, I heard people say, are you a survivor of that catastrophe?"

As soon as these words came out, Xu Qing slowly opened his eyes.

When I looked over, I noticed that the boy's words were not aimed at himself, but the little girl in the corner.

The little girl trembled and nodded silently.

Xu Qing's eyes fell on the little girl.

Everyone else heard about it, but he had experienced all of this, so he knew deeply that the people who survived the catastrophe and came here may not be as fragile and simple as the eyes see.

Seemingly noticing Xu Qing's gaze, the little girl looked up at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing closed his eyes again and continued to meditate. He wanted to gain all the time to practice, which was the basis for him to live a better life.

Just like that, the night passed.

In the early morning of the next day, along with the chaos and clamor from the outside world, the door of the row house was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

Sunlight poured in, covering the body of the scavengers standing at the door, and its shadow fell into the house, covering the figure of the little girl in the corner, when a cold voice came.

"Clean up and follow me, it's time for your good show to be staged."

"Finally waited."

The young man who seemed to be a scavenger in the house was the first to get up, walked over with a smile, and said hello to the person at the door.

The two teenagers followed quickly, Xu Qing was the fourth one to walk out, and the little girl was the last one.

The scavengers at the door seemed to know the young man. After a few words of laughing and cursing, he ignored the others and led the young man towards the Colosseum.

As they approached, the sounds of noise, clamor, and shouts became more and more intense one after another.

Until the group of them stepped into the Colosseum, the surrounding sounds suddenly exploded.

It can be seen that on the benches around the Colosseum, there are already more than 100 people, both men and women, as if surrounded by demons, watching a good show together.

Their voices were loud, the little girl visibly trembled, and the two teenagers were also pale.

Only the young man looked towards the audience with excitement in his eyes.

Then there was Xu Qing, whose expression didn't change much, and began to observe the environment of the fighting area in the Colosseum.

"The range is not very large, it is not suitable for pulling, there is no bunker, and it is not suitable for avoiding."

"The surrounding wooden boards are very high, which is not suitable for leading danger to the viewing seats, but there are a few door marks, and there seems to be another passage."

"So... either procrastinate and use the cries of those scavengers to frighten the ferocious beasts and look for an opportunity to attack, but it may also cause the ferocious beasts to rage, so it is most beneficial to fight quickly."

(End of this chapter)