Chapter 330 Determination and Resistance

The scavenger girl Coni took Li Yi back and forth in the alleys of Philadelphia. She was indeed very familiar with this place. The complex alleys that were like a maze could not trap her at all. If she encountered danger and ran into such an alley, the enemy would easily lose her. This might be a means of survival and self-protection for the lower class.

However, the alleys are always filled with unpleasant smells, and the ground is covered with all kinds of industrial wastewater. Walking in such places requires great experience, otherwise you may fall into a coma directly after inhaling a breath of poisonous gas. If no one treats you at that time, you will most likely die here.

Li Yi asked about this situation, and Connie said that bodies were found in the alleys every day. Some were scavengers, and some were murdered Philadelphia citizens. The security here was not good, and it was full of decadence and chaos.

He even saw some thugs at the intersections of some alleys.

Those thugs all had colorful fluorescent tattoos on their bodies and were dressed in colorful clothes, like a marquee, and seemed to belong to a certain gang.

Ke Ni was very wary of these gangsters. She always tried to take Li Yi around them, not wanting to be entangled by them and get into trouble.

Because the gangsters at the bottom of society always like to bully the people at the bottom of society. On the contrary, the big guys are not interested in people at the bottom like them, and will not deliberately make things difficult for them.

"Ke Ni, stop and don't try to run away. You haven't paid your residence tax for last month, and you must pay it today. What is the energy source in your hand? Give it to me quickly, this is not something you should have."

Suddenly, when Connie passed an intersection, a green-haired thug recognized her, shouted, and then rushed over here aggressively.

Faced with the gang member, Connie subconsciously panicked and tried to run away while pulling the flatbed cart.

But soon, a blond-haired thug appeared at the other end of the alley and blocked Connie's way with a smile.

Originally, the two men wanted to play a prank on Connie and find some fun in their boring lives.

But soon, the smiles on their faces froze when they saw Li Yi behind Connie. Although they didn't see anything, the aura emanating from Li Yi made them feel panic.

"It's a genetic warrior"

This word immediately popped up in the minds of the two people.

"There are yellow-haired people in this world? If you two don't want to die here, get away from me." Li Yi just said this calmly.

The two men didn't dare to tease Connie anymore and turned around and ran away immediately in fear.

In a place like Philadelphia, gene warriors represent power and order, and it also means that they can be killed at any time as low-level thugs. The sheriff will not even pursue the faults of the gene warriors. On the contrary, he will issue a notice to tell others that they were killed because they stole things from the gene warriors.

"Wow, Yi, you are so cool. They are scared away by you. They will never dare to collect residence tax from me again." Seeing this scene, Connie shouted excitedly again.

"We've already fallen to the point of living in a sewer, and you still want to collect residence tax?" Li Yi asked.

Connie said: "This was not collected by the Gene Federation, but by the mothers in this area."

"Mom Gang? What kind of gang is this? The name is really ugly." Li Yi said.

"The Mom Gang was founded by a female genetic warrior named Hong Zhen. She adopted many orphans from Philadelphia, and those orphans affectionately called her Mom, so this gang is called the Mom Gang." said Connie.

Li Yi asked: "Why don't you join this gang? You can be bullied less."

"The Mama Gang only accepts boys, not girls." Connie said with some regret.

"So that's how it is." Li Yi nodded and had a general understanding of the situation in this area.

soon.

Ke Ni brought Li Yi to a sewage outlet. The outlet was very large, more than three meters high, and could accommodate adult men to enter and exit freely. She pulled the flatbed cart and walked in naturally. She was used to the smell in the air and did not find it unpleasant.

Seeing this scene, Li Yi couldn't help but think of his past self, living in the old city area of ​​Tianchang City, which was also filled with dampness and stench.

But compared to this, my life seems to be pretty good.

Connie is not the only one living in the large sewer. After walking in, she found that there are many people living here. They built a bed with metal and fixed it on the wall with nails to form a simple home.

And the more you walk in, the more people there are.

Li Yi took a quick glance and found that the people living here were the poorest, including the elderly, women, and middle-aged people with physical disabilities. Children were rarely seen. Ke Ni was considered to be a rather different case.

However, his appearance attracted a lot of people's attention.

Pairs of numb eyes secretly looked at Li Yi with curiosity and nervousness. They were very cautious and didn't even dare to look Li Yi in the eye, because from the armor and appearance of Li Yi, they could tell that he was definitely not of their kind. He was most likely a genetic warrior. But why would a genetic warrior follow Connie to this sewer?
Puzzled.

In fact, Li Yi came here without any purpose, he just had nowhere to go. He wanted to walk around and have a look, to better understand this city and the world number six.

"No wonder the existence of rebels has emerged in such a soil. The residence tax is collected from these people. How can they survive if they don't rebel?" Li Yi thought to himself as he looked at those people.

The sewers are everywhere, but not every place is suitable for living. Some places have dangerous industrial wastewater and poisonous gases, which must be avoided. Some places often discharge a large amount of sewage, and you can't stay there. It is not easy to find a suitable place to settle down here. Not only do you need to have enough understanding of this place, but you also need to act quickly. Once someone else gets there first, you can only find another place.

Connie's home is located at the end of a sewer. She has a small bed hung on the wall and a platform built with steel plates, on which she places various daily necessities and some unsold spare parts.

"This is my home." Connie said proudly, "This is the best place in this area. I moved five times before I found it."

Li Yi took a look and found it was true.

This place is relatively cleaner and tidier than other places, and the smell is not so strong. Of course, a good place will naturally have a lot of neighbors. Many people live on this road, making it quite lively.

However, Li Yi's arrival made them very nervous, as they were worried that this strange outsider would easily destroy their hard-earned peace.

"Ke Ni, tell me about Philadelphia and your story." Li Yi found a seat and sat down, and asked. "My story? I am an orphan. I have lived in the sewers of Philadelphia with my grandfather since I can remember. My grandfather said that my parents were genetic warriors and had ties to the resistance army, so they were killed by the Gene Federation. My grandfather took me to hide here, but six years ago, my grandfather also passed away. Since then, I have lived here alone, but I have taken good care of myself. I can usually go to the scrapyard to pick up things to make money, and I can also run errands for others. I am very familiar with this place, and I can always deliver things to customers as quickly as possible."

Connie lowered her head slightly at the moment, and seemed very sad whenever she mentioned the past, but when it came to survival, she seemed very confident and remained optimistic even in difficult situations.

Li Yi didn't say anything, just listened.

To him, it may be just a story, but to Connie, it is her whole life.

Coni talked a lot, especially about her grandfather, and she also talked about some happy things, such as how she was very lucky once and made a fortune and earned a thousand source coins, but then they were robbed by the gangsters helped by her mother. However, she was very smart and secretly left a hundred. During that time, she lived a very happy life and ate a lot.

She also talked about some sad things, such as a sudden irregular sewage discharge that destroyed her home. She cried alone for several hours, and finally spent another half a month rebuilding her home bit by bit.

For example, once when she was scavenging, she was robbed by other scavengers on her way back. She couldn't beat them, and her flatbed truck was taken away. So now she protects her flatbed truck very well, because it is her tool for survival. Without this flatbed truck, she would not be able to pull things back from the scrapyard, and she would not be able to make money, and in the end she might even starve to death.

Also, for example, today, she was very excited because she saw an energy source that was forgotten to be removed from a car. If she sold it, it would be enough for her to live on for half a year.

If you plan well, you won’t have to worry about going hungry in the next few years.

Li Yi listened for a long time, was silent for a while, and finally asked: "Have you ever thought about changing all this?"

"Change all this?" Connie blinked and looked a little confused.

"It means no longer living in the sewers, no longer picking up rubbish, having a good living environment, a good future, and a normal life. In short, anything you dream of can come true." Li Yi said.

"I don't even have citizenship. I'm an illegal immigrant and cannot own property. I don't even have a decent job. I can't do any of this," said Connie, lowering her head.

"Not being able to do it and not wanting to do it are two different things." Li Yi said: "Are you willing to become a gene warrior?"

"Gene warrior?"

Ke Ni's eyes suddenly lit up, but soon dimmed again: "I am a person at the bottom of Philadelphia. I will never be qualified to become a gene warrior. Besides, gene potions are very expensive. I will never be able to afford them in my lifetime."

"A miserable life makes you feel inferior physically and mentally, but your soul should not be timid because of it." Li Yi said calmly: "If you still have the courage to change all this, even if it means risking your life, I can give you a chance to become a genetic warrior, just as a gift from fate."

"You have about a minute to think about it. After a minute, I will leave here and do my own things. We may never meet again in this life. It depends on your choice whether to compromise or fight."

He stood up slowly at this moment, his eyes shining brightly in the dim sewer.

Afterwards, Li Yi did not linger any longer, but walked back the way he came.

When Ke Ni saw Li Yi's leaving back, she bit her lip, her expression changing constantly, as if she was hesitating, as if she was thinking.

Not everyone has the courage to leave their familiar lives behind and embark on an unknown path.

"Ke Ni, go with him. You are the descendant of a genetic warrior, and you should follow the path of a genetic warrior. You are still young and have a future. You should not stay in this sewer for the rest of your life. Even if you die in the future, you should die in the sun instead of rotting in the sewer."

At this time, a lifeless old man sitting on the small bed next to him advised in the tone of an elder.

Although the old man has lived in poverty all his life and has not seen much, even if he knows nothing at this age, he still understands some principles. The opportunity that Li Yi gave him is something that many people cannot find in their entire lives.

And living like this is actually not much different from being dead.

The old man's words seemed to prompt Connie to make a major decision. She said loudly: "Yi, I want to be a gene warrior. I want to change all this. I don't want to compromise."

The shout echoed in the sewer, seemed to be transmitted outside through some gap, and floated over Philadelphia.

"Then you have to be prepared for death. If not, don't follow me." Li Yi said as he walked without stopping.

Connie was stunned for a moment and struggled again, but this time she made a decision quickly. She took out the energy source she picked up today without hesitation, then looked at her beloved flatbed cart placed in its dedicated position, and finally fiddled with the energy source for a while before throwing it towards her home.

The energy source landed on the ground, and a brilliant light burst out.

Along with the release of energy, Connie's precious home and her beloved flatbed truck were all completely destroyed.

"Wow! I have nothing left." Kenny wiped her tears, her whole body trembling with sadness.

Li Yi stopped at this moment, he turned around and said: "I see your determination, very good, come with me, I will let you truly live, the future you will be grateful for this determination today."

Connie looked back at the flatbed truck that was damaged beyond repair, wiped her tears, sniffed, and ran towards Li Yi.

The two men quickly left the sewer with turbid air.

Unless something unexpected happens, they will never appear here again.

"He is such a dangerous person. His words have the power to bewitch people. Even I can't help but want to follow him."

After the two men left, the old man let out another inexplicable sigh.

In fact, it is not Li Yi’s words that can bewitch people’s hearts, but the desire of the bottom of this world to seek hope and change.

The appearance of Li Yi just fits their inner feelings.

(End of this chapter)