Falling into the Abyss

Chapter 2: Entering the Forbidden City for the first time (2)

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A month ago, Ethan, still wearing a fitted grey suit, hair neatly secured with hairspray, and a decorative mechanical watch on his wrist, strode past the Secretary of Energy past the splendid expanse of the Treasury House. corridor. His life is busy and orderly. He goes to work at the Secretary’s Office of the Energy Bureau at 9 o’clock every day, gets off work at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, drives his car over the steel forest-like city of the space station, goes to his favorite Italian restaurant for dinner, and works out after returning home. For an hour, go to a bar or a club with colleagues on a Friday night for a few drinks. Day in and day out, except for a few trivial troubles, everything went according to plan.

On that ordinary Wednesday, when he received the distinguished guests from the Third Reich as the representative of the director, he would not have imagined that the charming man with beautiful blue eyes smiled at him in the sun and knitted a The snare from which he fell.

Ore researcher Roland, male Alpha, with deep facial features, a thin layer of stubble on his chin, and an uninhibited charm when he smiles. Ethan, who yearns for some exciting waves in his ordinary life, simply can't resist the opponent's attack.

Ethan originally thought that this time he had found the destined man, and he was ready to do his best to love that man, but in the end, when all the lies were exposed in the icy moral court, all the feelings he paid turned into sharp knives. in his own mind.

He opened his eyes with a shrill siren, and saw the filthy ceiling. Five o'clock in the morning is the time when all the non-humans in the Forbidden City get up, and the whole Forbidden City will echo this kind of sharp sound that pierces the eardrum. Ethan couldn't remember where he was in a trance, and his brain was buzzing and hurting.

"Get up secretary, otherwise you won't be able to catch up with dinner."

The sudden unfamiliar sound made Ethan wake up immediately, and suddenly sat up from the bed. With trembling hands, he put on his glasses on the low cabinet, saw Samuel holding a toothbrush cup, draped a towel over his shoulder, and went out. There was a lot of people in the corridor, yelling and screeching, and footsteps were messy. Ethan had the urge to lie down and go back to sleep, because maybe if he woke up again, it would no longer be the nightmare in front of him.

Thinking of everything he had lost, and thinking that he would spend the rest of his life here, Ethan suddenly wondered if he still needed to live with the slim hope of saving a hundred percent.

There is only one bathroom on one floor, but it needs to provide convenience for a hundred people to wash in the morning. Only ten people can enter at a time, which is naturally blocked. The crowd lined up in the narrow corridor, and all of them were men, ranging in age from young adults to about a hundred years old. There was some kind of muddy smell of sweat in the air. Ethan kept his head down and was inconspicuous in the crowd for a while. He looked up and looked around, but he didn't see any sign of Samuel.

The walls of the rudimentary bathroom were covered with black mold and yellow water stains. All the inhumans rushed into the bathroom like sheep. They washed quickly in a long line of sinks, and they had to be tidy up within a minute, even if it was a large size. It can't be more than three minutes, so that the seat can be given to the next person, otherwise the next person in line will start scolding mother. Ethan used to spend fifteen to twenty minutes tidying up the instrument, and now someone started cursing after halfway through brushing his teeth. He hurriedly rinsed the toothpaste from his mouth, and was pushed out of the bathroom again.

At 5:30, all non-humans have to rush to the nearest cafeteria to get their morning and noon rations. After that, there is nothing left. The entire dark city suddenly woke up at this point, leaving the small building where he lived, only to see a long queue on the narrow and dirty streets, all non-humans were leaving their residence, moving in a certain direction, the queue was orderly. in order. The streets are full of sleeping robot policemen, who seem harmless and even a little clumsy, but are actually equipped with high-energy laser weapons that can vaporize the human body in a few seconds. under surveillance by a red-lighted lens. Because of these killing machines, these dangerous elements judged by human society have to obey the rules, wear uniform clothes, and slowly move forward in the team, like rows of worker ants.

Ethan has been in a kind of dazed state from morning to now, not knowing what to do next, just blindly doing what everyone else is doing. This feeling made him very at a loss, and the tip of his nose was sweating with tension. He carefully looked around, and found that males and females were no longer separated outside, and it was difficult to tell Alpha, Beta or Omega at a glance. However, when you look closely, you can often find a thin Omega behind some tall and strong Alphas, and these Omegas, whether male or female, have obvious bloody bite marks on the Omega glands in their necks, and some even bleed, obviously already Marked by Alpha in front. Ethan remembered Samuel's tall back, the Omega glands in his neck that couldn't be seen at all. Once his identity is leaked, I am afraid that he will become the target of countless Alpha competition... It is hard to imagine how Samuel survived in such an environment.

Probably out of Beta's natural desire to protect Omega, he developed a certain deep sympathy for Samuel.

But then I think about it, I can't protect myself now, and I still have the time to sympathize with others...

The cafeteria is a single-story gray building that is tiled on the ground, and countless teams gather in this tombstone-like cuboid from all directions. The lobby was lined with long tables stained with oil, emitting a sour smell of food scraps. Everyone lined up to receive food at the front row of food distribution booths. Breakfast is a piece of compressed nutritious bread with condensed milk. The bread is as hard as a stone, and the milk has a rancid taste, but the nutrients and calories are enough to last for half a day. Lunch is a can of soup, which is also compressed food. Ethan turned around with his food, and saw that the non-people had automatically divided into groups, sitting down to eat in twos and threes. Obviously, most non-humans have their own circles, and even those who are too old to walk have their "senior clubs", which gather at a long table in the distance.

He was overwhelmed and wanted to find Samuel. But in the vast sea of people, there was no trace of the Omega, so I had to find a table and sit down. I tore the bread package and took a bite, and I couldn't eat it anymore. The smell of foam. A month ago, he was still eating fresh beef and vegetables, drinking wine made from real grapes, and sometimes even worrying about not knowing what to eat. But from now on, three meals a day, he can eat only these.

While complaining, the announcement in the cafeteria suddenly sounded like a bell, and a cold female voice said, "All non-humans numbered 250, 251, and 252, gather at the gate of District 1 within ten minutes."

Ethan glanced at the number printed on the left chest of his clothes, 252.

After hearing the notice, many people stood up and walked towards the exit of the cafeteria, thinking that it was all the three mentioned numbers. He saw a female Beta crying and being pulled out by another female Beta, shouting "I don't want to die!"

Another girl shouted comfortingly, "It'll be fine! Be obedient! Or we'll all die!"

"I don't want it! I don't want to die! Help!"

The girl's sharp cry also lowered the temperature in the canteen by a few degrees. People who didn't read the number seemed to be used to it and continued to eat their own breakfast.

Ethan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and the piece of bread he swallowed just now seemed to be stuck in the middle of his esophagus, making it difficult for him to breathe. He tried to stand up, but couldn't move.

What exactly do these numbers mean

At this moment, his arm hurt and was pulled up violently by a force. When he turned around, he saw Samuel's cold face.

"What... what's wrong?" Ethan asked in a panic.

Samuel shoved him towards the exit, his face heavy, "I don't know if you're lucky or unlucky, anyway, the chance of redemption has come."

"Atonement? You mean those dangerous tasks that inhumans are allowed to perform?"

"Otherwise do you think the government is so kind and keeps us human rubbish for nothing?" Samuel sneered, his tone full of sarcasm, "As long as you can survive, you will be closer to the day you go out. If you can't survive, at least you won't have to eat the shit-like food here in the future."

Ethan's nose was sweating and his mind was messy, "But... but I haven't received any training at all? What is the mission? I haven't even held a gun!"

"How do I know. Stop talking nonsense, those who don't report will be neutralized by those killing machines."

Ethan followed the other ninety or so people out of the cafeteria. Several guards with guns were waiting for them outside. After quickly counting the number of people, they packed everyone into several military vans. In the dark, Ethan huddled with strangers whose faces could not be seen, shaking with the bumps of the road. The suppressed sobbing, the low scolding, the whispered conversation, but more of the silence floated in the oppressed air.

Ethan is still in a daze. When he was in the Energy Bureau, he also heard people talk about the redemption mission in the forbidden city, which is said to be some extremely dangerous work, including mining some highly radioactive minerals, surveying volcanic activities, going to remote planets to build bases, and as vaccines or medicines. test subjects, or perform daring missions. The moral value of different scores is awarded according to the difficulty of the task. The more dangerous the moral value is, the higher the probability of death is. There are rumors that no one in the Forbidden City can survive after accumulating 100%. After he got the result of the trial, he kept thinking that in order to get out alive, he had to try his best to take jobs that were not so dangerous. After accumulating little by little, he would eventually be able to get out.

But he forgot that maybe as a non-human he couldn't choose at all.

Five minutes later, the car stopped and emerged from the dark carriage. In front of it was a high steel city wall, which was used to divide the different areas of the forbidden city. There was a harsh neigh from the huge broadcast speaker on the gatehouse, and then the same mechanical female voice in the cafeteria said: "Atonement mission code name: Qingfeng, score: 10."

Hearing the part of the score, there was an uproar in the crowd. Samuel whistled from the side, "Looks like it's going to be a chore."

Ethan asked in a low voice, "Is 10 high?"

"It's already one-tenth of a hundred. You say high or not. The last time the tenth task appeared was three months ago."

Ethan's heart began to sink.

"Mission content: Go to the red earth in the 930 star field to search for the pioneers of the Earth Alliance and Eve. Departure time: Immediately." After the female voice ended, a handsome male Beta guard said through a loudspeaker, "We need five Ten people, the old rules, are there any volunteers?"

Everyone looked at each other, and after a while, a few people who looked quite fierce stood up. Samuel hesitated for a moment, and was about to stand out, but was suddenly pulled by Ethan.

"If the score is so high, it must be very dangerous. You're going to die?" Ethan said in a low voice.

Samuel slapped his hand away and glared at him, "I still use your fresh fish to teach me? Get out." After speaking, he strode out of the team. The volunteers seemed to know each other, and they briefly greeted each other. One of the tall red-haired men put his arms around Samuel's shoulders like a good buddy.

However, there are only nine volunteers, and there are still forty-one people left. What should we do

I saw the handsome guard with black hair and black eyes holding a baton in his hand, slowly pacing past the non-people, and pointed at him, "You, get out of the queue."

The male Beta who was called had a sluggish expression, and his whole body was shaking, but he still had to step out of the queue. The guards walked by, pointing at random with their batons, and soon a dozen people left the queue, including the crying female Beta. Most of the people who were not called out had a relaxed look that had escaped the disaster. When the guard came towards Ethan, he deliberately shrank his shoulders and lowered his head, wishing he could burrow into the ground. The guard's high boots made a rattling sound as they stepped on the ground, making his heart tremble.

However, the day didn't go as expected, and the baton still poked his chest hard, "You."

Ethan's throat was dry and his legs were weak. He followed the order and stepped out, but his mind was blank.

Fifty people were quickly selected, and several guards came over and put a black collar around each one's neck. The cold touch touched the skin, and Ethan shivered. These collars can emit anything from a warning to a lethal electric current, shocking anyone who tries to escape or disobey. Once again, they were caught in a van, and after half an hour of bumping, they were pushed into a transport plane. Ethan was in a trance throughout the process, wondering if his brain was refusing to digest more information because he was too afraid of possible death.

The name Red Earth was previously heard by Ethan when he was at the Energy Administration. It was the newly discovered habitable planet at the edge of the Milky Way. Because it was discovered by astronomers of the Earth Alliance and observers of the Eve Star at the same time, it was classified as a common star by both parties. area. Both sides sent a lot of development and pioneering personnel to inspect and build bases above, and found a large number of copper mines there. There are reports in the news.

Ethan also tried to observe the beautiful red planet with a high-powered telescope, but never thought that he would go there one day.

After flying for about ten hours, they landed at a military airport, surrounded by the Gobi desert, and in the distance there were huge wrecks of the city standing in the wind and sand. This is not an ordinary airport, but a spaceship airport. On the broad and flat ground are tall and bright spaceships, most of which are graceful and smooth in the shape of a saucer, with pearl-like silver-gray flowing on the surface.

Fifty inhumans were ordered to line up behind a pair of special forces soldiers, who turned their heads and looked at them with expressions that were mixed with mockery, contempt, playfulness, or indifference. A soldier shouted sarcastically, "I'm really lucky to have to work with a group of scumbags!"

A female Beta officer reprimanded, "Shut up Jason!"

Ethan has been on a spaceship a few times, even on a special plane with the director a few times. But never in such a large military spaceship. Looking up, a person is like a fly facing such a behemoth, sailing in the dark and endless universe, it is difficult not to feel fear. A platform at the bottom of the spaceship slowly descended, and everyone stood on this platform and was sent into the belly of the spaceship.

Although it is military, the interior of the spaceship is very clean, giving a smooth and smooth feeling everywhere. They were gathered in a bridge large enough to accommodate two hundred people, and Ethan noticed that in addition to them, there were some Eves.

Eve, a race known for mystery and beauty. Like humans, they have six genders, with an average height of a few centimeters taller than humans, with pointed ears and a third eye that normally closes on the forehead, revealing only a red mark. Unlike most of the developed races in the galaxy, the Eves have very devout religious beliefs and have a consciousness that is several times greater than that of humans. Some say that they can perceive things that humans cannot, and even communicate with the universe and the energies in the universe, and thus understand many truths that are difficult for other races to understand.

Most of these Eves are soldiers similar to them, wearing straight white military uniforms. However, there is an Eve who seems to be a male Alpha. He is wearing a white silk high-necked robe embroidered with gorgeous golden patterns, and his short golden hair with a slight curl exudes a layer of light gilt, and his eyes are silver-gray. Looking a bit empty and graceful, the three-eye marks on the forehead are more obvious than ordinary people, like a cluster of flames burning between the eyebrows. There is a mysterious and noble temperament in him, which is slightly different from other soldiers.

That person is most likely the priest of Eve. Since it is a race that values faith, it is not surprising that priests are often accompanied by priests when marching to fight, and they have a high status in the army.

But that priest is really beautiful.

"Hey, my eyes are straight." Samuel next to him squeezed out a teasing sentence from the corner of his mouth, so Ethan hurriedly turned his eyes away and pushed his glasses with his hand.

The Eves have long heard that there are "inhumans" in the Earth Alliance, but this is the first time they have seen it with their own eyes.

The white-clothed priest Tanithel turned his silver-gray eyes slightly, and calmly looked at the so-called heinous inhumans. Unexpectedly, quite a few of these people don't look as tall and dangerous as imagined, and some even look thinner and timid than ordinary people on earth.

Working with Earth Alliance humans has never been a pleasant experience. This is an ancient and closed country. The whole country blindly worships their president, Abia, even though she actually only inherited her father's seat. Although she has some military achievements, she does not rely on elections at all. Her life is also very mysterious and rarely appears in public. The moral value system of the earthlings is extremely harsh and repressive, requiring that all human beings should be the same, and anyone who violates some so-called moral traditions will always have points deducted. The problem is that these moral traditions are not necessarily sound, some are just old habits, and others are absurd as a means used by a small group of people to control a large group of people. For example, if you switch jobs at work, if the reason is only that other companies give higher wages, you will be labeled as infidelity by your old employer. A few years ago, an old employer sued a former employee in an ethics court for infidelity, and successfully deducted three points from the employee's moral value. Since then, everyone has been racking their brains to find some nobler reasons when they plan to switch jobs, such as to comply with their parents' last wishes, to make it easier to take care of children away from home, so that employers have no excuse to blame themselves for infidelity.

Earth people have always been considered old-fashioned and fanatical, lacking the ability to think for themselves. And the scum among these earthlings is definitely a more barbaric existence, so everyone is not looking forward to this mission. Living on a ship for a week with such a group of people is no joy, although the non-human beings will be used as bait and temptation for dangerous live meat.

Tanissell, however, noticed the tall and handsome young man in the crowd with Hydra tattooed on his arms. His body exudes a standard Alpha aura, and his appearance is also very consistent, but he can feel the subtle temptation diffused from the man's body...

That's the smell of Omega...

An Omega disguised as an Alpha in the chaotic and filthy place of the forbidden city... seems like an interesting story.

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