[Rust Wall District, Su Mo's Ho]
At breakfast ti, Su Mo sat at the dining table eating a hot dog, feeling nauseous as he chewed.
Regarding what he found most difficult to get used to after crossing over, food definitely topped the list.
Before crossing, he ca from a country with thousands of years of culinary tradition: Dongpo Pork, Scallion Pancakes, Butter Biscuits, Ding Sheng Cake... every week was filled with diverse als.
But in New Moon City, for grassroots people like him, it's hard to taste normal food anymore.
The reason is simple, the World Governnt Territory currently occupies only 20% of the world's area, with large regions still out of control.
Limited land resources are monopolized by major capital giants for technological confrontations.
There's little land left for farming, so traditional "gourt" food has beco a luxury.
Natural crops, garden vegetables, chicken, duck, fish, and those exotic ats and wild ga are extrely expensive, affordable only to the middle class and above.
People at the bottom can only eat various factory-produced synthetic foods.
Potatoes, wheat, and rice, the staple foods for everyone, are industrial fast-growing varieties, with high yields but taste like chewing sawdust.
Vegetables and fruits are all genetically modified with ripening agents, and varieties that naturally mature in a month can be harvested in seven or eight days.
There's at, too.
But it's not animal at.
It's all plant protein-made artificial at.
It's cheap, plentiful, and filling, but the taste... let's not ntion it.
The hot dog Su Mo is eating now was bought by KK from the supermarket, a typical factory food.
Every bite is crumbly wheat bread, nauseatingly soft artificial at of the hot dog, a few slices of genetically modified lettuce, added with dozens of industrial food additives, priced at 10 Moon Coins.
Su Mo actually gave KK quite a bit of money, enough not to buy such junk food.
But KK had been too scared of being poor before, holding the money and not daring to spend it, being stingy even with als.
He didn't intentionally want Su Mo to share the suffering.
As seen from breakfast, KK bought Su Mo a hot dog, no matter the ingredients, it at least included carbohydrates, vegetables, and protein, a comprehensive nutrition that many on the outskirts scramble for.
However, KK himself only had a piece of dry bread with no filling.
He had given what he thought was the best to Su Mo.
Su Mo shook his head and put the partially-eaten hot dog on the table: "Ugh... I can't eat anymore."
KK eyed the leftover hot dog and cautiously asked, "Can I eat it?"
Su Mo replied sarcastically, "I took a bite, don't you find it dirty?"
KK grabbed the hot dog and started gnawing: "How could I think my bro is dirty~"
Su Mo smiled wryly: "We'll endure a bit longer, hard tis will end soon."
While chewing on the hot dog, KK blinked: "Hard tis? It's not hard at all; this life is much better than before!"
Su Mo secretly smiled bitterly, almost having forgotten that KK's previous life was like that of a mouse, barely surviving from one day to the next, that having three square als was like winning the lottery.
Now with a consistently full stomach, to him, this was indeed a "heavenly life."
After breakfast, Su Mo told KK: "Next, I have a very important task for you. Rember this na, Ou Chenyu."
"Ou Chenyu..." KK repeated, murmuring, "Sounds like a man's na."
Su Mo: "Exactly, you've been in the outskirts for a long ti, and should have interacted with many people, find a way to help locate this person."
Having lingered on the streets for years, KK was skilled at gathering information and imdiately agreed: "No problem. What does this person do?"
Su Mo: "He's my enemy."
KK's expression beca serious: "Is he very dangerous?"
Su Mo narrowed his eyes and said: "So things can't be explained. I can only tell you, the longer this person lives, the more likely I am to die in the future."
KK was shocked by this: "Then I'll get right on it!"
Su Mo raised his hand to indicate he shouldn't panic: "Don't pressure yourself, I'm not giving you a deadline for this. Take it easy and do it steadily. This isn't just your task, I'll also use my connections to investigate him."
KK: "Okay, got it... any other clues? Appearance, social identity, anything."
Su Mo thought for a mont and said: "His na is Ou Chenyu, male, height 1.88 ters, weight 96 kilograms, has gray eyes."
"His identity is currently undetermined, possibly a thug on the outskirts, mingling at the bottom of the 'Ashen Gang.'
"Possibly a rcenary Corps Leader, managing a corps called 'Tooth Tiger.'
"Could also be an office worker at the Hegemony Company, security personnel at the Iron Blood Alliance, a technician at the Black Domain Group... or potentially even a penniless drifter."
KK couldn't help but frown, the identity range was too wide, with no pattern or logic.
He thought for a mont and said: "Anyway, I'll do my best to investigate."
Su Mo: "Okay, share clues as they co up."
This "Ou Chenyu" was none other than the official protagonist of the ga "Peak of Dawn."
The ga "Peak of Dawn" has high freedom, allowing players to significantly influence the storyline's progression.
They can manipulate the protagonist to overthrow the oppression of capital giants and create a new world.
They can also collude with human elites and jointly trample the grassroots people.
But no matter how players play, the ga has a main storyline and corresponding underlying logic.
To complete the ga, the protagonist must collect seven items, one of which is the "Ancestral Blood Code."
In the original plotline, at a certain point, Ou Chenyu starts desperately collecting them.
And Su Mo, as the BOSS "Dr. Chen" carrying the Ancestral Blood Code, ans he and Ou Chenyu are irreconcilable enemies.
Either Ou Chenyu kills Su Mo, takes the Ancestral Blood Code, and continues his "protagonist" journey.
Or Su Mo steps over Ou Chenyu's body and ascends to the Peak of Dawn.
Perhaps there are other co-existence options, but Su Mo doesn't want to gamble, nor dare to.
Because it exceeds what he can control, and the longer he delays, the stronger Ou Chenyu becos, while he will continuously lose initiative.
In the "Peak of Dawn" ga, Ou Chenyu is a BUG-like existence, possessing countless rare talents, becoming unstoppable in the later stages.
Although he has erased the identity of "Dr. Chen" now, Ou Chenyu can sense the Ancestral Blood Code through specific protagonist abilities in later stages, and what then?
Do you have a plan for co-existence, does he intend to coexist with you?
Betting on this is gambling with your life.
Su Mo doesn't want to gamble with his life; he just wants to be safe.
Therefore, for him, the safest approach is to eliminate Ou Chenyu as soon as possible before he grows strong.
And the current priority is to lock down information on Ou Chenyu.
The "Peak of Dawn" ga offers a rich variety of opening choices, allowing players to freely choose Ou Chenyu's "origin," "initial abilities," "initial equipnt."
This also leads to Su Mo's current inability to lock down Ou Chenyu's identity, resulting in the many possibilities he discussed with KK.
Depending on the "start" Ou Chenyu has, Su Mo will face different situations.
If Ou Chenyu starts as a "street beggar" with "mortal body" and "having nothing," a hell difficulty playstyle exclusive to insiders, with nothing but a makeshift cover and a bowl, Su Mo would be overjoyed in his dreams.
This version of Ou Chenyu would be a piece of cake to shoot down, simpler than killing a chicken.
But if it's so powerful start combination, the situation would beco very problematic.
So start combinations of Ou Chenyu would even completely surpass Su Mo in social status, personal combat, and gear tier.
Therefore, it's crucial to determine Ou Chenyu's "start" to plan on dealing with him.
Su Mo glanced at the calendar, it's August 12th, with a month left until the "start."
The ti seems long, but it's already running out...
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