Chapter 81 Live-Fed Farm - Mere Survival

Although the actions of others had nothing to do with her, when people see something strange, curiosity is an instinct.

"Stop! Move again and I'll shoot!"

The few people froze stiffly upon hearing this.

"You've already awakened. The commotion here is too great. It won't be long before the Guard Team arrives. Even if you want to lay low, is this really the place?" Bai Xiao questioned.

"We don't know what awakening is. Whoever comes has nothing to do with us," the few people hurriedly explained, terrified.

Seeing they were unwilling to admit it, Bai Xiao didn't want to force them or waste more time. It was simply human nature. Like seeing a traffic cop ahead checking if electric bike riders are wearing helmets. If you spot it in advance and choose to turn around, on your way back, you might see someone not wearing a helmet foolishly riding toward the checkpoint. Even if you're strangers, you'd still warn them that there's a helmet check ahead.

Before leaving, she only said one thing: "An Awakened's blood undergoes changes; it cannot be hidden. Take care of yourselves."

As soon as her words fell, the few who still refused to admit they had awakened immediately panicked and said anxiously, "How is that possible? We weren't discovered during the last two blood draws."

Hearing this, Bai Xiao frowned slightly. Could it be that the machines used to draw blood from the Blue-Bloods weren't the ones that directly extract substances from the blood? Were they just for drawing blood?

But regardless, the information exhibition in Zone A was clearly for external client introductions; it couldn't be lying. The only explanation was that the blood was drawn first, and extraction was probably done centrally later.

Even if these people hadn't been discovered, it was likely temporary. Once discovered, tracing the blood bag numbers would quickly pinpoint them. Staying here was no different from being a turtle in a jar. This was also why she hadn't quite believed these people chose to lay low here earlier.

Seeing Bai Xiao remain silent for so long, the few grew increasingly confident. They could tell the person before them wasn't genuine Security Personnel, but they didn't care about her identity. They just wanted to be ostriches burying their heads in the sand, so they answered their own question: "We really don't understand if those people have gone mad. What's so bad here? Good food, good drink. What's the point of escaping? To go back to the real world and starve again?!"

Bai Xiao gave the few a deep look, forcibly swallowing the words that had already reached her throat. The door closed once again before her, and simultaneously, she turned and left.

Some people could so readily choose self-deception, choose to survive in disgrace. The complexity of human nature taught her another lesson. For the first time, she personally understood what it meant to respect others' fate.

This sudden, dangerous game was not only honing personal abilities; people's spirits and personalities were also being forged—but in the direction of becoming colder, more ruthless, and more profit-driven.

She had never pondered this question in detail, but just now, she knew deep down she resisted it. She didn't want to be forged by the game into a ruthless weapon. This was also why she was sometimes willing to help others once—it was her subconscious resistance against being remolded.

Ultimately, this was inseparable from one's life experiences. Growing up, she indeed lacked a complete family and faced many cold looks and mockeries as a child. But she didn't lack love. She was well-provided for, and anything she wanted to do received her grandmother's support and encouragement. She simply didn't enjoy excessive interaction with people; she wasn't cold-hearted, resentful, or bitter about injustice. She didn't even harbor hatred toward her parents—she just didn't want contact.

Every instance of the game, because it involved life and death, even with unclear rules, the environmentUnconsciously always pressured people into unconsciously wanting to compete. The game's mechanics, the details of missions—almost all had to be learned through bloodshed. It seemed only the fiercest could survive to the end.

But she truly refused to become a machine manipulated by the game. Never before had she seen her own inner desires so clearly. She wanted the right to choose freely, as her heart desired.

She reminded herself: since the game was unavoidable, treat it as a whetstone to sharpen her strength. Since death couldn't be stopped, she must guard the beliefs and pride she recognized even more fiercely.

A person's sudden enlightenment happens in an instant, often needing only a catalyst.

It seemed she had pondered much, but this feeling of sudden clarity lasted only a few breaths. Bai Xiao didn't linger in it further—first, it wasn't necessary; second, considerable commotion was also coming from other buildings.

More and more Blue-Bloods were awakening. Not just in Zone D; Bai Xiao sensed many sounds coming from the distance too. The park, silent at night, seemed to come alive in an instant. Fighting sounds were everywhere, chaotic as if from another world.

The Administrators of Zones D and F couldn't withstand the onslaught of such a large-scale Blue-Blood awakening. They were soon drowned in the sea of people by shouts and killing.

The park's Guard Team, Patrol Team, and Security Personnel from other zones also reacted as if facing a formidable enemy, pouring out from various areas.

Two groups: one large, a dark mass numbering at least three to four thousand; the other small, only a thousand or so, but each holding sophisticated weapons.

In some places, the Blue-Bloods, numerous and unafraid of death, used human wave tactics to seize weapons, turning defeat into victory. In others, where Blue-Bloods were fewer, they were beaten helpless by Electric Bullet Guns and quickly suppressed.

But this awakening's scale was larger than yesterday's. Since the park's establishment decades ago, such an event had never occurred. Peace breeds complacency and underestimation. The anti-uprising mechanisms established when the park was first built had long existed in name only over the years. Moreover, for profit, the scale of raising Blue-Bloods had long exceeded the upper limit set when the park was founded.

For a time, races of different blood colors within this vast park entered a mode of bloody slaughter.

Seeing the park in complete chaos, Bai Xiao knew the transportation of processed Blue-Bloods to Bone Burial Island was likely impossible now too.

But perhaps this was for the best. With the park in chaos, there were no longer Patrol Teams and Guard Teams operating day and night on routine patrols. The rule forbidding unauthorized cross-zone movement was also unenforced. She could take advantage of the chaos to search for the exit.

Bai Xiao thought the exit was most likely near Zone B or Zone C. One housed guests from outside, the other was the warehouse for Blue-Blood extract—both required transport to the outside world.

Zone D was closest to Zone C. Bai Xiao chose to search behind Zone C first. She ran past Zone C, heading backward.

Along the way, if she encountered many park employees, she would hide temporarily. If few, she eliminated them directly. Seeing Blue-Bloods and park employees in armed clashes, if she could opportunistically take potshots to help the Blue-Bloods, she would stop and fire a few cold shots, then run far away once discovered.

Running intermittently like this, always in one direction, the further back she ran, the fewer people she encountered, and the more pronounced the salty, damp sea breeze became.

After running for about half an hour, Bai Xiao hadn't seen a human figure for several minutes. The orderly interior scenery of the park had long vanished.

Bai Xiao couldn't help but stop, looking around. Unnoticed, she had arrived at a place where thin fog obscured the view in every direction. The ground was piled with wild grass, seemingly untouched by humans.

She seemed to be lost.