76: Exchange of Life

After all, no matter how terrifying the individual strength of an Acquired expert, human power has its limits.

Under the encirclement of tens of thousands of Yao Beasts, can an Acquired expert kill a hundred Yao Beasts? Or two hundred Yao Beasts?

When their stamina is exhausted, the final outcome is obvious.

Because of this, every city is divided into an Inner City and an Outer City.

The Outer City, to put it plainly, is a firewall used to block the invasion of beast tides.

Even if the Outer City is breached, those Yao Beasts, after devouring a large number of Outer City residents, will be full and naturally won't attack the Inner City again.

This is also why countless people desperately want to enter the Inner City.

A beast tide is a disaster.

“There are already signs of Yao Beasts gathering?”

Shen Xi murmured to himself.

Soon, he realized he had said something foolish.

If it weren't for detecting the gathering of Yao Beasts, how would the higher-ups of Twenty-eighth City have concluded that a beast tide was about to erupt?

“Kid, for the sake of these copper coins, I'm kindly warning you to leave Twenty-eighth City immediately.”

“You should be very clear that, according to past practice, those experts will resist during the Early Stage of the beast tide, but once they see the situation is unfavorable, they will abandon the Outer City and hide in the Inner City, leaving only the Outer City residents to become food for the Yao Beasts.”

The guard warned.

This has been the custom since ancient times.

If the scale of the beast tide is not large and the city can resist, then the experts of the Inner City will take action.

But once they discover that the scale of the beast tide is so large that it might threaten their lives, those experts will not care about the lives of the Outer City residents.

They will not sacrifice their lives for these commoners.

In the end, those who truly resist the beast tide will definitely not be the high-ranking officials who are well-fed and high above, but rather low-level Martial Artists like this guard.

“Where can I go? This is my home!”

Shen Xi shook his head, refusing the guard's suggestion.

He grew up in Twenty-eighth City and felt a sense of belonging to this city.

What's more, his family still lives here, and who can guarantee that his family will be safe during the beast tide?

Thinking of this, Shen Xi thanked the guard and hurried home.

The beast tide was about to erupt, and he needed to settle his family.

Shen Xi expertly arrived at the slum.

His family was not wealthy, and he had grown up in the slum since childhood.

As soon as he reached his doorstep, he heard his parents' sighs from inside the room.

“Alas, I don't know where Xiao Xi went to work; he's been gone for over a month.”

Mother Shen sighed, her voice filled with longing.

“This brat, he doesn't even send a message back, but it's good that he went to work; at least he can avoid this beast tide.”

Father Shen consoled himself.

However, it was clear from his tone that he, too, was missing Shen Xi.

After all, Shen Xi had been away from home for over a month.

With no news for over a month, as parents, they would naturally miss him.

“Dad, Mom, I'm back!”

Shen Xi excitedly pushed open the door, looking at his parents, who were over fifty, and was filled with emotion.

This was the first time he had been away from home for so long.

Furthermore, when he left home, he only had two months of life left, and he had thought that departure would be a permanent farewell. Now that he could return alive, his mood was naturally indescribable.

“Xiao, Xiao Xi? Is it really you?”

Mother Shen rubbed her eyes in disbelief, and after confirming she wasn't mistaken, she hugged Shen Xi tightly.

“You brat, you finally came back.”

Father Shen chuckled and cursed, then said with a serious expression, “Why are you back now? Don't you know the beast tide is about to erupt? Leave Twenty-eighth City immediately!”

Mother Shen also reacted and pushed Shen Xi away, “Your dad is right, leave Twenty-eighth City immediately, or it will be too late.”

Facing a beast tide, different families have different methods.

Those with money and power naturally hide in the Inner City; with the Outer City as a firewall, they are generally unaffected.

As for families like Shen Xi's, they can only let their children leave and hide far away.

Of course, doing so is not without cost.

After all, the Outer City is the firewall for the Inner City; if everyone ran away, wouldn't this firewall be meaningless?

To prevent this from happening, before every beast tide erupts, the city will be under martial law; to be precise, it's a 'no exit' policy.

And if you want to leave, it's also very simple: it's a 'one for one' exchange. If one person from the family signs up to be a member of the vanguard team to resist the beast tide, one person can leave Twenty-eighth City.

But you must know that resisting a beast tide, even an Acquired expert might not survive, let alone ordinary people. This is exchanging lives, sacrificing one's life for one's children to survive.

Shen Xi's nose tingled, and he understood his parents' meaning.

They planned to exchange their lives for his safe survival.

“No, I'm not leaving.”

Shen Xi shook his head, flatly refusing his parents' suggestion.

He couldn't possibly let his parents join the vanguard team.

“Foolish child, listen to us. Your mother and I have lived for over fifty years; we've experienced what we needed to. You are still young, there's no need to wait for death with us.”

“Besides, the scale of this beast tide might not be large, and those experts might be able to stop it. Mom and Dad will be fine.”

Mother Shen quickly persuaded him.

But Shen Xi knew this was just an excuse.

Beast tides occur once every hundred years, but once they erupt, they cause countless deaths and injuries.

Indeed, there will be smaller-scale beast tides, but even the smallest beast tide will still cause a large number of casualties.

After all, let alone Acquired experts, even Innate experts, how many areas can they protect?

A beast tide appears from all directions; if even one gap appears, it's a catastrophe.

Otherwise, why would there be a need to distinguish between the Inner City and the Outer City?

“Mom and Dad, this time, you listen to me. We're going to the Inner City.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Father Shen frowned and scolded, “Foolish! It's difficult for Outer City residents to enter the Inner City on normal days, let alone at a time like this. The Inner City will absolutely not let us in.”

There is a wall separating the Outer City and the Inner City.

Outer City residents who want to enter the Inner City also have to pay an entry fee.

On normal days, it's ten thousand copper coins per person, allowing them to stay for only one day, and they would be expelled from the Inner City once the time was up.

During a crisis like a beast tide, the Inner City is under lockdown, and Outer City residents cannot enter.

In this world, it is that cruel.

Those nobles who control vast wealth and resources are high above, enjoying all the benefits of the world, and even when danger strikes, there are always the bottom layer (bottom-dwelling) ants to bear the brunt.