3: Section 3

"As long as you go out, what was originally a small problem will turn into a big one!

You'll be in for more than you can handle!

This is the way the Light and Shadow Society operates."

But Jing Yuan couldn't care less about that right now; his priority was to complete his check-in!

Once he activated his talent, he would deal with those people from the Light and Shadow Society one by one.

Jing Yuan tiptoed down the corridor, but just as he turned a corner, a Law Enforcer spotted him.

"Halt!"

The Law Enforcer swung an iron whip toward him.

Jing Yuan dodged to the side, snatched the iron whip, and knocked the man unconscious with a single blow.

In terms of combat strength, these guys from the Law Enforcement Office couldn't take a hit.

After walking just a few more steps, he encountered another Law Enforcer.

This time, the Law Enforcer didn't notice him, so he rushed behind him and choked him into unconsciousness.

Then, Jing Yuan took off the Law Enforcer's robe, put it on himself, and swaggered out of the Law Enforcement Office.

Escaping the Law Enforcement Office wasn't hard; the difficulty lay in how he would survive the next two days.

Once those two Law Enforcers woke up, they would surely start a manhunt immediately. The Lighthouse was only so big; it wouldn't take long for him to be caught.

Under the cover of night, Jing Yuan went to the cafeteria, sneaked into the kitchen, and stole some bread and water!

Then, he ran across the Outer Ring to the Central Axis Area, following the external pipes for a long time until he reached the entrance of a ventilation duct.

Hiding in the ventilation duct should allow him to hold out for two or three days.

After eating a piece of bread and drinking a bottle of water, Jing Yuan started Running again before he even had a chance to rest.

He had already run at least half the required distance while escaping.

Jing Yuan ran back and forth through the 100-meter-long ventilation duct fifty times, and today's training task was complete.

With a thought from Jing Yuan, subtitles appeared before his eyes.

[Push-ups (100/100)]

[Sit-ups (100/100)]

[Squats (100/100)]

[Running (10km/10km)]

[Duration (1078 days/1080 days)]

Looking at the subtitles, Jing Yuan thought: Please, let there be no more complications.

Afterward, Jing Yuan fell asleep in the duct. By the time he woke up, it was already the next day.

It wasn't dawn yet, but Jing Yuan pulled himself together and continued Running back and forth in the duct.

In the past, the first thing Jing Yuan did upon waking up every morning was go for a run, fearing that something during the day might delay his training.

Having finished the training task for the 1079th day, Jing Yuan wished he could just finish the rest in one go.

After three years of training, he could complete the task even if the workload were tripled.

Unfortunately, the system's mechanics didn't allow it.

Jing Yuan could only wait quietly for the final day to arrive.

At the entrance of the ventilation duct, Jing Yuan sat resting, watching the horizon brighten as the Lighthouse began another day of life.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached, startling Jing Yuan into immediately finding a place to hide.

Chapter 3: Hiding Everywhere

Judging by the footsteps, it didn't sound like just one person. There were also sounds of playful laughter.

Jing Yuan, hiding in a corner, poked his head out to look.

There were three people in total: two men and one woman.

Judging by their clothes, they were likely Dust Citizens.

"4068, how did you find this place?"

"I found it last time while doing perimeter cleaning work. Basically, no one comes here."

"By the way, what was the surprise you mentioned?"

"Look at this!"

One of the young men with yellow hair pulled out a jar and a bag of compressed biscuits from his jacket.

"Wow! What's this?"

"Good stuff from the Upper Citizens."

"Where did you get it?"

"An Upper Citizen gave it to me."

Seeing this, Jing Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and sat back in the corner.

These three would probably leave after they finished eating, so it wouldn't affect anything.

Dust Citizens were not allowed to eat Upper Citizen food.

A few Upper Citizens, out of sympathy, would give discarded food to the Dust Citizens who worked for them, but even then, the Dust Citizens could only eat it in secret.

Jing Yuan ignored them and closed his eyes to rest in the corner.

However, one of the young men with a buzz cut seemed to notice something unusual and walked straight toward the depths of the duct.

Jing Yuan had been careless; by the time the young man approached, he had nowhere to go.

Whether he ran or not, he would be seen.

Of course, there was nothing to fear from a Dust Citizen.

But if he were seen and they told the City Defense Force, the ventilation duct would no longer be a safe hiding spot.

After thinking for a moment, Jing Yuan stepped out directly.

He looked at the buzz-cut youth and scolded sharply, "What are you doing here?"

The Lighthouse was divided into Upper Citizens and Dust Citizens, and the Dust Citizens had been domesticated. If Jing Yuan ran, they would inevitably become suspicious; appearing as an Upper Citizen to reprimand them would instead intimidate them.

Sure enough, when the buzz-cut youth saw Jing Yuan step out and caught a glimpse of his blue ID tag, he immediately withered.

The two people behind him also hurriedly hid their things when they saw someone approaching.

Jing Yuan pushed past the buzz-cut youth, walked over, and took the hidden items from the yellow-haired youth's jacket.

"Wine? Biscuits?" Jing Yuan glanced at them and said, "This is Upper Citizen food! Where did you steal it from?"

"No, no, no!" the yellow-haired youth hurriedly explained, "I didn't steal it! An Upper Citizen gave it to me! I helped him clean..."

Jing Yuan glanced at the Dust Citizen girl nearby; although she was a Dust Citizen, she was quite good-looking.

Jing Yuan felt hostility from behind; he turned around and saw the buzz-cut youth staring at him with a sinister gaze.

But when his eyes met Jing Yuan's, he quickly resumed a panicked expression.

Jing Yuan only wanted to scare them, so he handed the wine and biscuits back to the yellow-haired youth and said, "Eat quickly! Leave as soon as you're done! The ventilation ducts are undergoing maintenance lately, so don't come here if you don't have to."

Seeing that Jing Yuan had no intention of making things difficult, the two said happily, "Thank you!"

The girl waved to the buzz-cut youth inside. "4068, come here quickly! Let's eat and leave!"

Only then did Jing Yuan clearly hear the Dust Citizen's designation.

4068! It's him!

Jing Yuan felt another headache coming on.

If it were an ordinary Dust Citizen, they would likely be intimidated by Jing Yuan.

But 4068 was a troublemaker; it might not be the same for him!

If Charles was a venomous snake that would bite anyone he caught,

then 4068 was a stupid dog who couldn't tell good from bad and would bite anyone who made him unhappy.

Jing Yuan thought to himself: Did I speak too harshly just now?

Jing Yuan looked back at 4068 and said in as steady a voice as possible, "Leave immediately after eating. Don't interfere with our duct maintenance."

With that, he walked deeper into the duct.

At this moment, Jing Yuan could only hope that 4068 wouldn't blabber. After all, he couldn't just kill a Dust Citizen over such a small matter!

After Jing Yuan left, the girl, 4277, looked at the dazed 4068. "4068, what are you looking at? Come and eat, then let's get out of here!"

4068 muttered to himself, "That guy doesn't look like a maintenance worker. The robe he's wearing looks like it's from the Law Enforcement Office."

"Who cares who he is? Let's just finish eating and leave."