Shackles of Humanity

”You... you killed them!” The young woman stared at the two men lying motionless on the ground, too terrified to approach.

”No, they just passed out. Come on, I’ll take you back,” Luo Kai said with a sigh. ’Maybe it’s because I was on Prisoner Island for so long.’ His methods were ruthless; when he chose to strike, he made sure his opponent was completely incapacitated.

The young woman hesitated before shuffling back to the cart. For the rest of the ride, she kept sneaking glances at Luo Kai’s profile. She suddenly realized this tall, thin driver was actually quite handsome. He had a chiseled, striking face. Though his clothes were shabby, he possessed a unique aura, especially his eyes, which were as deep as an abyss. When he blinked, it was as if stars swirled within their depths.

As if sensing her gaze, he turned and gave a faint smile. His eyes, glittering with specks of starlight, seemed to expand like a star system. They brought four words to her mind: ”as brilliant as the stars.” She couldn’t help but marvel inwardly, ’How can anyone have such beautiful eyes!’

Gradually, the view opened up and the roads grew more orderly. They had arrived in the East District. Guard posts lined the sides of the road in increasing numbers, and random inspections of pedestrians became more frequent. This was the most important heavy industrial base in Longyang County, densely packed with large machinery manufacturing plants.

No matter how civilizations rise and fall, the gap between rich and poor is a constant. If one were to divide the city by class, Luo Kai’s Southwest District was home to the lowest rung of laborers. The East District housed mostly the middle class. The remaining North District was where the County Affairs Bureau was located. The City Lord of Longyang County himself resided there, and it was primarily inhabited by the aristocracy.

The Puming Iron Plant occupied over a thousand mu of land. Several enormous boilers stood out, their tall smokestacks spewing black smoke. The air quality was abysmal. ’In my past life,’ he thought, ’a factory this polluting would never have been allowed within city limits.’ But now, nobody cared about that. The human nations of this world poured most of their productive capacity into their militaries—on one hand, to seize resources, and on the other, to counter the threats from Fierce Beasts and other humanoid civilizations.

Luo Kai gazed at the blast furnaces, his mind turning to mechanical engineering. He had studied the humanities in his previous life, so his knowledge in this field was limited. Still, he understood the general principles of dynamics. ’I wonder if any of that will be useful in this world,’ he mused.

”Look!” the young woman behind him suddenly shouted, pointing at the sky.

Luo Kai turned to look. Hovering amongst the clouds in the distance was a colossal steam-powered airship. It looked rather dilapidated; its bloated hull was covered in patched-up canvas, and he could vaguely make out the muzzles of numerous cannons poking from openings beneath it. ’In my past life, no one would have dared fly in something like this,’ he thought. Now, however, it was the primary means of projecting military power.

The young woman said wistfully, ”What a beautiful airship. I wonder if you can touch the clouds from up there.”

”Clouds are made of water vapor. Of course you can’t touch them.”

The young woman rolled her eyes in exasperation. ”I know that! It was just a figure of speech.”

Luo Kai chuckled, but then his gaze suddenly sharpened. Numerous small black dots had appeared beneath the airship. Pushing his eyesight to its limit, he saw that the dots were actually people. They wore enormous, peculiar wings and were soaring on the wind.

”How can people be flying?”

The young woman squinted and saw them too. A look of sudden understanding dawned on her face. ”It’s the Winged People battalion!”

”Winged People?” Luo Kai asked, looking back at her in confusion.

The young woman explained in a hushed voice, ”Mhm. I heard there’s a battalion of Winged People stationed in our city. They’re all elites from the Physical Martial Arts Academy. Once they equip their Flying Feathers, they can fly!”

Luo Kai was filled with awe and envy. ’To fly above the Nine Celestial Realms... what would that feel like!’ He had originally thought this world’s civilization was quite backward, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case. In his past life, a world of explosive technological growth, some extreme athletes could glide using certain tools. But flying and gliding were two entirely different concepts—one passive, the other active.

’Although this world’s mechanical civilization is in decline, its biological sciences have advanced by leaps and bounds. These Winged People must have practiced some kind of Light Body Skill, then used Genetic Potions to reduce their bone and muscle density, and finally equipped those wings to achieve flight.’

The young woman sighed. ”Don’t stare. I hear you have to be trained from childhood to become one of the Winged People. There’s no hope for people like us in this life.”

They had reached the main gate of the iron plant. Luo Kai watched her struggle to get off the cart, laden with bags big and small. ”Want me to help you carry those in?” he offered.

The young woman smiled. ”No, it’s okay. The plant doesn’t allow outsiders inside. Thanks for everything today!”

”Don’t mention it.”

Luo Kai hesitated for a moment, but couldn’t resist asking, ”Can you tell me your name?”

The young woman glanced back at him, her voice clear and melodious. ”My name is Lu Qing.”

As he watched Lu Qing’s slender figure recede into the distance, a sudden sense of melancholy and loss washed over him. ’Am I falling in love?’ He quickly shook his head. ’No, I’m probably just too lonely.’

He was about to leave when he suddenly smacked himself on the forehead. He’d forgotten to ask for the fare!

Lu Qing had already vanished from sight. Annoyed, he rummaged through his pockets. He only had a little over two hundred left, and he needed to set aside one hundred for rent. If he didn’t start earning more money soon, even affording food would become a problem.

...

The north wind howled. It was already December. To make a living, Luo Kai had no choice but to head to the orbital station, where foot traffic was heaviest, to find fares. The orbital station was essentially a train station, a hub connecting the major railway arteries of the surrounding County Mansions. The flow of people was immense, and so was the number of rickshaw drivers.

Wherever you find people, you’ll find power struggles, and the rickshaw business was no exception. A massive gang of drivers controlled the station year-round. Any outside driver who wanted to pick up fares there had to pay an exorbitant protection fee. While Luo Kai wasn’t afraid, he didn’t want to stir up trouble. This was a city, not some remote fishing village. If he hurt someone here, he’d likely end up on the Security Department’s wanted list. His only option was to solicit fares from a distance, far from the station’s entrance.

The Xingma Kingdom was administered by Eight Departments and one Mansion. Of the Eight Departments, the Criminal Inspection Department and the Security Department were responsible for maintaining public order. Nearly every city block had a patrol team from the Security Department, making security exceptionally tight. Of course, corruption was also rampant. The local bosses of every trade and industry in the city had ties to the Security Department. The rickshaw business might seem humble, but its profits were actually sky-high. Rumor had it that the kingpin of the entire trade was a captain in the Security Department.

Ever since that night he went on a rampage in the fishing village, Luo Kai had felt drained. Besides being constantly drowsy, he felt inexplicably powerless no matter what he did, as if many of his body’s cells had fallen into a dormant state and refused to obey his commands. This was most likely a side effect of the Qi and Blood Surge. A person’s strength was finite, after all. A Superman with infinite power only existed in comic books.

After Old Huang’s injuries healed, its appearance had completely changed. Its entire body was now covered in fine, black scales, and strange webbing had grown between its digits, turning it into a monster. Luo Kai didn’t dare bring it into a human city. He had built it a small shelter on Wanghai Cliff, promised to return for it once he finished his business, and then came to Longyang County alone.

The mutated Old Huang had become much more intelligent. Though clearly reluctant to be left behind, it didn’t cling to him. Besides, its fishing skills had become even more formidable. It could survive just fine on its own, even without human help.