Chapter 24: Entering the City

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About half an hour of climbing later, the carriage finally left the treacherous mountain road.

The wheels rolled onto a wide avenue paved with stones, a road that would lead everyone to the front of Zion City.

It's worth noting that

black lamp posts stood at equal intervals along both sides of the road, not kerosene lamps, but "electric lights."

"There are actually electric lights here?"

Since arriving in this world, Yi Chen had been curious about the era he was in.

The cabin among the graveyards had an old-fashioned telephone, only capable of contacting the Manager, and then there were no other electrical appliances... This led Yi Chen to speculate that this world was in a period not long after the Second Industrial Revolution.

But as he left the graveyard,

he saw no electrical equipment in the outside world,

and people were using kerosene lamps and candles for light.

Even the vehicles sent by the Organization were horse-drawn carriages, not motor-driven cars.

This made Yi Chen even more puzzled,

as now on the road to Zion City, once again, there was infrastructure related to "electricity," and he was somewhat unclear about what was going on.

"Could it be that due to Pathological reasons, certain backward regions couldn't keep up with development and remained in the pre-industrial revolution era? But that doesn't make sense either; if that were the case, phones shouldn't be appearing in graveyards.

Could the phone have been brought over by the Manager from the Organization?"

"Grey Zone."

Little Grape suddenly interjected into Yi Chen's thoughts, giving a keyword.

"What do you mean?"

"According to the memories merged in my head,

the humans here once entered a period of the 'Electrical Age,' where highly efficient and convenient electrical power replaced steam power... However, under the influence of Pathological effects, electricity wasn't able to develop fully before it was 'segmented and restricted.'

Since the Grey Zone spreads all over the world, constantly expanding and propagating.

Any material in the Gray Domain will be affected, including "electricity."

When wires pass through Grey Zone areas, the electric current flowing in them is affected and becomes a medium for pathology.

The light bulbs lit by electricity will affect an individual's skin through light radiation,

phones affected by it will emit strange static and whispers from the receiver, gradually affecting a person's thoughts.

Even televisions may display bizarre and unclear images, spreading pathology through Vision.

Because of this,

the development of electricity was completely suppressed, and human technology was forcibly reverted to the steam age,

however, in some relatively safe large cities, such as Zion City you are about to reach, there are necessarily power plants inside, maintaining the supply of electricity within the city, maintaining the development of related technology.

That's probably the case."

"Electric current can be affected by pathology? What exactly is this 'Disease,' and what is its Origin?"

"My memories are incomplete, I cannot answer that question... and besides, even amongst your humans, I fear no one can answer. In the future, you should be able to slowly learn through exploration and Seeking Knowledge."

As Yi Chen's confusion grew and he wanted to continue the conversation with Little Grape,

the carriage came to a stop,

and Edmund's voice came:

"Mr. William, don't doze off~ We've arrived at Zion City.

Next is the very important assessment and award ceremony, which relates to whether we can formally join the Organization and the subsequent treatment issues."

"Alright."

Stepping down from the carriage, there was no city gate as expected,

but two black, towering towers with Gothic spires stood before him, their surfaces etched with vertical ribbing.

Between the towers, there was a narrow, constricted and dark passageway,

the sole road leading into the city,

while endless black walls spread out on both sides of the towers, dominated by spires and vertical structures.

Spaced evenly atop the wall were sculptures resembling gargoyles, adding another layer of gloom to what were already dark facade structures.

It looked less like the outer walls of a city and more like a Gothic-style fortress wall with military traits.

"William, come on!

We still need to pass through this gate for isolation, detection, and purification before we can officially enter the inner parts of Zion City."

"Hmm."

The total number of Assessors sent here was nineteen.

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Everyone entered the narrow passage to the tower in a relatively orderly manner,

Within the passage, a cylindrical dome and ribbed frameworks were used, with classical wall lamps on the surfaces of the columns on both sides.

It wasn't far.

A gentleman, holding a walking cane with a crooked handle and wearing a white mask, blocked their path.

A secret passage appeared in the walls on either side of him.

A mature and deep voice came from beneath the mask,

"I am very pleased that so many newcomers have passed this fairly difficult assessment.

However, before you set foot in Zion, a thorough physical disinfection must be performed.

Gentlemen to the right,

Ladies to the left,

Upon reaching the 'Disinfection Room', please remove all your clothes in a short amount of time.

If, after the disinfection is completed, pathological substances still remain on your bodies beyond the set standards, or if you exhibit symptoms of infection, you will be directly eliminated."

Yi Chen followed at the end of the men's queue, arriving at an enclosed space.

Blond Edmund was the first to strip bare.

As Yi Chen removed his clothes, he unexpectedly discovered that the body of William Behrens wasn't too bad,

Although slightly lean,

The outline of abs was faintly visible, and the body fat percentage was within the normal range.

About half a minute passed,

Pipeline sprays extended from the walls around them, even from below and above.

An extremely pungent, pale yellow liquid shot out at high pressure,

Washing over everyone's bodies, some of the seriously injured assessors were even sprayed until they tumbled several times.

Yi Chen tried to stabilize his body as best he could.

"Chlorine? Seems to be mixed with something else..."

When the flushing ended,

A strange sense of scrutiny rapidly swept over everyone's body, as if searching for something.

Hum! There was a slight vibration in the air, and a young man sitting against the wall simply vanished.

"Vanished directly? What kind of method is this?"

Yi Chen was quite astonished, as he was maintaining a state of Spiritual Concentration... yet he had seen nothing just now.

Everyone put their clothes back on, returning to the previous corridor of the passage.

After the disinfection process, the number of people had decreased to 17.

They continued to follow the gentleman with the white mask, heading towards the exit of the passage.

As they stepped out of the passage,

The morning sunlight instantly bathed everyone, simultaneously presenting a unique city filled with Gothic Revival aura that transcended conventional architectural styles.

Zion City

Intersecting levels, multi-layered structures, and streets connected by arch bridges.

Diverse trails winding and undulating through the districts,

And the churches, guild buildings, noble mansions, etc., constructed in midair using columns, spiral staircases, or large steps, through special architectural methods.

In some aspects of architecture, it had surpassed the world Yi Chen had known in his former life.

The guiding gentleman placed his top hat over his chest and bowed slightly to everyone,

"Welcome to the headquarters of G&D, the sanctuary of this world - Zion.

I am your temporary guide, Jeff Peterson.

Please continue to follow me to the Divine Skin Mansion, where based on your performance in the assessment, you will receive different levels of the 'Gentleman's Skin' reward.

Please do not leave the group to go elsewhere during the journey, or it will be considered a voluntary forfeiture of the 'gift of Skin'."

Upon hearing this special term,

Blond Edmund and most of the assessors showed eager eyes, becoming excited... as if all the dangers they had experienced along the way had been worth it.

While Yi Chen's face remained expressionless,

His heart began to churn with excitement, eager to see what kind of return his 'big gamble' would bring.