There were countless children like Red in the entire Downtown. Just by looking at their faces, one could roughly guess that they were probably born in Tunnel No. 32.
There were a large number of red ores in that tunnel. These ores were one of the cheapest in the entire Downtown. They were easy to mine and had few uses. The only use was that they could be eaten temporarily.
The so-called temporary consumption simply meant that one would not die immediately after eating them. After all, things like ores could not be digested at all once they entered the stomach. They could even twist the intestines.
However, red ores would not. They would melt into powder as soon as they came into contact with gastric juices. They would accumulate in the intestines and give people a sense of fullness. Over time, they would not be able to digest them and die.
If they ate red ores for a long time, even their descendants would turn red. This was the case for Red.
Red took out the ore that had a blue watery sheen when they were exploring the fourth floor. It gave everyone a shock. This kind of sapphire ore was extinct in the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors. The energy of a piece of such ore was enough to supply the energy of a car for a lifetime.
However, Red was investigated because of this.
Her instincts told her that it was the necklace that protected her, so she insisted that she had picked it up.
It was rare that these people actually believed her, or perhaps it was just on the surface.
"Fortunately, I'm smart." Red carried a week's worth of food back to her tent and said to Lin Jie, "Those guys are so greedy. They will definitely snatch my necklace."
Lin Jie nodded seriously, as if he did not treat Red as a child at all. He said, "Indeed, and there is a rule in the Downtown that does not allow the existence of private property." com
"Well, not bad, Xiao Lin remembers it very clearly. It's worth praising." Red nodded like a little adult.
Now, she often imitated her grandmother's tone and treated Lin Jie as a child.
Lin Jie glanced at the food in her hand. The rare sapphire ore was only exchanged for a week's worth of food. It seemed that Red had been cheated a lot, but she still set up the pot happily.
"Oh! It smells so good! "
The fragrant and soft flour formed a paste that was burned black. This was the only and most delicious food in the entire Downtown.
"Here, this is yours." Red filled two bowls with the pot of paste. "You can use Grandma's bowl."
Lin Jie took the broken bowl and stuffed a mouthful of paste into his mouth. Other than the smell of burning, there was also a strong smell of mold. It was completely like moldy food that had been thrown away in the Upper City District.
With such food and living conditions, it was a miracle that people in the lower city area could live past the age of 30.
Red lowered her head and ate hard. She was reluctant to drool, just like a greedy puppy.
Although Red was fat, she did not have a big appetite. However, the amount of food she had was definitely not enough for Lin Jie and Red to eat for a week.
Therefore, the most important thing now was to continue searching for ores.
After three days of unremitting efforts, Red finally found an ownerless ore. It was a mainstream precious ore, and one piece could be exchanged for a week's worth of rations.
Mining ores was a physical and mental torture. At night, they had to sleep beside the ores, or else they would be picked up by others. They also had to be careful not to let bullies snatch the ores away.
"Those adults are all bullies," Red said to Lin Jie while digging carefully with her hammer.
Lin Jie sat beside her casually and looked at Red.
Red continued to nag, "That's why I don't want to be an adult. Grandma said that when I grow up, I'll be bad … Hey, are you listening to me?"
"I'm listening." Lin Jie answered casually. Red then felt relieved and continued, "Grandma also said that people must have dreams. This is the biggest difference between humans and animals."
"By the way, do you have a dream?" Red suddenly stopped her work. Her pair of black and red eyes were full of expectation, and also full of rationality and clarity. It was completely different from other people's eyes.
"Hmm, I think so?" Lin Jie said while thinking.
"What is it?" Red asked excitedly.
"Probably being a bookstore owner and living an ordinary life can bring some guidance to other people's lives."
"Bookstore owner … What is that?" Red fell into deep thought after hearing about her dream.
"You'll know when you get to the top."
Lin Jie's ordinary words made Red completely excited. "Right, right? You also think that I will go up, right?"
Lin Jie nodded.
"By the way, tell me about the things up there. That's where my ancestors lived. It's my hometown." Red's brisk voice was full of expectation. It was like a long and distant song, and a flower bloomed in this wooden tunnel.
Lin Jie was slightly moved. He took a deep breath and began to describe the so-called things up there seriously.
— —
Red held the shimmering ore in her hand. Although the quality was not very good, it barely met the quality requirement.
Red wiped the dust on her face weakly. She was a naturally fat person, but now even her clothes had shrunk a lot. Her round face was thinner and her eyes were much bigger.
She had not eaten for about a week. Anyway, Red could not remember the time. She could not remember the time in the entire Downtown.
"This stone can be exchanged for three days of rations." Red held the stone and placed it parallel to her eyes. The color of the ore was printed on the bottom of her eyes. It looked very beautiful.
Lin Jie looked at the stone in Red's hand and glanced at the sneaky managers next to them. These guys were similar to Red and the others. They were all polluted Downtown residents and had never been to the Upper District in their lives.
But now, they were the minions of the Upper District. Every day, they used their connections to bully others and were called managers.
Lin Jie had an ominous feeling because of these people's watchful eyes. They probably did not believe Red's story of finding the sapphire. They had been watching Red closely, waiting for her to go down to the bottom and then tell them how she could come back alive from the fourth floor.
Lin Jie frowned and looked at those people. They seemed to be very disappointed when they saw that Red insisted on digging the ore even though she was about to starve to death and did not go down.
"Let's go and exchange for food." Red said weakly, but there was still a smile on her face.
"Okay, I'll cook this time. I can cook for the Upper District." Lin Jie suddenly said "mercifully".
After all, they had been together for more than a month. This guy was like a boss who did not do anything. He was basically a young master.
"That's great!" Red said excitedly like a balloon. "That's great! Half of my dream is about to come true."
Red ran happily to the food exchange center.
Lin Jie followed behind her. He even turned around to look at the managers who had been following Red.
After a few words of disappointment, they finally ended their surveillance of Red.
Lin Jie used Mind Rewriting to change his image in the minds of others into a burly and majestic 20-year-old man. If he was still strong and healthy at this age, he would be at the top of the food chain in the entire Lower District.
Because of Lin Jie's image, Red did not fall into his trap and successfully obtained a week's worth of food.
"I got a week's worth of food for a stone. They only gave me a week's worth of food for the sapphire last time. They're so mean!" Red walked forward angrily, her cheeks puffed up angrily. Her head was like a little red pufferfish.
Lin Jie followed behind her with his hands behind his back. He did not say anything to comfort her. He was extremely quiet now. He would only speak when he was discussing his dream with Red.
As soon as they arrived at Tunnel 32, they saw that the entrance of the tent where they lived day and night was crowded with people.
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