Free Web NovelChapter 379: Chapter 283: Special Preferences and Unspeakable Action Movies
Afterward, Lin Li and Su Yue waited on the roadside for a few minutes before an empty taxi pulled up in front of them.
The temperature today was thirty-nine degrees, and the ground was even hotter. The two of them loaded their numerous bags, big and small, into the taxi’s trunk.
As soon as they settled into the air-conditioned taxi, the irritating, sweltering heat vanished. It felt as if they had instantly escaped an inferno.
"Where are you two headed?" The driver, a middle-aged man, asked after seeing the two young people get in.
"To Happiness Garden District on Ping’an Road," Su Yue replied, giving the driver her home address.
After the car started, the talkative driver instinctively began to chat with his passengers.
"Judging by all your bags, you two must have just gotten back from a trip!"
"Mhm, we just came back from Qiong City..." Su Yue answered.
"Qiong City is a great place! Just last week, I was talking with my family about taking a trip there for the National Day holiday in a couple of months..." the driver said.
"Sir, have you ever been to Qiong City?" Su Yue asked.
"Never been, but some of my friends have. After they came back, they all recommended it to me... Said if I was going to travel out of town, Qiong City should be my first stop.
It’s because they kept recommending it that I came up with the plan to take my family to Qiong City for the National Day holiday," the driver said with a smile.
The social butterfly, Su Yue, chatted back and forth with the driver. Lin Li, sitting beside her, just listened quietly with his eyes closed, waiting for the car to reach its destination.
Suddenly, the driver, who had been chatting with Su Yue about the local customs and fun places in Qiong City, changed the subject.
"Sigh, things haven’t been very peaceful in Rongcheng lately!"
"Huh?" Hearing this, Su Yue looked puzzled. "Sir, what do you mean by that? Has something been happening in Rongcheng recently?"
"Oh? You really don’t know what’s been going on in Rongcheng?" The driver had only meant to make a passing comment, so he was a little surprised that Su Yue was completely in the dark.
"We were so focused on having fun in Qiong City, out from dawn till dusk every day. We were so exhausted we’d just collapse into bed the moment we got back to the hotel, so..." Su Yue explained with a smile.
The driver nodded, then said, "Lately, the areas in the Rongcheng Suburbs bordering the wilderness have been very unstable. There have been several incidents of Mutant Beasts from the wild crossing the border and causing trouble in the city."
Hearing the driver mention Mutant Beasts breaking into the city and causing trouble, Su Yue’s pretty, willow-leaf brows furrowed slightly. "Sir, those troublemaking Mutant Beasts... they didn’t cause any casualties, did they?!"
"No, none of that. The Investigators from the Superpower Administration Bureau discovered them early and dealt with the Mutant Beasts that crossed the border to cause trouble in time."
"It’s good there were no casualties. But from what I remember, there haven’t been any incidents of Mutant Beasts crossing into the city for a good twenty or thirty years.
What’s happening now? Why are Mutant Beasts suddenly starting to cross over so frequently? Has the Superpower Administration Bureau given any explanation?"
"The Superpower Administration Bureau hasn’t given a reason yet. They say it’s still under investigation.
But it’s hard to expect the Superpower Administration Bureau to explain something like this. After all, Mutant Beasts aren’t human. If they suddenly go crazy and decide to storm the city, who can stop them?"
"That’s true," Su Yue nodded, agreeing with the driver’s words.
Then, she sighed softly and said, "I guess the residents living in the suburbs near the wilderness will have to be more careful now."
"Yeah! I have a cousin whose family lives right in a suburban area bordering the wilderness.
After these incidents, he’s been thinking about renting a place in the city proper, moving his family over for now, and then moving back once things have calmed down," the driver said.
The situation the driver described with his cousin’s family was something many residents in the suburban areas bordering the wilderness had been considering over the past few days.
After all, with Mutant Beasts now crossing the border and causing trouble, choosing to move to safety was an extremely important decision for one’s personal security.
At this moment, Lin Li, who had been listening quietly to Su Yue and the driver with his eyes closed, opened them and asked the driver a question.
"Sir, where are the main locations these Mutant Beast incursions have been happening?"
The driver thought back to the news reports he had seen on TV over the past few days about Mutant Beasts breaking into the city and said,
"Mostly in the South District. It rarely happens in the other districts. It’s strange, but for some reason, the number of incidents in the South District is several times higher than in other areas."
"I remember the residential areas in the South District’s suburbs near the wilderness are less dense compared to other districts..." Su Yue remarked.
"Exactly! If this were happening mainly in the East District, things would be much more troublesome..." the driver said, nodding.
What he said was true, as the East District was the most populous district in all of Rongcheng.
A little over twenty minutes later, the taxi arrived at the entrance of the Happiness Garden District on Ping’an Road.
After paying, Lin Li got out of the car and helped Su Yue carry the huge pile of gifts she had bought to her apartment.
...
A dark cloud drifted in from the distance, momentarily obscuring the scorching sun.
Sometime after one in the afternoon, having had lunch at Su Yue’s place, Lin Li returned to his own residential complex.
Walking along a path inside the complex, he ran into an acquaintance.
"Lin Li, I haven’t seen you for the past few days. Did you go on a trip?"
Ms. Wang from the residents’ committee, who was on her way out to run some errands, saw Lin Li pulling a suitcase while wearing a straw hat and sunglasses, and asked with a smile.
"Yes, Ms. Wang," Lin Li replied with a smile. Then, noticing a few documents sticking out of the shoulder bag Ms. Wang was carrying, he asked, "Ms. Wang, are you heading out to take care of some business?"
Ms. Wang from the residents’ committee nodded and explained, "The director from the sub-district office called a meeting for all of us presidents of the various community residents’ committees.
I hear it’s about having us notify the residents in our communities to pay attention to some safety matters..."
"Safety matters? Is it about fire prevention, theft prevention, and heatstroke prevention?" Lin Li asked casually, since those three topics were brought up every year.
"No, I heard from Old Zhang from the neighboring complex that it’s about Mutant Beasts..." Ms. Wang said.
"Mutant Beasts? Could it be..." Lin Li seemed to have guessed what the people from the sub-district office might say at the meeting.
’It’s most likely because of the recent incidents of Mutant Beasts breaking into the safe zones. The government must have issued a directive, which was then passed down through the ranks, eventually reaching the sub-district office.
Then, the office would tell the presidents of each community’s residents’ committee to warn residents not to go to the suburbs near the wilderness, in order to avoid any accidents.’
"Ms. Wang, on my way back in the taxi just now, I heard the driver talking about how Mutant Beasts have been breaking into the city these past few days. Could it be related to that...?" Lin Li said, having already formed a few theories in his mind.
"Possibly! Anyway, I can’t chat anymore, I have to hurry to the sub-district office for the meeting.
After the meeting’s over, I’ll post an update in the group chat for everyone..." Ms. Wang said, then headed toward the complex’s main gate.
’If it’s really as I suspect, and the government has started telling the sub-district offices to publicize safety warnings, then it seems this business with the Mutant Beasts crossing the border and breaking into the safe zones is more serious than I imagined...’ Lin Li thought as he watched Ms. Wang’s retreating figure.
Then he pulled his suitcase and headed toward Building Three, where he lived.
...
