To return from the mission point to the “Haina” base in Chang’an District, Ning Zhuo needed to pass through three residential areas.
The Silver Hammer City, where he was located, was an island metropolis in the sea.
Although it was beautiful, no one had paid attention to it before.
There were too many beautiful yet neglected islands in the world.
Until it was forced into everyone’s view.
…
The deterioration of the global environment happened 160 years ago.
The frequent occurrence of major earthquakes began 146 years ago.
The worldwide mass migration started 145 years ago.
Various so-called “safe” points were marked, and people, like ants, dragged their luggage with their families, settling down only to be destroyed by unpredictable earthquakes.
In the midst of repeated displacement, people learned not to harbor unnecessary hopes.
But the quest for peace never ceased.
Much later, when the continent was completely fragmented, three scientifically calculated safe points were marked.
Silver Hammer Island was one of them.
At that time, it had no name and was simply designated as Safety Point No. 183.
Besides No. 183, there were No. 184 and No. 185.
These three safe points were all islands in the sea, far apart from each other.
They were made public to the surviving people of the world.
Thus, people began another long migration journey.
The land area of No. 184 was not as large as No. 183, but the advantage was that the island was mostly plains with quite fertile land.
A group of people with farming genes chose to go to No. 184.
They boarded ships in batches, and since then, there has been no news of them.
No one knows if they met with a bountiful harvest or total destruction.
That was 120 years ago.
As for Silver Hammer Island, which had taken in all sorts of people, its real name has long been lost.
Initially, it was called Island 0183, commemorating the 183rd large-scale population migration.
However, over time, the safety level of this island far exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Apart from occasional minor tremors, it floated peacefully on the ocean, much like the mythical Noah’s Ark.
Compared to Safety Point No. 184, which had completely disappeared, Safety Point No. 185 was on the same latitude as Silver Hammer Island, with similar area, terrain, and climate conditions.
But it wasn’t as lucky.
The news of Safety Point No. 185 sinking due to an earthquake was brought to Silver Hammer by surviving refugees.
Not many survived; excluding those who were lost or devoured by waves and storms during the escape, only about three thousand people actually made it to Silver Hammer Island.
Since then, the number of people landing on Silver Hammer Island has not increased.
That was something that happened a hundred years ago.
As the shadows of displacement faded away, everyone’s sense of security increased day by day.
Gradually, people gathered into communities based on their countries, origins, beliefs, and survival habits, forming residential areas with different customs and cultures.
Countless communities gathered together chaotically, dividing Silver Hammer Island into countless fragments.
After settling down, everyone unanimously thought that this new home should have a name.
From a bird’s-eye view, the shape of the island resembled a long hammer.
White sand surrounded the island, embedding it with a silver edge.
The land area was about 2212 square kilometers, coincidentally the melting point of silver.
So some people called it “Silver Paradise,” and some called it “Silver Sandbar.”
But quite a few people still liked to call it hammer Island.
Because a humble name is easier to take care of.
Ironically, the name “Silver Hammer” became popular because of the thriving entertainment company “Interest,” whose first few letters’ pronunciation coincidentally matched “Silver Hammer.”
It was the company that first started calling this island “Silver Hammer.”
“Silver Hammer Daily,” “Silver Hammer Entertainment,” and then came entertainment games, TV series, and movies set in “Silver Hammer City.”
Thus, the nameless island became Silver Hammer City.
With the island named, for convenience in management, each settlement also got a name through public solicitation and voting.
At this moment, Ning Zhuo arrived at Yoshiwara District, mainly dealing in s*x business, and stopped by a small shop selling fried croquettes.
A spirited boy’s voice came through the communicator: “Ning-ge, bring some chili powder!”
Ning Zhuo said to the shop owner: “Chili powder.”
His voice was drowned out by a wave of “Take it off! Take it off!” coming from the strip club.
The shop owner, already too old to hear well and unable to afford the latest artificial cochlea, asked with an awkward smile, “Customer, what?”
Ning Zhuo didn’t speak again, just pointed in the direction of the chili powder.
The old man smiled gratefully and said, “Alright! Please wait a moment.”
After swiping his credit points, Ning Zhuo took the paper bag with the croquettes, and walked straight through the center of the square, smashing through the huge projection of the strip dancer for a moment.
The beautiful female hologram, half a floor high, slowly turned towards Ning Zhuo and blew an amorous kiss at his back: “Welcome back.”
Ning Zhuo parked his motorcycle in front of an already closed classical instrument shop.
He stepped over the broken old posters and got on the motorcycle, with two portions of snacks already hanging from the handlebars.
A cheerful female voice came through the communicator: “Ning-ge, bring me an omelette when you pass by Polo Street later.”
Ning Zhuo couldn’t stand it: “…Is there no one who has eaten dinner? Where’s Boss Fu?”
On the other end of the communicator, Min Min giggled: “Didn’t you say we should lock down? We don’t want to draw attention these days. We’ll pay you back when we get back.”
Ning Zhuo started the motorcycle: “Today’s deposit wasn’t refunded, so consider it as they treating ‘Henna’ to a midnight snack.”
Min Min: “What’s the mission?”
Ning Zhuo rode towards the brightly lit Polo Industrial Area, succinctly saying, “Delivering a package for a rich person.”
“What package?”
“Didn’t say.”
Min Min was talkative, and once she took over the channel, she loved to chatter on endlessly: “Contraband?”
Ning Zhuo neither confirmed nor denied.
The chaotic and gaudy graffiti on both sides of the street flew past him in his silence.
Above the towering stone pillars, the rail trains with the Polo District factory logos, specifically for transporting workers to and from work, whizzed by.
The carriages were crowded with tired faces.
The rail trains, built with the towering stone pillars as the foundation, wove the skyline into a dense web.
Nestling against the stone pillars were not only the accompanying moss but also the low houses spreading like moss, huddled in the shadows of the train pillars.
For the children growing up here, severe air pollution meant they never had a chance to see the moon from birth.
Their imagination of the moonlight came from the car lights.
Behind the industrial area stretched a vast expanse of old buildings, interconnected with each other. Exposed mechanical pipes, external units, and antennas made it look like a huge, already damaged and abandoned metal machine, piled up haphazardly in the open air, slowly decaying.
Ning Zhuo passed by all this calmly and indifferently.
Min Min in the communicator had already started analyzing today’s explosive news on “The Justice Show”:
“You say, Basil is clearly dead, how come he came back with a new face?”
“It must be someone inside White Shield causing trouble, otherwise who could reach into their pocket?”
“Big companies are always dirty and black-hearted. Maybe they’ll push out a scapegoat again…”
At this point, Ning Zhuo got distracted for a moment and suddenly braked the motorcycle.
The screech of the brake pads also stopped Min Min’s chatter: “What’s wrong?”
Ning Zhuo looked at the sky lit up not far away: “There’s a fire.”
Min Min propped her chin: “Where?”
Ning Zhuo: “Chang’an.”
Min Min cursed: “Our district? Where exactly?!”
The blazing firelight reflected in Ning Zhuo’s green eyes: “The factory that was said to be demolished to build two new buildings.”
Min Min was stunned and then sighed in relief.
They were already familiar with every brick and tile of this place, and she knew exactly where Ning Zhuo was talking about.
That abandoned factory would use 3D technology next year to print a stack of pigeonhole-like residential houses.
A group of people would go crazy lining up, scrambling for the 15 square meters among them.
“Ah, that place has been mostly cleared out, the construction team hasn’t moved in yet, no residents, and no dangerous or valuable items,” Min Min judged, “It’s not an important place.”
“What’s worth burning here?” Ning Zhuo asked back, “What else can be burned?”
This time, Ning Zhuo didn’t wait for Min Min’s response. He took off the communicator, switched his helmet to oxygen-enriched mode, held the visor, and slid it down to cover his entire face.
He dropped the bag of snacks from the bike and strode into the flames.
This wasn’t about meddling, nor was it about heroism.
Chang’an District was “Henna’s” territory.
Ning Zhuo was the second-in-command of “Henna.”
A factory that had already been emptied suddenly catching fire was unusual enough for him to take a closer look.
As Ning Zhuo approached the factory, he became more certain that the fire was strange.
The ignition points were extremely scattered, and most of what was burning were the building materials that hadn’t been moved from the periphery. The empty factory was filled with a strong, choking smell of gasoline.
No one would waste valuable fuel on an empty factory.
Ning Zhuo quickly rushed into the fire scene.
The fire should have started not long ago, and it wasn’t particularly fierce. Only some leftover low-quality fireproof tarps were smoking heavily, the smoke was more choking, and the heat waves made his skin feel tight.
The factory spanned several hundred square meters and was already spacious. After all the machines were removed, it was even more open from front to back.
It didn’t take much effort for Ning Zhuo to see a person lying quietly on the ground amidst the flickering flames.
Only the slight rise and fall of their shoulders confirmed to Ning Zhuo that they were still alive.
And this figure was too familiar to Ning Zhuo.
…Even though, in Ning Zhuo’s view, he shouldn’t be here at all.
He called softly through his helmet: “…Shan Feibai?”
The person on the ground couldn’t hear and naturally didn’t respond.
Seeing the blood congealed at his fingertips, Ning Zhuo suddenly felt an inexplicable irritation and cursed softly inside his helmet: “Damn it.”
He tugged at the collar of his clothes as if suffocating, convinced that the helmet was the problem, and roughly lifted it off, slamming it down onto the person’s face.
Without the helmet, he was choked by the hot, pungent smoke, making his throat itch. He coughed twice, feeling even worse.
At that moment, a sniper rifle’s red dot aimed at Ning Zhuo’s temple from the second floor.
This red dot blended into the bright, fierce flames, appearing insignificant.
Ning Zhuo pulled off his motorcycle gloves, exposing his mechanical right hand, crouched down as if to pick up the person on the ground.
But he didn’t reach for the person on the ground; instead, he raised his hand sideways.
An air cannon shot from his mechanical palm, collapsing a protruding second-floor platform directly!
The ambusher, caught off guard, tumbled down with the concrete debris to the factory floor.
Amidst the billowing dust and smoke, Ning Zhuo’s right hand reached into the rubble, firmly grasping the ambusher’s temple.
Before he could react, Ning Zhuo decisively crushed his skull!
_____
Author’s Note:
【Silver Hammer Daily】
Today’s Headline—
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Fire-resistant bioroids possess strong single-soldier combat capabilities, suitable for all firefighting tasks, the best choice for saving people from fire and life-threatening situations!
