Chapter 24 Entering the city

 After about half an hour of climbing, the carriage finally left the steep mountain road.

The wheels rolled onto an open road paved with stones, which would lead everyone to the city of Zion.

 It is worth noting that

 There are black lampposts at equal intervals on both sides of the road. They are not kerosene lamps, but electric lamps.

　　　　There are electric lights here? 』

Ever since he came to this world, Yi Chen has been curious about the era he lives in.

The cabin between the cemeteries is equipped with an old-fashioned telephone, and it can only be contacted by the administrator, but there are no other electrical appliances... This makes Yi Chen speculate that the world is in an era not long after the second industrial revolution.

 But as he left the cemetery,

  I did not see any electrical equipment outside.

  People use kerosene lamps and candles to obtain light.

Even the vehicles sent by the organization are horse-drawn carriages, not cars powered by internal combustion engines.

 This made Yi Chen even more confused.

At present, on the road leading to Zion City, facilities related to [electricity] appeared again, which made him a little confused as to what was going on.

“Could it be said that due to disease, some backward areas failed to keep up with development and stayed before the industrial revolution? That's not right. If you stayed, the phone probably wouldn't appear in the cemetery.

 Is it a telephone that the manager brought from the organization? 』

　　　Grey area. 』

Little Putao suddenly broke into Yi Chen's thinking and gave a keyword.

"How to say? 』

　　　According to the memories gathered in my head,

Humanity here has entered the [Electrical Age] for a period of time, replacing steam energy with extremely efficient and convenient electric energy... Unfortunately, under the influence of disease, electric energy has not been fully developed and has been 'divided and restricted'.

 Because gray areas are spread all over the world, they are spreading and multiplying every moment.

Any matter placed in the gray realm will be affected, even [electricity] is no exception.

 When wires pass through the gray zone, the current flowing in them will be affected and become a pathological agent.

 A light bulb lit by current will affect the individual's skin through light radiation.

 Affected telephones will also emit strange noises and whispers from the receiver, gradually affecting people's thinking.

  There may even be some vague and strange pictures appearing in the TV room, which spread the disease through vision.

therefore,

 The development of electric energy was completely curbed, and human technology was forced to return to the steam age.

However, in some relatively safe large cities, such as the city of Zion that you are about to arrive, there must be power plants inside to maintain the power supply in the city and maintain the development of related technologies.

 That’s probably it. 』

　　　Even electric current will be affected by pathogenesis? What exactly is the so-called [disease] and what is its origin? 』

　　　『My memory is incomplete and I cannot answer this question...and even among you humans, I am afraid no one can answer it. In the future, you should be able to gradually find out through exploration and knowledge seeking. 』

Just when Yi Chen’s doubts were increasing and he wanted to continue chatting with Xiao Putao,

 The carriage stopped,

Edmund’s voice came:

“Mr. William, don’t doze off~ We have arrived in Zion City.

 The next step is the very important assessment and awarding process, which is related to whether we can formally join the organization and the subsequent corresponding treatment issues. "

"OK."

Stepping off the carriage, I didn’t see the city gate I expected.

Instead, two dark and tall towers with Gothic spires stand in front of them, with vertical ribs outlined on the surface.

There is a long, narrow and dark passage between the towers.

 This is also the only road leading into the city.

On both sides of the tower are continuous high black walls, dominated by spires and vertical structures.

  Statues similar to gargoyles are placed at equal intervals on the top of the wall, adding a layer of spookiness to the already gloomy exterior wall structure.

  It is not so much the outer wall of the city as it is a Gothic city wall with military characteristics.

 “William, come quickly!

  We still have to pass through this doorway used for isolation, testing and purification before we can officially reach the interior of Zion City. "

"Um."

 The total number of assessors sent here is 19.

 Everyone entered the narrow doorway between the towers in a relatively orderly manner.

 The doorway adopts a barrel-shaped dome and arch rib frame, and the vertical columns on both sides are equipped with wall lamps with classical decoration.

 Haven’t gone far.

 A man dressed as a gentleman, holding a curved civilized stick and wearing a white mask blocked the way.

 A secret passage appeared on the walls on both sides of him.

 A mature and thick voice came from under the mask,

“I am very pleased that so many newcomers passed this difficult test.

However, before you set foot in Zion, you must undergo a complete physical elimination.

 Men to the right,

 Ms. to the left,

 After arriving at the [sterilization room], please take off all your clothes within a short period of time.

If the disinfection is completed and it is still detected that you have more pathogenic substances remaining on your body than the target, or you have symptoms of infection, you will be cleaned up directly. "

Yi Chen followed the men's team at the end and arrived at a confined space.

The blond Edmund was the first to strip naked.

When Yi Chen took off his clothes, he unexpectedly discovered that his William Behrens body was quite good.

Although he looks a little thin,

However, the four-pack abs are looming, and the body fat rate is also controlled within the normal range.

 About half a minute passed,

 There are jet pipes protruding from the front and back sides of everyone, and even from the walls below their bodies and above their heads.

 An extremely pungent yellowish liquid is sprayed out at high pressure,

 The spray directly washed over everyone's bodies, and some of the seriously injured assessors were even rolled several times by the spray.

Yi Chen tried to stabilize his body as much as possible.

“Chlorine water? It seems to be mixed with other things...”

 The flushing is over,

 A strange sense of voyeurism quickly swept over everyone's body, as if they were detecting something.

Buzz! I felt a slight tremor in the air, and a young man sitting against the wall disappeared.

　　　　Disappear directly? What method is this? 』

Yi Chen was quite surprised. He kept his concentration...but he didn't see anything just now.

 Everyone put on their clothes one after another and returned to the previous doorway and corridor.

 After the disinfection process, the number of people was reduced to【17】people.

 Everyone continued to follow the gentleman wearing a white mask towards the doorway's exit.

 When stepping out of the doorway,

 The radiance of the rising sun instantly shines on everyone,

At the same time, it presents to everyone a special city full of Gothic revival atmosphere and transcending conventional construction styles.

ˆ【Zion-Zion City】

˜A street that crosses up and down, has a multi-story structure, and is connected by arch bridges.

A variety of rugged, winding, undulating neighborhood trails,

 And through special construction methods, using columns, spiral staircases or large steps, churches, guild buildings or noble mansions erected in mid-air, etc.

 In some aspects of architecture, it has surpassed the world during Yi Chen’s lifetime.

 The gentleman leading the way put his hat on his chest and bowed slightly to everyone.

 “Welcome to G&D’s headquarters, the world’s refuge - Zion.

I am your temporary guide, Jeff Peterson.

Please continue to follow me to [Shenpi Mansion]. Depending on your performance in the assessment, you will receive different levels of "Skin-of-the-Gentry".

· Please do not leave the team and go to other places during the journey, otherwise it will be regarded as voluntarily giving up the "gift of skin". "

 When hearing this special word,

The blond Edmund and most of the assessors showed longing in their eyes and became excited... It seemed that the dangers experienced along the way were all worth it.

Although Yi Chen’s face was expressionless,

But his heart was gradually agitated, and he wanted to know what kind of reward his 'big gamble' would get.

 (End of this chapter)