Chapter 294 - 284: Bo Niou Is Found
Chapter 294: Chapter 284: Bo Niou Is Found
To buy more time to search for Bo Niou, Tang Mo tied up the uniformed man and stuffed a sponge in his mouth.
The most distinct feature of this world was its silence. It was as if humanity had been wrapped up inside their houses, never coming out to move around, let alone make a single sound.
The houses assigned to each person were like cocoons, firmly imprisoning both body and soul. If they wanted to speak, they could only do so through a shared system.
Family and friends had all become like online acquaintances who never met. Eating, drinking, relieving oneself, and sleeping all happened inside one’s room, greatly reducing the need for social interaction.
No one demanded that people live this way, yet everyone followed this rule. That was the most terrifying thing about this world.
However, this very fact made it much easier for Tang Mo to search for Bo Niou. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but row after row of small houses, with not a single person in sight.
Tang Mo and Mr. Hu split up to search, but there was still no sign of Bo Niou.
They called out Bo Niou’s name, all the while keeping a lookout for any uniformed men who might suddenly appear to drive them away.
’A dog’s hearing is very sensitive. If we can’t find him even with all this shouting, he’s probably not in this area anymore...’
But if they left this open area and returned to the streets and the city, they would be back under surveillance, and everything would become much more complicated.
"Let’s go check that glass house. If he’s not there, we’ll have to retrace our steps."
The glass house, where all sorts of crops were grown, was the only place in this open area with its doors wide open. It was also the only enclosed Space Bo Niou could have slipped into.
Clinging to their last shred of hope, Tang Mo and Mr. Hu entered the enormous glass house.
The glass house was huge. Calling it a house wasn’t quite accurate; it was more like a vast expanse of land.
Inside, there were gigantic vegetables and fruits everywhere. Their size was simply unbelievable. Tang Mo guessed that genetic engineering technology must have become even more advanced, making bountiful harvests an effortless affair. No wonder it had liberated farmers from manual labor.
However, Tang Mo soon discovered that the farmers’ hands didn’t seem to have been liberated at all.
Because for the first time, on this land, she saw real human beings—not 5D illusions—who weren’t wearing uniforms.
They wore simple clothes, their bodies and hands covered in dirt, and they worked ceaselessly in the fields. Some were picking fruit, others were weeding or tending to the stems and leaves of the plants.
Sunlight streamed through the glass house, shining down on them. Beads of sweat trickled down their faces from the heat and hard work.
But what Tang Mo saw on their faces was ease and joy, without a trace of exhaustion.
"I found Bo Niou."
Just as Tang Mo was observing these people who seemed so out of place in this world, a shout from Mr. Hu instantly pulled her back to reality.
Tang Mo immediately moved toward Mr. Hu.
Soon, following the direction Mr. Hu was pointing, she saw Bo Niou playing by the edge of the fields.
A group of people who had been working in the fields had gathered around Bo Niou.
They were all vying to pet Bo Niou’s fluffy head and pat his big, padded paws.
Their eyes were filled with pleasant surprise, yet their movements were cautious and gentle—completely different from the uniformed men.
Seeing Bo Niou playing happily, Tang Mo and Mr. Hu breathed a sigh of relief.
"It’s a real dog! Look, it’s even drooling!"
"Be careful, it might pee on you."
"I wouldn’t even mind if it peed on me! I can’t believe I managed to run into a real dog on my one assigned labor day. What kind of luck is this?"
...
Tang Mo listened to them talk for a while before walking over to join the conversation.
"You all really like this dog?"
"Of course! A lively, jumping dog like this is no match for those robot dogs. Look at him, he’s so happy his tail is wagging into a blur."
"I don’t get it. If everyone likes dogs so much, why do those people want to euthanize him? Don’t they like such a vibrant Life? Are they heartless?"
Tang Mo said, feigning anger while observing their reactions.
There were too many things about this world that she found strange, too many things she didn’t understand at all.
"They aren’t human to begin with. They’re heartless. Sigh... but in this situation, who can you even blame?"
Tang Mo studied the expressions on their faces. They were incredibly complex—a mix of what looked like anger, but not quite, and helplessness, but not exactly that either.
"Not human? Are you talking about the men in uniform?"
Every sentence these people spoke was packed with information, but Tang Mo’s mind was quick to keep up.
She quickly understood they were talking about the uniformed men. Tang Mo had always found them a bit strange but had assumed everyone in this world was like that. It was only after seeing these people in the fields that she realized that wasn’t the case. Their strangeness wasn’t just her imagination.
"Those are the Personnel. They’re produced by the system to work for us. Have you forgotten?"
The people gave her a strange look. This was all common knowledge. How could this girl be so completely ignorant of the basics?
"Then what’s a ’labor day’?"
Tang Mo didn’t miss the suspicion in their eyes, but this was the first time she had seen truly real humans. She couldn’t miss this chance to truly understand this world.
"Whether you believe us or not, we weren’t born in this world. We came here by accident. Even this QR code just appeared on our arms, so we don’t really understand this world."
Tang Mo pulled Mr. Hu over, revealing the QR codes on both of their arms.
Mr. Hu, with his glasses and scholarly, frail appearance, didn’t look like a bad person, which made him more convincing.
’This is a new world, after all,’ Tang Mo thought. ’This shouldn’t be too shocking for them, right...?’
But to Tang Mo’s surprise, after hearing her explanation, the people’s faces showed no hint of astonishment.
"Oh, so you’re New Humans who just entered this world."
New Humans.
This was the third new term, besides "Personnel" and "labor day," that Tang Mo had heard here that was beyond her understanding.