Under the bright white lights, various goods are arranged in square compartments, with rows of fruits and vegetables not far away, some of which are locally produced in Payin City, and some are transported from other places.
[T6 grade white japonica rice, 6.23 Federation Coins/500g, T6 grade Snow Pattern cabbage, 5.34 Federation Coins/200g, T6 grade fresh red meat, 20.12 Federation Coins/500g, T5 grade white strawberries, 37.52 Federation Coins/200g, T5 grade Purple Liquid mulberries, 45.06 Federation Coins/200g...]
"Strawberries are still so expensive..." Hexia murmured softly, her gaze drifting away.
Ever since her father passed away, she had been living alone, and rarely had the opportunity to eat some of the more expensive fruits. The last time she bought them was for her birthday, when she hesitantly bought a box. She was happy while eating them, but after finishing, she felt she had indulged in too much luxury.
The so-called T6 grade refers to foodstuffs/industrial products without any Transcendent power, which are convenient to produce and cheaper, whereas T5 grade indicates foodstuffs/industrial products that employed some Transcendent technology during production. Although the final product doesn't have special effects, its excellent quality means that the prices are generally higher.
Better to buy some simple things, she decided, and after navigating through the aisles, Hexia picked a few of her favorite vegetables and placed them into the basket next to her. Before long, she arrived at the automatic checkout counter.
[Welcome, now checking you out...]
The AI's display screen revealed the text, then the mechanical arms on both sides started to bag Hexia's groceries, showing the prices of each and adding them up.
[A total of 40.67 Federation Coins, but since you are a regular customer, we'll give you a discount, so the final amount is 37.24 coins]
Hexia extended her fair wrist toward the payment device, and with a beep, the transaction was completed, and she took the shopping bag from the robot.
Residents of the Federation all had tiny chips implanted in their wrist bones, which could be used as identification and for making payments; it was very convenient.
After leaving the supermarket, Hexia continued to an elevator at the corner of the street and descended to the 62nd floor of the C3 area.
Minutes later, the girl with the handbag emerged from the elevator, the doors slowly closing behind her and the bright white light inside the elevator gradually dimming.
Before her was a dim and quiet world. The corridors outside the elevator spread in all directions, showing the dim, intermittent orange-yellow ceiling lights along the hallways. However, some of them were damaged and dimmed, some covered with thick dust and stains, resulting in poor lighting.
The spacious corridor contained some untidy trash bins, and the walls on either side were covered with various graffiti, including slogans protesting the government, mottos from industrial groups from years past, and spiteful comments from neighbors, as well as some posted pictures and papers exposing each other's scandals. These items were randomly distributed on the walls, making it difficult to see the walls' original dark red anti-rust coating.
Most of those living in such an environment were the lower-income residents of Payin City; the security wasn't great, but Hexia no longer had a choice.
In fact, she hadn't always lived in such an environment. Six years ago, when Hexia was under 10 years old, she had a beautiful home, with parents who earned decent incomes, living in a high-level residential area with excellent surroundings. There was a public sky space where one could see the simulated sky, enjoy the breeze, and play on the grass and under the trees.
However, following the consecutive deaths of her mother and sister, the family's finances rapidly depleted, and they had to move to a lower residential area.
Her father passed away a year ago, leaving only a letter urging Hexia to live well.
"I wonder where that old man is now, he probably went to some illegal area to mine." Sometimes Hexia would think resentfully of her irresponsible father who suddenly disappeared.
Walking along the long corridor, occasionally encountering familiar faces, Hexia would nod her head with a slight tenseness, then smile. A more cordial response would have been to call out their names and exchange a few words.
But for the girl, this was too much of a challenge. She was afraid of getting the names wrong, didn't know what to say, and thought it was too awkward. It seemed better to just smile and nod.
Fortunately, having known each other for a long time, the residents were used to one another and didn't make things difficult for her.
Turning another corner, Hexia stopped in front of a passageway where four children were gathered, one of whom was standing and wiping away tears.
"Don't cry anymore." One of the kids, shaking the crying child, tried to quiet them down with this method.
"Such a coward." Another child commented.
"What do we do now? He keeps crying, and it's annoying. If an adult sees this, they'll talk to us again."
The children seemed to be caught in some kind of dilemma.
"You guys..." The girl didn't want to speak up, but the children were blocking her path.
"Ah, it's the big sister with gray hair."
"The sister who's really good at her studies."
"The one who never talks." The children's straightforward comments revealed the neighbors' impression of Hexia.
Although she was somewhat introverted and shy, these were familiar neighborhood kids, so Hexia wasn't as nervous as she was with outsiders.
"What are you doing here?" Her voice was as quiet as a thin, gray thread gliding across the sky, calm and unobtrusive.
"The light ahead is broken, or maybe there's a power outage." One of the children pointed down the darkened passage.
"We were all trying to go back, but we didn't get far when Lulu suddenly got scared and started crying, and then ran back here."