On the journey that followed, Ren Zhong was not in the mood to talk. He just pretended to be too exhausted and closed his eyes for a nap while actually analyzing the situation in his mind.
One by one, the key points surfaced in his mind.
The wrist watch should be equivalent to an identity card. With the wrist watch, you have an identity.
Those without an identity who encounter a Hunter are at risk of being killed abruptly and having their brains extracted.
If you have one, then you can at least be considered a person, qualified to live.
Moreover, since my wrist watch has the prefix "Temporary," it must be time-limited, like insurance that needs renewal upon expiry.
The way for wild people to obtain a temporary wrist watch is by exchanging crystal chips with Hunters, acquired from Ruined Beasts. The renewal method is probably similar.
By considering further, since there is a temporary wrist watch, there must also be a permanent one. That is too far away for now, so it's left unconsidered.
In the earlier incident of death, Gaunt Face Narrow Eyes, Ou Youning, mentioned a keyword, "wild people."
Combine the information and arrive at an answer.
In this world, people can be broadly divided into three categories.
Those with a permanent wrist watch are of the highest rank.
Those with a temporary wrist watch and those without one are both wild people. But the former have a bit more status and can be barely regarded as people. The latter, when caught by Hunters, face death and are "brain cultivation machines."
The reason the Hunter didn't immediately attack me was because I was with five other people who had identities. These individuals effectively provided insurance for me, and I promptly submitted the crystal chip.
Then, Ou Youning also mentioned that the wild people quota in Starfire Town was full, and even if they saved me, I would still face death in several months.
This is judged based on the actual situation Ren Zhong had observed earlier.
Besides Hunters, the wilderness is also teeming with a large number of Ruined Beasts like the Crystal Winged Dragonfly, making the survival environment for ordinary people extremely harsh.
Therefore, the town is considered a safe zone, but it has a limited capacity. It might overextend sometimes, but there must be a periodic review mechanism.
Those exceeding the quota will be eliminated in some form.
The elimination might be through eviction from the town, or by some other means, but it's easy to guess that the outcome won't be pleasant.
The wrist watches in Zheng Tian and others' hands are identical to mine, suggesting that they might also be "wild people with a quota."
However, judging from their confident tone when discussing this matter, it can be inferred that they are likely veterans of Starfire Town with some social status and no anxiety about elimination.
Suddenly, Ren Zhong understood part of the essence of this planet through a glimpse.
He felt inexplicable fear, anger, and an unspeakable sense of desolation in his heart.
This world is filled with malice towards those without combat capability.
In front of Hunters, wild people aren't really considered people, just tools, driven forward like swine.
The value of wild people lies either in being forced to hunt Ruined Beasts to provide resources called crystal chips or in producing "brains."
The essence is that they are tools that can be killed or spared at will.
Moreover, even if fortunately entering a safe zone within the town, they still cannot escape the periodic harvest mechanism.
But Ren Zhong also found loopholes in his reasoning.
What about newborn children? Apart from their brains, what else can these children provide?
If this rule were to be strictly enforced, wouldn't all the people in this world have died out long ago?
With these doubts in mind, Ren Zhong sat in the hovering truck and entered Starfire Town, surrounded by high metal walls.
The vehicle stopped at the entrance of the small town.
Chen Hanyu, Bai Feng, and Ou Youning got off the vehicle first.
Ren Zhong hesitated about where to go when Zheng Tian spoke up, "Brother Ren Zhong, don't leave just yet. Let's go to Starfire Resource Recycling Company to sell today's harvest, then you need to come with me to the town hall. New wild people have to report to the Mayor before they can stay overnight in the town."
"Alright. Thank you."
"Hey, no need to be so polite with me. Although you can go by yourself, it would be a bit better with me as an introducer."
"Okay." Ren Zhong smiled lightly and nodded.
Ren Zhong felt an inner discomfort towards Zheng Tian's enthusiasm.
She's truly adept at disguising herself.
If he hadn't been discarded like an old broom before, he might have been genuinely moved by her warmth and felt that there was still true emotion left in the world or something.
No matter how good an actor is, they can't outperform the mirror of time which reveals all truths.
With a few people leaving, the rear space of the vehicle became spacious again. Ren Zhong sat by the window, observing outside through the car window.
At first glance, he almost thought it was an illusion.