The whole weird world is waiting for me to go to heaven

Chapter 1110 Nightmare Echoes
Just now...

It seems there's a faint golden figure beside Hongshan.

Upon closer inspection, the figure had vanished without a trace.

Anthocyanin stood amidst the colorful smoke, hesitantly gazing in the direction where Red Mountain had disappeared.

Perhaps it's because I've inhaled too much secondhand "echoes".

She shook her head.

I also regret not leaving my contact information.

Although she didn't have a communicator, she could have borrowed a public one, but... Hongshan probably didn't have one either, and the two of them might never contact each other again.

To be honest, she was actually relieved.

But this also brought shame, because the other person really didn't ask for anything, just wanted to help, and I ended up agonizing over it for so long.

Dejected, she walked back to her residence.

The so-called living quarters were actually just a space separated by a few curtains, so small that it was difficult to even turn around, and it was filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items that had been collected.

But they were all worthless trinkets like old colorful posters, yellowed books, hair accessories, high heels with broken heels, and dolls without eyes.

She rummaged through the clutter with her four hands and found a small metal box at the bottom of the pile. Inside was a thin layer of sticky paste, faintly showing a mottled color, but mostly a deep black.

I scooped out a little bit and put it in my mouth.

A nauseating smell filled her nostrils, but then came a surge of energy that replenished her body, which had been somewhat depleted from entering the field.

The energy cream in the box is thinner now.

If you manage to scrape it off, you can eat it twice more.

Anthocyanins reluctantly closed the box and hid it at the bottom of the clutter.

Having temporarily regained some energy, she estimated that it was about time before heading to the lower-level trading center to check her reward for scavenging.

The result was that only 12.9 federal dollars were deposited into the account.

Anthocyanins' heartbeat almost stopped.

"Could you please... check it again?"

A listless middle-aged man sat behind the counter, glared at her, and said:
"There are a lot of people waiting behind you, are you going to waste their time?"

Hua Qingsu glanced back and saw pairs of anxious and frantic multicolored eyes staring intently at her. She could only swallow her words and turn away.

After thinking about it, I decided to use a public communication device.

Dial a number.

After a long while, someone finally answered the call.

The captain's tall but bulky figure appeared on the screen.

On the left is a semi-mechanical prosthetic limb, and on the right hand is a glove with a blurry emblem.

He leaned back in his chair, looking languid, as if he had just woken from some kind of dream, his voice hoarse and indistinct.
"Oh, it's you, Anthocyanin... What's up?"

“I…” Hua Qingsu hesitated, then gritted her teeth and spoke when she saw the other party’s impatient expression again, “I want to ask the captain why my reward is only 12.9 Federal Credits?”

The other person raised an eyebrow: "What? Is there a problem?"

Anthocyanins were momentarily speechless.

But the resentment in my heart only intensified.

"Why did I only get such a small share? The harvest from this trip was mostly materials, data, and information, including news about an S-level influence field. It should have been worth at least eight thousand Federal Credits. If those five people split it, I should have gotten at least a thousand."

The loud noise startled the other person, who opened their half-closed eyes wide and carefully examined the anthocyanins.

"Oh, you're right, there are indeed more than eight thousand federal dollars."

"Then why-"

"But what have you contributed? Why should I give you a share?"

Anthocyanins were stunned.

How can I be considered to have made no contribution?

"I clearly calculated the flight path for you. The storm near that ruin is severe. I even calculated the docking speed and—"

"But it still crashed, didn't it?"

"That's because you didn't follow the parameters I gave you—"

"Alright, stop bothering me. I'm echoing! Maybe this time I'll sense the power of a higher dimension and break through to become an Unknown Being..."

The man seemed almost lost in a dream.

It seemed she really saw it, a hazy smile playing on her lips.

Anthocyanins gritted their teeth and still tried to persuade him:

"I...I need to get RR-13 again for my next trip, and I'm out of nutritional supplements. I...I really have no money..."

"If you don't have money, that's your problem, not mine."

Snap.

Communication was cut off without mercy.

The light curtain suddenly went out.

Even the light on Anthocyanin's face.

The girl in the communications office said, "This call will deduct 7 federal dollars," which made Anthocyanin's heart sink even further.

"Why is it so expensive? I barely said anything! Wasn't it 1 Federal Coin before?"

The girl spread her hands awkwardly: "Because... the higher-ups said they're going to raise prices."

"But there was no notification—"

Before the girl could finish speaking about anthocyanins, she pointed to the bulletin board outside.

A piece of paper was pasted under a pile of graffiti and small advertisements, which read:

Effective immediately, communication fees will be increased to 7 Federal Dollars per minute, with any fraction of a minute rounded up to the full minute.

Anthocyanins stared intently at the seal of the Kovien family above.

I just felt dizzy.

The girl was startled by the anthocyanins that had flushed her face bright red.

"Are you OK?"

"I can't help it. This wasn't my decision. You know, the group is short of money right now. With so many big moves coming up, like establishing new fiefdoms and vying for the last remaining seats, there are so many places where we need Federal Currency."

"What seats are we fighting for?" Hua Qingsu asked, puzzled.

"This...I don't know either."

The fact that this girl could do this kind of work in the lower-class living area, with a stable income and without having to risk her life, naturally means that she must have some kind of kinship with those above.

So it's not surprising that they know some inside information. But it's all hearsay, and they don't know the details.

"I've only heard that it's a matter of life and death, and all of our group's employees should work hard for it..."

Before she could even finish speaking, Hua Qingsu turned and left.

The last syllable of the word "effort" lingered behind them.

These words might fool the anthocyanins who have just boarded the ship.

But now, she only cares about her own interests.

Thinking of the pitiful balance in her account, her heart bled. Even if she had just refused to pay, it wouldn't have mattered, as it was all linked to a credit account and would be deducted directly at regular intervals.

"Young lady, are you short of money?"

Perhaps because the anthocyanins were so obvious, someone stepped forward and asked.

The man was extremely thin, almost like a dried corpse, with his limbs missing and only one eye remaining, as if he had crawled out of the dark tent next to him.

Upon seeing this, anthocyanins immediately understood.

He walked away quickly without looking back.

The man shouted from behind, "Don't you have two extra hands? Each hand is worth 1088 Federal Credits!"

Anthocyanins travel even faster.

Even if she was desperate for money, she was unwilling to exchange it for her body.

If you've fallen to that state, you probably wouldn't even qualify to scavenge.

Forget it, I won't rest anymore.

Let's get started on the next round of scavenging.

On this ship, you have to pay for every day you stay.

However, when the anthocyanins arrived at the permit processing office, filled out the form, and were about to pay the processing fee, a cold voice came from behind the counter:
"The deduction failed; there is no money in your account."

"What! How is that possible?"

"That's it."

The clerk's eyes were indifferent; he didn't even bother to look up, and simply called out:
"next."

Before Anthocyanin could react, she was shoved aside by the people behind her and fell to the ground.

The security guard helped her to the side, and seeing her distraught expression, kindly offered some words of comfort:
"Go check the account."

Anthocyanins' mind was a complete mess.

Back at the bank, after waiting in line for ages and checking my bank statement, I discovered an extra charge for "ship berthing fees": 278 federal dollars.

"We never had to pay parking fees before!"

The man behind the counter was still impatient:

"You ask me? How would I know?"

Anthocyanin felt a chill in his heart.

This must be a trick the captain played.

So if it's the last one to dock... then this fee will be deducted?
"It's not me, this isn't me..."

"Alright, that's enough. You still owe the group money, and you must repay it by the 15th of next month."

"what?"

Scrolling up further up the list of anthocyanins, there's a charge for the "RR-13 Injection Package": 1388 Federal Dollars.

She really does owe 1463 federal dollars!
Damn!

Gritting his teeth, he entered the trading center and found the clinic where she received her RR-13 injection.

It was called a clinic, but it was actually just a tent, squeezed among a bunch of tents in the trading center.

The doctor, wearing a dirty white coat, immediately smiled broadly, revealing a mouthful of pearly white teeth, upon seeing anthocyanins.

But upon hearing the purpose of their visit, he immediately suppressed his smile.

"You chose this package yourself, how can you go back on your word? It includes ten injections, it's a great deal!"

"You said the set meal would be 20% off, but I didn't choose that many set meals—"

"This is the only set meal I have here."

"But you never said that..."

"That just means you didn't ask clearly."

"no!"

Hua Qingsu pointed to a poster on the tent that read, "RR-13 three-time package, only 418 Federal Dollars".

"Oh, this? It was posted many years ago, and this package deal is no longer available."

Hua Qingsu felt a chill in her heart and clenched her fists.

"Then... I want a refund."

The other person blinked, as if they had heard a joke:
"We don't offer refunds here. You're not a high-ranking player; you'll always need the money when you go out scavenging."

As she spoke, she revealed her snow-white teeth once again.

But it was incredibly cold.

The anthocyanins felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave due to the cold.

"But I don't even have the money to apply for scavenging permits right now..."

The other person instantly showed a look of pity.

"Really? How pitiful."

This pity remained only on the surface; several streams of energy within the tent locked onto the anthocyanins, and that deadly feeling sent chills down her spine.

We can't let this go on.

Anthocyanin walked blankly out of the clinic and wandered along the narrow, crowded passageways of the trading center, looking almost like those scavengers who had inhaled too much "echo" and were like walking corpses.

"Sir, are you short of money? How about selling your leg...?"

The sound seemed to be coming from a sewage ditch.

Hua Qingsu looked up and saw that it was that same desiccated person again, grabbing a passerby and questioning him.

The man was also hunched over, looking lost and dejected. After hesitating for a while, he finally nodded.

The mummified corpse immediately twitched its lips into a sinister smile, and dragged the man into a dirty, dark tent.

After a moment's hesitation, Anthocyanin finally followed suit.

(End of this chapter)