MC Creative Mode: Wholesale Perpetual Motion Machine

Chapter 268 What Kind of World Do You Want?

Night fell, and a torrential downpour began.

Fang Zheng continued his leisurely stroll in the rain, quietly absorbing everything around him.

With each step, the dark, dilapidated slum and cheap apartments of Crime Alley gradually become clear, like a dusty mirror being wiped clean.

Those gazes that were originally hidden behind the curtains, seemingly filled with a thousand malicious eyes, are quietly dissipating, leaving only a few scattered ones in the end.

Suddenly, Fang Zheng stopped. At the moment he stopped, all the distorted and changing scenery around him froze instantly.

The aroma of dinner cooking, mixed with the deliberately suppressed yet still clear chatter of everyday family matters, drifted in through the cracks in the tightly closed doors and windows.

The force that was trying to interfere with and change Fangzheng was still keeping its distance.

However, after several probing contacts from the other party, Fang Zheng had gradually grasped the form of this force interference.

Therefore, he proactively adjusted his "interference interface" in this world to better align it with the rules of this world.

Of course, he had already noticed this peculiar phenomenon similar to comic panel layout, and he understood that he could still move freely in different "panels".

It's like a character with a completely different style intruding into a predetermined story. He can stick to his original behavioral logic or choose to integrate and develop with the story.

As Fang Zheng gradually "deciphers" this storyboard information, he is able to clearly perceive everything that happens in the current storyboard.

Of course, events that never actually happened and whose causal chains were never even started were, in his perception, nothingness.

This reminded him of the mathematical universe of wave functions from the past, and everything he experienced when he met Madoka Kaname.

Everything exists simultaneously, filled with all possibilities; there is no cause and effect, only juxtaposition.

It takes observing from different perspectives and in different orders to barely piece together the so-called "chronological order".

But this world is different; it's like a clearly structured comic book where possibilities have been greatly reduced, almost fixed.

Things outside the storyboard never existed from the beginning; only the scenes and characters within the storyboard could enter Fangzheng's field of vision.

Just as he was able to actively create and insert scenes before, he can also use each current scene as a basis to calculate and construct a vast universe with complete cause and effect and logical consistency.

However, Fang Zheng felt that this was unnecessary.

Why create life that doesn't already exist?
……

"Hey! Are you out of your mind?!" A suppressed shout suddenly came from the corner.

A dirty, emaciated child suddenly rushed out from the depths of the alley and pulled Fang Zheng into the narrow alley.

Without a word, he quickly took off his own equally tattered coat and forced it on Fang Zheng, then roughly rubbed it on Fang Zheng's face and head a few times.

In no time, Fang Zheng looked just as slovenly as him, like two little beggars on the street.

A barrage of insults immediately followed: "You're not from an orphanage, are you? You don't even have any basic survival skills!"

The boy who pulled him into the alley was named Kelly. He was sallow and thin, with a numbness on his face that did not match his age. He was dressed in clothes that looked like rags. Even after he took off one piece of clothing and gave it to Fang Zheng, the rest of his clothes were still filthy. He looked like a child laborer on the streets of London during the Industrial Revolution.

He was clutching a black plastic bag tightly in his hand, and Fang Zheng caught a glimpse of two smelly, slightly moldy hamburgers inside.

In Gotham, and indeed throughout the United States, orphanages are often not havens for orphans, but rather tools used by certain organizations for profit, with corruption and shady dealings rampant.

Some orphanages are practically synonymous with brothels. Orphanages and welfare institutions often serve as fronts for large corporations and the wealthy to evade taxes, and are also important avenues for gangs to profit.

They would carefully select and train boys and girls of different appearances, and then sell them at high prices.

This kind of child trafficking, which is almost "legal and compliant" compared to overt gang trafficking, is particularly rampant in Gotham, a crime city.

Despite the presence of several orphanages, welfare homes, and even official shelters, the children inside are in far worse condition.

Those who are reasonably good-looking and healthy may be able to get enough to eat, but often when they reach a certain age, they will be "adopted" by mysterious people wearing owl masks.

As for where the child went after being "adopted," and why they never came back to visit after so many years, no one knows.

Kelly, who was not only unattractive but also in poor health, often couldn't even get enough to eat, and in many cases, she had to escape from the orphanage to survive.

Kelly glared fiercely at Fang Zheng: "A little brat like you, wandering around Crime Alley alone in the middle of the night, do you want to be kidnapped by those scumbags and have your heart ripped out, or do you want to be trafficked into prostitution?"

He lowered his voice, his tone full of warning, "If you're some rich kid who's run away from home, you'd better get back as soon as possible! If those people target you, your life is completely over!"

In fact, Fang Zheng's current appearance is still the same as when he was originally a human.

The physique of the first-year junior high school student, who has not yet experienced puberty, looks more like that of a lower elementary school student compared to the generally earlier maturity of Westerners.

"Oh, thanks for reminding me," Fang Zheng replied calmly. "What's your name?"

“Kelly. This street is my territory.” Kelly looked Fang Zheng up and down, noting his inappropriate short-sleeved shirt and trousers. Dressed like that in the pouring rain, no ordinary kid would do that.

"Do you have any money left? If you pay some 'protection money,' I might consider taking you home. I know this area well; it's much safer for me to lead the way than for you to wander around alone."

Fang Zheng smiled and said, "I do have money, but I don't need it. I have no home in this world."

"No home?" A complex emotion flashed in Kelly's eyes, a mixture of sympathy and helplessness.

“Damn Gotham, damn adults…” he sighed. “Then you’ll stay with me for now, and whatever you do, don’t get caught by those bastards at the orphanage.”

Before Fang Zheng could answer, Kelly grabbed him, lifted a slightly protruding manhole cover with its edge still showing in the water, and crawled down into it.

Gotham's sewers were surprisingly spacious; despite the torrential rain outside, the sewers were only filled with puddles of water.

The narrow maintenance passage was not completely flooded.

Kelly navigated the familiar pipes, and two minutes later, they arrived at the end of an abandoned sewer pipe.

This place was a haphazardly constructed, dirty shack made of plastic sheeting and cardboard boxes, with a dim yellow maintenance lamp providing illumination.

Kelly plopped down on the ground, panting, and eagerly opened the tightly clenched plastic bag, taking out the moldy hamburger and taking a big bite.

He took a few bites, glanced at Fang Zheng staring at him, and handed it over irritably: "Kid, judging from your posture, you've probably never picked up kitchen waste before, right? Want to try some? These relatively intact burgers are hard to find in garbage dumps; they've already been snatched up by adults, homeless people, and even dockworkers."

He muttered to himself as he devoured the hamburger in a flash, then handed the second hamburger, which was covered in teeth marks and unidentified grime, to Fang Zheng.

Fang Zheng glanced at the hamburger, but didn't seem to care, and swallowed it in a few bites.

After finishing his meal, he looked at Kelly, who was yawning and lying down, and calmly asked, "Kelly, what kind of world do you want?"

(End of this chapter)