Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 53 The Dust People
The old man's hoarse and trembling voice instantly broke the busy sounds inside the warehouse.

The young men carrying the supplies stopped what they were doing, puzzled, and followed the old man's gaze.

Looking at the two unfamiliar faces at the door, they were clearly people who had come from Dragonbone Village to trade with them.

Hong Kou's heart skipped a beat.

The old woman said her name, and he realized he was right; the old woman in front of him was one of the previous group who had set off from the lighthouse.

But she had no interaction with the old man in front of her; even the living conditions of the upper class were different from those of the common people.

"You, you were one of the last people to embark on this journey, right?" She never expected to meet the lighthouse keeper who knew her here, and she was even more surprised that the other person would recognize her at a glance.

The old man suddenly stood up, his movements slightly unsteady due to excitement, and his companion quickly helped him up.

His cloudy eyes were fixed on Hong Kou, then he looked incredulously at Po Xiao beside her, his lips trembling even more violently.

"Captain Red... Dawn Lieutenant... Is it really you?" The old man's voice was filled with extreme confusion, and seemed to contain some fear.

"You...how did you get here? Could it be...could it be that the Lighthouse...sent you here?" His voice suddenly rose, filled with terror.

"They're going to take me back? No... I won't go back! I'd rather die than go back!" He waved his arms excitedly, his body trembling slightly.

He was on the ground, in this settlement.

Although it is far less prosperous than Dragonbone Village, it is better than the dusty district of the Lighthouse.

No, even the Upper East Side can be called paradise.

He no longer needs to wear a number tag, no longer needs to sleep in cold, crowded containers, and no longer needs to eat those tasteless insect cakes that barely sustain life.

Here, he has his own room, where he can eat freshly grown vegetables and meat.

He only needs to record the list of supplies here, and there is absolutely no pressure in his work.

No one treated him like livestock, and no one looked at him with disdain.

He felt a long-lost sense of dignity as a human being, not just as a number.

How could he possibly want to go back to that cold, indifferent lighthouse that he saw as a burden?

"Take you back?" Qianli reacted the fastest, stepping forward to block Hong Kou and Po Xiao.

His face still wore a hearty smile, and his tone was reassuring: "Old man, what are you thinking! We from Longgu Village are here to do business. Hong Kou and Po Xiao are now our own people, and have nothing to do with that Lighthouse thing anymore."

"One of our own?" The old man was stunned, his fear replaced by utter bewilderment.

He glanced at Qianli, then at Hongkou and Poxiao, whose clothing and equipment were clearly not those of hunters.

Hong Kou took a deep breath, stepped forward, and gestured for Qianli to make way.

She looked into the old man's surprised and uncertain eyes and explained gently.

“Old man, don’t be afraid. Why would the lighthouse send someone to bring back those who have traveled far away? Dawn and I… we are on a long journey.”

"A long...long journey?" The old man was completely dumbfounded, his mouth slightly agape.

It was as if they couldn't understand how those two words could be associated with the young, powerful woman in front of them, a former commander of the Hunters.

“You…you…?” He subconsciously switched back to using honorifics.

Dawn said in a deep voice, "The laws of the Lighthouse cannot tolerate us."

He didn't elaborate, but his words were enough for the old man, who was also a lighthouse, to understand the reason.

The warehouse was completely silent.

The young men who carried the loads would often talk to the old man and had a basic understanding of what it was like up on the lighthouse.

So they all looked at Red Envoy and Dawn with curiosity.

The old man gradually calmed down, and his fear subsided. "So...that's how it is..." the old man murmured to himself.

"I was too excited. How could a lighthouse possibly go to the trouble of coming down to the ground to bring travelers back?"

Moreover, although the Red Bandits were upper-class citizens, they did not discriminate against the common people.

Before him, a young man from the Dust Village went to the surface with the Hunters to find supplies.

Each time she returned, Hong Kou would share some with the Dust People who went to the surface.

The old man was able to relieve his boredom by borrowing the comic books that the young man had brought back, even though he had read those comic books when he was a child.

Tears seemed to glisten in his cloudy eyes. Suddenly, he remembered something and looked at Hong Kou anxiously.

“Captain Hong Kou, before you came down from that lighthouse…did you know my wife?” His voice was filled with cautious anticipation. “She is an upper-class citizen, her name is Xie Lin.”

Hong Kou and Po Xiao exchanged a glance, both seeing silence in each other's eyes.

Even the commander of the hunters wouldn't possibly care about the situation of the common people.

Hong Kou could only slowly and apologetically shake her head.

“I’m sorry, ma’am… I… I don’t know her current situation.”

The light in the old man's eyes dimmed instantly, and he nodded faintly.

He had never seen him since the Lighthouse promulgated the Three Laws, after all, he was classified as a Dustman.

"Alright, Lao Chen, isn't that old man's old age when he comes down? We'll keep an eye on things, and when your wife goes on her journey, we'll bring her over."

His companion, who was also keeping a list of supplies, seemed to be a member of the settlement. He came over and comforted him.

"At least you still have something to hold onto. My wife died after the disaster."

“Longing. Yes, longing.” Old Chen had already recovered his senses.

"Old Chen, how many of those who traveled far away are still alive?"

Old Chen was probably his name before he was classified as a commoner, and Hong Kou used the same name.

"Yes, there were both Upper People and Dust People among those who traveled far away. The Upper People did not travel with us, so when we encountered the people on the ground, there were only the six of us Dust People."

"The other group went in the opposite direction; nobody lives over there, they must be dead by now," Old Chen's companion explained.

His tone was also sarcastic: "It's really interesting that they divide people into different groups based on their genes. As a result, those who are suited to survive die, while those who are not survive."

"What are your leaders thinking? Don't they know that there are drugs that can improve genes in the old world?"

"This," Hong Kou Po Xiao was speechless.

There are actually drugs that can improve genes?

How come the technology in this old world is so advanced? If that kind of potion were used, there wouldn't be any difference between the upper class and the common people.

No, this is ultimately a systemic problem.

For a moment, only the soft clanging sounds of materials being moved filled the warehouse.

Qianli patted Hongkou on the shoulder, breaking the heavy silence.

His voice was deliberately made more relaxed: "Alright, alright, stop standing around! The goods are almost unloaded, and the crystal coins have been counted."

"Old man, take care of yourself. You have a long life ahead of you on this ground! Hong Kou, Po Xiao, we should go back now!" He called to Er Tong and gestured for Hong Kou and Po Xiao to follow.

Hong Kou took one last look at the old man and whispered to Po Xiao, "Let's go."

The two turned around and followed Qianli out of the bungalow.

(End of this chapter)