Rotten God Kingdom

The catastrophe lasted 58 years.

The job market was located in an open valley at the junction of several cities. It was called a market, but it was actually just a circle of open space surrounded by dozens of simple tents and sheds, which was filled with all sorts of people.

There were wanderers who came from the wilderness, families fleeing with their children, and travelers like Jiang Wang who came with a clear purpose.

Jiang Wang and Jiang Xin were lucky; a job market nearby had just opened.

After paying some supplies as a "ticket," Jiang Wang finally met the interviewer in charge of recruitment.

Inside the simple shed was a table and two chairs. The interviewer was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a faded old shirt. When he spoke, his eyelids were half-closed, as if he couldn't be bothered to look at you.

Jiang Wang sat upright and serious. After all, he had never experienced anything like this before. When he entered the City of Sickness and the City of Fishmen, he didn't have to do anything. He just wandered around outside the city a couple of times and someone warmly invited him to come in as a guest.

It was his first time visiting a city with specific requirements, and he was worried about making a big mistake, so he took it very seriously.

"Ahem, let's skip the name and age, and get straight to the point: do you like being a dog?"

What kind of question is this?

Jiang Wang was stunned by the first sentence.

"...What?"

"Being a dog means guarding the house, wagging your tail, eating leftovers, barking when your owner tells you to, and shutting up when they tell you to. The downside is that you might get hit occasionally, but the upside is that you're reliable." The interviewer said this with a serious expression, not like he was joking.

"Um, I guess I don't like it..."

The interviewer sighed with some regret, "Okay, what about cats? They just eat, sleep, and catch mice all day long, and when they're not busy, they lie in their owner's lap and cuddle. The downside is that they can only eat leftovers or cat food."

This sounds pretty good. In the wilderness, most people don't know where their next meal will come from, so having leftovers and cat food is already a blessing.

Jiang Wang secretly considered it for a moment and thought the conditions described by the interviewer were actually quite good. He nodded and said, "This sounds alright."

"But you need to think carefully. If you choose this identity, you can only live in the livestock city for eight years. After eight years, you will be subject to mandatory reimbursement. If you are lucky, you will be able to get a grave. If you are unlucky, you will most likely be dumped on the street."

?

"Can I ask why?" Jiang Wang had never heard of such a request before. Forced reimbursement—was this something a human being could do?

It's just regular executions, why make it sound so nice?

The interviewer gave Jiang Wang a look as if he were an idiot: "Have you ever seen a cat that lives for decades? Eight years is the average lifespan of a cat. If you don't want to be a cat or dog, that's fine too. You can be a lizard or a hamster, but I can't guarantee you'll have a better life in Livestock City."

Jiang Wang pondered for a moment and politely declined the interviewer's suggestion.

Jiang Wang felt that if he chose to enter the Livestock City as a dog, he might really have to eat shit.

"Um, sir, are there any other options? I heard there are several cities near our talent market." Jiang Wang's goal was to enter the City of Music, but he didn't want outsiders to see that he had a strong purpose, so as to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

Just act like an ordinary wilderness dweller.

The interviewer listened to Jiang Wang's words expressionlessly, then pulled a medical record from a drawer beneath him. "There's a city where you're valued not for your skills, but for the number of diseases you have. The rarer and more deadly your disease, the higher your status in the city. You live in the best houses, eat the best food, and are carried around by others when you go out."

How many illnesses do you have?

Was the interviewer referring to a sick city?

Jiang Wang had just left the sick city, wandered around for a bit, and was then sent back. If Lü Ang and the others saw this, they would laugh at him to death.

Moreover, life in the sick city was not like that at all. The rarer the disease, the higher the status. After entering the city, everyone was sent to the factory to tighten screws.

These people have exaggerated the life in the sick city.

Jiang Wang hurriedly interrupted the interviewer.

"Sir, I'm not sick! I'm perfectly healthy."

Jiang Wang immediately jumped up from the chair, lay on the ground and did more than ten push-ups in one go. After standing up, his heart was not racing and he was not out of breath.

The interviewer looked closely at Jiang Wang. He looked fair-skinned, but too fair, which suggested some kind of skin condition.

"Your skin?"

"I've been fair-skinned since birth, I can't get tanned even in the sun, it's natural," Jiang Wang said confidently, patting his chest.

"I thought it was some kind of skin condition," the interviewer muttered. "No stomach problems? No pneumonia? Not even cavities?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Jiang Wang waved his hands frantically.

"Okay, I'll give you an idea." The interviewer's tone was flat; he had been in this line of work for so many years and knew how to deal with these wilderness people.

"I see you're quite generous, spending money on bullets and canned goods, so you probably don't lack for this. Look over there." The interviewer pointed to an open space next to the greenhouse.

Jiang Wang looked in the direction he was pointing.

At the end of my line of sight was a young woman dressed in a flamboyant manner. Her face was covered in something so white it was frightening, and she wasn't wearing her clothes properly, revealing large areas of her fair and smooth skin.

I wonder what this person's profession is; people who do manual labor don't usually have such good skin.

"Go find her, spend more money, and she'll make you sick in one night. When you're sick, come back to me, and I'll take you into the city."

Jiang Wang opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

What kind of bullshit logic is this?

I spent money just to get sick, and with such an unseemly disease at that?

The interviewer looked at Jiang Wang's hesitant expression and gave a mocking smile: "You're not even willing to do this? You should know that if you wanted to find someone like this elsewhere, you'd have to pay at least this much. This is considered a friendly price at the job market." He held up two fingers and waved them in front of Jiang Wang's eyes.

Twenty cans of food, or two hundred bullets?

Jiang Wang didn't speak, firstly because he wouldn't be returning to the sick city for the time being.

Two.

Heaven have mercy.

Although he is twenty-two years old this year, he is still...

Commonly known as a male chef.

He really can't do this job.

"Fine, since you're not willing, then let's call it quits. Life in the wilderness is tough. Not only are you always hungry and sick, but you also have to face darkness and monsters in the wilderness."

Young man, take my advice. Even if you get sick, even if you end up as a dog in the city, you can at least live a few years peacefully, and maybe even get married and have children. Would you dare to have children in the wilderness? You wouldn't even be able to feed yourself.

Jiang Wang said with a forced smile, "Sir, I'm really not interested in illness. Do you have any other options?"

The interviewer looked somewhat embarrassed.

Jiang Wang took out two cans of food from his pocket and quietly handed them to the interviewer from under the table.

The interviewer's expression softened, and he asked, "Do you like music? Have you ever learned any musical instruments?"

"Yes," Jiang Wang said seriously.

The interviewer also showed a hint of interest.

What a talent!

In today's wilderness, everyone is worried about whether they will see the sun rise tomorrow, yet some people are willing to spend a lot of time practicing a skill that they will never need.

What musical instruments do you play?

"I was pretty good at backing out."

Two veins bulged on the interviewer's forehead: "I'm being serious. It's okay if you don't play an instrument. How's your singing? If you sing well, that's fine too."

Sing a couple of lines for me, and I'll give you my feedback.

Jiang Wang pondered for a while. He had once found an MP3 player, which he fiddled with for two months. It only had a few songs on it, which were probably among the few proper songs Jiang Wang had ever heard.

"The vast horizon is my love, endless..." He opened his mouth and sang with all his might.

"Stop, stop, stop! This isn't singing! Not a single word is in tune!" The interviewer resisted the urge to punch Jiang Wang, and said, rubbing his forehead, "Someone like you should just go and get sick in the Sick City."

Jiang Wangyi refused firmly, saying, "Although I sing terribly, I have a deep longing and reverence for music, and I am willing to learn."

The interviewer carefully examined Jiang Wang for a few moments.

She's at best above average in looks, but her skin is very fair.

The saying goes that fair skin can cover up a hundred flaws. Due to vitiligo, Jiang Wang is now frighteningly fair, which has even improved his appearance.

As we all know, a person's appearance can affect the quality of their voice.

"But..." The interviewer looked hesitant.

Jiang Wang understood immediately and then passed out a few more boxes of bullets and canned goods from under the table.

The interviewer's expression softened slightly, and he pulled out two booklets and an MP3 player from his drawer.

"Since you're so sensible, I'll take out some more things. I'll sell these to you; these days, paper books are hard to find."

Jiang Wang gritted his teeth, handed the automatic rifle he was carrying to the interviewer as a cover, and also gave away all the food in his pocket.

They hit him on the head with a bamboo pole.

He endured it in order to get into the city.

The interviewer handed me the book and asked, "What's your name?"

"Jiang Wang"

The interviewer wrote Jiang Wang's name on the registration form in front of him and handed Jiang Wang a gray badge with a symbol that looked like a musical note on it.

"Meet here tomorrow morning, someone will come to pick you up." After saying that, he kicked Jiang Wang out.

"Next……"

Jiang Wang came out of the shed and gave Jiang Xin a look.

Everything is OK.

Jiangxin nodded and went into the shed.

Jiang Wang picked up the two books and saw that the first one was "A General History of Music" and the second one was "Fundamentals of Music Theory".

He picked it up and flipped through it a couple of times. Seeing those words made him feel dizzy. He patiently read two pages, but before he could finish, Jiang Xin had already come out.

"So fast?"

"Um."

"We're going to the city of music, don't let the interviewer trick you," Jiang Wang couldn't help but remind him.

If, by some twist of fate, the brother and sister end up in different places, that would be terrible.

"I'm not stupid, how could such a small thing stump me?" Jiang Xin thought Jiang Wang was overthinking things.

She's sixteen years old, do you think she's a three-year-old?

"Didn't the interviewer recommend you go to the 'sick city' or the 'livestock city'?"

Jiang Xin looked at Jiang Wang in surprise: "No, he thinks I'm pretty and have a nice voice, so he told me to study music properly."

"He didn't ask you to buy him books? Nor did he ask you to send him anything?"

Jiang Xin stamped her foot: "Ugh, why are you being so long-winded? I went in, sang a couple of songs, and it was settled."

"Hey, where's the gun you always carry on your back? Did you put it away?" Jiang Xin looked at Jiang Wang suspiciously.

"That corrupt official! That lecherous old man!"