Being a government facility, it didn't take him too long to find his way out.
Entering the streets reminded him of his days in Jinzhou. The road was crowded, so much so that he was having a hard time passing by without bumping into someone every few minutes.
Meanwhile, the people couldn't be bothered with a simple inconvenience like that. Nobody looked back, let alone apologized.
It wasn't anything new to him. This was the only city in the entire world to still stand against the Surge. Most of the people here were already busy doing something critical, adding to the collective effort. Bumping into someone in the streets wasn't even worth their attention.
It wasn't all that grim, though.
He looked at a cafe across the street. People sitting inside enjoyed their day without a care in the world. Despite the looming threat of the Surge right outside the barrier, the people of this city had found a balance in their lives.
'If they constantly kept thinking about it, this city would've fallen a long time ago.'
Looking at them, he remembered his days with Seo.
When they were young, their reputation wasn't the best when it came to prominent clans. No matter where they went, they somehow got caught up in the schemes of an elder of a martial sect. Or it would be the young master of some merchant guild who couldn't pick his opponents properly.
There wasn't a time they weren't being chased down.
But in between those times, they always managed to find time to enjoy their lives simply.
It was the same here. It was now resembling more of an actual city rather than the last bastion of humanity.
After walking down the street for half an hour, he stopped in front of a large metallic gate. Numerous locks were being used to keep it shut, making it seem more like a wall than a gate. But it was easy to distinguish it from a wall, since there was a curtain wall extending from both of its sides.
He couldn't see how long the walls went, but he knew from Lian's memory what it was.
Almost a decade ago, an incident shook the city to its core. It was so violent that everyone had thought it was truly their end.
He didn't know yet how they handled the incident, but this curtain wall was built after that. He couldn't see it, but there was another invisible barrier extending from the tower. It was a countermeasure put in place to ensure their forces weren't wiped out completely if an enemy did breach the outer barrier somehow.
In the very corner of the grand gate, there was a smaller gate that was used by normal people to enter and exit this part of the city. It was guarded by several soldiers, each one armed with heavy firearms and clad in military armor.
'The young ones at the Tang clan would've loved this toy.'
Taking out a card, he handed it to one of the guards. He could see a long line in front of him, full of people who had business inside this part of the city.
If one wanted to freely move between the outer and the inner sections, they had to be a challenger or at least needed a permit stating their business inside. A small fraction of the people here were challengers, which meant that everyone else needed to have a permit.
Fortunately, it wasn't particularly hard to get a permit, so no one raised a voice against the system.
The guard examined the card, checking whether it was legitimate or fake. Returning the card, he signaled Jin to pass through.
The card, meanwhile, was given to him by Morgan. Ironically, Jin's abnormal case had made it such that most of the documentation a new challenger needed was processed with haste. He didn't have to wait for hours in any office or bribe anyone.
That time was wasted in Morgan's office instead, which didn't make him feel any better.
'I feel like I haven't thanked him enough yet. I'll have to treat him to something nice when I meet him again.'
Nevertheless, Jin knew that Lian was too young to treat Morgan, who was far too old as well as in a much higher position. So, he had to postpone the idea for later.
There was a significant change between the two territories. If the inner section reminded him of a bustling city of Jinzhou, the outer streets were opposite. The populace here was significantly larger in number than the inner sections.
He could barely see the road below him, let alone the shops on the side.
The reason was simple—most of the non-challengers lived in these parts.
Being a challenger opened up countless possibilities for you. One could be scouted by the major clans that fought against the Surge and climbed the tower. Or they could go to the government that maintained everything related to the tower, as well as maintained the peace inside the city.
Challengers were always in demand.
But the mundane people didn't have much to give. They were simply a part of the economy, keeping the smaller businesses and positions alive, which allowed them to earn just about enough.
He couldn't decide whether the upper echelon of the Acropolis was favorable to the lower districts or not. It was strange to him how they still kept the mundane people a part of their domain, yet used them as a meat shield at the same time.
'It would be foolish to assume too much. Lian barely knew anything about the inner part of the city. I'll have to uncover things myself if I am to live in this place.'
Entering a narrow alley, he deeply sighed. There weren't as many people here, giving him space to at least walk freely. He still sensed a few gazes targeting him from the shadows.
Since he was wearing a suit given to him by the government, which was a rarity in here, he decided to simply pass by the route before someone made a scene.
As he went deeper inside the lower districts, the number of people around him dwindled. After all, the district connected to the grand wall was a market. This district, on the other hand, was where people lived.
It was just that most of the people were either inside their houses or in the other districts.
He looked up in the sky, and the sun was about to set. But he couldn't really see the sunset. The buildings here were far too big. Even if they weren't, the gigantic overgrown flora outside the barrier would've blocked the remaining light.
Before he knew it, Jin had stopped in front of an unassuming orphanage. Calling it an orphanage was an exaggeration, since it was simply a two-storeyed house that was squeezed between two much larger housing facilities.
Jin knew it wasn't old, yet the walls of the orphanage had hairline cracks in them, the surface itself uneven after the passage of time. Some windows were cracked, while some were missing completely, as if someone had stolen them as well.
At the same time, a man came out of the orphanage. He seemed rather young, barely older than Lian himself. The bags under his eyes stood out; no one his age was supposed to look so worn out.
Jin recognized him—he was Harrison, one of the adults who managed the orphanage.
Harrison didn't notice him until they were only a few steps away from each other.
His face lit up, his smile reaching both his ears.
"Lian… man, what were you doing all this time? I heard that your batch of challengers came back days ago."
Harrison glanced behind Jin, searching for someone in the alleys behind him.
"But where's Han? Don't tell me, did he get in another fight with that John fellow? I told him not to mess with those people."
Jin remained silent. His face was devoid of any emotion.
Han was Lian's friend, akin to his own brother. He was also one of the challengers in his group, all of whom had been slaughtered in the trial.
Harrison looked back at Jin, finally noticing his worried gaze.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Jin clenched his fist.
"I'm sorry, Harry."
Harry's expression fell.