Chapter 3: Disposing the corpse and wiping out traces

Xia Tian sat in the passenger seat, browsing the car owner’s photos on the screen. The man was having a fun time with a group of naked men and women, and Xia Tian looked over it with great interest.

The people who often attended these banquets probably won’t wake up until the afternoon tomorrow.

He pondered over how Bai JingAn took notice of him, and how he knew that they wouldn’t be discovered that night before they sneakily entered the car. Even if someone were to investigate later, it would be difficult to check the whereabouts of this type of car.

He looked back at Bai JingAn. When he first met him, Xia Tian thought that he was a resident of the Upper City. It could be because of how he appeared composed and aloof, and not befuddled, unlike the other participants who were fretful and hapless. It was as if he knew exactly what would happen next.

He thought that even though the people in the Upper World were a group of weirdos, he couldn’t deny that wearing formal attire made him look handsome.

The driver ignored the curious prying wandering gaze of the passenger and continued driving. Although he was driving a stolen car to dispose of a corpse, he was very calm. His eyelashes cast a shadow on his face, his expression was as calm as ice, and he revealed no emotions.

Even now, Xia Tian had no idea why Bai JingAn helped him.

Of course, if something happened to himself, then there would only be temporary discord. He would get a new comrade in the next round, and tactics and the like would have to be redone from scratch. But those were all hypothetical variables. If the actions they’re doing now were to be discovered, it would’ve been considered as a collaborative crime that would destroy Bai JingAn in addition to himself.

He felt that if he asked, Bai JingAn most likely wouldn’t respond, or he would give him some random plain and boring answer – like a filler, meaningless statement. He seemed like the type who would say a few dozen of those types of replies.

However, he decided not to ask anything. If he did ask and Bai JingAn suddenly changed his mind, what would he do?
It’s like when you go to the Upper City and see the rays of sunlight. It’s best not to create a ruckus and let it continue shining. Otherwise, if it reacts and disappears, what would you do?

Xia Tian had no idea what Bai JingAn was thinking about. He could only guess that since he was a strategist, he would have done what he thought was the most advantageous.
And now, he’s in a troublesome situation and will accept any help from anyone no matter the cost.

Bai JingAn drove around a corner and through the expansive, lush, and extravagant green park.

Probably because he puked out everything he ate at the party in the bathroom earlier, Xia Tian felt hungry, so he pulled out a chocolate cupcake from his pocket.

He was hungry often as a child, such that, when he grew up, he would fill his pockets with snacks whenever he had the chance, and they mysteriously made him feel safe.
He took out some marshmallows and cupcakes – he generously handed a large piece to Bai JingAn, who politely refused – and placed them on his knees to finish his midnight snack. He’ll refill his stash when he returns to the party later. Those rich organizers won’t mind.
He leaned comfortably on the chair and finished the food. The trunk was loaded with the box containing the “dear friend”. There was an air of peace and happiness.

The car whizzed away from the city, and the scenery outside slowly became shabby and desolate. Bai JingAn turned a corner, the suspension driveway went downwards and extended towards the Lower City.

However, they did not arrive in the Lower City but drove to the transit district below the Upper City. There is a protein feed factory. The factory turned bodies into pure protein and then fed it to the fast-growing meat-eating livestock in the Lower City. The people in the Lower City also sometimes ate it, and it’s now a growing trend.

In addition to the sunroom*, there were no plants in the Lower City. Half of the limited food in the Lower City is to be supplied to the Upper City as a “technical service fee.” The crops of the Upper World aren’t bad, but they will never offer any to the Lower World. As a response to the starvation issue, the easiest way to deal with it was to use the dead bodies to feed the people down there.

(There’s literally a room with the light of the sun)

The factory is fully automatic, and it was very dilapidated. The billboards were lit up above the door, “professional, cleaning, reusable.”

They parked the car at the back door and found a padlock on the door. Xia Tian opened it with a wire and then dragged the fancy suitcase into the building.

The inside of the feed factory was essentially a horror film, so it was never shown on TV. But as a resident of the Lower City, Xia Tian was very familiar with these types of places. There were a large number of corpses piled up all year round, an amalgamation of both humans and animals. A machine slowly pushed it towards the conveyor belt, and then into the packaging machine.

No one knows what goes on inside of it. When it comes out, it becomes a neat, clean, thick milky-white drink with no trace of its former appearance.

However, he was more familiar with the main lobby. There was a dirty receptionist robot, which would buy the corpses at a low price. The whole process was completely automatic. Sometimes, the people in the Lower City would kill others to sell their bodies and earn some pocket money. Those people would judge others with a “how heavy are they” look. It was normal that Xia Tian knew some of these people.

He tried to drag Zhi Leng onto the automatic scale to measure his weight and sell it off. Bai JingAn grabbed Zhi Leng’s leg and looked at him with a stern glance.

“The money from selling it would be enough to eat a good meal.” Xia Tian said.

“It will leave records,” Bai JingAn said.

“I can clean the records.” Xia Tian said. “As long as I have a 7 stealth program, this place would be like your wife’s…” He swallowed a habitual obscene saying from the lower city and said, “Uhh, in short, I can change it however I want.”

Bai JingAn looked at him uncompromisingly, dragging the body inside. Without a choice, Xia Tian had to keep up with him. Reassuring himself, he thought “Fine, I’ve already lost this much weight, and it wouldn’t have sold for much anyway.”

In the preparation area, the naked dead bodies were piled up high, and the clothes were all taken off and discarded on the other side. They were destroyed in accordance with the regulations, but most of them were stolen and sold in the black market.

Xia Tian had always felt that this place was frightening. It was like the end. In this place, your whole life boiled down to a pile of sparkling white garbage.

But when they took off Zhi Leng’s clothes and tossed him in a pile of corpses making it indistinguishable from any other Lower City corpse, he felt that this place wasn’t that bad. Like it was made just for the plan.

Xia Tian flipped through the wallet, skillfully took out some cash, and tossed the rest on the corpse. Then he discovered that Zhi Leng’s ring and cufflinks weren’t that bad, so he bent down to pick it up.

He suddenly felt an icy glance. He looked up and saw Bai JingAn fiercely glaring at him.

“What?” he said.
“I hope you have some common sense.” The man said coldly.
“Do you know how much it’s worth?” Xia Tian said.

If Bai JingAn knew, then he was certainly not interested in it. He calmly reached out with an ice-cold face and confronted Xia Tian for ten seconds and until he reluctantly handed over the gem. This person’s expression was a bit riled up, it’s best not to argue with him.
Then, Bai JingAn picked up Zhi Leng’s clothes, bloody suitcase, and gems and dumped them into the incinerator. Xia Tian went to the pile of dead clothes and looked for anything he could use.

However, it has already been combed through once, and only those things that no one would want remained.

There is a pretty nice looking formal wear within the pile. He didn’t know which poor fellow had run out of luck, but it was drenched with blood. The poor guy was stabbed by a blunt knife around a dozen times before he died. The clothes have no resale value. If someone took it, they would likely get into trouble.

He felt that the way he killed Zhi Leng should be the way to get rid of rich people. This way, the clothes would still be in pristine condition and could be used again. It was a pity Bai JingAn mercilessly burnt it down.

He continued to rummage through the pile, and finally found only a worn-out puppy earring, which was worth recycling. His younger sister would like it, he thought. But he went to jail, and after some unpleasant times, he landed into the killing show. He couldn’t even see her one last time.

From the standpoint of IQ, Xia Tian couldn’t imagine how long she could live in the darkness.

He felt a burst of worry, but none of that could be seen in his expression. It was still a leisurely and cheerful look. He put the buttons into his pocket out of habit.

He didn’t find anything else worth reselling, but the feed factory has always been like this.
Bai JingAn started the machine, burned the clothes, and sent Zhi Leng’s body to the depths of the machine. No matter how big the man was, the machine would process it quickly and turn it into a neat and pure thing of protein.

He skillfully completed the process of destroying the body and their traces and proceeded to turn around and leave. Xia Tian followed behind him, folded the cuffs of the shirt, smoothed over the folds. No matter how he looked at himself, he felt that he was a proper young man.
In front of him, the tactician had a cold and uninterested look. He locked the back door and then started the car. It was as if they were out on a boring trip, and could finally go back.

“What about the assistant?” Xia Tian asked.
“He is at the party.” Bai JingAn said impatiently.

Bai JingAn drove the car back to the hotel and parked it at its original location. No one discovered anything awry.

They slipped back to the dinner party, and Xia Tian followed closely behind. He watched him walk into the hall briskly as if he had never left, and he couldn’t see how he had just discarded a body with that appearance.

Bai JingAn smiled and greeted some other tactician. In passing, he took a glass of champagne from the waiter and continued to walk into the crowd. He took two hallucinogens from the “candy box” on the table and put them in the cup.

– There were soft drugs set up all around the dinner party. The stuff was the size of sugar, and it’s provided to ensure that the party is full of joy.

Xia Tian watched with interest as he put on an act and held the cup, like an athlete who made an unmemorable joke, while dropping another blue pill into the cup. By the time he got to the middle of the hall, the whole glass of champagne was already like a party.

He absentmindedly walked past the assistant – Zhi Leng’s assistant, who he went to Xia Tian and asked him to go to the top floor suite an hour ago – the man was talking to people, completely drunk, and reached out and gestured for something.

Bai JingAn calmly handed over the cup to his palm.

The other person was completely wasted and continued to talk to people. It looked as if he didn’t seem to know what he was talking about or what he was drinking. In this place, everyone was reaching for wine and if they had something in hand, they would drink it immediately. It seemed as if they all lived in a world without a future.

Not long after arriving in the Upper City, Xia Tian quickly realized that the people here are not truly happy and confident. They have a lot of problems, but they use entertainment, alcohol, and drugs to solve all their problems in life.

He knew that the things in the cup could give him a very pleasant few hours. Until the next day, no one would want to dig out the things in his brain from the day before.
He turned around and took another sip of wine, smiling at a beautiful girl next to him. Maybe he could find a companion tonight. People in the Upper City seemed to live in an endless game, no worries, just have fun.

And his crimes quietly melted into the gilded and extravagant Upper World.