Suspended in the air, the dynamic logo led Shen Siwei into a pure white room.
The room was devoid of excessive decorations, extremely minimalistic.
As soon as Shen Siwei stepped in, the solid white walls transformed into floor-to-ceiling windows, revealing an endless sea of clouds in the distance.
There was a vertical distance of three kilometers between each level of the Tree of Life. The bottom level was at an altitude of 0 meters, the second level at 3,000 meters, and so on.
Judging from the expansive scenery outside the window, Shen Siwei should be on the third level of the Tree of Life, closest to the central power hub.
He awakened the microcomputer implanted in his palm and projected the coordinates in the air. Indeed, Shen Siwei was at an altitude of 6,000 meters.
Most ordinary people couldn’t survive in such high-altitude environments, so the buildings on the third level were equipped with a central regulation system to maintain the oxygen concentration at a normal level.
Shen Siwei tried to remove the oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose, but he didn’t feel any difficulty in breathing.
However, after taking a few steps, he felt as if he had just run ten kilometers with a heavy load, struggling to catch his breath.
“Why am I so weak?” Shen Siwei couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
It seemed that Dr. Chen’s description wasn’t exaggerated. While he was fine when not active, once he started moving, he had to wear the mask, otherwise his combat power would drop to zero instantly.
He put the mask back on, and his breathing became steady
On a nearby table, there was a water kettle and a glass. Shen Siwei absentmindedly lifted the bottom of the glass, applying slight pressure with his fingertips, and cracks immediately appeared on the surface. In the next moment, the glass shattered into irregular pieces.
Some fragments fell to the ground, while others remained in Shen Siwei’s palm.
He clenched his fist tightly, grinding the sharp glass shards into glass dust, but his skin remained unharmed.
“Are you testing the strength of your skin?” The elevator door opened, and Moran walked straight towards him.
The oppressive sound of his black military boots made Shen Siwei subconsciously take half a step back, recalling the uncomfortable embrace from earlier.
His evasive action couldn’t have been more obvious, and a faint displeasure flickered in Moran’s eyes. He said in an official tone, “Your body is precious, don’t engage in meaningless activities.”
Shen Siwei didn’t argue, he wiped off the glass dust from his palm. “Understood.”
Perhaps sensing Shen Siwei’s compliance, Moran’s voice softened. “I’ve arranged two soldiers to accompany you to the lower level. Remember, you must return unharmed.”
“Unharmed?” The word gave him shivers.
“Safely,” Moran immediately corrected himself. “You go and carry out the mission. I’ll be keeping a close eye on you.”
That awkward feeling resurfaced, and Shen Siwei lightly furrowed his eyebrows. He responded, “Okay.”
The center of the Tree of Life had a vertical train passage, similar to elevators in tall buildings, transporting people between each level.
There were more people traveling between the second and third levels, but Shen Siwei had a separate train car.
The descent speed of the vertical train was controlled within a comfortable range, and the pressure changes didn’t cause any ear ringing, not much different from riding a regular train.
Outside the sightseeing windows, thick layers of clouds were visible. As the train approached the second level, the sunlight shining through gradually decreased, and the view was noticeably less vast than on the third level.
Finally, when the train reached the second level, the supervisor of the military center was already waiting on the platform.
“Hello, it’s an honor…”
The supervisor introduced himself with great deference, even though his head was lowered, his gaze kept flickering towards Shen Siwei’s face.
Shen Siwei was not accustomed to being scrutinized and didn’t want to waste time on pleasantries.
He walked towards the transfer point alone, his gaze fixed straight ahead. “Which two people are following me?”
The two soldiers behind the supervisor immediately stepped forward in big strides, keeping pace with Shen Siwei. “Hello, sir.”
Actually, whether there was anyone accompanying Shen Siwei it didn’t matter to him.
Morin had actually arranged for two soldiers to follow Shen Siwei to make the disguise appear real.
However, judging by the attitude of the two soldiers, they seemed unaware that Shen Siwei was not the real negotiator and still referred to him as “sir.”
Shen Siwei casually glanced at the people beside him and suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He noticed that the collar of the soldier on the right was not neatly turned up, which looked somewhat displeasing.
In the past, there were also careless individuals among Shen Siwei’s team members who, no matter how much he criticized them, remained the same.
Shen Siwei started tidying him up directly.
He walked up to the soldier, lifted his hands wearing white gloves, raised the soldier’s collar, and then neatly folded it along the creases.
When he was done, Shen Siwei unconsciously gave instructions like a team leader, saying lightly, “Tidy up your appearance before going out will you?.”
The Adam’s apple above the collar moved up and down slightly. Shen Siwei raised his gaze and found that the soldier’s face had turned red, and he didn’t dare meet his eyes directly.
“Th-thank you, sir!”
—The soldier was shy.
But was it necessary to react so dramatically? He just helped him tidy up the collar.
The train at the transfer point was already waiting. It was the same as the one he got off—there were no other passengers in the carriage.
Shen Siwei took the lead and walked towards the train door. However, at that moment, an alarm suddenly rang in the air. The two soldiers immediately protected Shen Siwei and entered the carriage, vigilantly observing the situation outside.
There was no one on the platform, and there was no hint of danger in the air.
The alarm was canceled after a few seconds, and the two soldiers breathed a sigh of relief. The soldier whose collar Shen Siwei had fixed earlier glanced at the palm of his hand, which held a miniature computer, and said, “A lower-class civilian has entered the airspace control zone.”
He navigated the air with his finger a few times, and a fresh surveillance video appeared in mid-air. The civilian aircraft had exceeded the normal flight altitude and triggered a warning from the second-layer outer defense system.
The aircraft had likely entered the control zone by mistake. As soon as the warning sounded, it hastily lowered its altitude and moved away from the danger zone.
Shen Siwei remembered that such incidents had occurred before, mostly due to poor driving skills of the pilots. The driver would now face license revocation and would have to go back to driving school.
“Sir,” the soldier turned off the projection and started a conversation with Shen Siwei, “have you ever seen lower-class civilians?”
Shen Siwei had not only seen them but had also frequently been in the lower-class areas. Except for some criminals, most lower-class civilians led ordinary lives, grateful for the living environment provided by the Tree of Life.
“Yes, I have,” Shen Siwei replied.
The train slowly started and moved forward along the vertical track.
“What about vagrants?” the soldier asked again.
This time, Shen Siwei didn’t answer. Firstly, he wasn’t in the mood for chatting, and secondly, he hadn’t fabricated a background for his false identity. Seeing the soldier’s eager demeanor to continue the conversation, regardless of whether Shen Siwei answered with “yes” or “no,” it seemed that he would continue talking.
Shen Siwei chose silence, but it seemed that the soldier interpreted his silence as fear of vagrants. The soldier looked at Shen Siwei with a serious expression and said firmly, “Don’t worry, sir, we will definitely protect you.”
Shen Siwei didn’t say much and closed his eyes to rest, saying, “Protect yourselves.”
The distance of three kilometers wouldn’t take much time to travel.
When the train arrived at the lower-class area, the sun hadn’t set yet, but the sky was densely covered with dark clouds, as if night would arrive the next second.
Shen Siwei stepped out of the carriage, and a strong sense of familiarity washed over him. The areas near the center of the lower-class region always had this scene because the sunlight was scarce due to the obstruction of the upper-level buildings.
However, compared to the train station on the second level, there was a much bigger presence in the lower-class area, and the people were more enthusiastic.
Just as Shen Siwei emerged from the station’s gate, he saw a crowd of reporters and civilians below the steps.
“It’s a Mag person! A real, living Mag person!”
“Oh my goodness, he has such charisma!”
“Is he really going to represent us in negotiating with the vagrants?”
Chaos erupted below the steps, and the guards barely managed to clear a passage. Shen Siwei calmly walked through the crowd, allowing countless reporters to capture his image with their cameras clicking away. For Shen Siwei to come to the lower level in such a high-profile manner was Moran’s idea.
Shen Siwei could have directly taken a flying vehicle to Z City, but he took a detour to the Central Train Station to let the media relay a message to the vagrants—that a genuine noble was going to negotiate with them.
With such a spectacle, the vagrants couldn’t dismiss this negotiator.
Inside a dimly lit room, an old-fashioned television played an old animation.
A tall man sat on a single sofa, his long legs casually resting on the coffee table.
“Boss, look at the news.” Maierken approached the sofa excitedly, with a hint of curiosity in his tone.
klet nodded as he focused on the animation, lazily responding, “Hmm?”
“A Mag person has come to negotiate with us.”
Maierken said as he displayed the news into the air, and the noisy background sound of the video instantly exceeded the sound of the animation.
klet glanced casually at the news and then returned his gaze to the TV screen.
But the next second, he inexplicably shifted his attention back to the news footage.
He noticed that the negotiator in the video was wearing a white cloak that extended to his ankles. Through the gaps in the cloak, a white uniform with golden buttons could be seen.
The hood of the cloak covered his head, forming a diamond shape. His slightly curled golden hair covered part of his forehead, and an unknown metallic mask covered the lower half of his face, making it difficult to see the negotiator’s features clearly.
However, just by looking at his eyes and long eyelashes, one couldn’t help but gaze at him for a few more seconds.
“What’s that on his face? An air purifier?” Maierken adjusted the angle of the footage, teasing, “Does he find the air in the lower levels dirty?”
klet didn’t pay much attention and shifted his gaze back to the TV.
He waved away the intrusive display in the air and continued watching the animation. “Daring to come here, he’s quite bold.”
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