interstellar enemy

The old people were very familiar with the roads in the empty city, and led Qiao Xi through the streets and alleys, walking back while looking for other people who had fallen into the empty city.

Qiao Xi didn't speak all the way, but just followed behind quietly, and the old people didn't say much, at most they went into the house and searched to tell if anyone was there.Leaving the empty city, the group entered another forest, which was different from the forest Qiao Xi had gone to before. There were more tall trees in it, and less shrubs.Through the forest, Qiao Xi came to a densely populated city.Such backward cities are almost rare in the empire, and Qiao Xi has only seen them in textbooks.There are high walls built of stones around the city, which should be used to defend against common wild animals.This city is much smaller than the empty city, and there are all kinds of stone houses built in an orderly manner, usually one-story, only occasionally a few two-story houses, and those with more than two floors cannot be seen at all. .

"Okay, you guys go back first. I'll take this child to my place first, and I'll take it to the city lord tomorrow." The old man who took the lead said to several people.

Everyone had no objections, so they dispersed at the entrance of the city.

"Let's go." The old man smiled at Zhi Zhi.

Qiao Xi nodded and followed the old man back home.

The old man's home is a very ordinary house in the east of the city.After Qiao Xi entered, she looked around the interior of the room.The house is not big, and it is not tidy. There are three rooms, a kitchen, no living room, and only one bathroom.

"My name is Harry, you are about the same age as my grandson, just call me grandpa." Old man Harry said.

"Grandpa Harry." Qiao Xi nodded and called.

"Well, my grandson has gone out to work, and he won't be back until evening, so you can eat something with me at noon." Then, the old man Harry took out some bread and homemade jam, and poured them for himself and Qiao Xi A glass of water, this is their lunch.

Qiao Xi didn't have the right to be picky either. After washing her hands, she sat across from Harry, thanked him politely, and started eating.Seeing that Harry's conditions are not very good, it is not so easy to entertain him for a meal.

Harry broke off a piece of bread, ate it with no jam, just dipped it in water, and asked, "How did you end up here?"

"I met Shi Yu and was forced to land here." Qiao Xi replied.

"Sure enough." Harry nodded slowly, and said, "I don't know why, it seems that stone rain often occurs here, and several people I picked up in the empty city came to Vaden Star because of this." .”

"Are those people still here?" Qiao Xi didn't plan to stay here forever.

Harry shook his head and said: "No, some were picked up by the National Rescue Team, and some left by themselves, using mechas. But they must be very advanced mechas. The atmosphere in Varden is different from other places, and the landing is very slow. It's easy, but it's very difficult to fly away, and the safest thing is a spaceship. But we don't have one here, you can only wait for rescue if you want to leave."

Qiao Xi estimated that it would be a little difficult to leave with smoke and dust, unless it was modified, but he didn't have the tools at hand, and the modification was not realistic.At this moment, Qiao Xi couldn't help thinking, if He Tian was here, You Sui should be able to take them out of here very easily.

The taste of the jam was sour. Qiao Xi didn't eat much. The dry bread tasted very bad, with a strong sour taste, but it was good enough to fill the stomach.

"Grandpa Harry, what happened to that empty city?" Qiao Xi asked.

Harry took a long breath, "That empty city ceased to exist when I was a child. I heard from my grandfather that people left the city overnight. No one knows what happened. But after that, earthquakes often occurred in the city. It is strange that one earthquake will crack the ground, but the next time the ground will heal, as if it had never been cracked. And the earthquake does not destroy the house, but the earthquake After that, everyone in the empty city will disappear."

"It sounds like something like a black hole in the universe will take people to other time and space." Qiao Xi said.

"Who knows? The people who disappeared didn't come back anyway." Harry sighed again.

Qiao Xi was just guessing, without any evidence.

"By the way, boy, where are you from?" Harry asked.

"The Witton Empire." Qiao Xi said without concealment.

"Oh, I know." Harry nodded with a smile, and said, "A few people from the Witton Empire were forced to land here because of the stone rain, but they have all left now."

"Really..." Qiao Xi thought for a while and asked, "Warden Star looks very special. Since someone has been here, why haven't I heard of it in the empire, and there is no record about it?"

Harry smiled, pointed out the window, and said, "Waden Star is so barren that it does not pose a threat to any planet. Who would take such a planet seriously? And the aliens who come here are all It was an accidental intrusion, and no one would specially visit such a place, and there would be no benefit at all.”

"Even if an empty city can't live. Wadden Star is so big, it shouldn't be so barren." The earth is dead, but people are alive. Can we survive in another place?

"The truth is true, but my ancestors over-developed the planet, and it's the same everywhere. Now the people of Wadden star follow their respective city lords to live, and exchange food through labor." Harry said: "Meat is extremely scarce here. , generally only the strong young get meat."

"What kind of work can I do?" Qiao Xi knew that he also needed to work for food, and he couldn't let Harry support him.While wild fruits can satisfy one's hunger, they cannot guarantee nutrition.He didn't know how long he would stay here, or he had to take care of himself.

"This will be arranged by him after meeting the city lord tomorrow. Although you won't stay here for long, as long as you work hard, you will get the corresponding food." Harry said, "You don't have to worry about where you live. You can stay with me, anyway, there are only me and my grandson here, so you won’t be crowded if you stay here.”

"Okay, thank you." After solving the place to live, he was able to settle down a little.

In the evening, Harry’s grandson, Jerry, came back with a bag of food, which was enough to feed three people for dinner, but it certainly couldn’t be eaten all at once. In barren places, people know better about saving and the preciousness of food.

Jack was not surprised to see Qiao Xi. It seemed that Harry often brought people back, and he was used to it.

Jack was tall and strong, with dark skin, and he looked like he was doing heavy physical labor.He is very energetic, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, so he should be very popular with women.

For Qiao Xi's arrival, Jack expressed a friendly welcome.Harry told him about finding Qiao Xi in the empty city, and Jack took the initiative to take Qiao Xi to see the city lord tomorrow, so why should Harry rest at home.

Now Harry's main job is to take people to the empty city every three days to see if there are any people who come to the empty city by accident. Although there is no one living in the empty city, they belong to their city owner, so someone still needs to patrol, in case someone dies there, If they are found by people from other empires or alliances, the city lord will not be able to explain.

Dinner was still a very simple meal. After dinner, Harry took Qiao Xi to the guest room, and said that he would call him in the morning and let him go to the city lord with Jack.

After Qiao Xi thanked him, Harry closed the door and let him rest.Qiao Xi looked at the room, and there was nothing else in the room except a wooden bed, but the room is not big, so a bed can be accommodated.

The bedding on the bed was fairly clean, but not soft, at most it was just to keep warm.Qiao Xi didn't have the right to be picky, so she took off her coat and went to bed to rest.Here, water is not abundant, and the water fee is high, so generally only those who go out to work take a shower every day, and those who do not work can take a shower about once every three days.Qiao Xi didn't force it, and it's not easy to cause trouble when living in someone else's house.

Lying on the plank bed, Qiao Xi was physically tired, but mentally sober. Looking at the low ceiling, she couldn't fall asleep.He didn't know what He Tian was doing at this time, maybe he was looking for him at the request of the empire, maybe he was just rejoicing that he didn't have to face this forced marriage in a short time.

After thinking for a long time with her eyes open, Qiao Xi still didn't feel sleepy, and she had to get up early tomorrow, so it would definitely not work.Qiao Xi sat up, took out the big bear puppet from the space button, and lay down on it again, laughing at herself for not knowing when she had become a little squeamish, while enjoying the only soft and familiar smell now.

Early in the morning, Qiao Xi was woken up by Jack. After breakfast, he and Jack set off together.

The city lord's home is in the southernmost part of the city. It is not a high-rise building. There is a small two-story building surrounded by several one-story houses.The yard is very large, but there is no decoration inside, it's just that the yard is bigger.

After explaining the purpose of coming, the servant brought the two of them into the house—even if the resources are limited, the ostentation of the city lord.

The city lord is a middle-aged man, and he doesn't look very kind, but why hasn't Qiao Xi seen it?Didn't take him seriously at all.

Jack explained the situation to the city lord, and it can be seen that he respects the city lord.

The city lord looked at Qiao Xi and didn't make things difficult for him. He said, "There is a vacancy in the logging forest. You can go there. The salary is calculated according to the workload."

"Thank you." Qiao Xi said, he should be grateful for the job he was given.

After the two went out, Jack said to Qiao Xi: "I will send you to the logging forest first, and then to the quarry." Jack's job is in the quarry, where there are very strong and powerful young people, and the salary is also good.

"Okay." Qiao Xi was not polite to him either.

Jack seems to be just a young man who makes money with his strength, but he is very talkative. He enthusiastically introduces the situation in the city to Qiao Xi, even though Qiao Xi will not stay here for long.

"Have you ever thought about taking Grandpa Harry to live on other planets?" Qiao Xi asked.Young people like Jack don't have to worry about finding a job.

Jack smiled and shook his head, and said, "When you grow old, you don't want to leave your hometown. Grandpa doesn't want to leave. This is the place he is most familiar with, so I can't leave either."

Qiao Xi didn't quite understand, he had never gotten along with the old man.

"Besides, it's actually very difficult for people like us who don't have a registered permanent residence to survive outside." Jack said with a smile: "I depend on my grandfather for life. He is my only family member. Naturally, I have come here according to his wishes."

Qiao Xi nodded, even if he didn't understand, he didn't have the right to say more.

After arriving at the lumberyard, Qiao Xi asked where the foreman got the tools.Jack didn't stay long, and walked quickly towards the lumberyard.

The foreman took Qiao Xi to a tree, which was Qiao Xi's job.

The locals call this tree a honey fir tree. The honey fir tree is about four meters high and has a very thick trunk.Why twigs are used as edible spices, with a faint sweetness and special aroma, it is one of the spices that Wadden people like very much. If there is a condition, they will buy some. This is called the taste of Wadden.

The trunk part, the bark and the outer trunk can be used to make paper and fuel. The core part is sweet and has different colors, which can be used to extract sugar. This is also the main way of food exchange and source of income in this city.So a honey cedar tree is a treasure from inside to outside.All Qiao Xi had to do was to sort and chop it up, hand it over to the foreman, and then receive the food by weight.After one tree has been cut, it can be registered with the foreman, and another tree will be allocated.This mountain is almost covered with honey fir trees, and it is also one of the treasures where people in this city rely on for survival.

For Qiao Xi, who has never used an ax before, logging is not easy. It is very laborious for him to chop trees without mastering the knack and strength.The tree has to be completely felled to separate the branches, the outer bark trunk and the heart.And his abilities can't help at all in this regard, the energy of smoke and dust is limited, and it can't be spent on it, so Qiao Xi can only slowly figure out the method of logging by himself.

After a whole morning of chopping, only a not-so-deep gap was made in the thick trunk, and Qiao Xi's palm had already been rubbed red by the handle of the axe, accompanied by burning pain.There is no medicine or gloves here, so Qiao Xi can only endure and get used to it.

At lunch, Qiao Xi hadn't handed in anything, but the foreman saw that it was his first day here, so he didn't make things difficult for him, and gave him two pieces of dry bread.

Qiao Xi was not picky either, and walked into the woods with the bread. He wanted to find a place to wash his hands, not for cleanliness, but just to cool down the burning temperature on his hands.

Following the guidance of several woodcutters, Qiao Xi walked to a mountain spring deep in the forest. The mountain spring was not big and flowed slowly, but it was enough to soak his hands.And in the wet soil around the stream, there are many brown mushrooms growing next to the roots of the trees. They are small, but they look very fresh.Qiao Xi was overjoyed, if these mushrooms were edible, then his dinner would be secured.