Darkstone Code-Chapter 865 - 863: A New Life on the First Day in the Federation
Humans are insignificant, so the desire for eternity is etched into human bones by forces even humans themselves haven’t perceived.
From the time when humans first gained wisdom, to this very moment, from ignorance to science, people have been pursuing eternity.
But it is clear that eternal life is not a domain humans can touch; humans haven’t even conquered nature, so how can they reach beyond natural forces?
Thus, reproduction becomes the way cells pursue eternal life, and the only way.
From a pseudo-scientific perspective, each release of life’s essence can be seen as a pursuit of eternity, a liberation from shackles.
Often, such acts of escape are meaningless, but if successful even once, they become meaningful.
In reality, humans are achieving eternity through these means, the only factor eluding discovery is that the successfully escaping cell cannot carry the memories humans already possess.
Everything starts anew; he/she forgets ever being a part of our body, or even being us.
For reasons unknown even to us, we use ethics and other means to sever "I" from "being," becoming "descendant" and "self."
The old Priest is a knowledgeable person; his knowledge isn’t applied to scientific research but leans towards idealistic philosophy.
He is also pursuing eternal life. When he realized he couldn’t rely on his children, he decided to use his remaining time to cultivate a true successor.
He wants to watch another version of himself grow and live forever.
Rica was unaware that he encountered the most terrifying threat he had ever faced; he was partying with a group of young people.
The Federation’s social culture is filled with hedonism, perhaps due to this hedonism, the earliest form of escapism was bred.
"Your father isn’t like you describe," a girl sitting in the corner said, holding multicolored cigarettes, her body rhythmically shaking.
The nicotine content in multicolored is several times that of cigarettes, but less than pure ones, making them suitable for inhalation, but not for everyone.
The multicolored pack states it’s unsuitable for people under twenty-two, as some ingredients inhibit adolescent physical growth.
According to Every Moment Company’s ideas, no one would like such "strong" tobacco products; ordinary ones are enough—why would people like something so frightening?
Yet in reality, people just like them, much like those who drink heavily, quickly moving from 20-proof to 30, 40, or even higher.
Physical tolerance forces them to increase doses of addictive substances to gain more pleasure.
Alcohol is like this, so is nicotine.
After a wave of throat hits comes a long aftertaste, making the person seem relaxed in the rhythm of inhaling and exhaling.
She laughed, somewhat teasingly and mockingly, as Rica often described his father in grand terms.
But when meeting him, one would find he’s just a short, thin old man, with nothing special save for the tattooed face, even less remarkable than ordinary folks.
In their teens and early twenties, children are at the peak of rebellion, as their bodies mature.
This means they can do more things they couldn’t as children, but their minds are far from mature.
They might do stupid things, foolhardy things, and if they don’t cause big trouble, they might recount them as interesting life experiences, self-deprecating yet proudly.
But if they get in trouble, it becomes the source of their life’s regrets.
"Shut up, slut!"
The girl smiled indifferently; she came from a poor family background. Her parents divorced, and the Judge gave her to her mother.
Later her mother got a boyfriend, that bastard crept into her bed one night.
Her mother didn’t even make a sound about it, acting as if nothing happened.
She actually knew, but didn’t know how to confront such circumstances.
Indeed, the man was a scoundrel, but he provided a space for mother and daughter to survive in this society.
He had a house, tidy rooms, and beds; clean food; a place to bathe; a TV to watch; and even pocket money.
If she left the man, the woman had nowhere to go—she might need to sell her dignity to earn money to support herself and her daughter.
Facing difficulties, some become great, while others become selfish.
Thus, the girl left that family, mixed with young people on the streets.
When tired or sleepy, they’d break into empty houses and sleep inside.
When hungry, they found ways to scrounge street food, and if desperate, they’d sell their bodies for a living.
Rica was merely a meal ticket for these young people; they followed him, pretending to be followers to get meals, drinks, and a place to stay.
During holidays, Rica might give them some gift money; this period felt like living in paradise.
Feeling familiar?
Actually, at that time, amongst every three street girls, one faced these problems.
Seeing the girl’s expression, Rica unzipped his pants; she indifferently extinguished multicolored against the wall, serving others or sleeping with them was one of her survival methods.
Sometimes she also feels a bit regretful, with some hesitation. If she hadn’t chosen to leave, maybe she would only have to sleep with one person, but now almost anyone can sleep with her.
She doesn’t know if she made the right choice; she only knows this is an era raised by a bitch!
After a moment, she spat, picked up the cigarette she had put out, and took another puff.
The excess nicotine relaxed her completely, and a beam of intense sunlight from outside shot in from the top of the mold-covered wall behind her.
Outside is the street of Bupen, the most prosperous place in the Federation, hailed as the Celestial Kingdom.
Yet for some reason, her direct distance to the Celestial Kingdom is less than two meters, but it feels like she can never reach there.
In the evening, Rica returned home in a dissatisfied mood. He had pawned all the gemstones, totaling two hundred and twenty thousand.
He told the antique shop owner that these weren’t stolen goods, but the other still pressed hard, treating them like stolen goods.
He tried several places, all offering this price, so he had to sell those legally obtained gemstones cheaply.
This money can sustain him for a while.
When he returned home, the old High Priest was watching TV. Seeing Rica come back, the old High Priest only glanced at him before looking away.
Feeling a bit irritable, Rica removed his priestly robe, glanced sideways at the old High Priest, then walked to the bar counter and poured himself a glass of strong liquor.
"We’re almost out of money..." A gulp of strong liquor burned like fire as it went down his throat.
He said what he wanted to say, "Are you still in contact with my brothers?"
"If you are, ask them to bring some money!"
Rica’s brothers are all priests; as long as one is a priest, he is certainly wealthy.
They are exempt from taxes, exempt from penalties, and no one dares to offend them lightly; each one is very wealthy.
Every year, the faithful offer various goldware!
The old High Priest didn’t turn his head, "I didn’t pass on the position to any of them, so they wouldn’t send any money to me."
To make one last plundering of Wealth, he didn’t pass the position to himself like his "father" did but sold the position through a selection process.
Whoever offered the most goldware would be the next High Priest.
It’s conceivable how crazy those priests yearning to become the next High Priest would be, pouring all their offerings into gold.
The High Priest chose the one who offered the most, then handed all the gold to Lynch.
"I remember giving you a bag of gemstones just yesterday, where did they go?"
From his conversations with Lynch, he learned about the cost of living in the Federation.
A million is enough for an ordinary person to live a lifetime.
Many families can’t earn a million in two or three generations!
That bag of gemstones could sell for at least four or five hundred thousand, enough money to let him retire comfortably in the Federation, a kind of leisurely, prosperous retirement.
Rica was a bit impatient, "I’ve stored them in the bank’s safe..." He didn’t correct the old High Priest’s use of the word "give"; perhaps it helped to fill some small void of guilt in his heart?
If he had any.
The more he looked at the old High Priest, the more he disliked him; he was never a dutiful son.
When in Nagariel, he often tortured those Saintesses to death, killing for pleasure wasn’t just a phrase for him, it was his source of joy.
Every time he started selecting Saintesses, even those Saintesses who had already become numb after years in the Temple would begin to show obvious fear, sometimes even urinating or defecating in hopes of avoiding his selection.
Such a brutal person, he was never a good man.
The old High Priest came empty-handed, which was completely different from what he expected.
He thought the old High Priest would bring along his own and his brothers’ assets, which ought to be countless Wealth, so he always told the young ones, once his father arrived, the Celestial Kingdom would descend.
Wasn’t that right?
The millions, even billions of Wealth would be inherited by him, wouldn’t that be the Celestial Kingdom descending?
He could even grant himself the title of Pope Shepherd or something like that for fun; as long as he had enough followers, no one would think it was excessive.
But now, he got nothing, no gold, no Wealth, only deep disappointment and the teasing and mocking eyes from his mates due to the gap.
He felt deeply hurt!
In his subconscious, he thought the old High Priest surely lied to him, or perhaps he did have money but didn’t bring it out.
Thinking of this, he drank the strong liquor in the cup in one gulp, then walked over to the TV and turned it off.
"Our money is tight right now, watching TV brings extra electric bills, so you don’t need it!"
"Now, go back to your room and sleep; you need to get used to living here!"
