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This is a desolate world, where dust obscures the sun, covering the entire earth with no trace of crops, parched for thousands of miles, almost devoid of any greenery.....

No one knows how long this dust storm will last, but humans..... cannot possibly endure it.

Though there are no crops, the operations of the entire continent have not ceased, with high-precision robots everywhere, operating various energy devices—nuclear, hydroelectric, building after building of industrial structures transforming the entire world into steel.....

All the robots move with great efficiency, managing every detail perfectly in front of the huge factories.

But upon closer inspection, one would find these robots rather odd, clearly supposed to be emotionless machines, yet outside of their work, they would group in threes and fives, chatting with each other as humans do.....

"Do you have enough credits?"

Five robots sat together, varying greatly in model; some were massive, nearly five or six meters tall, while others were as small as mice, each with different functions: the huge ones primarily responsible for mining minerals, and the smallest for testing and polishing precision instruments.

"Almost..... I’ll be able to go in soon....." The massive robot gazed at the towering city of steel nearby, and although there was no expression on its face, its voice was filled with excitement.....

These mining robots earned very few credits, typically they could only afford to enjoy themselves in the Big Data City once after a year of labor...

The tiny robot in front, however, was different; as an expert in repairing precision instruments, it earned credits much faster than the others, needing only a month of work to earn an opportunity to visit.

"Number 175904 Excavator, Digital City has sent you an invitation. You may register at the Rare Ore Center and then proceed to Digital City!"

"Ah?" The giant was momentarily stunned at this intelligent prompt.

According to his credits, he would have to work for at least half a month more before he could visit Digital City, right? Moreover, it was usually by application; it was the first time he’d heard of Digital City actively inviting a mining robot like him.

"Number 175904 Excavator, please respond if you received the message!"

"Okay, okay, received, received!" The giant quickly got up: "I’ll report immediately!"

"Please contact Officer Wu Xiaoli from the Huazhong District upon arrival at Digital City, thank you for your cooperation!"

"Yes!"

"Wishing you a pleasant journey to Digital City..." After replying gently, the intelligence disconnected the call, leaving the massive robot standing there, dazed for a long time before he started to dance with joy.

"Calm down, don’t step on me..." The smaller robots nearby all dodged, their voices carrying a hint of rebuke.

"It’s just..... I got a bit too excited." The giant realized his reaction and waved his hands apologetically.

"Did you receive some news?"

The giant hastily shared the message he had just received with the others.

"Digital City is asking you to report in on your own initiative?" The other robots all expressed disbelief at the news.

Only the most senior among the small robots remained silent.

"By the way, Old Zhang, you’ve been to Digital City the most, have you ever encountered such a situation?" The giant asked the silent small robot.

"Never....." the counterpart shook its head: "Be careful, it might not be good news."

"Oh, come on, can’t you hope for the best for me? I finally get a free ticket, and this is how you curse me?"

After a moment of silence, the other robot laughed: "I hope I’m just overthinking it."

Entering Digital City is not easy, everyone knows that; ever since the digital life project was launched, it became the only place for human consumption, possessing all that the apocalypse lacked: cigarettes, wine, bikini-clad women, blue skies, white clouds, and a world of vibrant colors.

Of course..... that’s fake, but that’s not important. For them, now digital life forms, the real world is out of reach either way; the virtual world is precisely what they need!!

In Digital City, you can experience a taste of human life.....

But the price is steep; each visit to Digital City requires a large number of credits, which are earned through labor.

Naturally, humans wouldn’t rely solely on intelligent robots to sustain this world; manual labor is needed to maintain the electric power for Digital City, supported by continuous energy projects being established outside—nuclear, photovoltaic.....

Every energy project requires manual maintenance; the world continues to run, although life has vanished, humans still rule this planet in digital form.

But mindless labor would drive anyone to a breakdown, human emotions need an outlet, and Big Data City is the place where people numb their senses for a while, the only one in the world, the sole driving force of life for all humanity.

The price was naturally exorbitant. The short robot had worked in the Federation for two hundred years, which could be said to be the longest working tenure around.

Therefore, it had witnessed some things.

Those high officials in Digital City were very dangerous, and once you caught their attention. .. it was mostly not going to end well.

I hope I’m just overthinking it...

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"Welcome to Digital City. Oh, you’re a green young man, aren’t you? Want to come out and play in this area?"

The enchanting female voice captivated the soul. The boy hadn’t been here for a year, and he was so lured by the tall beauty in black stockings in front of him that his soul almost flew away with her finger beckoning.

After all, at this age, he was the most prone to be attracted by women. Facing nothing but deserts and cold robots all year round, he had been pent up for an entire year. He felt that today, he could do it eight times!

But now was not the time... he first had to report in.

"I’ll come later... I’ll come later," the boy said with a quiver in his voice, his eyes red like a bull about to rage.

"Alright, haha, I’ll be waiting for you!" The girl glanced at the boy’s indecent bulge, smirked slightly, knowing that this greenhorn who had just entered Digital City wasn’t hard to seduce. Seeing his dog-in-heat look, she knew he couldn’t escape.

"Okay, okay, I’ll be right there, I’ll be right there..." Saliva dripping, the boy swore he would do it ten times this trip to make up for a year’s toil!

But he didn’t dare to do so now. The authorities in Digital City had the power to erase others, and in the face of such a summon, he wouldn’t dare to carry any risks.

Along the way, the various characters within Digital City dazzled him, their attire bizarre: there was a punk with yellow hair, foreigners with exaggerated styles, and even one dressed as a Scholar resembling ancient people from the books.

These individuals leisurely strolled through Digital City, not even sparing a glance at the women of the Red Light District, as if they even disdained them.

The boy wiped away his drool, recalling what old Zhang had told him about his experiences in Digital City.

According to him, the people who could reside in the city long-term were those who had carved out their own piece of heaven in the Adventurers’ area. One should not provoke them lightly, as even the city’s high officials would not easily offend these Adventurers.

Adventurers, eh?

In the midst of his envy, a scene in the sky shocked him. He saw a woman in white, stepping on a Flying Sword and soaring through the sky. Suddenly, he found everyone was looking up, faces filled with envy!

The boy just stood there, dumbstruck, continuing to recall old Zhang’s words.

Adventurers were ranked, especially those dressed like they were from fantasy novels who could even display Divine Skills in Digital City were of noble status.

They had long lifespans, unlike us, who had at most three hundred years before inevitably succumbing to Alzheimer’s and being erased by Digital City!

Is that Divine Skills?

The boy murmured to himself, wondering how long such a woman could live.

"That woman there?" A yellow-haired young man glanced at the sky, unexpectedly responding to the boy: "Her name is Zhang Keyun, one of the high-level Adventurers from Immortal Sword World. It’s said that her life expectancy has already reached four thousand years. It’s really frustrating how some people are leaps and bounds above others. .."

"Four thousand years?" The boy turned around, staring blankly at him.

As mining operators like himself, hard work throughout the year only allowed one entry into Digital City.

With good luck, you might enjoy just over three hundred days of pleasure in three hundred years, yet these Adventurers could spend every day here, some even extending such delightful days for thousands of years.

Suddenly, the boy felt that the Black Stockings Beauty of the Red Light District had lost all her allure.

"Miner number 175904, please report to the designated location immediately."

"Oh, right!" The boy snapped back to his senses, not daring to delay, and hurried off following the direction given by his neural interface.

The moment the responding yellow-haired young man, ready to berate the boy for leaving without saying goodbye, saw the red light illuminate above the boy’s head, he halted, steering clear by several meters as if avoiding the plague.

"The red light... the upper levels are drafting people again..."

"It’s none of our business..." The yellow-haired man shrugged, turning to the person beside him: "Don’t be like Jiang Xiaoling, getting yourself involved by being nosy."

"I wouldn’t dare..." The man shuddered in fear at the mention of Jiang Xiaoling.

"Is he too?" Another man with a frown inquired.

"Of course..." The yellow-haired man sneered: "Anyone marked with a red badge is just fodder for the New World, and as is well known, the Federation is trying to conquer that most challenging world."

"The most challenging world..." The burly man looked up: "The masterpiece of the Legendary Designer, Pu YunChuan: Demonic World!"