Pops Novel
Chapter 1025: Bohemia's Wish
As the mountains of garbage became sparse and eventually disappeared, they noticed a cluster of low-rise bungalows that lay sprawled in the area up ahead. Water tanks, broken trucks, backup generators, and propane capsules were lined up outside the houses, indicating that this place served not only as an office but also as a residence.
Strangely enough, it was precisely the idea that "someone was willing to live in a garbage dump" that reaffirmed Lin Sanjiu's belief that she was currently in a peaceful world.
If it weren't for a series of external social conditions like property and work that constrained them, who would willingly settle down in a garbage dump?
The sky was getting dark, and heavy thick clouds hung overhead, as if they were about to fall straight to the earth at any moment. The light spilling from the curtains of the bungalow looked dry and warm. Along with the light, the low voice of the man also came into earshot.
"Two mentally unstable women came in earlier, blabbering nonsense for a while... That's why I didn't hear the phone ring... Huh? I don't know, I guess it could be the ground inspection crew... Um, I can't say for sure, but one of them was tall... Yes, sorry, I understand. I'll call someone to come and check again to see if they really left."
Once the man hung up the phone with a "click," the room returned to silence. Lin Sanjiu hid below the window, pulling Bohemia along with her. She listened to the sound of the man as he cleared his throat heavily and spat, before he picked up the phone again. His tone changed drastically, "Did the manager inform you? Hurry up and get over here... Bullshit, how can I handle such a large area alone? Besides, those two women seemed to be mentally unstable... By the way, when will the west fence be repaired? Last time, a group of raccoons ran in and damn it, they bit me all over my legs!"
Lin Sanjiu felt a head full of golden-brown curls approach, strands brushing against her ears, before whispering with a warm breath. "...What's a raccoon?"
'... Asking such irrelevant questions.'
Even though the pot-bellied man was just an ordinary person, Lin Sanjiu was still worried that their voices might be overheard. She could only spare Bohemia a silent glance as she confirmed the man was leaving to meet his partner. For a posthuman, sneaking into an ordinary person's house was a piece of cake, especially when they'd already left. The house was warm, but the stagnant air was thick, smelling of smoke and microwave food due to the lack of circulation.
Bohemia wrinkled her nose and couldn't help but curiously touch and explore her surroundings, while shooting questions about things she didn't understand. What she did and didn't recognize seemed completely random, having no pattern at all. Lin Sanjiu couldn't be bothered to explain everything to her one by one and simply turned on the television. As the screen lit up, Bohemia was immediately drawn over to it.
"A recent policy has caught the attention of most people, and the prices of quota vouchers for synthetic food in circulation in the market will be affected..."
It seemed to be some financial news.
"A small fire broke out in a local kindergarten during a parent meeting, luckily, no casualties were reported. The fire department has launched an investigation..."
A furious-looking woman appeared on the screen. The child she was holding, undoubtedly her own, had a dejected expression on its small face.
"This groundbreaking exterior organization technology will provide us with more abundant, flexible, and higher quality clothing in the near future..."
The screen flipped to the inside of a workshop, where several workers were loading large pieces of black material onto a conveyor belt. Everything seemed similar to the social news she remembered from long ago. If there was anything different, it was probably the television in front of her.
The television screen was enveloped in a shapeless orange plastic, like a large piece of gum thrown against the wall after being chewed. The screen was made of an unknown material and had a slightly translucent texture. As a result, the news presenters on the screen also seemed like ghostly figures floating in the air. Sometimes in outdoor news reports, they could even see a cluster of black, densely built structures in the distance, giving a somewhat 3D effect.
Lin Sanjiu let out a breath, "It seems like we really can relax for the next six months." However, there was no response beside her.
When she turned her head, she realized Bohemia had already disappeared. She probably found the news to be too boring. Despite all the jingling accessories she wore, Bohemia was consistently able move without a sound, this time silently entering the bedroom. Lin Sanjiu followed her to take a look, only to find Bohemia lying on the ground like a cat, with her head of golden-brown hair stuffed under the bed as she rummaged around.
"I found some magazines under his bed," Bohemia said while pulling out several publications, "Maybe there is some news about this world. Do you want to..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Lin Sanjiu slapped the magazines out of her hand. Magazines hidden under a bed by a middle-aged single man—although she had never personally witnessed it, it was enough to make her think that they were probably things not suitable for Bohemia to see. The latter immediately became angry, "What the hell are you doing?"
She didn't have time to explain and quickly moved the magazines away from Bohemia's sight. "You don't need to see these... These... um, natural science magazines?" contemporary romance
Lin Sanjiu widened her eyes and looked back and forth between the magazines in her hand. Although the language here sounded the same, when written down, it was different from any language she knew, and the translator from the Twelve Worlds Centrum couldn't translate text. Just by looking at the illustrations, they seemed to be articles related to flowers, ants, fungi, or the ocean in the field of natural sciences.
Bohemia retaliated by slapping the magazines back out of her hand.
Only having gotten back at her, could Bohemia let the matter go.
"This garbage collection company doesn't seem to be so simple after all." Lin Sanjiu contemplated, while sitting on someone else's sofa. "It's even involved with the authorities... No wonder he was so anxious for us to leave. I wonder what illegal activities they're involved in,"
"Interesting," Bohemia tilted her head, lost in thought for a moment before saying, "But it's none of our concern. Shouldn't we be leaving?"
"I need to think about how to avoid being homeless," Lin Sanjiu replied. The red crystals from the Grand Prize were useless here, so if she wanted to live comfortably, she would need to acquire currency that circulated in this world. She wasn't particularly business-minded even back in her hometown, so all the ideas that came to mind were rather forceful.
"Should we rob a bank or steal an ATM? Given our situation, these seem like the two easiest options," Lin Sanjiu furrowed her brows and asked, only to remember that Bohemia probably didn't know what an ATM was. She turned her head and met Bohemia's bright eyes, which were shining unnaturally bright.
"Of course, we should rob a bank!" Bohemia looked ecstatic, almost overwhelmed with joy. "When do we go? I've always wanted to rob a bank!"
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