Such a huge thing must contain a lot of good stuff, and maybe it can even take them away. The ragged people showed greedy and joyful smiles.
Ruan Mingchu used his mental power to absorb all their actions into his mind and was greatly shocked.
Regardless of their circumstances, leaving the starship on land was extremely unsafe. Therefore, Ruan Mingchu steered the starship away, intending to anchor it at sea first.
Those who watched helplessly as the giant flew away, and those who chased after it but failed to catch it, all sighed with regret.
Everyone assumed they had accidentally boarded the ship and since they were going to lose it anyway, they didn't think much of it and went back to rummage through the garbage mountain.
The scene on the sea filled Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu with immense anger. The dark seawater was filled with all sorts of garbage, emitting a disgusting stench.
He piloted the starship for a long time, but couldn't see a single patch of clean water. It seemed that all the garbage from the entire Fifth Star System had been dumped here over the past century.
Ruan Mingchu took a deep breath, parked the starship on an uninhabited island, and then returned to the mainland with Mu Yu in a mecha.
While on the starship, the two observed that most of the planet was covered by seawater, and the natural disaster of that year was caused by the rapid rise in sea level, which annihilated more than 90% of the land.
The remaining large piece of land, though called land, is actually just a large island.
There are about 10,000 people living together in this area.
Still some distance from the settlement, Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu stored their mechs in their spatial buttons and walked towards the settlement on foot.
Garbage pollution is not just about piles of garbage. Along the short stretch of road, Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu encountered many mutated animals and plants.
Most of them were not strong, or even very weak, but a few severely mutated cats and dogs actually reached the strength of B-level or even A-level.
If no traces of human activity had been found, Ruan Minh Thu would have thought that someone was conducting biological experiments again.
Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu simply captured these mutated creatures, examined them, and then beat, bound, and threw them into a secluded place.
We'll take them with us when we leave, to the lab for research; there's nowhere to put them right now. But if we just let them go, they might hurt someone, so we'll just beat them half to death and render them immobile.
Dealing with the mutated creatures took a considerable amount of time, but the actual time spent walking was relatively short.
Upon reaching the outside of the settlement, the two saw a high wall.
Ruan Mingchu approached and observed for a while. After checking the information, he said, "It should be the batch of military engineering walls produced ninety-eight years ago. Although so many years have passed, its defensive capabilities are still intact."
Since it happened 98 years ago, it has nothing to do with the natural disaster that happened 150 years ago. The Planetary Authority gave us 1,800 years of rest period back then, during which time no human structures could be built on the planet unless there was a major event.
Moreover, the engineering walls were specifically designed for the temporary construction of rest areas in border regions. The fact that so many engineering walls could be used to build a sizable settlement indicates that the person must have been connected to the military.
Ruan Mingchu felt that this matter must be related to the person in charge of the Fifth Star System. Even if the person who made this decision back then may have left the position, the successor must have been aware of it and willing to continue doing so.
In the interstellar era, the requirements for waste disposal are extremely strict, because waste disposal fees are not cheap, and citizens have to pay this fee.
If they collect garbage and garbage disposal fees but don't actually dispose of the garbage, instead dumping it here, how much money would they make? And that's the money of an entire galaxy! Just imagine how enormous that number would be.
As for the people still living there, Ruan Mingchu couldn't guess the reason, so he could only ask them himself.
There were no guards or patrols at the entrance of the settlement. The wall that could stop the mutated creatures could not stop Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu. The two easily climbed over the wall and entered.
If there's a difference between the inside and outside of the wall, it's probably that there's less garbage inside, and more simple houses.
It's clear that the people living here now are not the same group that dumps the garbage. Otherwise, they would dump the garbage outside the settlement, instead of having houses buried under garbage piles like this.
Listening to the man who had finally crawled out of the garbage dump cursing, Ruan Mingchu and his companion learned more about the place.
Garbage is dumped almost every day, and the exact locations are random, but it happens a few times a month that garbage is dumped on the houses we live in.
Some of the people living here work growing simple crops, while others mainly collect garbage.
Food can easily be found in garbage dumps, whether it's expired or not, whole or leftover, as long as it won't kill anyone, it can end up on their tables.
Their clothes and some appliances were all salvaged from the garbage dump.
It's beyond just being a tragedy.
Fortunately, Ruan Mingchu used his mental power to shield himself and Mu Yu, making them undetectable to ordinary people. Otherwise, seeing how well-dressed they were, people would have swarmed them and robbed them of everything.
Even the children were squatting on the garbage heap, rummaging through it. And they all had a fierce look about them, regardless of gender. Even if an adult tried to take what they found, they would be skinned alive.
Ruan Mingchu felt that perhaps his first batch of students would be here.
Humans are social creatures, and when living in groups for a long time, there will inevitably be a hierarchy, with someone in charge.
They didn't linger at the garbage-collecting site for long. Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu then walked along the street looking for the person in charge. Generally, those in the highest positions know the most, so they could get more information than just randomly asking someone.
After wandering around the settlement, Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu found the tallest and most beautiful house.
The higher the status, the better the enjoyment, no problem.
There was no one in the house at the moment, which shows that even the highest-ranking person had to go out to work, demonstrating how difficult life was for this group of people.
Ruan Mingchu and his companion went into the courtyard and sat down to wait for its owner to return.
That's right, this is the only house with a yard, where some crops are grown.
Unexpectedly, the wait lasted until dark. I glanced at the terminal; it was seven o'clock. There were very few lights here; the brightest light was the moonlight.
Under the moonlight, one adult and two children walked into the courtyard.
As expected of the most formidable person in the area, the older one cautiously told the two children to wait at the neighbor's house for a while, waiting for him to call them over, as soon as they had taken half a step inside.
Due to long-term malnutrition, Da Song's night vision was poor. He could only vaguely see two shadows sitting in the yard. Although the two did not seem dangerous to him, Da Song still asked his younger brother and sister-in-law to go to the neighbor's house for safety.
Da Song stood at the door for three minutes, but the two people in the yard still didn't move. The rest time was very short, and Da Song didn't want to waste it, so he spoke first.
What are you people doing?
“Hmm…” Ruan Mingchu pondered, “It’s hard to define our purpose clearly. We just came to see a planet that wasn’t on the star map during our travels. It’s hard not to be curious when we see such a sight.”
Daisatsu scoffed in a low voice, "Another bunch of boring people."
"As you can see, there's nothing good here, just pure garbage. I advise you not to cause trouble and to go wherever you need to go."
Despite Da Song's words, he was already thinking about how to get Ruan Mingchu and his companion to travel.
Why do these people live here? It's because they can't leave. If they had the chance to leave, I believe everyone would fight for that opportunity even at the cost of their lives.
He didn't care, but Da Hu and Xiao Hua were still young, and he wanted to send them away.
Daisatsu conceived several plans in his mind to keep the two people there and seize their vehicle, but for some reason, a voice kept telling him not to act rashly.
Perhaps it could be called his sixth sense or sense of crisis. He had escaped death three times because of this, so although he longed for it, Daisatsu did not act rashly.
Thankfully, he didn't act rashly; what Ruan Mingchu said next completely stunned Da Song.
“Come and let’s talk,” Ruan Mingchu said. “You all want to leave, right? Talk to me, and I’ll take you all away.”
Ten thousand people is a piece of cake for a starship.
Daisatsu took a deep breath and told himself that a pie falling from the sky might be delicious, but it's more likely to kill someone.
"What exactly is your purpose? We are old, young, sick, and disabled. Everyone has a genetic disease. You can't possibly profit from us."
Ruan Mingchu chuckled.
As they got closer, Ruan Mingchu could see Da Song clearly. The person living in the most "luxurious" house was actually a boy of seventeen or eighteen. He wasn't tall, and could even be described as thin, yet he was able to keep the house and even support his younger siblings.
Now, facing the bait thrown out by Ruan Mingchu, he is very clear-headed and lays out all the facts directly, especially the genetic disease. Even human traffickers cannot squeeze any money out of them; they can't even sell their blood and organs.
But isn't this their greatest tragedy? Ruan Mingchu straightened his expression and said bluntly, "It is illegal to treat a planet in its recovery period as a garbage dumping ground. Moreover, setting up residences and arranging for people to live here is arguably the most serious criminal act. You can be witnesses and help me bring down those people who are currently in power."
That was a reasonable excuse, but Daisatsu hadn't forgotten, "You said you just found it by chance during your trip." It was obviously a lie, and that big ship should have been theirs before. Who would travel in such a big ship? Daisatsu thought to himself with disdain, what a boring liar.
However, that was the truth. Ruan Mingchu shrugged and said, "I was just that lucky to have found this place and to have found you all."
Daisong stopped arguing with him. "How can you guarantee that after we've testified for you, we won't try to take advantage of us?"
"Didn't you say that there's nothing for you to gain?"
Therefore, this is a matter of personal judgment, whether you believe it or not.
Daisatsu knew he was at a disadvantage. If this person's goal was merely to overthrow some ruler, then his status must be quite high. Therefore, if they were to be made to suffer, they might not even have a chance to resist.
Should they seize this opportunity? Da Song himself is not afraid of death, but he is afraid that Da Hu and Xiao Hua will get hurt.
Ruan Mingchu said, "You can think about it, and you can tell everyone what I said."
Da Song frowned. If it were just the two of them here, they certainly wouldn't have said such a thing.
Because once this is told to everyone, there will definitely be people who want to gather a group to kill these two and seize the big ship for themselves, which is much safer than being a witness or something.
Moreover, once we leave this place, we can sell the big ship and get a considerable sum of money.
They were very confident, and there might be many people lurking in the shadows. This was probably what Grandpa meant by "courtesy first, then force," Da Song concluded in his heart.
"I'll think about it for one night, and then you can stay here."
After saying that, Daisong turned to leave.
Ruan Mingchu stopped Da Song in time: "Don't go, let's talk first. How did you get here? That's the only question."
After thinking it over, Da Song realized there was nothing to hide and told him the truth.
His grandfather's group was originally assigned to this place to handle garbage disposal. Back then, they didn't dare to be so arrogant; the garbage was supposed to be disposed of in the deep sea.
Later, something happened that no one knows, but someone came to kill my grandfather and the others. They managed to escape the attack thanks to their familiarity with the area, but they could never leave again.
Since then, trash has only fallen from the sky, and no spaceships have come close to the land.
After saying his piece in a few words, Da Song quickly ran away, not giving Ruan Mingchu a chance to stop him.
Ruan Mingchu was both amused and exasperated. How could they have actually given up their home to the two of them? But since the host had already offered it, Ruan Mingchu didn't stand on ceremony. He pulled Mu Yu into the house and turned on the terminal's lighting function.
After looking around, I decisively went back to the yard and released the mecha. Why sleep in a garbage dump when there's a soft bed available?
Life here is really tough.
Da Song didn't leave immediately, but instead hid outside to observe. He saw the two men approach the house, and the house suddenly lit up. Soon after, the two men came out again, and a huge creature appeared in the yard.
This thing shocked Da Song. Although the garbage mountain was also shocking, it was a completely different feeling.
The mysterious metallic texture and massive size exuded power, and Daisatsu shamelessly felt a surge of desire to snatch it and claim it for himself. However, anyone with such a large size must be quite strong, and he also needed them to escape, so Daisatsu had to suppress his impulses.
After watching for a while, the two people stopped moving, and Da Song turned around and went to his neighbor's house.
Daisatsu's neighbor was a woman who lived alone. She had received kindness from his grandfather, so she took good care of Daisatsu and his two siblings.
A dim light was on in the woman's room. She was repairing something, while Da Hu and Xiao Hua sat on either side of her, each holding a compressed biscuit.
Da Song frowned, and Da Hu and Xiao Hua immediately stopped biting. Their brother didn't like them eating other people's food.
The woman threw something at Da Song: "Why are you frowning? I can give my things to whomever I want."
Da Song hurriedly took it, and upon closer inspection, found it was a bag of compressed biscuits.