Bai Lei nudged her with her elbow, "Can you not always speak like youāre ready to ignite? The captain already said Xiao Fu lost her memory. Itās normal that she doesnāt know."
She turned to Shen Tang, her tone a bit softer, "Yuna is right, itās hard for civilians to live to natural old age. Even if they donāt die in battle, staying in the Wasteland Zone for too long will cause their bodies to slowly mutate into those ugly Mutant Beasts... Actually, many of the Mutant Beasts we kill were originally Beastmen. Most people canāt bear to look like that, so they often end their own lives early."
A hint of sadness rose in Bai Leiās eyes as she spoke.
Yuna rubbed her arm, angrily saying, "Hmph, Iād rather die than turn into such an ugly thing!"
Zhai Chen was all smiles, cheerfully saying, "Not everyone is that miserable! If we work hard hunting and accumulating points, weāll change our fate one day!"
As he said this, everyoneās eyes lit up, even Qin Han showed a look of longing.
This seemed to be their only goal for fighting, their only hope for escaping a civilian fate, and their most steadfast belief.
"Change fate?" Shen Tang was taken aback, a strange feeling she couldnāt describe swept through her heart. She wanted to ask more, but then heard Zhai Chen excitedly shout, "Look! The points leaderboard is updated!"
Everyone looked up toward the center of the shelter.
There was a massive projection screen displaying the names of Beastmen alongside a long string of numbers, which were their points.
The screen ranked them from highest to lowest points, allowing everyone to see clearly.
It wasnāt just the ranking for this shelter, it was surely the leaderboard for the entire area.
Qin Hanās name was prominently on the list, ranked eighth.
Bai Lei and the others made it onto the list too, though their ranks were much lower, they were all excited because their rankings had improved.
The Beastmen in the shelter stared at the moving leaderboard rankings with varying expressions ā nervousness, excitement, frustration, disappointment... But without exception, they all longed for a higher rank.
If they could break into the top ten, they could completely change their fate, which was their lifelong goal.
Ker glanced at Shen Tang and suddenly raised his voice, "By the way, I wonder where Miss Xun ranks? How come I donāt see your name."
Several gazes instantly fixed on Shen Tang.
She was flustered and hadnāt thought of an excuse yet when Yuna frowned, "Yeah, whereās the bracelet on your wrist? What are you wearing? It looks like ancient junk."
She reached out to touch Shen Tangās Light Computer, looking puzzled.
Shen Tang quickly pulled her hand back, only then noticing that everyone was wearing a bracelet on their wrists.
She had to play dumb, "Whatās the bracelet for? What happens if you donāt wear it?"
Yunaās mouth twitched, surely she must be an idiot!
She had initially suspected this femaleās background was mysterious, and maybe her amnesia was faked, but seeing her not even knowing about the points bracelet, even faking couldnāt be to this extent.
She rolled her eyes and enunciated, "This is the āpoints braceletā distributed to all civilian Beastmen by the upper echelons! Itās used to track points!"
"Tasks are assigned through the bracelet. We can accept assignments and tasks through the bracelet. Completing tasks, hunting Mutant Beasts, submitting resources, joining the military, etc., all earn points."
"Points can be exchanged for food, purified water, medicines... even residency rights in the āPurification Zoneā!"
Her tone changed at the last sentence, "If we can enter the Purification Zone, we really can change our fate and soar to great heights!"
Shen Tang understood.
Purification Zone.
So the "change of fate" they spoke of referred to this.
Qin Han walked over, "If your bracelet got lost in battle, I can take you to re-register your identity and get a replacement."
"No need," Shen Tang smiled apologetically ā re-register my identity? That would expose her as undocumented, "The process is quite troublesome and costs points, I presume. I donāt have any superpowers now, and canāt take on tasks, no trouble for you all."
Yunaās expression eased slightly, "Hmph, at least you know your limits."
Bai Lei sighed helplessly, "Say less, will you."
She turned to Shen Tang, "Xiao Fu, weāre all friends, itās only right to help. Think it over, if you want a replacement, Iāll go with you."
"Alright." Shen Tang smiled and nodded.
Seeing her insist, Qin Han didnāt press further.
The group continued toward the center of the shelter.
As they walked, Shen Tang asked Bai Lei, "Where do the points you earn ultimately go?"
Bai Leiās tone suddenly became respectful, her eyes filled with yearning, "Points are all submitted to the Divine Hall. Itās the Divine Hall that generously provides us with supplies and food. They are the saviors of the civilians, the most mysterious and greatest existence on this planet!"
Listening, Shen Tang felt that strange feeling in her heart growing stronger.
Bai Leiās attitude was as if sheād been brainwashed by some cult or pyramid scheme.
They kept talking about the Divine Hallās generosity, but at the end of the day, the supplies were exchanged with the Beastmenās hard work, wasnāt this just making the lower class work themselves to the bone for them?
Yet Bai Lei and the others seemed completely unaware of this point.
Even Qin Han and the others, when mentioning the Divine Hall, were filled with respect.
Needless to say, the civilian Beastmen on this planet must hold an incredible reverence for the "Divine Hall."
Finally, they reached their destination, the central round tower of the shelter and its tallest building.
The hall, made of pure white marble, was sacred and perfect, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding desolate, dark ruins.
And when Shen Tang clearly saw the pattern on the cathedral door, her whole body abruptly froze, her breathing almost stopped.
A torrent of anger and hatred surged through her, her blood reversed flow, she clenched her hands tightly, her fingernails nearly dug into her palms.
The pattern on the doorā
was precisely the "Hand of Creation"!