WEF - Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Extremist Eaters
Ning Dali had, of course, heard of the Food Safety Management Law.
There were few forms of entertainment in prison, and all they could do was read books on subjects like criminal law.
Even reading a food safety law counted as an extravagant pastime.
But it was obvious that this world had a food safety law of its own, one quite different from the law Ning Dali had read.
Before that call, she had never even considered that eating three meals of beef in a single day could be illegal.
The Federation's food safety law protected the safety of what the public ate.
The law here might protect the food itself.
Ning Dali realized this was a serious matter.
She had broken the law.
Anyone who had spent time in prison was acutely sensitive to such matters.
"Sorry, sorry." Ning Dali apologized in good faith as she wiped the steak grease from the corner of her mouth with a tissue and eagerly confessed, "I was just stirring up attention online. I wasn't really eating three meals of beef a day. How could I possibly eat three meals of beef a day? Who could even afford to?"
At most, she ate beef once every three days.
Fertile Base did not truly believe someone could live that extravagantly either, but it still had to put on a solemn front, so it asked, "Then how do you explain the muscles? Are you an Extremist Eater? Didn't you know that Extremist Eaters are not allowed near Fertile Base?"
Ning Dali wondered what the hell this Extremist faction was.
She answered only the question she could and sidestepped the rest. "My muscles are the result of my ability."
Fertile Base had clearly expected that answer.
On the other end, the worker let out a breath of relief and followed up, "Is this a newly awakened ability? When did you awaken it? How many characters are in its name? What is the exact name? I need to register it on this end."
Newly awakened? How many characters?
Ning Dali keenly picked up on more questions in the Fertile Base worker's words. Her attitude was no longer as cooperative, and she immediately turned the tables. "Are you really with Fertile Base? Could you be running some scam? Keep this up and I'll call the police."
The Fertile Base worker: "..."
"Look up our base's contact information," the worker said, at a loss for words. "I'm using a work-issued device. We only contacted you because an online user reported you."
"I won't believe you until this has been properly investigated. Let me go online first, then we can talk." Ning Dali hung up and frowned at the smart device in her hand.
Her smart device had already drawn attention.
Her search history could not contain any obvious questions about common sense, or she would have to explain... But this was not difficult to solve.
Ning Dali opened the search bar. First, she searched for Fertile Base's number, switched screens, and compared it with the number that had just called her.
Then she searched online again:
"I was suspected of being an Extremist Eater. How can I prove my innocence?"
"If Fertile Base asks how many characters my ability has, can I refuse to tell them?"
Through similar searches, she gathered more clues indirectly.
People online had all sorts of experiences to draw on.
Ning Dali organized the answers she had found, and she had a rough idea of what she was dealing with.
The Extremist Eaters.
Their full name was the Extremist Eating Faction, meaning people who took eating to extremes. They believed that food only became theirs once it entered their stomachs. The moment they obtained it, they would eat every last bit within a day or two, as much of it as they could. They had no concept of saving food, and their indulgence knew no limits.
The opposite faction was the Restraint Faction.
Its members ate only a little each day, just enough to keep their vital signs going and make sure they did not starve. They gathered food continuously and stored it in freezers forever, gaining a sense of security that way.
Besides the Extremist Eaters and the Restraint Faction, there was the Farming Faction.
The Farming Faction was also known as the Academic Research Faction.
The world's soil was barren, making the Farming Faction the only organization capable of farming.
They collected the household waste produced by each base and used it as fertilizer. They also gathered all manner of rotten, moldy food that would be fatal to anyone who ate it, then turned it into a nutrient solution that was safe to consume.
Extremist Eaters were condemned by everyone, but the Farming Faction's standing was above all else.
Members of either the Extremist Eaters or the Restraint Faction had to obediently clear the way whenever they encountered a Farming Faction sludge truck.
Despite its name, Fertile Base was actually territory of the Restraint Faction.
They hated Extremist Eaters to the bone and, once they discovered one near the Base, would kill without hesitation.
The conflict between the Extremist Eaters and the Restraint Faction became exceedingly complicated when examined in detail.
But the questions concerning abilities had much simpler answers.
Everyone in this world had an ability.
Some people had only a single ability, which they could upgrade through luck.
Others possessed multiple abilities that could not be upgraded, though luck might allow them to awaken two or three more.
Every ability had a name, and the fewer characters in that name, the stronger the ability.
Abilities with a single character, such as [Shadow] and [Fate], belonged to the highest tier. Single-Character Ability Users were vanishingly rare, and every one of them was a major figure.
Ying's true identity was not that of a minor internet-famous food blogger. She was a Base Lord.
Only because she controlled several bases did she have the resources to build such a rare online presence as a food blogger and gather 1.8 million followers.
Ning Dali had caught glimpses of Ying's food videos while chasing hot topics.
Yesterday, she had eaten vegetable salad with no dressing.
Today, she had eaten beef ramen with only two slices of beef, each thin as a cicada's wings.
Most of the food in Airdrops consisted of carbohydrates, with very little vegetables or meat.
Vegetables could be grown, but meat came only from Airdrops. That was why the Food Safety Management Law allowed each person at most 5 g of beef a day. Eating more was illegal and would get the eater branded as an Extremist Eater. Even a Base Lord with a Single-Character Ability could not openly break the rule or challenge the Food Safety Management Law.
Ning Dali forced herself to absorb the rules of this world.
By the time she had mostly made sense of them, Fertile Base was calling again.
This time, Ning Dali was much more composed.
"I am very sorry for what I did. I never thought this would go viral."
"I had just awakened an ability. Suddenly having muscles made me so excited that I could not help showing off. It is only human... Fine, I admit that I was dying to become an internet celebrity."
"My ability? Of course it has three characters. It is [Strongman]."
"Three characters?!" The worker's voice abruptly took on a note of respect. "Your newly awakened ability has only three characters?"
Ning Dali: "..."
Were there even more hidden rules in this world that she did not know about?
The Old Liar's words spread like water once poured out. It was too late to take them back now.
Ning Dali's expression did not change, and not the slightest hint of unease could be heard in her voice. She simply put on her haughty airs and asked coolly, "Yes. What about it?"
"Nothing, nothing." The worker spoke with a reluctant air. "It is like this. The comments you posted online did cause some discussion among netizens. As for the public response... we would like to ask your opinion and see whether we can issue a statement explaining matters."
Her voice grew quieter with every word, and she had already prepared herself for rejection.
Once the announcement was made, the Base could not possibly get away with vague wording. It had to explain everything clearly before everyone would believe it.
At that point, the ability's name definitely could not be hidden. Everyone would learn that Ning Dali possessed a Three-Character Ability called [Strongman].
For some Ability Users, the name of an ability could not be revealed.
Even the worker looked a little frightened after saying this.
But how could Ning Dali possibly pass up a chance to fool them?
After restraining herself for only two seconds, she said, "I can. Cooperating with the Base is my duty."
After they discussed a few more specifics, the call ended.
Ning Dali put down the smart device and did not continue browsing.
This smart device was no longer safe.
She gave the off-road vehicle ahead two long looks, sprayed a little air freshener around the car, and then honked to signal Wang You to stop.
Wang You did not stop. Instead, she looped deftly and pulled the off-road vehicle up beside the RV.
They rolled down the windows in both vehicles and went on chatting from their seats, all sitting awkwardly.
If the conversation soured, they could floor the accelerator and be gone in an instant.
Ning Dali saw through Wang You's plan at a glance. She did not call her out on it and went straight to the point. "I need to ask you both something. How familiar are you with Fertile Base? What are its policies like?"
Every comment she found when she searched for Fertile Base online had been filtered, so Ning Dali did not consider it genuine enough to use as a reference.
Wang You coughed into her clenched fist and began, "This... how should I put it... there are good and bad sides."
"The good side is, of course, that the Base has abundant supplies. You can trade for whatever you want, and everyone knows it is the safest base."
"How so?" Ning Dali propped her chin on one hand.
"You do not know?"
Wang You quickly glanced around, confirmed that no one was nearby, and said mysteriously, "Because the Base Lord of Fertile Base has the ability [Shield]."
So a Two-Character Ability was enough to make someone a Base Lord.
Then a Three-Character Ability really was worth respecting... Ning Dali understood.
"Listening to you, I think I remember now. I've heard of an ability called [Shield]." Ning Dali wore a thoughtful expression. "What does it do, again...? How come I suddenly cannot remember?"
"It is a shield," Zhuang Yuezhen took the bait immediately. "As soon as you join Fertile Base, you can own a property within the Shield's effective range. Within that range, you will not be interfered with or affected by any other ability."
In a world where everyone had an ability and abilities came in every conceivable form, Fertile Base was the only place that brought peace of mind.
Inside the Shield, no one had to worry about having their home raided while they slept.
"I see." Ning Dali nodded. "What about the bad side?"
"The bad side is very bad," Wang You said. "Fertile Base's management is extremely strict. To join, you must at least register the name of an ability. You cannot make one up. They have ways of checking whether a name is correct."
The vast majority of Ability Users were not lucky enough to upgrade their ability or awaken a second one.
They had only one ability to their name.
That one rule alone was enough to discourage countless Ability Users from even trying to join.
"Registration is strict, and Fertile Base's property prices are the highest too," Wang You clicked her tongue. "If you cannot afford a house, you cannot afford a place to live. We all pitch tents outside the Base, pay a protection fee, and scrape by on a sliver of the Shield's protection."
Ning Dali, who also could not afford a home and could only sleep in an RV, understood perfectly.
"How many characters are in your ability? How come you still cannot afford a home?" Ning Dali looked at Wang You. She was no longer young and must have been somewhere in her thirties.
"It is not very polite to ask someone directly how many characters their ability has." Wang You restrained herself for the sake of that bottle of milk. "Fine, I will not hide it from you. Besides, you will know once it gets dark anyway... My ability is [I Have a Car, What Did You Expect?]. I can summon one vehicle every day."
"Seven characters is still not bad." Ning Dali looked toward Zhuang Yuezhen.
Zhuang Yuezhen: "..."
Zhuang Yuezhen lowered her head and began scrolling through her smart device.
"Do not keep looking at her," Wang You said seriously. "Her ability is a poem."
Even without counting the title or punctuation, a poem was still twenty characters long.
A twenty-character ability was just as rare as a Single-Character Ability. All Ning Dali had to do was scroll online a little longer to discover Zhuang Yuezhen's ability. She did not need to ask her about it herself.
"My condolences," Ning Dali said slowly.
At the worst possible moment, just as she spoke, the shield around Ning Dali began shooting up again, perhaps because the Fertile Base announcement had already been posted.
In under two minutes, she had gained an unexpected windfall.
Zhuang Yuezhen heard Ning Dali's bright laughter.
She looked up in shock and muttered, "Sis Dali, you have absolutely no manners."
People do not laugh at the length of someone's ability name to their face.
"Sorry, I just thought of something happy." Ning Dali's face twisted as she held back her laughter. She bit her lip, trying not to laugh, but could not control herself at all.
Because only moments earlier, two minutes after the Fertile Base announcement had been posted, she had gained a new ability: [Strongman].
She had passed her lie off as truth.
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