The man stood there blankly, glancing at Ye Tianxuan and then at the people around him, as if confirming the matter.
Those around them doubted their ears. They knelt there, not really expecting anyone to share their lifespan with them. They had all seen how indifferent the people of the City of Immortality were these days.
When someone actually shows up willing to give their life for another, they tend to think that person isn't very smart.
"Heh, you're even sharing your lifespan with others? I bet you don't have many days left." The person who was kicked was still very unhappy, and when he saw Ye Tianxuan return, he glared at him and mocked him.
Ye Tianxuan turned his head and stared straight at the other person's smile. He had a very handsome face, but his smile would occasionally turn into a very cold aura.
He held a cigarette between his fingers, took a puff with a smile, and then exhaled the smoke lightly. His relaxed and carefree gaze made the man feel somewhat uncomfortable.
"What are you looking at me for?!" the man said, annoyed.
"It's nothing." Ye Tianxuan narrowed his eyes and elegantly pointed to the side. "I just think you look quite suitable for kneeling there. Why don't you kneel for a while and experience the hardships of life?"
The man was stunned. He had just retorted fiercely, but the faint smell of smoke lingered around him and wafted to his nose. For some reason, his mind suddenly went blank, and his hands and feet began to move uncontrollably.
His mind was in a fierce struggle. On one hand, he thought this person was crazy, how dare he ask him to kneel down, but on the other hand, he felt that what he said made a lot of sense... and that he should kneel down.
Amidst these two intense struggles, the man actually walked slowly to the patch of ground beside him in full view of everyone and knelt down at the very front of the crowd.
This action stunned everyone around.
What happened? He actually knelt down?!
The crowd's incredulous gazes fell on Ye Tianxuan's back. They saw him casually stub out his cigarette and continue walking forward with the queue, not giving the kneeling person another glance, as if all the disputes had nothing to do with him.
Everyone was confused and could only stare blankly as they continued to queue up, occasionally glancing at the kneeling man in disbelief.
While people were queuing, a large crowd suddenly surged out from the direction of the main city entrance and marched in a mighty procession. The people in line were so frightened that they quickly moved to the side to avoid the crowd.
Ye Tianxuan also noticed that those people dressed in white seemed to have a special status in this city. They went straight to the area outside the main city where many people were kneeling after leaving the main city gate. They were all expressionless and holding weapons, which made people nervous.
They're probably going to expel those people.
Ye Tianxuan guessed that the main city wouldn't let them go unpunished, so he continued to queue.
But soon, the returning people shattered his assumptions. The people dressed in white with expressionless faces did not come with weapons to drive away the others, but instead captured them all and escorted them into the main city. This made Ye Tianxuan frown.
Immediately afterwards, one of the people dressed in white raised a megaphone and shouted to the crowd in line: "The High Priest of Changsheng City has just issued a new rule."
"The inhabitants of Changsheng City used to live forever and have a large population. However, after the gods disappeared, the mortality rate of the inhabitants of Changsheng City became extremely high, and their need for lifespan also became extremely high. Life is constantly being consumed every day."
"Even though the High Priest has the ability to trade lifespans, the lifespan resources of the City of Immortality are still being depleted indefinitely. Sooner or later, the residents of the City of Immortality will die. Therefore, the High Priest has set out a new rule."
"All residents whose lifespan is less than one week and who have never contributed to the City of Immortality will have their lifespans extracted by the City of Immortality and given to residents who can truly contribute to the City of Immortality."
"If any residents have any questions, please seek out the High Priest yourself."
After the speaker finished recounting the whole story, he led those who had been kneeling outside the main city into the city.
This new message appeared out of nowhere in Changsheng City, leaving not only Ye Tianxuan bewildered, but all the residents of Changsheng City also stunned.
What does this mean? If you don't have enough lifespan to support you to continue living, and the City of Immortality deems you worthless to live, they will not hesitate to strip you of your right to live, with absolutely no room for reversal.
Those who had just been kneeling outside the main city were not driven away, but were instead brought into the main city. This was because they still had their remaining lifespans, and the high priest believed that rather than letting them continue to waste time kneeling outside the city gates, it would be better to gather these scattered lifespans and give them to those who needed them more.
This new rule surpasses all previous rules of Changsheng City; it is the coldest and most deadly, capable of ending the lives of almost everyone at the bottom of Changsheng City.
Ye Tianxuan was stunned. He thought the problems among the people of Changsheng City were already bad, but he didn't expect that the main city of Changsheng City, which issued this rule, was even worse.
The seemingly normal Changsheng City is actually not functioning properly and is on the verge of losing the peace it presents.
They can only consume a portion of the population to maintain the City of Immortality. They are completely unaware that they are wiping out a large number of lives, simply viewing lifespan as a deprivable resource, cheap and laughable.
Those who had previously knelt outside the city gates begging for longevity still held a sliver of hope for life. But after hearing this rule and being ruthlessly dragged into the main city, they understood that they had no hope left; it was just a matter of dying sooner or where they would die.
The crowd queuing in front of the main city watched silently as the group of people were taken away.
Everyone who passed by Ye Tianxuan had lifeless eyes, devoid of any light. As the lowest rungs of Changsheng City, struggling to survive, they had already given up.
The crowd surged, and those hopeless faces, carrying a silent and oppressive silence, passed through one side of the queue and headed towards the main city.
For a moment, only the echoes of footsteps reverberated outside the main city. Everyone watched silently as the group was sent into the city, fully aware of their fate, but they remained silent, filled with fear, and tried their best to live a little longer.
At this moment, the realization that living is simply for the sake of living becomes even clearer in the City of Immortality.
"etc!"
A clear, gentle voice suddenly rang out from the vast crowd, as comforting and soothing as a stream, dispelling the discomfort weighing on one's heart.
A hand reached out from the queue and grabbed one of the people heading to the main city, pulling him out.
"What are you doing?!" The person in white stared expressionlessly at the young man in line. "Do you intend to disobey the High Priest?"
"Of course not." Ye Tianxuan smiled kindly, gripped the shoulder of the person he had pulled out tightly, and said softly, "I promised this person that I would give him a share of my lifespan. He can live on and see the sun tomorrow. You can't take him in."
The person Ye Tianxuan had pulled out was also taken aback. He hadn't expected this person to be serious, telling others in such a formal and earnest manner that he could live as long as he was alive.
Those who were captured couldn't help but curl their lips into a self-deprecating smile. "Forget it, young man, I know you mean well. Even if you gave me a share of your lifespan, I would still die. The main city has decided that I have no value in living."
"...No matter how much life I have left, I will die."