Through Eren's memories, Vik realized that most of the people in Elysian cities like Phoenix were Rankers. There was hardly any mortal population left in the Elysian cities. And this population was on the decline.

And none of the citizens of the Elysian cities had lifespan restrictions. They didn't have MCP chips. In fact, none of them even heard about something called MCP chips.

'The lands that are not Elysian cities are called Wastelands by these guys. And the people living in Wastelands as Borgys.

Fuck. What a bunch of pretentious, self-centered co*ksuckers.'

Vik twitched his nose when he realized how the previous strata of society he belonged to were so looked down upon by citizens of Elysian cities.

He also concluded that since the city-state of Phoenix didn't have MCP chip restrictions placed on its citizens, other Elysian cities would also have the same thing in place. That meant that the lifespan restriction was limited to people living on the so-called Wastelands alone.

'What the actual fu*k? Why are they only f*cking with us and letting these guys live however they want? That's.. that's not fair damn it.'

Vik felt aggravated by the fact that only the so-called Borrgys had their lifespans restricted by the MCP chips. Then he thought that the talk of unfairness seemed strange coming from him who had taken over a young man's body who was around 5 years younger than him.

He sighed and stopped thinking on those terms. He was not a representative of the so-called Bourgys. In addition, he did not agree with the side the citizens of the Elysian cities belonged to either. He was on his own side.

And yet, he couldn't help but wonder why the human population was divided like this, Elysian cities existing amid patches of Wastelands. The mortals' city-states further divided the Wastelands. And finally, people living in tribes stayed away from all those social settings.

Food shortage? Bullshit. The people in Elysian cities lived like kings and wasted more food than the people in the Wastelands would need. All they had to do was open the Elysian cities to the rest of the human population outside them. Rankers, mortals, and Bourgys would all be able to fill their tummies with the food that is found aplenty here.

'There has to be some reason. I think Eren was researching this topic or something along that line. They are his most recent memories.

And yet, I still find them difficult to recall. Fuck.'

Saying that in his head, Vik tapped Reece's tush while unconsciously channeling his lightning element through his fingers once again. A low, hushed, ecstatic moan could have been heard at this point. But Vik was too occupied with his thoughts to notice.

'In any case, I'll stick to the routine devised by my workplace for me. Heh! Working diligently would feel awkward when my previous job experiences were in a completely different direction. But work is work.

One has to pull their weight in the world.'

Vik was always self-reliant. If possible, he wanted to move away from this house and get his own place somewhere inside the Elysian city. No matter how small and shabby it might turn out to be.

Then there was something else that he also needed to think about.historical

'I'll have to look for the reason behind why people outside Elysian cities are kept away from such advanced societies and are also subjected to lifespan restrictions. If not for any benefit, then for my own peace of mind.

Maybe Eren's stuff at his workplace would give me some hints on that research. One step at a time, Vik. One step at a time.'

Then he chuckled before remembering the jobs he had pulled off with his brother.

'As Tory used to say, I shouldn't try to control everything that's happening around me. Especially if there are things beyond my control. It would only make me suffer mentally. Hehe. That dickhead sometimes makes sense.'

Vik took a long breath after chuckling a bit. Frankly, he was just trying to come to terms with his changed reality. He always had a rational mind that enabled him to keep his emotions out of his thought process for the most part. But it had its limits.

He had to sort through these thoughts and establish definite goals. He had to rebuild himself from scratch. His old ways of doing things won't work. But he also couldn't keep up with what Eren was doing. He needed to find his own path.

Eren was a polite kid in his early childhood. He behaved cordially and was innocent and immature in a lot of things. But that all changed when his parents disappeared all of a sudden while they were on the guild's mission. From the looks of things, they were as good as dead.

Eren was their only kid. He was only in his early teens at the time when the news about his parents hit him. Suffice to say it broke him and turned him bitter. His personality was shaping up to be much like Vik, albeit in a milder way.

Eren treated the people who took him in respectfully. He cared for Reece in a platonic way and he listened to Reece's mother diligently, no matter how he acted outside. The guy had his head in the right place when it came to these things.

Eren knew that Reece was developing a crush on him. At first, he felt that it was wrong to take advantage of a little girl's heart just because he was in proximity to her. He chucked it under the fact that them living under the same roof had more to do with Reece's crush on him than her own feelings.

But he could only ignore Reece's obvious advances on him so much. He too had started to feel something in his cold heart just recently.

And yet, there was something else that Eren felt that had prevented him from reciprocating Reece's feelings just like that. She was a Metahuman while he wasn't. This reality had given him an inferiority complex.

The guy was doing everything in his power to reach Meta rank faster. In fact, he even devised wild areas to speed up his progress. By using the Oshos. He just needed time.

Alas, time ran out on him unexpectedly.