As leaders of major War Gangs plotted to besiege Mokaka, Tian En had already led Yun You to the innermost layer of the Floating Island, the "Urban Area".
Narrow and intricate streets, not tall but lined with neon-lit concrete and steel structures, were riddled with vehicles destroyed for various reasons, burning fiercely from fuel leaks.
In the alleyways, signs of bars or cabaret halls sotis twinkled under the night sky, accompanied by rhythmic DJ music, instantly easing one's oppressive mood, tempting indulgence.
This was the urban section of the Floating Island Prison, the area closest in resemblance to Nest City, hence called "Little Nest City".
Mokaka's influence occupied the urban core, with the largest population of the Floating Island Prison, which Tian En said was the most peaceful area.
However...
In so hidden corners, Yun You could still witness violence.
Gang thugs covered in tattoos and tattered Prosthetic Bodies dragged out stall owners unwilling to pay protection fees, beating them rcilessly.
Desperados with cowboy hats, due to a little friction, agreed to duel in the street, but a gun malfunction resulted in over a dozen spectators, including themselves, being shot. The survivors, far from fleeing, excitedly scavenged the corpses, not even sparing clothes.
rcenaries completed their task, dragging the target's head to the employer for their final payday, only to find themselves double-crossed and beheading the employer in return.
And those insane Hackers, seeking so amusent, went as far as burning down a building, watching prisoners struggle in the fire, ultimately reduced to unrecognizable forms...
Honestly, Yun You didn't experience the "equality" Tian En ntioned, nor did she see peace here.
It rather resembled her ten-year residence in the Lower City of Nest City, the mingling of high-end technology with broken lives being all too familiar.
An eyeball accidentally rolled to Yun You's feet, its owner still alive, engaged in a gunfight against thugs in the alley beside the little girl. But the person was nearing death, as scrap bullets tore through his body, flesh and blood splattering the ground with scorching shrapnel.
"Are you sure this is Mokaka's territory?"
Yun You glanced at the eyeball by her feet, then looked at Tian En beside her.
The latter appeared embarrassed, considering stopping the gang fight...
But the mont those people saw her coming, they whistled and fled without looking back, disappearing into the darkness in an instant.
Oddly enough, it was clearly a dead-end, yet these thugs relied on their agility to escape swiftly, with no trace of the escape route visible.
"Sigh."
After a long silence, Tian En sighed helplessly.
"The Urban Area is indeed under my lord Mokaka's control, without a doubt."
"But what you don't know..."
The girl pointed at the complex architecture surrounding them and explained, "The Urban Area differs from other zones; it's not a 'flat world' but a 'three-dinsional space' spanning 70 square kiloters."
"The terrain here is extrely complex, not only is the surface dissected into dozens of layers by skyscrapers, but underground, there's an unexplored sewer system housing nurous War Gang thugs."
"Do you know what this ans? It ans even if Lord Mokaka captures the urban surface, she still cannot completely clear out the lurking thugs in every nook and cranny, because they are ubiquitous like cockroaches, hiding in the sewers when pursued, erging to commit cris when the coast is clear."
"Ultimately, Lord Mokaka can only retract her influence, seizing the most prosperous urban core and gradually clearing out thugs, slowly expanding her domain."
"As the population grows and her loyal area enlarges, one day, the vermin in the sewers will be completely eradicated."
Upon hearing this, Yun You understood.
The gangs in Nest City indeed were troubleso, she had seen officers trying to clear them out as a child, but each raid ended in failure due to the gangs' superior knowledge of the terrain, driving away the officers who coveted their turf.
This indeed couldn't be blad on Mokaka.
"So are we heading to the city center now?"
The little girl kicked aside the thug's limb at her feet and casually asked.
"Not yet, I want to take you to et soone first."
Tian En shook her head, softly saying, "Follow and you'll see."
With that, she led Yun You away from the street, into an alley.
...
The two traversed between skyscrapers, went through nurous elevators, and used cables and zip lines... It took half an hour to finally reach their destination.
An apartnt at the top floor of a high-rise.
Though called an apartnt, it more resembled a large flat, artificially divided into over a dozen small rooms, each one a separate "cell", much like Yun You's treehouse in the forest area.
Ordinarily, such cells wouldn't house many residents, as living in them is as uncomfortable as a pigeonhole while the Urban Area has plenty of vacant buildings, there's no need to live here.
Yet sohow, the apartnt was crowded with people.
Adorned with gold and jewels, with fierce expressions, clutching rusty blades, the bald leader even carrying a rifle, they seed to belong to a gang of thugs.
Clearly, they weren't there to rest, as they aggressively surrounded a room, brandishing weapons and shouting inside.
Moreover, so prisoners, seeking excitent, gathered as well, eagerly observing the situation inside the room.
"Is sothing happening?"
Yun You and Tian En tensed up, hurriedly lowering their voices, mingling into the crowd.
Amidst squeezing, they finally caught sight of the scene inside the room.
An overhead lamp's dim yellow light quivered in the damp air; the room was cluttered, with precision instrunts and smithing tools scattered about, yet the most striking sight was an iron-fra bed caged by thugs.
The figure lying on the rusted bed fra, of a child's stature, clad in a black coarse cloak, with hems deliberately torn into ragged fringes, barely covered the occasional glimpse of white skin.
It was a girl.
"Hand over the goods!"
The bald Leader slamd his chanical Prosthetic fist on the bedhead, gear grinding noise mixed with heavy oil stench spraying the girl's face.
She couldn't help but inch back, revealing a neck and face sared with gunpowder, deliberate gri glowing under the lamp like a spilled sky congealed on a pale canvas.
Silvery hair like first snow fell from her hood's edge, glaringly bright in the murk, as the girl placed her hand on her abdon, wrist bones so slender the blood vessels showed crimson, yet her fingertips remained steady as strings, showing no trace of panic, though she was surrounded... trapped in dire circumstances.
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