Ah Chen was awakened by the steam pipes overhead.
The copper ventilation ducts hummed and vibrated, presumably carrying scalding steam as usual.
It wasn't for everyday water supply. The Tomorrow was nowhere near wealthy enough for such luxuries yet.
When the Mobile City's steam engines operated, they produced vast quantities of high-pressure steam. Through a series of processes, it was converted into mechanical energy, driving the steel treads and axles beneath the city and allowing the entire city to move slowly and steadily.
The helmsmen would use Speaking Tubes to notify the ordinary residents working in the lower Power Engine Zone, instructing them to control the steam valves and regulate the output.
The steam pipes spread downward from the upper levels, reaching every part of the Mobile City like the veins and arteries of this steel behemoth.
In winter, they could temporarily serve as a heating system.
"It's time to go to work," Ah Chen muttered as he got up.
He climbed out of the wooden bed and casually threw on the clothes hanging at its head.
He lived in the middle level of the Tomorrow. His room was only nine square meters, and its furnishings amounted to a wooden bed, a small table, and a cabinet.
Fortunately, his room also had a small window.
Whenever Ah Chen rested, he liked to open the window, rest his hands on the sill, and gaze at the scenery drifting past in the distance.
Sometimes, when he pushed open the window, morning air laced with coal ash and the smell of machine oil would pour inside.
That was mainly because a large smokestack happened to be installed nearby.
In fact, Ah Chen should have had better living conditions than this.
After all, he had been one of the slaves who had followed Li