The road leading to the strait was surrounded by an iron fence, but it was already badly rusted, with gaps cut through in many places that made it easy to get in and out.
Nangong Saya ducked through one of the gaps and walked along the side of the road. Before long, she heard waves crashing against the rocks.
She left the road and headed down to the shore. In the hazy moonlight, she saw a modest-sized boat moored by the shore, rising and falling with the waves. A dozen or so figures stood scattered across the beach.
They were all people hoping to sneak across to Hokkaido each night. This wasn't the only place they did it, either. Nearly a hundred people might cross the sea in a single night.
This was the consequence of the government suppressing information about Machine City for years. Back when Machine City was being publicized far and wide, they said thousands of people would sneak across in a single night, forcing the government to send people to seal off the strait until dawn.
Nangong Saya carried her luggage over. A dozen or so people stood in scattered groups along the shore.
There were also a few solo travelers carrying luggage like Nangong Saya.
"Hey, you're crossing the sea, right?"
The weather-beaten captain jumped down from the boat, walked ashore, and called out to Nangong Saya. "Come over and pay first."
Nangong Saya made her way through the crowd and asked in a low voice, "How much?"
The captain replied impatiently, "Didn't we agree on the phone? Ten thousand, no bargaining. We leave in an hour, so hurry up."
Nangong Saya didn't haggle. Instead, she lowered her head and opened her suitcase to get the money.
While she searched for it, the people around