Heaven Star.
Yang Ming mingled with the crowd, heading toward the city not far ahead.
The mountains lining both banks of the river were a deep emerald green, their peaks often capped with a little snow. The river ran clear as jade, with plump fish swimming through its waters. Water shimmered beneath the mountains, and lush greenery flourished all around.
The mountain wind carried a heavy chill through the valley, driving white mist down the slopes. The shadows of the peaks fell even faster across the procession traveling through the ravine, deepening until they gradually blended into the night, only to be illuminated silver-gray by the moon soon afterward.
Bright moonlight adorned the cool night sky and the earth below. The sky resembled a boundless, transparent ocean, quiet, vast, and mysterious. Its countless stars were like tiny sparks rising from the sea, twinkling with dancing pinpricks of light. Fields, villages, and trees slumbered peacefully beneath a thin veil of silver.
The mountains vaguely resembled clouds, or islands upon the sea. Here and there, one or two crimson flames flickered, as though beckoning ships sailing through the night.
Beneath the wavering firelight, two groups dressed in entirely different outfits were slaughtering one another in silence. Those with Soul Tools implanted in their arms possessed tremendous destructive power, while those with Soul Tools implanted in their legs moved with speed and agility.
In a sense, augmented humans equipped with Implant Gear could no longer be considered normal living beings. Yang Ming stopped and watched the two groups of natives fight, with no intention of intervening.
The augmented humans who had suddenly attacked were after the supplies belonging to the group Yang Ming had joined. In common terms, they were bandits.
Such things were commonplace on Heaven Star, a world without rules that