The Slums were the shadow of a society where high technology coexisted with low living standards, a forgotten corner that symbolized the rot and neglect behind the splendor of towering skyscrapers.
Endless neon advertisements and the trails of flying cars divided the sky, but in the Slums, the meager sunlight could barely penetrate the dense smog and pollution. Even the neon lights grew dim here, their flickering glow casting sinister shadows over streets awash with filthy water. The pungent stench of rotting garbage and chemicals filled the air, and the residents had grown accustomed to living behind crude filter masks.
The buildings in the Slums were cobbled together. Discarded shipping containers, dilapidated prefab houses, and teetering high-rises mingled into an intricate three-dimensional maze. Graffiti and slogans covered the walls, while electrical cables hung like spiderwebs over narrow alleys, occasionally spitting sparks.
Residents moved between the narrow streets and bridges in shabby clothes, their faces haggard. People struggled to survive here, amid rampant black-market dealings, smuggling, and small-scale hacking. Even the Peacekeeping Forces rarely ventured in. Only when order broke down severely would armored vehicles and the cheapest robot police appear to enforce the law through brute force.
Illegally modified electronics and bionic parts were everywhere in the markets of the Slums. Most food was synthetic; genuinely fresh food was a luxury here.
"That's weird. Where did everyone go today?"
In a narrow, dark alley in the Slums, a small-time thug named Sde slowly made his patrol. His figure looked warped and shifty beneath the swaying neon lights, and his wary eyes swept his surroundings for anyone he could extort-or any potential threat.
He wore a battered leather jacket covered in patches and the emblems of illegal gangs, symbols of a distinct identity and power in this lawless territory. Oil stains